CHAD
Industries Develops Custom Reticle Handler
Corning
Tropel Selects CHAD as Automation Supplier for the Tropel® UltraFlat™ Automated
Photomask Measurement Tool
January
'09, ANAHEIM, CA - CHAD Industries announced
today that it has been working closely with the Metrology
Instruments group at Corning Tropel Corporation as an automation
supplier for the Tropel® UltraFlat™ Photomask
Form Measurement System.
CHAD designed a flexible 6-axis robot workcell to manage the
photomask loading for the automated UltraFlat tool. Two workcell
configurations have been completed, with plans for additional
options. The workcell design and application required additional
consideration due to the precision and tolerance requirements
of the photomask materials, as well as the cleanliness requirements
for the measurement process.
Beyond the technical aspects of this project, the customer
required the first production machine to be designed and delivered
within a very tight time frame. The development required concurrent
engineering by CHAD Industries and Corning Tropel to meet the
aggressive schedule.
“Corning Tropel came to us with a very specific need
and timeline requirement in order to meet their customer expectations.
We immediately engaged Corning Tropel’s design group
and provided a design proposal in a matter of weeks,” explained
Scott Klimczak, President of CHAD Industries. “This is
another example of CHAD Industries' ability to quickly react
to our customer needs adapting our experience and knowledge
to create a new Semiconductor platform for our customer.”
The Automated Tropel UltraFlat System is one of several configurations
available to the high-end photomask industry. This option meets
a very specific market requirement from the mask substrate
and coated blank suppliers. These products are produced and
measured in high volume to meet mask shop needs for a variety
of next-generation lithography applications. The robotic workcell
option from CHAD provides Corning Tropel UltraFlat customers
with the flexibility and throughput they require.
“Successful integration of robotic handling equipment
into our existing metrology system required more than a simple
vendor-customer relationship. The collaboration between CHAD
Industries and Corning Tropel was vital to the success of this
project. Their engineering team had a great deal of experience
integrating robots into a wide range of applications. They
helped us select the best solution, provided an excellent design
and product, all within our aggressive schedule,” said
Tom Dunn, Engineering Manager at Corning Tropel.
CHAD Industries (www.chadindustries.net) designs, manufactures
and markets automated wafer handling solutions and is the leading
manufacturer of non-standard wafer handling solutions to the
semiconductor industry.
Corning Incorporated (www.corning.com) is a diversified technology
company that concentrates its efforts on high-impact growth
opportunities. Corning combines its expertise in specialty
glass, ceramic materials, polymers and the manipulation of
the properties of light, with strong process and manufacturing
capabilities to develop, engineer and commercialize significant
innovative products for the telecommunications, flat panel
display, environmental, semiconductor, and life sciences industries.
For more information on this or any of CHAD's assembly solutions,
please contact CHAD Industries at:
1565 S. Sinclair Street, Anaheim, CA 92806, USA
Tel (714) 938-0080
Fax (714) 938-0630.
Web http://www.chadindustries.net
For more information on Corning Tropel UltraFlat Photomask
inspection systems, visit the Corning Tropel Metrology Instruments
website at http://www.corning.com/metrology or contact Jeff
Grissom, Metrology Sales Manager, at 585-388-3579.
