Australia To Make Rad-Hard Chips For Peregrine

ASML today announced a multi-division equipment sale to Peregrine Semiconductor Australia (PSA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation (PSC). ASML’s lithography, track and thermal systems will be integrated into PSA’s new Ultra-Thin-Silicon (UTSi) CMOS Silicon-on-Sapphire 0.25-micron process used to manufacture RF chips for satellite communications, interfaces for fiber optic communications, and radiation-hardened ICs for space and defense applications.

“Peregrine’s deep sub-micron CMOS on sapphire technology for wireless and photonics integrated circuits will bring new levels of performance and reliability to our customers,” said Dr. Stav Prodromou, president and CEO of Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation.

“We are very pleased to partner with ASML for advanced lithographic and wafer fabrication systems in our Australia facility in order to make these advances possible.”

“The sale of this integrated solution demonstrates that ASML is well-positioned to deliver a variety of systems to customers worldwide, increasing both process performance and efficiency in customer service,” said Dave Chavoustie, executive vice president of sales for ASML.

ASML representatives worked closely with PSA to find the most cost-effective equipment configuration to help them migrate to 0.25-micron production. PSA ordered ASML’s PAS5500/550B (TM) Scanner, 90-SE (TM) i-Line/Deep UV Track systems and an AVP 8000 (TM) Batch Furnace.

This equipment enables PSA’s recently expanded Sydney fab to be upgraded from 0.5-micron Class 10 to 0.25-micron Class 1. Volume production is scheduled to begin Q3 2001.

ASML offers an integrated portfolio of lithography, track and thermal systems mainly for manufacturing complex integrated circuits. Headquartered in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, ASML is traded on Euronext Amsterdam and on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ASML. For the first half of 2001 the company reported net sales of over EUR 1 billion and employs approximately 8,000 people in 50 locations throughout the world.