PORTLAND, Ore. — Semilab Co. Ltd. (Budapest, Hungary) has acquired two Massachusetts-based metrology companies, Advanced Metrology Systems (AMS) and QC Solutions.
The combined U.S. operations will be called Semilab AMS (Burlington, Mass.) and will be headed by the former AMS CEO Christopher Moore.
"We are doing what you are supposed to do in an economic downturn, which is invest in the future," said Moore. "By joining with Semilab, we get critical mass at a time when critical mass has become very important."
Last year, Semilab acquired French metrology equipment specialist Sopra SA and metrology specialist SSM Inc. (Pittsburgh). With the acquisition of AMS and QC Solutions, Semilabs said it hopes to increase its presence among larger vendors.
"One of the reasons that Semilab acquired AMS is that we are one of the few small companies that has been successful in tier-one fabs," said Moore. "Semilab has a number of in-house technologies that could be solving problems that the tier-one fabs are facing today. And QC Solutions adds epitaxial layer measurement, implant and other monitoring systems."
Semilabs also specializes in metrology for the solar photovoltaic industry, where careful characterization of materials can reduce costs and increase yields.
Semilab AMS will specialize in metrology platforms for characterizing 3-D etched structures, high aspect ratio features, metal film thickness and online mapping of low-k dielectrics. It also will offer non-contact, non-destructive measuring of electrical properties in epitaxial and implanted silicon wafers.
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