AGS Beats Downturn

AGS Plasma Systems, Inc.

NEWS RELEASE

September 30, 2009

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kathi Palmore, 408-432-9799

- AGS PLASMA BEATS DOWNTURN AND BOOKS ANOTHER TWO SYSTEM ORDER

San Jose, California – In spite of the hard economic times the world is going through, maverick plasma systems company, AGS Plasma, has announced that it has received two orders for advanced MPS-150-RIE plasma etch tools for use at University of Texas, Denton. AGSP president and CEO, Allen Guastavino, said, “UNT has placed their faith in us that we can deliver a suite of plasma etch tools that they can use in the new clean room at Discovery Park.” The MPS-150 platform is particularly well suited to needs of today’s research facility. It was targeted to address the diverse requirements of R&D and can accommodate 2 inch to 150 mm wafers sizes with ease. Originally designed for the compound semiconductor market, the MPS-150 series of plasma etch and deposition tools have excited educational and commercial users alike.

Return to Index

Carbon Nanotechnology Order

AGS Plasma Systems, Inc.

NEWS RELEASE

March 12, 2009

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kathi Palmore, 408-432-9799

- AGS PLASMA BOOKS NEW CARBON NANOTECHNOLGY SYSTEM ORDER

San Jose, California –

AGS Plasma announced that it has received an order for an advanced MPS-150-ICP plasma deposition tool for use in carbon nanotechnology research. A Biotech firm has been working with AGSP for the last year to develop the new technology required to combine plasma and chemical vapor deposition at very high temperatures necessary for the deposition of nanotubes, nanosheets, and graphene. AGSP president and CEO, Allen Guastavino, said, “This is part of our five year plan to be a leader in delivering solutions to the nanotechnology industry. We are excited to be in on the ground floor of commercializing products in this new and growing market.”

Return to Index

University Research Partnerships

AGS Plasma Systems, Inc.

NEWS RELEASE

Aug 21, 2009

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kathi Palmore, 408-432-9799

- PLASMA COMPANY PARTNERS WITH UNIVERSITIES TO LEVERAGE R&D OPTIONS

San Jose, California – Plasma etch and deposition innovator, AGS Plasma Systems, Inc. in San Jose, California, announced today that it has added one more jewel in their crown of prestigious strategic university R&D partners. “California Polytechnic Institute in San Luis Obispo has brought one of our new silicon MEMS etch systems online today to add to their growing laboratory of real world tools for training the next generation of materials scientists” According to AGSP president Allen Guastavino.

Dr. Richard Savage of Cal Poly said, “Our partnership with AGS Plasma Systems has enabled our students to explore plasma etching of silicon and silicon dioxide for electrostatic actuators and micro fluidic chips. We have also utilized the RIE system for enhancing the surface bonding characteristics of PDMS through oxygen plasma treatments. This versatile RIE system also gives students a chance to more fully understand the principles behind plasma etching and the parameters that impact the removal of thin films.”

Director of Sales, Frank Lowry, added, “We continue to foster relationships at research labs and universities. AGS Plasma recently sold a MPS-200-RIE to Cal Poly for use in their MEMS materials research lab as a deep Silicon etch tool.” AGSP also continues to work with a variety of universities and in industrial partnerships to develop new applications for plasma technology.

Return to Index

Another OEM Module Customer

AGS Plasma Systems, Inc.

NEWS RELEASE

December 15, 2008

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kathi Palmore, 408-432-9799

- AGS PLASMA ADDS YET ANOTHER OEM CUSTOMER FOR THEIR PLASMA MODULES

San Jose, California – In a breaking story, AGS Plasma revealed that they have signed with another major semiconductor tool supplier to provide OEM versions of their MPS-300-RIE etch and Degas modules. President & CEO, Allen Guastavino said, “This is our second OEM customer for this part of our new business model of delivering turn-key plasma module solutions at very competitive prices. Buying our mature IP facilitates rapid deployment at minimal investment and risk for any OEM that desires to add plasma processing to their portfolio.” AGSP announced that they have already received a follow-on order for the OEM modules from this new customer.

Production manager, Ed Marrazzo added “one of the key things we add to the value of our OEM products is a mature design that is easy to maintain and results in virtually no maintenance and unparalleled uptime.” This capability is highly desirable to the OEM customer since it minimizes their support costs and thus reduces their end user’s cost of ownership.

Return to Index

Environmental News

AGS Plasma Systems, Inc.

NEWS RELEASE

Jul 1, 2008

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kathi Palmore, 408-432-9799

- AGS PLASMA FIRST PLASMA COMPANY TO GO COMPLETELY GREEN

San Jose, California - Vincent Lanas, AGSP Facilities Coordinator, announced today that AGS Plasma has adopted a Zero Carbon Emissions plan in addition to the company’s ongoing corporate policy of good environmental stewardship. “AGSP has always reduced, reused, and recycled. In 2007 we began an effort to reduce our power usage and we have gained a savings of between 18-29 percent energy savings per month,” Lanas Said. He added that AGSP has implemented a program that renders the company carbon neutral as of July 1, 2008.

Return to Index

New OEM Customers

AGS Plasma Systems, Inc.

NEWS RELEASE

June 5, 20005

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kathi Palmore, 408-432-9799

- AGS PLASMA BRANCHES OUT TO DELIVER OEM PLASMA MODULES TO BIG CAPEX COMPANIES

San Jose, California – In a bold move, California’s AGS Plasma Systems, Inc. has announced today that they have inked a deal with the venerable semiconductor capital equipment company, Veeco Instruments, to provide plasma etch modules for their PVD systems used in the data storage market. New Director of Sales, Frank Lowry, said in the announcement that “this represents a big design win for AGSP. We have been selected as an outsource provider to Veeco and the modules designed by AGS will be built right here in the USA.”

Return to Index

AGS Books Order for HBT's

AGS Plasma Systems, Inc.

NEWS RELEASE

Mar 25, 2001

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kathi Palmore, 408-432-9799

- AGS PLASMA GRABS 300 mm ORDER FOR HBT'S

San Jose, California - AGS Plasma announced today that a major optoelectronics manufacturer has placed a follow on order for their System 1700-LoadLock (tm) RIE etching tools. In a major deal for the capital equipment company, AGS president, Allen Guastavino, confirmed that they are gearing up for more expansion. "We are contrarian. When downturns hit, users come to us for high-performance plasma solutions at a reasonable price," said Guastavino.

Return to Index

AGS Follow-on Order

AG Services

NEWS RELEASE

Mar 10, 2000

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kathi Palmore, 408-432-9799

- A.G.SERVICES GETS 300 mm METAL ETCH FOLLOW ON ORDER

San Jose, California - It was revealed today that a major optoelectronics manufacturer has placed a follow on order for System 1700-LoadLock (tm) RIE etching tools from A.G.Services. In a major deal for the capital equipment company, AGS president, Allen Guastavino, confirmed that they are gearing up for more expansion. "We've already begun to add to our workforce and we have just moved into larger manufacturing facilities,” said Guastavino.

Return to Index

AGS/TFE Joint Venture Ends

AG Services

NEWS RELEASE

April 10, 1999

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kathi Palmore, 408-432-9799

- A.G.SERVICES ENDS JOINT VENTURE WITH THIN FILM ENGINEERING

San Jose, California - In an announcement today, A.G.Services has ended a four year long joint manufacturing venture with Thin Film Engineering, Inc. also of San Jose. AGS president, Allen Guastavino, said "We have come a long way together but our business plans are now taking us both into new directions."

AGS had contracted with TFE to manufacture AGS plasma systems under their name in 1994. Since then, AGS has designed a series of technological developments that have enhanced the original plasma system designs. During the recent semiconductor downturn, TFE sputter systems business has increased and the resources were moved from plasma to sputter to support this growth. At this point, the two companies will spin off to better address each of their own areas of expertise. According to Guastavino, "This restructuring will give both our companies the focus we need to address our markets more effectively. We both have great opportunities that can better be realized by dissolving the manufacturing venture."

Since the systems were contracted by AGS, AGS will retain all designs and intellectual property. In addition, the responsibility for after sales service and support is retained by AGS per the original agreement with TFE. AGS is continuing the development of their APC-1000(tm) system controller that uses MS-Visual Basic(r) to manufacture semiconductor devices. AGS system's utilize the APC-1000 MS-Windows(r) GUI based controller for ease of use, simplified operator training, and shortened MTTR.

Return to Index

TFE Books Advanced Systems Order

Thin Film Engineering

NEWS RELEASE

May 1, 1996

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kathi Palmore, 408-432-9799

- THIN FILM ENGINEERING GRABS 300 mm ADVANCED METAL ETCHING SYSTEM ORDER

Sunnyvale, California - News leaked out that a major optoelectronics manufacturer has placed an order for a System 1700-LoadLock (tm) RIE etching system with a multi-system follow on order promised. In a major deal for the upstart capital equipment company, president, Dean Smith, confirmed that they are gearing up for expansion in the next few months. "We've already started adding to our production and service workforce and we will be looking for larger manufacturing facilities soon," said Smith. He added that the plasma systems were adding an exciting new revenue stream for the California based company.

TFE also manufactures the TFE-4450xd (tm), a high reliability batch sputter and PVD system based on the prolific Perkin-Elmer 4400 Delta cathode design. Customer's are increasingly attracted to TFE because all of TFE's systems utilize their APC-1000(tm) MS-Windows GUI based controller for ease of use, simplified operator training, and shortened MTTR.

Sales Manager, Allen Guastavino, added "more and more, our customers are having to look to partners who can provide cost-effective process equipment and support solutions to meet their requirements. Since TFE offers advanced etch, CVD, and PVD systems or remanufactured quality preowned equipment to meet any departments budget. We all are trying to do more with less, and the System 1700 or 4450xd are high performance systems that won't break the bank - so, you can spend less and still do more."

Thin Film Engineering is a privately owned company that was founded in 1989 by former service people to address the increased need for etch, CVD, and PVD end-users for quality support and integrity.

Return to Index

RIE delivered in just 90 Days

Thin Film Engineering

NEWS RELEASE

June 10, 1994

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kathi Palmore, 408-432-9799

- THIN FILM ENGINEERING BEATS TREND AND DELIVERS SYSTEM IN RECORD 90 DAYS

Sunnyvale, California - Dean Smith, President of Thin Film Engineering, Incorporated of Sunnyvale California was pleased to announce today that they have received factory acceptance of their first new System 1700-RIE(tm) advanced plasma etcher model. "The customer is ready to take delivery and we are just at the 90 days as promised," said Smith.

While the rest of the industry is suffering from long lead times, TFE was able to put together an excellent team of vendors and suppliers who all did their part in achieving the on-time delivery of the RIE system. According to Ed Marrazzo, TFE's Manufacturing Manager, "When we took this challenge, we still had a lot of bugs to work out and modules to design. Yet, we all rolled up our sleeves and got the job done. I'm really proud of everybody who participated in this project." According to Allen Guastavino, Plasma Systems Sales Manager, there has been a disturbing trend in the industry of very long lead times from some equipment manufacturers. "I know that a major British supplier and a smaller French company have had a big problem with delivery delays. I just heard of one plasma systems company that is quoting 24-week lead times for a simple PECVD tool! We will continue to focus on long term partnerships with our suppliers and our customer's so that we can provide reasonable delivery times and keep people happy," said Guastavino.

Thin Film Engineering is a privately owned company that was founded in 1989 by former service people to address the increased need for plasma and PVD end-users for quality support and integrity.

Return to Index