ASML Joins Mask Pattern Biz

Electronic News, July 2, 2001 by Jeff Chappell

Now that it has the Silicon Valley Group merger under its belt, ASML has turned to Taby, Sweden-based toolmaker Micronic Laser Systems AB and infused the company with a $30 million loan.

The three-year loan is interest free and convertible into a million shares of Micronic stock upon ASML's request, which would give ASML a 5 percent ownership of Micronic.

For Micronic, not only is it positive recognition of its technology, but the cash will help it to continue its rollout of its sub-0.18-micron Sigma photomask exposure tool during the current downturn.

Micronic only relatively recently has begun looking beyond the flat-panel display (FPD) industry to eye the semiconductor business. Traditionally it has served mostly Japanese FPD makers and only recently began to get involved in the photomask exposure equipment market there.

But the Swedish company faces an uphill battle in the United States and other markets dominated by Applied Materials Inc.'s Etec, which has a large portfolio of mask generation intellectual property. But Micronic's involvement with ASML (nasdaq: ASML) could provide it with a technological shortcut for next-generation mask pattern tools utilizing technology developed for 193-nanmometer and 157nm lithography tools.

"There are a number of areas or opportunities to use the technology," said Sven Lofquist, Micronic's chief executive officer. The two companies provide a good blend of complementary technology and financial might, he added.

"We are also going to explore the opportunities for direct-write technology," Lofquist said. Micronic has developed what it calls spatial light modulator (SLM) technology in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute in Dresden, Germany. Micronic has suggested SLM technology may be useful to developing future direct-write photomask exposure technology. In the meantime, it has incorporated SLM into its Sigma tool, which recently caught the eye of photomask maker DuPont Photomasks Inc. (DPI). Last fall, Round Rock, Texas-based DPI (nasdaq: DPMI) ordered several pattern generators for production use, including a Sigma tool, citing Micronic's technology and the tools' effectiveness.

For Veldhoven, Netherlands-based ASML, it's not its first foray into the reticle realm, having acquired its optical proximity correction tool subsidiary, ASML Masktools, in 1999.

"Micronic provides competencies in critical mask technology, and this alliance is a natural extension for ASML in its traditional lithography market. We also see a number of other synergies in our respective product development and marketing efforts," Doug Dunn, CEO of ASML, said in a statement.

While those marketing efforts may continue to help Micronic penetrate U.S. chipmakers, the company's involvement in Japan may help ASML penetrate Japanese markets, where Nikon Corp. and Canon Inc. dominate lithography tools.