Breakthrough for U.S. CVD Equipment Maker; NEC, Leading Japanese Flat Panel Display Maker, Buys $4 Million in Equipment from Watkins-Johnson.SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 30, 1996--Watkins-Johnson Co.'s (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : WJ) Flat Panel Display A thin display screen for computer and TV usage. The first flat panels appeared on laptop computers in the mid-1980s, and the LCD technology became the standard. Stand-alone LCD screens became available for desktop computers in the mid-1990s and exceeded sales of CRTs for the first time Operations has shipped and installed $4 million in atmospheric-pressure chemical-vapor-deposition (APCVD APCVD Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition ) equipment for building flat-panel display (FPD (1) (Flat Panel Display) See LCD, plasma display, EL display, FED and flat panel display. (2) (Field Programmable Device) An umbrella term for all chips that can be programmed by the customer including SPLDs, CPLDs and FPGAs. See PLD. ) devices to NEC (NEC Corporation, Tokyo, www.nec.com, www.necus.com) An electronics conglomerate known in the U.S. for its monitors. In Japan, it had the lion's share of the PC market until the late 1990s (see PC 98). NEC was founded in Tokyo in 1899 as Nippon Electric Company, Ltd. (Nippon Electronics Corp.), a world leader in FPD manufacturing. "NEC will use two WJ-16CVD-250 systems to deposit silicon dioxide (SiO2) for interlayer Noun 1. interlayer - a layer placed between other layers layer, bed - single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance; "slices of hard-boiled egg on a bed of spinach" dielectrics during the active-matrix liquid-crystal display (AMLCD (Active Matrix LCD) See active matrix. ) manufacturing process. The first system is installed at Kagoshima, where they have used our product since late 1994, initially in R&D evaluation, pilot production, and finally full production," said WJ's Peter Hauser, director of FPD marketing and global operations. "In addition to finalizing this purchase, NEC ordered a second system based on the strength of their experience at Kagoshima," he said. "WJ's APCVD process, with lower defect density, improved yield in our R&D and production environments," said Dr. Kuniyuki Hamano, chief manager of NEC's Kagoshima LCD plant. "Additionally, the lower cost of ownership of dielectrics deposited with this process directly reduces production costs." Watkins-Johnson Co. is a high technology corporation specializing in semiconductor manufacturing equipment and electronic products for telecommunications and defense applications. Sales in 1995 exceeded $387 million. The company has corporate headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif. The Semiconductor Equipment Group, in Scotts Valley, is the worldwide technical leader in atmospheric-pressure chemical-vapor-deposition (APCVD) systems for the semiconductor industry. The Group is a major growth element of Watkins-Johnson and is dedicated to continued expansion through aggressive investment in research and development to produce advanced premetal and intermetal dielectric deposition technology to meet global demand. CONTACT: Watkins-Johnson Co. Peter Hauser, 408/439-6294 (technology) Stephen B. Witmer, 415/813-2417 (media) or Brough Communications Bruce A. Brough, 408/430-0100 bruce@brough.com |
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