Mar 15 2010
Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies, Inc. (BEST) today announced that its subsidiary has acquired the assets of AIXUV GmbH in Aachen, Germany, a company specializing in XUV/EUV systems and key components. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and AIXUV has been relocated to the BEST operations in Bergisch Gladbach.
AIXUV's mask blank EUV-Reflectometry system for the measurement of spectral reflectance of planar samples such as wafers and EUV mirrors
With the integration of key AIXUV staff, know-how and products, BEST has strengthened its position in several emerging applications in the XUV/EUV (extreme ultraviolet) spectral range. Due to its physical properties, XUV/EUV light allows chemically sensitive measurements with nanometer lateral resolution. Scientific research applications range from high-resolution chemical analysis or thin film characterization, e.g. of organic LEDs or high-k dielectrics, to X-ray transmission microscopy and 3D tomographic imaging of biological cells. Furthermore, EUV is the upcoming semiconductor lithography technology and will require ‘at-wavelength’ metrology tools in different stages of EUV fabrication and its emerging supply chain.
This acquisition extends BEST’s product portfolio to include discharge-based XUV/EUV radiation sources. Based on such XUV/EUV sources, new metrology and scientific research products are available, e.g. for EUV resist characterization, XUV/EUV reflectometry, spectrophotometry, microscopy, and chemical analysis of nanolayers and nanostructures.
Dr. Hans-Udo Klein, Vice President of Business Development for BEST, explained: “This acquisition paves the way for the development of our business in new markets for scientific research and metrology in the extreme ultraviolet, or soft X-ray, spectral range. In future years, these new XUV/EUV product lines are intended to generate significant additional profitable growth for BEST.”
Wolfgang Diete, Director of BEST's Synchrotron & Beamline business, added: “Based on our extensive know-how in synchrotron based solutions and in combination with AIXUV’s expertise, we will further develop and market stand-alone and modular XUV/EUV products.”