TRIKON FOUNDER, 2 DIRECTORS RESIGN; BRITISH CLEARED TO RULE CHIP EQUIPMENT FIRM.

Byline: Ben Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer

Trikon Technologies Inc. founder and CEO Gregg Campbell resigned late Monday along with two other board members, clearing the way for British control of the semiconductor equipment manufacturer.

The resignations came after months of poor share price performance, during which Chatsworth-based Trikon fell from a high of $16.75 a year ago to less than $3 in recent weeks. Trikon closed Tuesday at a 52-week low of $2.34 on news of the departures.

In November 1996, Trikon purchased the larger Newport, Wales-based Electrotech Ltd. for $86 million in cash and stock. Electrotech specialized in the deposition half of computer chip manufacturing, in which thin layers of metal and insulation are laid onto silicon wafers. Trikon's specialty was the etching equipment that then cut grooves into the layers to create computer circuits.

But with the combined company's poor sales performance since the acquisition, and reported cultural differences between Trikon and Electrotech management, Campbell came under pressure from his board of directors to jettison the etching division and concentrate on Electrotech's deposition technology.

The company effectively did that last week when it licensed the rights to its etching technology to industry leader Applied Materials Inc. for $30 million. With the larger Applied Materials now able to market essentially the same technology, Trikon is effectively locked out of the etching market.

Applied Materials was rumored to have made an offer to buy all of Trikon last year for roughly $9 a share in an effort to get its hands on Trikon's etching know-how. Because Trikon was trading at roughly $12 a share at the time, however, company officials reportedly snubbed the offer.

``But (Applied Materials) got what they wanted in the end, and for less,'' said an industry insider who requested anonymity.

Following Campbell's resignation late Monday, Trikon Chairman and Electrotech founder Chris Dobson was named to replace him as CEO. Dobson immediately moved the company headquarters to Wales. It was unclear Tuesday whether the Chatsworth facility, which employs 73 of Trikon's staff of 480, will remain open.

Board members and Trikon veterans John Rollwagen and Hiroyuki Mizuno also resigned from the four-member board, leaving it dominated by former Electrotech personnel.

Campbell has been hired by Lam Research Corp., another semiconductor equipment firm, to oversee its etching department.

``Trikon is now a U.K.-headquartered company selling deposition equipment,'' said company spokesman Fred Reynolds.