Opens up new market opportunities in semiconductors, biomedical and energy

Ultratech Inc of San Jose, CA, USA, which designs and manufactures photolithography and laser-processing systems used to make semiconductor devices and high-brightness LEDs (HB-LEDs), has acquired the assets of Massachusetts-based Cambridge Nanotech Inc.

Spun off from Harvard University's Gordon Lab in 2003, Cambridge Nanotech makes atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment, with hundreds of system installed in research and manufacturing worldwide.

Ultratech says that, with the acquisition, it is expanding its nanotechnology and intellectual property (IP) portfolio with ALD technology to provide solutions for new layers within the electronics industry and entry into new markets, such as biomedical and energy.

Due to the increasing interest in nanoscience, ALD has emerged as a critical technology for depositing precise nanometer-thin films, says Ultratech. Typical applications require the manufacture of very precise nanometer-thin, pinhole-free and conformal thin films on many shapes and geometries. The firm hence expects that the technology will be in demand in volume manufacturing environments and in particular for micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), implantable devices in the biomedical sector, and batteries and fuel cells in the energy arena. ALD is an enabling technology and provides coatings and material features with significant advantages to other existing techniques, it adds.

"As a global leader in experimental ALD solutions, Cambridge has developed a portfolio of valuable technology and systems," says Ultratech's chairman & CEO Arthur W. Zafiropoulo. "We plan to integrate the intellectual property acquired from Cambridge Nanotech into Ultratech and include the ALD systems in our nanotechnology product group," he adds. "By increasing our IP and expanding our nanotechnology portfolio to new levels, we expect to generate a new revenue stream in existing and new markets… We expect that this acquisition will enhance our short-term as well as our long-term growth expectations."