SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Looking to become a one-stop shop of ion-implantation tools, Applied Materials Inc. here today entered a new market in this arena by announcing a combination medium-current/high-energy system for use in 200- and 300-mm wafer fabs.

Targeted for high-volume, 0.13-micron (and below) chip production applications, the new Swift line of ion-implantation tools from Applied promises to boost the overall performance and operating characteristics of transistors in traditional CMOS-based devices, such as DRAMs, logic ICs, microprocessors, and others.

With the new Swift product, the company now offers a one-two punch for chip makers, according to Applied Materials managers. The Swift product also propels Applied into two new and competitive segments in the booming ion-implant equipment market: medium-current andhigh-energy. For years, the company has sold a line of systems that addresses the two other major segments in this particular equipment business: low-energy and high-current.

As a result, Applied can now address every major segment--and production step-in the ion-implantation process for both 200- and 300-mm fabs, said Babak Adibi, senior director and global product manager for the Implant Division at the Santa Clara-based company.

The Swift product handles the parametric doping functions in a device, while the company's existing low-energy/high-current machine attacks the conductivity portions of the substrate, Adibi said.

"What we've done is to simplify the ion-implanter equipment market," Adibi said in an interview with SBN. "We have minimized the costs for our customers by enabling them to buy less equipment in their fabs. We are also allowing them to run their fabs more efficiently."

Today, chip makers must procure several types of systems from competitive vendors to address the four main segments in the ion-implantation market. For instance, in a 0.18-micron production fab running about 3,000 wafers a week, a chip maker could buy as many as eight systems from three different vendors, according to Applied.

By combining the Swift line of systems with Applied's combination low-energy/high-current machine, dubbed Quantum, the company claims it can reduce the number of systems in this fab environment from eight to six. This represents a total cost savings from 25-to-45% in terms of capital expenditures for chip makers, the company said.

Applied will sell its Quantum and Swift systems separately or in tandem to chip makers. But the company faces several new and major challenges in the ion-implantation equipment market, especially in the combination medium-current/high-energy segments, analysts said. In these markets, the company will compete against several major vendors-including Axcelis Technologies Inc., Varian Inc., and others-many of which have huge installed bases in the worldwide business.

Applied claims it will give Axcelis, Varian, and others a run for their money. In fact, Applied already claims to have a 50% share of the low-energy/high-current market. "In the last five to seven years, we have gained significant market share in the low-end and high-current markets at the expense of our competitors," Adibi said. "In fact, the ion-implanter market has grown 200% in the last two years, but Applied has grown 300% in this market," he added.

In total, the worldwide ion-implanter equipment market grew from $750 million in 1998 to somewhere between $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion in 2000, according to Applied. The low-energy/high-current market represents 40% of the overall ion-implanter equipment business, while the medium-current/high-energy segment makes up the remaining 60%.

To attack the medium-current/high-energy market, Applied will offer Swift, a high-throughput system that operates in the 10- to 1700-KeV range. Capable of handling 200 to 250 wafers per hour, Swift features the company's WhisperScan technology.

Developed in conjunction with Orion Equipment Inc., WhisperScan is an isocentric linear wafer scanner that ensures accurate doping across the entire wafer. This implant-angle control mechanism utilizes an air-bearing system, which allows for a smooth non-contact scanning motion, with a total angle variation of less than 0.5 degrees.

The machine also features an energy accuracy of less than 1%--with no contamination. Dose uniformity and repeatability is less than 0.5%.

The Swift machine is now available, but Applied declined to comment on pricing. A typical ion-implanter tool in the market sells from $2 million to $5 million.