Listen to this articleConax Technologies specializes in making compression seal fittings, temperature sensors and custom engineered solutions for the advanced challenges. The people at Conax bring together the ideal mix of veteran experience and knowledge combined with new ideas and creative thinking. Below is our recent interview with Mike Ferraro, Business Unit Manager of Conax Technologies:
Q: Mike, tell us something more about Conax Technologies and your history?
A: Conax Technologies is a leader in the design and manufacture of temperature sensors and compression seal fittings for a broad range of industries and applications worldwide. For over 60 years, our customers have relied our experience and technical expertise to provide both standard products and one-of-a-kind solutions. We know that innovative ideas come from collaboration. By taking the time to understand our customers’ unique challenges, we develop the ideal solutions that help them—and their customers—succeed. Our commitment to providing quality, innovative products on time and at a competitive cost continue to make us an indispensable partner for every customer we serve.
Q: You’ve recently introduced EtchDefender™; could you tell us something more?
A: EtchDefender™ is a coating developed by Conax which is applied to the quartz sheath of thermocouples used inside the ASM Epsilon® Epitaxial Reactor. Thermocouple life is the typical limiting factor for the Epsilon® tool that results in down-time for both planned and unplanned maintenance. With EtchDefender™ coated thermocouples—for the first time ever—we are able to allow Epsilon® tool users to run their tools continuously until some other item causes the tool to come down for maintenance.
First, longer-life thermocouples mean that fewer thermocouples need to be purchased over the course of the year, so this lowers annual expenditures for thermocouples. Secondly, the need to conduct maintenance on the reactors solely to replace failed thermocouples is eliminated. This saves on the maintenance budget. Thirdly, since the reactor is not down for thermocouple replacement, it is on-line and producing more wafers per tool per year. Finally, since the reactor chamber does not need to be opened to replace thermocouples, this eliminates the potential for particle contamination of the wafers due to maintenance activities; and, in some cases, eliminates prolonged purge cycles needed prior to returning the tool to production as required in some process recipes.
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Q: What advantage does EtchDefender™ have over its competition?
There is no other product on the market that can offer virtually indefinite life between chamber maintenance cycles like EtchDefender™.
Q: What are your plans for next six months?
A: Following a 3-year series of tests at a leading wafer fab, EtchDefender™ was released to the market on February 6, 2017. This coated thermocouple has been extensively tested and qualified at this one location and will begin to be used in production. Over the next six months we plan to run evaluations and qualifications at other fabs in the United States, Europe and Asia, allowing these other fabs to realize the reduction in the cost-of-ownership of their tools too. The semiconductor industry is a very competitive industry; and, as a supplier to fabs, we look for ways to help our customers become more successful. To the extent that our customers’ succeed, Conax succeeds.
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Q: What’s the best thing about Conax Technologies that people might not know about?
A: The people at Conax bring together the ideal mix of veteran experience and knowledge combined with new ideas and creative thinking. We understand that innovative ideas come from collaboration. So when we come together to address a particular challenge for our clients, we’re able to draw on a depth of experience and a wealth of fresh ideas that few other companies can match. It’s our ability to achieve cutting edge solutions that make us an indispensable partner to every customer we serve.
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