Successful Market Launch of the new BLULINE II

Transcription

1 [news] NEWS MAGAZINE FOR OUR BUSINESS FRIENDS ISSUE 35 MAY 2008 Fascination Blu. Successful Market Launch of the new BLULINE II On February 27 and 28, 2008 SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES staged an inhouse fair at the headquarters in Kahl to introduce the BLULINE II to the industry. The invitation to see the new replication line for Blu-ray Dual Layer Discs was followed by almost 300 top visitors from 34 different countries. Day one of the event opened with a welcome message by SINGULUS CEO Stefan A. Baustert. He commented that the end of the format war is a strong signal for the optical disc industry towards a brighter future. The following presentation by Sylvia Hitzel, Vice President Marketing & Sales, gave an overview and update of the activities of SINGULUS, which is moving into new business areas but still keeps optical disc as the core business. Also in this Issue: CRYSTALLINE SKYLINE II Solar Technology MaskTrack Service News SPACELINE II New STREAMLINE III TADERIS BLU-X

2 page 2 [news Optical Disc] ISSUE 35 MAY 2008 The speakers included Dieter Daum, CEO of Sony DADC, Austria, and Frank Simonis from the Blu-ray Disc Association, as well as representatives of GfK and the British market research institute Understanding & Solutions. In his keynote speech Dieter Daum drew an optimistic outlook that Blu-ray will stimulate the worldwide optical disc market, e.g. Sony itself had mastered over 2000 BD titles until February To ensure the long-term growth of the Blu-ray format and to meet the increasing market demand, establishing a broad replication base would be important. He also stated that Sony DADC is committed to continue to support the replication industry in building up Blu-ray capacities. Jim Bottoms, Understanding and Solutions, briefed the audience about his projections regarding BD. He believes the format has got clear advantages and is heading towards a similar future as the DVD at its time. Downloads will be only a small niche market, especially with in view of than the next 4-5 years. Another important comment from Jim was, that during the next years DVD players would be replaced completely by BD players in a similar price range. Frank Simonis, Senior Director Communications of Philips Intellectual Property & Standards and Head of BDA Europe, declared that BD is a facing new challenge after the end of the format war and pointed out how important it is to educate the consumers about the advantages of BD. Osamu Kawakubo from Sony took the participants on a voyage into a future beyond BD with holography, multi-layer discs and near field recording issues providing BD technology with storage capacities with about 100 GB and up to 400 GB. In the afternoon of the first day presentations by Guido Dalessi and Stephan Hotz from SINGULUS about their new products for the Blu-ray Disc, the BLULINE II and the BD mastering system CRYSTALLINE concluded the insight into the production of Dual layer Blu-ray Discs. In the evening of day one SINGULUS invited to a Fascination Blu Dinner starting with Blu cocktails continued by a Blu-ray presentation from Sony. After the screening of a BLULINE II movie, the new BLULINE II was presented to the audience live on stage as the highlight of the evening. The following party started off with a 007 Casino Royal trailer which opened a casino with blackjack and roulette and lots of possibilities to socialise with people from other companies. On the second day hardware demonstrations gave the opportunity to see SINGULUS latest technologies. The guests were able to have a look at BD 50 production and at the CRYSTALLINE mastering system as well as to get an overview of all the products of the SINGULUS delivery program. The concluding presentations about new businesses and especially the new business Solar offered first hand information about SINGULUS near future.

3 ISSUE 35 MAY 2008 [news Optical Disc] 3 page Fascination Blu with BLULINE II Replication of Dual Layer Blu-ray Disc At the MEDIA-TECH Expo in Frankfurt/Main, Germany (May 6-8) SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES will be presenting its new BD production system, the BLULINE II for Dual Layer Blu-ray Discs. The SINGULUS Blu-ray Disc production system BLULINE II is designed for the economical production of Blu-ray Discs (BD ROM Single Layer and Dual Layer (BD ROM SL/DL)), according to the specifications issued by the BDA. The following features characterize the BLULINE II concept: _ Dedicated to production of BD ROM SL/DL _ Cycle time BD SL < 4.0 s / BD DL < 6.0 s _ Highly integrated design _ All production steps included _ Thickness Measurement Device (TMD) for metallized layers with close loop control for the cathode _ Spectrometer for spacer-layer and cover-layer measuring with close loop control for spin process _ High productivity, high uptime _ Clear structured disc flow _ Automated handling of BD through all production steps _ Minimum space required All production steps from molding, cooling, metallizing, wet-embossing, lacquering and UV curing to quality inspection are incorporated in the BLULINE II. Its functionality, speed and design will again set a new benchmark for the industry. The BLULINE II operates with one molding machine and comprises all the advanced features required for production of high end Dual Layer Blu-ray Discs. Every single BLULINE in the field can be upgraded with the embossing technology to produce 50 GB Blu-ray Discs. BD 50 Production Steps BD 25 Production Steps 1 Molding = on 2 Cooling = on 3 Metallization Layer 0 = on 4 Base-Resin = on 5 Pit-Resin = on 6 Pre-Curing = on 7 Wet-Embossing = on 8 Metallization Layer 1 = on 9 Cover-Resin = on 10 Hardcoat-Resin = on 11 Barrier Layer = on 12 Final Inspection = on 1 Molding = on 2 Cooling = on 3 Metallization Layer 0 = on 4 Base-Resin = off 5 Pit-Resin = off 6 Pre-Curing = off 7 Wet-Embossing = off 8 Metallization Layer 1 = off 9 Cover-Resin = on 10 Hardcoat-Resin = on 11 Barrier Layer = on 12 Final Inspection = on

4 page 4 [news Optical Disc] ISSUE 35 MAY 2008 CRYSTALLINE For Mastering of Single and Dual Layer BD With BD becoming the single High Density disc format, focus shifted completely to optimizing the CRYSTALLINE mastering system for Blu-ray Disc. No longer were the efforts divided between the two competing formats. BD Single Layer For 6 months, the BD Single Layer masters have been produced with the CRYSTALLINE well in spec, both at SINGULUS MASTERING and in real production environments in the field. Obviously, further process optimizations are ongoing to maximize the process window, and there is still significant room to further lowering the Jitter, e.g. with sophisticated waveshaping technologies. Once a Jitter of around 5 % for BD Single Layer was achieved, the next challenge became Dual Layer BD, as it is expected that the vast majority over 90 % of the BD titles will be the 50 GB format. BD-ROM 25 BD Dual Layer Layer 0 of a Dual Layer BD disc is replicated in the same manner as a Single Layer disc and is moulded in a 1.1 mm thick substrate. Mastering layer 0 is therefore identical to mastering a Single Layer BD. Layer 1 of the Dual Layer BD disc is, however, replicated through embossing. For mastering the difference lies in the different shrink factor to anticipate for: 0 instead of 0.7 %. The fact that the maximum allowed Jitter for Layer 1 is higher than for Layer 0 (8.5 % instead of 6.5 %) does not mean that mastering is easier. Defining the Industry Standard for BD Stampers Obviously, the mastering process contributes highly to the quality of the BD stamper. However, it has been identified that all phases of the stamper making process are critical and require utmost attention. This includes stamper cleaning, plating, polishing and punching. Each individual process has an influence on the stamper quality and thus on the final replica quality. For these reasons, SINGULUS MASTERING has taken the initiative to gather a task force in which important partner companies are represented. The goal is to define the industry standard for the BD stamper. The result will be a clear definition of the interface between mastering and plating on one side, and replication on the other side. Higher Recording Speeds Another goal is the introduction of higher mastering speeds, increasing the CRYSTALLINE s production capacity. Currently recording takes almost 90 minutes per layer, being the slowest process in the production chain once the title enters the factory. Note that preparing content for mastering does take significantly longer when looking at authoring. SINGULUS MASTERING aims at launching 2R speed for BD by the end of Already from the start of the CRYSTALLINE platform development, the optics, mechanics and electronics have been designed to cope with this speed. The challenge is with the PTM process itself and its thermal behaviour under higher recording speeds. BD-ROM 50, Layer 1

5 ISSUE 35 MAY 2008 [news Optical Disc] 5 page SPACELINE II for all SL & DL DVD The best gets better again! With a market share of more than 65 %, SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES is offering its latest version of the replication line SPACELINE II. This system is capable of producing all Single and Dual Layer DVD (9, 5, 10) formats. Based on the experience of 1,200 systems in the market, the SPACELINE II offers a process cycle time faster than 2.3 sec. The SPACELINE II achieves the most costefficient disc production and highest product quality and yield available in the market, making it the industry benchmark for DVD. The SPACELINE II is available with EMOULD or MoldPro molding machines. With the new MoldPro all-electric molding machine from SINGULUS MOLDING, the SPACELINE II provides the smallest footprint worldwide. Other qualified molding machines may be integrated on request. The SPACELINE II, with many patented original parts (SMART CATHODE, TMD, Spin Cooler, etc.), ensures a high daily production rate for DVD. With its worldwide sales and service network, SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES is able to provide exceptional support together with technological synergies to benefit our customers. SKYLINE II for CD & DVD 5 The Industry Benchmark The SKYLINE II Replication Line from SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES covers the production of CD. With the installation of over 1,900 systems to date, the SKYLINE is the industry benchmark. The upgraded SKYLINE II DUPLEX combines CD and DVD 5. A built-in pushbutton function to switch from CD to DVD 5 and back is standard. This machine achieves the most cost-efficient disc production and highest product quality and yield available in the market. The SKYLINE II is equipped with one molding machine, one SINGULUS V metallizer, one spin-bowl (two for DUPLEX), a UV-curing device and an inspection system for quality assurance of the finished discs. The SINGULUS V is our latest optical disc metallizer and has been part of our product line for several years. The high performance of this metallizer significantly contributes to the increased reliability, maximum uptime and easy maintenance of the SKYLINE II. With many patented original parts, the SKYLINE II ensures a high daily production of CD & DVD 5. With the worldwide sales and service network of SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES, we are able to offer exceptional support and technological synergies to benefit our customers.

6 page 6 [news Optical Disc] ISSUE 35 MAY 2008 STREAMLINE III High Performance Replication System for DVD R The STREAMLINE III is a replication system dedicated to the economical mass production of high performance DVD R. The STREAMLINE III replication line is designed for a dry cycle time of the downstream equipment of less than 2.5 s. A production cycle time of better than 2.8 s can be achieved for 4.7 GB media depending on the dye process and the cycle time of the injection molding machines. Reproducible and stable in operation, the new, fast STREAMLINE III is again a result of our R&D activities in all multiply interacting process areas from mastering via molding and dye technology towards metallization and bonding. The STREAMLINE III is now available with the SPACELINE II finishing module. The new system combines the advantage of an economical designed system with the proven SPACELINE II DVD replication line based on a market base of over 1,100 systems. The final processing of recordable DVDs is performed using a SMART CATHODE sputtering unit and the reliable SPACELINE II bonding module. SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES is well prepared to provide all process know-how necessary to start up the production of recordable DVD media (optional also for DVD 5 and CD).

7 ISSUE 35 MAY 2008 [news Optical Disc] 7 page Main Characteristics _ Downstream cycle time well below 2.8 seconds (Options: 2.50 seconds for DVD 5 with clear top disc and 3.40 seconds for CD) _ Modular, highly integrated design incl. all production steps from cooling, metallizing, edge cleaning, bonding, UV curing to quality inspection _ High productivity, high uptime _ Entire machine including electric rack mounted on a base frame _ Clear structured disc flow, avoiding any mismatch between discs halves _ Automated handling of DVD and DVD R through all production steps _ Minimum space required _ Excellent maintenance and service accessibility _ Machine system components and automation modules proven and representing the state of the art _ Nearly all handling movements are driven by AC-servo-motors _ DVD / DVD R handling by mechanical 3-finger grippers via center hole of disc _ Transportable to the production site with fork lift truck Injection Molding 2 Cooling System 3 Dye Coating Unit 4 Take-out 5 Drying Unit 6 Sputtering Unit 7 Substrate Conditioning 8 Edge Cleaning Stations 9 Transfer Conveyor 10 Bonding Unit 11 UV-Curing Station 12 Final Cooling Conveyor 13 Inline Quality Inspection System

8 page 8 [news Solar Technology] ISSUE 35 MAY 2008 SINGULUS AND STANGL A Strong Team in Solar Technology The capacity of the global forecast for new installations for photovoltaic systems are set to nearly grow five times from 2.6 GW (gigawatt) in 2007 to 13 GW in With the acquisition of 51 % of the shares in the STANGL Semiconductor Equipment AG (STANGL) SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES achieved the direct market entry into the rapidly growing solar market in the summer of STANGL is one of the worldwide leading suppliers for equipment for wet-chemical processes and manufactures machines for the production of silicon as well as thin-film solar cells. STANGL has established customer relationships with all major solar cell producers and is participating in many projects in Europe and Asia. STANGL works as a partner for suppliers for turnkey lines as well as a direct supplier of renowned solar cell producers. SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES itself will present its own vacuum coating machine for the coating of anti-reflective layers in the silicon solar technology in Kahl am Main by the end of In March 2008 SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES partnered up with Q-Cells, the most important solar cell producer worldwide, for the development of this new machine and won the company as a key customer. Q-Cells will significantly contribute its know-how into the development of this machine and put it into

9 ISSUE 35 MAY 2008 [news Solar Technology] 9 TENUIS SILEX Wet Process Equipment for Thin-Film Solar Cells on Glass Wet Process Equipment for Photovoltaic Si-Cells Economic processing of CdS/alternative buffer layers for CIS/CIGS/CIGSSe Solar Cells Economic processing of multi/mono crystalline solar-wafers operation after qualification. SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES machine integration know-how for the automation of CD and DVD production machines is an optimal starting point for the development of highly profitable, fully automated production lines for silicon solar cells. Combined with the equipment from STANGL, SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES will then be able to offer two important machine groups with wet-chemical and vacuum coating processes for a production line for crystalline silicon solar cells. The goal is to further expand the globally leading position for production equipment for crystalline solar cells in the next couple of years. STANGL and SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES will consistently expand the solar activities. Both companies perfectly complement each other in order to be able to offer a broad product range of machines and equipment for the photovoltaics industry in the next couple of years. While STANGL focuses on wet-chemical processes, SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES core competence is physical coating technology and the integration of different processing steps in complete, predominantly automated, production lines. page

10 page 10 [news Nano Deposition Technologies] ISSUE 35 MAY 2008 SINGULUS Nano Deposition Technologies Offers a New Thick Alumina PVD Tool for the Magnetic Storage Industry According to TrendFocus, the Magnetic Storage Industry s market review, over the next five years this market will grow with a CAGR of 12.5 %. The shipment of HGA s (Head Gimbal Assemblies, that carry the heads) grew from 2006 to 2007 by % up to 1,669.6 million units. Along with the transition from GMR to AT/PMR hard disk drive technology new deposition techniques have been developed and are under development. The companies in the field are at present in a decision phase to switch their wafer production from 6 (150 mm) to 8 (200 mm) wafer production to achieve further cost reductions. All these factors result in a strong demand for new and more capable production equipment. To participate in this promising market SINGULUS NDT decided already a year ago to develop and manufacture a completely new deposition tool addressing the deposition of thick alumina films, which is another core technology in the magnetic storage industry. The first of these tools named TADERIS is now in its process test phase. The results achieved so far are very encouraging. In particular the demonstrated high deposition rate results in a much higher throughput in comparison with tools of the competitors. Contact: SINGULUS Nano Deposition Technologies GmbH Dr. Wolfram Maass Hanauer Landstrasse 103 D Kahl, Germany Phone: Fax: info@singulus-ndt.de

11 ISSUE 35 MAY 2008 [news HamaTech APE s MaskTrack Equipment] 11 page MaskTrack Achieves Successful Completion for EUV Mask Blank Cleaning The advanced modular processing platform MaskTrack successfully achieved all critical SEMATECH roadmap milestones for cleaning of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography mask blanks. As a part of SEMATECH s EUV technology program at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany, HamaTech was selected as the key partner for the development of cleaning technology for 30 nm soft defect removal on EUV mask blanks. With the use of HamaTech s MaskTrack system, scientists at SEMATECH not only demonstrated the successful removal of all particles at 30 nm and greater, but also further demonstrated a technical achievement by removing a number of 10 nm defects. Complete removal of 10 nm soft defects is considered to be imperative for the development and implementation of EUV at the 22 nm device node. HamaTech is continuing the partnership with SEMATECH and other industrial and scientific partners on the development of EUV and other critical technology areas such as 193 nm immersion and imprint lithography. MaskTrack Cleaning System HamaTech actually has an installed base of over 30 MaskTrack systems in the field at leading edge maskshops and wafer fabs, the majority being in final cleaning and stripping applications for the 65, 45 and 32 nm technology nodes. HamaTech APE, Sternenfels, Germany, is an established market leader of semiconductor equipment and a wholly owned subsidiary of SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG, Kahl am Main. Highest first pass cleaning yield Zero soft defects 100% Particle Removal Efficiency 0 adders/re-deposition No residual ions (no haze) Removal of pre-existing ions No ions added through cleaning process or environment Pattern integrity (no damage) No pattern damage incl. SRAF Minimum phase/ transmission change Throughput/Versatility Multi-mask processing of different mask types Dynamic process control Mask Buffering Contact: HamaTech APE GmbH & Co. KG Ferdinand-von-Steinbeis Ring 10 D Sternenfels, Germany Phone: Fax: Thomas Gairing Vice President Sales & Marketing Phone: +49 (0) / thomas.gairing@hamatech.de

12 Headquarters SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG Hanauer Landstrasse 103, D Kahl, Germany Phone: Fax: sales@singulus.de Internet: NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS Affiliated Companies Germany: HamaTech APE GmbH & Co. KG Phone: info@hamatech-ape.com SINGULUS Nano Deposition Technologies GmbH Phone.: info@singulus-ndt.de Netherlands: SINGULUS MASTERING B.V. Phone: info@singulus.nl Switzerland: SINGULUS MOLDING AG Phone.: sales@singulus-molding.ch STANGL Semiconductor Equipment AG Phone: sales@stangl.de SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG Subsidiaries A Service Package is Always a Good Idea France SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES France S.A.R.L. Phone: singulus@club-internet.fr Why waiting for a production shut down and running the risk of long lead times for the necessary spare part? Better be prepared with a service package containing especially those parts, which compulsory wear out with use even when they are high quality SINGULUS spare parts. According to customer order patterns, we configured packages which contain all essential fits for: _ SKYLINE and SKYLINE II _ SPACELINE and SPACELINE II _ STREAMLINE and STREAMLINE II _ STREAMLINE III _ BLULINE and BLULINE II Why Order a Service Package? Because of the most obvious advantages: _ Lower overall package price compared to the accumulated individual item prices _ No delay by delivery time _ Minimum system downtimes But there are further, less obvious aspects. The contents of the service packages are based on long experience and consumption data gathered over many years of supplying service to customers worldwide. Save time and money and use the experience we gained for you. Just ask your account manager for your service package or send your request online! Great Britain/ SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES UK LTD. Ireland Phone: brian.walsh@singulusuk.com Italy SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Italia s.r.l. Phone: singulus.italia@fastnet.it Latin America SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Ltda. Latin America Phone: latinamerica@singulus.com.br Singapore Spain Taiwan SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Asia Pacific Phone: singulus@singnet.com.sg SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Iberica Phone: singulus@singulusib.com SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Taiwan Ltd. Phone: sales@singulus.com.tw Packages for other systems on request. USA/Canada SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Inc. Phone: sales@singulus.com Introduction of the Blu-X SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES started a cooperation with Williams Advanced Materials and offers the new Blu-X Target for all DVD formats and Blu-ray disc manufacturing. Blu-X is a patented alloy of Williams Advanced Materials and the latest in its line of Ag alloys for the Optical Media Industry. Blu-X is the most recent Ag alloy product since Williams created SIL-X, the initial alloy that has been used in production for over five years. When using Blu-X, our customers will experience improved electrical conductivity, increased reflectivity, an overall wider process window than other Ag alloys, and favorable environmental stability. Initial comprehensive testing has shown favorable results and a high yield as well as support full launch proceedings. Blu-X will be the standard Ag alloy product in the SINGULUS delivery program. 3.0/ MetaCom Printed in Germany, Technical alterations reserved