- 24th October 2006-

MKS Instruments acquires electrostatic charge monitoring technology

MKS Instruments has acquired privately held Novx Corp., a provider of electrostatic charge monitoring technology. Terms of the transaction were not announced.

Leo Berlinghieri, MKS' CEO and President, said, "MKS is focused on improving process performance and productivity in semiconductor and other technology-driven markets. Novx's technology expands our capability to monitor, detect and control electrostatic charge in advanced process environments, such as semiconductor and hard disk drive manufacturing. We plan to optimise closed-loop ionization control by integrating Novx's sensor technology and data acquisition software with Ion Systems' ionization technology for managing electrostatic attraction and discharge."

Novx, based in San Jose with 14 employees, will be integrated into MKS' Ion Systems product group, based in Alameda, California, which was acquired in January 2006.

Web: www.mksinst.com