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Joint Venture Established to Accelerate Adoption of Innovative Film Deposition Technology. KLA-Tencor and Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Company, Ltd are partnering to commercialize advanced process solutions. The partnership also involves Blue29, a Silicon Valley start-up that has developed an innovative electroless film deposition technology for copper interconnects. Originally a KLA-Tencor venture capital investment, Blue29 has now become a wholly-owned joint venture between KLA-Tencor and Dainippon Screen. "Blue29's patented electroless film deposition technology has enormous potential for improving copper electro-migration and stress migration - a key ingredient for achieving high reliability in copper devices," stated Ken Schroeder, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KLA-Tencor. " By combining our strengths and resources with Dainippon Screen, an industry-leading process tool manufacturer, we intend to make this technology a commercially viable solution that will enable our IC customers to deliver the full performance and cost potential of copper interconnects at future technology nodes."

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to enter the electroless metal deposition market," stated Takashige Suetake, chief operating officer (COO) of Dainippon Screen and president of its Semiconductor Equipment Company. "The increase in our wet clean market share over the last six years is validation that we offer significant advantages in the market place. With the understanding that copper is fundamentally a wet process, we expect to extend our know-how related to fluid management and single wafer platform design and manufacturing into this market. The business model allows for Blue 29 to benefit from the strengths of Dainippon Screen and KLA-Tencor to provide a differentiated product." KLA-Tencor, will be responsible for global sales, distribution and support.