Court Decision Will Not Affect Axcelis Technologies' Position as World Leader in Ion Implant Technology.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers BEVERLY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 2, 2003 Axcelis Technologies Axcelis Technologies, Inc. NASDAQ: ACLS engages in the design, manufacture, and servicing of capital equipment for the semiconductor manufacturing industry worldwide. Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : ACLS ACLS abbr. advanced cardiac life support ), worldwide leader in ion implantation technology, said an adverse decision today in its patent infringement patent infringement n. the manufacture and/or use of an invention or improvement for which someone else owns a patent issued by the government, without obtaining permission of the owner of the patent by contract, license or waiver. suit against Applied Materials in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The first court session was held in Boston in 1789. is expected to have no affect on Axcelis' position in the $650 million global market for ion implant technology. Mary Puma, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "The jury concluded that Applied's 'Swift' implanter was designed in a way which did not infringe our patent. Although we disagree with that conclusion, we believe design limitations imposed on the 'Swift' as a result of our patent have contributed to its failure to gain market acceptance." According to the most recent industry figures from Gartner Dataquest, Applied Materials failed to sell a single 'Swift' machine in 2002, while Axcelis and its joint venture partner Sumitomo Eaton Nova (SEN) led the ion implantation industry with 37% market share in 2002, up from 33% in 2001 and continued to lead in the high energy implant segment with 82% market share where the 'Swift' machine competed. Axcelis has held the number one share position in the global ion implant market in six of the past eight years. Ms. Puma added, "We continue to believe in the merit of our case and the strength of our legal position should we choose to pursue an appeal. We will begin evaluating that possibility immediately, and will make a decision on whether to proceed in due course. In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , we are very pleased with the momentum we are building in our business and remain focused on delivering innovative new products to our customers and creating value for our shareholders." Axcelis filed its suit against Applied Materials in January 2001. The suit charged that Applied's then recently introduced 'Swift' machine infringes an Axcelis patent for ion implantation equipment using radio frequency linear accelerator linear accelerator: see particle accelerator. linear accelerator or linac Type of particle accelerator that imparts a series of relatively small increases in energy to subatomic particles as they pass through a sequence of ("rf LINAC lin·ac n. See linear accelerator. [lin(ear) ac(celerator).] linac Short for linear accelerator. Noun 1. ") technology. Ion implantation equipment is used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. Axcelis' ion implantation equipment using rf LINAC technology is the overwhelmingly preferred solution for high energy ion implantation and, increasingly, the preferred solution for many medium current applications. About Axcelis Technologies, Inc. Axcelis Technologies, Inc., headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, provides innovative, high-productivity solutions for the semiconductor industry. Axcelis is dedicated to developing enabling process applications through the design, manufacture and complete life cycle support of ion implantation, rapid thermal processing Rapid Thermal Processing (or RTP) refers to a semiconductor manufacturing process which heats silicon wafers to high temperatures (up to 1200 C or greater) on a timescale of several seconds or less. , and cleaning and curing systems. Axcelis Technologies has key technology centers in Beverly, Massachusetts, and Rockville, Maryland as well as in Toyo, Japan through its joint venture, SEN. The company's Internet address is: www.axcelis.com. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion