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Tool Order: Axcelis wins major dry-strip order; claims market share gains |
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Feb 07, 2007 at 03:20 PM |
 A major memory manufacturer has placed a follow-on order for over 10 RadiantStrip 320 dual chamber photoresist dry strip systems from Axcelis Technologies to be used in multiple global sites supporting high-volume memory production. The systems will begin to ship in the first quarter.
"Our customer's order for multiple RadiantStrip 320 systems confirms our platform's long track record of reliability and process versatility in the most demanding environments," said Mary Puma, chairman and CEO of Axcelis. "It is ideally suited to their diverse production requirements, supporting multi-temperature stripping and heavily implanted photoresists. This ensures high productivity and compatibility with current and next-generation materials."
Puma noted in Axcelis' recent quarterly conference call that the company had gained significant market share in the dry strip market. According to Puma and Gartner Dataquest, Axcelis had gone from 9 percent share in 2005 to somewhere between 15 and 18 percent in 2006, almost doubling in 12 months.
Executives at established market leader in dry strip, Mattson Technology, also noted in the most recent quarterly conference call that they had achieved market share gains of about 5 percent year-on-year in 2006 and had about 30 percent market share overall.
David Dutton, chief executive officer of Mattson, responded to questions from financial analysts concerning the possibility that the company may have lost share, reiterated that it had indeed gained share in 2006 and suggested that some small Asian-based specialist equipment suppliers may have struggled last year as well as perhaps another ‘strip supplier in the Valley.'
Novellus Systems, the other major player in the strip market, introduced its GAMMA Express tool at SEMICON West last year and noted in the third quarter that it expected shipments of this platform to improve in 2007. However, the company has not publicly stated its competitive position in this market in recent quarters.
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