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EMCO Flow Systems Granted Patent for the Mach One™ Mass Flow Controller for the Semiconductor Industry

Longmont, Colo., June 28, 2001--EMCO Flow Systems, an Advanced Energy (AE) company (Nasdaq: AEIS), has been granted a U.S. patent on its Mach One™ mass flow controller (MFC), designed specifically for the semiconductor industry. The Mach One MFC synergistically combines sonic nozzle technology with an advanced digital control valve to significantly improve mass flow control performance, while substantially reducing product cost of ownership. Its elegantly simple, flow-through design eliminates flow bypass accuracy errors, slow response times and clogging problems associated with conventional thermal-based MFCs. 

“The revolutionary Mach One technology resolves several problems inherent in traditional feedback control MFC schemes. These problems include slow settling time, as well as overshooting or undershooting the setpoint,” said Kaveh Zarkar, EMCO’s vice president of semiconductor flow products. “Our patented feed-forward and sonic nozzle flow control design eliminates these problems. The unique design improves overall tool effectiveness by providing design simplicity, thus increasing flow control technology reliability. The Mach One MFC has been in continual evaluation at a major fab for the past two years-with great success. We’re pleased to be able to provide our customers with best-of-breed performance-one of EMCO’s and AE’s core objectives.”

The Mach One MFC provides competitive benefits for several semiconductor applications. It offers extremely fast delivery speed and time-to-setpoint for atomic layer CVD. For HDP-CVD, etch, and tungsten CVD, the Mach One MFC provides precise flow-rate control and a wide dynamic range. For ion implant and safe delivery system (SDS) applications that require very low inlet pressure, the Mach One MFC offers precise operation to maximize cylinder-content usage.

The Mach One MFC offers:

• High accuracy to ±0.5% of reading Pressure-based flow control
• Insensitivity to inlet pressure variation and cross-talk
• Accurate flow control with very low inlet pressures
• Fast settling time of < 250 microseconds
• Simple mechanical construction
• Pressure and temperature measurement capability
• Increased long-term accuracy and stability
• Extended time between calibrations
• Significantly reduced inventory and setup time, due to a 100:1 turn-down ratio
• Reduced delivery system size, due to a wide dynamic range of operation
• Improved safety

Copies of the brochure describing the Mach One MFC are available on AE’s website at www.advanced-energy.com or by sending a request via e-mail to sales.support@ aei.com.

About Advanced Energy
Advanced Energy is a global leader in the development, marketing and support of technology solutions that are central in the manufacture of semiconductors, data storage products and flat panel displays. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and end-users around the world depend on AE products when plasma-based technology plays a vital role in their manufacturing process. AE offers a comprehensive suite of products for vacuum process systems, including power management, temperature sensing, dynamic temperature control, gas delivery management, process monitoring and machine control tools, ion-beam sources, and plasma abatement technologies. AE technology solutions are sold and supported globally by direct offices, representatives and distributors. Founded in 1981, AE is a publicly held company traded on Nasdaq under the symbol AEIS. AE’s URL is www.advanced-energy.com.