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Product Briefing Outline: Tiger Optics has recently unveiled the HALO+, a mini-Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) analyzer capable of measuring moisture from 200 parts-per-trillion to 20 parts-per-million levels. It offers similar dynamic range for other detections as well.  An evolution of the compact HALO analyzer, the new HALO+ is equally small, but offers greater sensitivity, and communication, analysis, and trending capabilities comparable to Tiger's flagship LaserTrace and MTO analyzers.

Problem: There is an unmet need for an affordable, compact, laser-based means to measure the full excursion of moisture and other contaminants when upsets occur. Manufacturers are left in the dark regarding recovery times, which compounds both downtime and uncertainty regarding process control. Just as the ability to track the magnitude and duration of process upsets is of growing concern in semiconductor fabrication, so the need to reliably detect even tiny perturbations in the parts per trillions is paramount. As the specifications tighten with each generation of chips, the margin for error and tolerance for waste are practically nil. Manufacturers, thus, are under extreme pressure to improve quality and performance while cutting costs - a tall order by any measure.

Solution: Designated as a transfer standard by many of the world's leading national laboratories, the HALO+ is now used in U.S., British, Dutch, Finnish, Japanese, and Chinese national labs, due to its accuracy and repeatability, the company claims. Taking CW-CRDS to a new level of performance and refinement, the HALO+ is claimed to measure the widest dynamic range of moisture, methane, ammonia, and a wide range of analytes in inert, corrosive and toxic gases. These gases can be measured from parts per trillion to parts per million, in an affordable and highly compact package, according to the company. Based on an absolute principle - the Beer-Lambert Law - they do not require costly and frequent calibration.

Applications: Bulk gas continuous monitoring, QA/QC, portable analytical carts, laboratory research and analysis, gas cylinder filling, and low temperature epitaxy, among other applications.

Platform: Tiger's patented CW-CRDS technology is based on absorption spectroscopy, attuning light rays to the unique molecular fingerprint of the sample species. By measuring the time it takes the light to fade or "ring-down," Tiger Optics' analyzers achieve an exact, non-invasive and continuous molecular count in milliseconds.

Availability: July 2007 onwards