- 11 May 2006 -

Ozonated water delivery system honoured by Controlled Environments Magazine

MKS Instruments Inc. has had a fair bit to be proud of lately. Its recent financials, see below, reported "significant sales growth" but this week the quality of its products was reaffirmed by a new award.

It received Controlled Environments magazine's 2006 Experts’ Choice Award for its LIQUOZON(r) Ozonated Water Delivery Systems. LIQUOZON systems, which won in the Water/Chemical/Gases category, provide an environmentally friendly alternative to many toxic and corrosive process chemicals used in wet wafer cleaning and oxide growth applications.

"Conventional cleaning processes pose major problems for fabs with their methods of toxic chemical storage and handling, as well as their costly consumption and disposal of those chemicals," said Dr Christiane Gottschalk, Senior Manager of MKS LIQUOZON System Sales and Customer Service. "By using ozonated water as the cleaning agent, the LIQUOZON systems offer a clean, safe alternative with no compromise in process performance or reliability, and significant reduction in waste disposal costs."
It also introduced the Ion Systems Model 5200-SR Digital Ionization Sensor for use in semiconductor equipment front end modules (EFEMs) or in process modules. The 5200-SR Digital Sensor, combined with AeroBar ionizers and integrated IonMonitor™ software, provides the industry's only true closed-loop controlled ionization system. This guarantees that tool calibrations remain in compliance with industry guidelines such as SEMI E78. Compliance with E78 improves yield by minimizing particle attraction to wafers, as well as eliminating ESD damage during wafer handling.

MKS Instruments Inc. recently reported first quarter 2006 financial results. Net sales increased to $179.1m, up 40.5% from $127.4m in the first quarter of 2005 and up 38.6% from $129.2m in the fourth quarter of 2005.

At the time Leo Berlinghieri, CEO and President, said, "Our sales grew by 39% sequentially, and excluding a full quarter of sales from two technology acquisitions, Ion Systems and Umetrics, our organic sales growth rate was 31%. We achieved significant sales growth on strong order momentum from semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers.

Sales to semiconductor device manufacturers, and thin film and other markets also increased. Our close customer relationships and innovative solutions for improving process performance and productivity contributed to our success".
However, he was more cautious about the outlook: "Looking ahead to the second quarter, based on current trends and industry bookings, we see signs for moderate growth in semiconductor capital equipment spending.

After a very strong first quarter, we estimate that our second quarter sales could increase by 3 to 6 percent and range from $185 to $190 m".

Web: www.mksinst.com