Crossing Automation Enters 450mm Market with Order for New Spartan™ 450 Sorter
Fremont, Calif. – September 26, 2011 – Crossing Automation, Inc. (www.crossinginc.com), a leading designer and manufacturer of fab and tool automation products used by today’s foremost semiconductor device and equipment companies, today introduced its 450mm sorter, the Spartan™ 450. At the same time, the company announced receipt of an order for the new sorter from a leading semiconductor manufacturer. The platform is scheduled to ship in the first quarter, 2012.
“450mm wafers are attractive to semiconductor manufacturers because the total silicon surface area and the number of good dies are significantly more than that of smaller diameter wafers,” noted Samuel Tuan Wang, research director, Gartner. “In recent years, 300mm wafers have become popular, replacing 200mm wafers as the mainstream wafer technology. Moving from 300mm wafer to 450mm will double chip productivity and may allow continued growth of the semiconductor industry.”*
Crossing Automation’s Spartan 450 sorter is one of the first dedicated volume sorters for 450mm manufacturing in the marketplace. It incorporates all key features required to interface with the manufacturing execution system (MES), enabling comprehensive wafer management. Initially targeting the 22nm technology node, it is extendible to the 7nm node. The design is based on Crossing’s production-proven 300mm Spartan platform, which has more than 1,000 systems installed in high volume manufacturing. As with the 300mm Spartan, the 450mm sorter is designed as a single, integrated unit to enable faster installation and tool hookup, easier tool moves for increased flexibility and ultimately a faster ramp to production.
“Crossing Automation has long been committed to investing in product development to serve new and emerging markets, and 450mm manufacturing is no exception,” said May Su, vice president of marketing for Crossing Automation. “We were selected based on our long history of delivering proven automation solutions for high volume manufacturing.”
About Crossing Automation
Crossing Automation is a leading designer and manufacturer of fab and tool automation equipment, recognized for solving the critical issues facing today’s semiconductor device and equipment companies. The company increases fab productivity and reduces equipment costs by consistently delivering fast, reliable 200mm and 300mm wafer and carrier handling products, supported by sophisticated control software. Crossing’s diverse family of atmospheric and vacuum modules includes loadports, EFEMs, sorters, vacuum transfer chambers, FOUP buffers, RFID systems, and carrier tracking software. These solutions are available in multiple configurations to address the customer’s desire for maximum flexibility. For more information, visit www.crossinginc.com.
*Gartner, Inc., Emerging Technology Analysis: Why the Semiconductor Industry Is Moving Closer to 450 mm Production, Samuel Tuan Wang, August 5, 2011.
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