Applied Materials buys Schlumberger's e-beam wafer inspection business

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--The divestiture of Schlumberger Ltd.'s semiconductor test and measurement subsidiary continued today with Applied Materials Inc. announcing it had acquired the company's electron-beam wafer inspection business for an undisclosed amount of cash.

The transaction gives Santa Clara-based Applied Materials additional e-beam technology for its push into wafer inspection and review systems, while continuing Schlumberger's plans to eventually leave the semiconductor equipment and test systems business. In February, Paris-based Schlumberger told shareholders that it was attempting to divest those businesses in order to focus more attention on core activities in oil field services, smart cards, and other sectors.

"With its strong distribution channel, broad range of complementary technologies, and well-respected corporate and engineering infrastructure, Applied Materials is the optimal company to acquire the Schlumberger Yield Enhancement Systems group," said Ashok Belani, president, Schlumberger Semiconductor Solutions in San Jose. "Applied Materials has the vision and the resources to take the Odyssey technology to the next level, to support our customers globally and to provide the best environment for our employees to continue to grow professionally."

Included in Applied's purchase is Schlumberger's Odyssey 300 system, which uses proprietary e-beam technology to identify elusive, "yield-killing" defects in advanced semiconductor devices. The Odyssey 300 system's e-beam voltage contrast technology enables it to find both surface and sub-surface defects (electrical, particle and pattern) such as voids in copper interconnect structures, said Applied, which believes the tool will complement optical inspection methods for yield improvements in process below 100-nm (0.10-micron) feature sizes.

"We believe the Odyssey system's strong imaging technology will provide our customers with a distinct advantage over competitive e-beam inspection technologies," said Dr. Sass Somekh, executive vice president and member of the Office of the President of Applied Materials. "This acquisition enhances our 'Total Solutions' approach to providing customers with the capabilities needed to increase fab yield and productivity. And by combining the Odyssey system with Applied Materials' existing line of inspection and review tools and defect reduction techniques, we can offer customers a more powerful and comprehensive methodical defect reduction program."

Schlumberger's Yield Enhancement Systems group was launched in 1996. Applied's purchase of the group comes four months after Schlumberger announced the sale of a division that makes IC thermal conditioning systems, pick-and-place handlers and other automated systems to Cohu Inc. for $14.2 million in cash (see July 17 story). The Schlumberger Semiconductor Solutions subsidiary is also made up of other divisions offering wafer probers, telecommunications testers, automatic test equipment (ATE), verification systems, and yield enhancement tools.