Gigaphoton Upgrades Its Previous Excimer Laser to the Latest Model

Gigaphoton Inc. (Head Office: Oyama, Tochigi; President & CEO: Katsumi Uranaka), a leading manufacturer of light sources used in semiconductor lithography, announced that it had shipped its latest excimer lasers for lithography equipment as an upgrade to its previous model for SK Hynix Inc., which is the second largest manufacturer of memory semiconductor.

As worldwide semiconductor demand is continuously increasing, it is essential for chip manufacturers to enhance productivity for additional production capability. However, with the lasers which have been in production more than 15 years, customers are now facing challenges in improving productivity to tackle with high operational cost and frequent maintenance cycle in keeping such legacy lasers in operation.
As a productivity enhancement solution for legacy lasers, Gigaphoton upgrades them to the latest model. Since the latest model equips up-to-the-minute modules and software, the durability and reliability of the modules are greatly improved compared with legacy lasers. With this upgrade, the productivity of the laser is significantly improved.
Further, as Gigaphoton lasers are used as one of lithography tools, a light source, the productivity of the entire lithography tool is also significantly improved.
In addition, a CIP (Continuous Improvement Program) is also provided along with the upgrade, which eliminates concerns on service support for legacy lasers in the future. This upgrade is also designed with consideration of minimizing costs and the time required for the upgrade which enables field upgrading at SK hynix Inc.'s fab this time.

Katsumi Uranaka, President & CEO of Gigaphoton commented, “The upgrade to the latest laser which we propose is highly effective for improving the productivity of existing production lines. Gigaphoton will continue to make proposals that can contribute to the prosperity of both our customers and the semiconductor industry, based on the standpoint of our customers.”

About Gigaphoton
Since it was founded in 2000, Gigaphoton has delivered valuable solutions to semiconductor manufacturers throughout the world as a laser supplier. In every stage from R&D to manufacture, sales, and maintenance services, Gigaphoton is committed to providing world-class support delivered from the perspective of everyday users. For more information please visit www.gigaphoton.com.