Four-Market Focus Begins to Pay Dividends for Trikon Technologies
July 07 2005 - 7:44PM
PR Newswire (US)
Four-Market Focus Begins to Pay Dividends for Trikon Technologies
NEWPORT, Wales, July 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Executives from
Trikon Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRKN) confirmed today that the
company remains committed to its four-market focus, which has
already shown progress. Trikon management reiterated the company's
strategic direction originally disclosed in March 2005, saying it
has aligned its business strategy to focus efforts on production
wafer processing tools specialized in the following four areas: *
"Mainstream silicon" and power IC fabrication; * Memory IC
fabrication, including new non-volatile approaches, such as
magnetic memory (MRAM); * Communications IC fabrication,
particularly III-V based high-speed ICs and bulk acoustic wave
(BAW) devices; and * Emerging technologies used for fabricating
MEMS and wafer level packages. Mainstream Silicon and Power ICs
"Mainstream silicon" production involves proven technology nodes
that can be ramped quickly to profitable production with little
development and pilot- lining. Trikon's expertise in this area is
demonstrated in its proven line of cost-effective, high-reliability
process tools for deposition and etch. "Here, we address the needs
of manufacturers of cost-sensitive semiconductors who are not best
served by equipment suppliers focused on the leading technology
nodes," said Dr. John Macneil, President and CEO of Trikon. "Our
focus provides us with a significant market opportunity and
addresses a critical market need by delivering proven 200-mm
deposition and plasma etch technologies necessary in order for
'workhorse' fabs to expand or enhance their productivity." Trikon
has also invested considerable resources into power IC fabrication
technology, and now has achieved a leading market position with its
Omega trench etcher and Sigma fxP PVD tool for front and backside
metal deposition. According to industry research firm, iSuppli, the
market for power management ICs grew 24 percent in 2004 and is
forecasted to grow at an annual rate of approximately 13 percent
through 2008. "This is faster than the total semiconductor market
because of the broad exposure of power products to all segments of
the market," said Dr. Macneil. "For example, the rise in battery
powered devices is a significant factor in power IC growth.
Consumers want added functionality on their phones, PDAs, music
players and other portable devices, but will not accept a shorter
battery life." Memory ICs Trikon's technology and business hook
into the leading edge of semiconductor DRAM and Flash memory
manufacturing is with its exclusive dielectric gap-fill solutions:
Flowfill(R) and Low-k Flowfill(R) technologies for pre-metal
dielectric (PMD), shallow trench isolation (STI) and inter-metal
dielectric (IMD) applications. Trikon's flowable oxide technologies
for sub 65-nm memory fabrication are being evaluated by fabs
looking for leading-edge solutions needed for the next technology
nodes. "Recent data from these evaluations have shown a 15-20
percent reduction in capacitance with comparable yields using our
Low-k Flowfill in place of conventional films on 90 nm generation
devices," said Dr. Macneil. "We are also on our way towards the
goal of introducing Flowfill to the 65 nm and smaller nodes where
competing approaches are known to struggle." Communications IC
Fabrication Trikon's proven process technologies have some decided
advantages for the fabrication of BAW devices, including meeting
demanding film-deposition uniformity requirements in this niche.
Trikon believes it is the leading metal deposition supplier to this
market, and continues to invest in the technology required to
maintain that lead. According to data from Prismark Partners, 2.3
billion frequency filters were used in mobile phones in 2004, with
less than 3 percent BAW based. However, analysts expect a
significant portion of mobile phone makers to migrate to BAW due to
the advantages of BAW over Surface Acoustic Wave devices (SAW), the
main filter technology used now. The main advantages of BAW over
SAW include: * a 33% reduction of filter-chip footprint and a 50%
reduction in height * ease of fabrication for higher frequencies; *
reduced sensitivity to surface contamination and * the ability to
handle higher power. "Very recently, our expertise in Aluminum
Nitride (or AlN) films for BAW has opened up a new opportunity in
the Thin Film Head market. Under the right conditions, AlN has
excellent thermal conductivity properties and when deposited under
and over the head, dissipates heat far more effectively than
traditional coating materials," said Dr. Macneil. "Head drives are
appearing in a variety of consumer devices such as mobile phones
and music players, which require a greater temperature tolerance
than PCs. If the head gets too hot, it will expand and potentially
crash into the disk - our AlN films can reduce expansion by up to
50%. In May we shipped a Sigma fxP tool to a leading head maker and
are engaged with a number of well-known names in the field. The
head market is expanding quickly and we intend to capitalize on our
expertise." Emerging Technologies: SiPs and MEMS Trikon's advanced
deep-silicon etch technology is directly applicable to
system-in-package (SiP) and MEMS manufacturing. Trikon's etch,
dielectric and metal deposition processes address the requirements
by manufacturers in this rapidly growing sector. "Trikon is
continuing to fund R&D and is actively looking for additional
funding from the UK and European government initiatives for etch
and deposition in these two areas," said Dr. Macneil. Trikon's
Direction "The conclusion from our business operations today is
that our technology, direction and overall vision are realistic,
attainable and gaining traction," said Dr. Macneil. "We are seeing
significant opportunities within our four segments, with recent
wins in the Power and BAW markets. Flowfill continues to make
inroads into leading fabs that are seeing weaknesses in their
traditional approaches. Combined with new opportunities in the
emerging areas of MEMS, WLP and more recently head drives, we are
confident that our four- pronged strategy matches our strengths,
will deliver growth and will help soften the industry cycles."
About Trikon Technologies Trikon Technologies is a leading provider
of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the global
semiconductor industry. Trikon develops and manufactures advanced
capital equipment for plasma etching and chemical and physical
vapor deposition (CVD and PVD) of thin films for use in the
production of semiconductor, MEMS and similar devices. These are
key components in most advanced electronic products, such as
telecommunication devices, consumer and industrial electronics and
computers. More information is available at:
http://www.trikon.com/. "Safe Harbor" Statement Under the Private
Securities Litigation Act of 1995 This news release contains
certain forward-looking statements, which include, without
limitation, statements in this news release and comments by Dr.
Macneil about Trikon's strategic focus and business strategy,
market opportunities in the semiconductor industry, Trikon's
ability to meet the needs of manufacturers, growth in the market
for power management, BAW and Thin Film Head devices, Trikon's
introduction of new solutions and products, and the ability of
Trikon to attract additional funding from the UK and European
governments. The forward-looking statements in this press release
are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited to,
demand for Trikon's products and services, possible changes in the
company's strategy, and the unpredictable and cyclical nature of
the semiconductor industry and the power management market. These
factors are not intended to represent a complete list of all risks
and uncertainties inherent in the Company's business and the market
for power semiconductor products, and should be read in conjunction
with the more detailed cautionary statements included in the
Company's SEC reports, including, without limitation, its annual
report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current
reports on Form 8-K. We assume no obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. DATASOURCE: Trikon
Technologies, Inc. CONTACT: Katrina Bomont, Marketing Publicity
Manager of Trikon Technologies, +44 (0) 1633 414030, or ; or media,
Stew Chalmers of PR Company Inc., +1-818-980-3762; or US IR, Kevin
Kirkeby of The Global Consulting Group, +1-646-284-9416, or Web
site: http://www.trikon.com/
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