H-Square Corporation, a leading supplier of automated microelectronics manufacturing and handling equipment, is sharpening its market focus to develop new technologies in the key areas of robotics, automation and intelligent software tools. This effort is being driven by the company’s seasoned leadership team: Helen Lin, CEO; Steve Hausle, vice president of sales and marketing; Myron Moreno, general manager; and Karl Gartland, manager of product development and engineering.
H-Square recently shipped multiple units of its WS300M automatic wafer mover/sorter for 300mm wafers, which can process 200 wafers per hour. Currently, the company is developing a customized version of the robotics-based system for a leading semiconductor equipment maker currently pursuing a new role as a foundry for the burgeoning virtual reality (VR) market. The WS300M and other products, such as the company’s non-contact 300mm Bernoulli handheld tools, have enabled H-Square to tap into the 300mm space.
“H-Square has long been known for our industry-standard wafer-handling technology. Our products are in virtually every substrate manufacturing facility in the world,” said Lin. “Now, we’re at the cusp of a new era, looking to develop innovative new solutions that leverage our proven expertise, while we continue to deliver the wafer- and substrate-handling products our customers know and trust for existing and emerging markets.”
A key target for H-Square’s substrate-handling business is the burgeoning compound semiconductor market, which is expected to grow by nearly US$12 billion between 2021 and 2025. Customers in this space using H-Square’s wafer-handling technology are seeing as much as 95% less wafer breakage, and the company looks forward to building on its success in this and other served markets.
Hausle, whose prior experience includes executive stints with Corning, Inc.’s Precision Glass Solutions business, noted, “Compound semiconductor manufacturing today is where the silicon industry was decades ago, performing wafer handling and transfer largely by hand – clearly not ideal for preventing damage or breakage. Our goal is to help the compound semiconductor industry transition to automated handling, just as we have done with the silicon industry over our 40-year history.”
About H-Square
H-Square Corporation designs, engineers and manufactures substrate-handling tools for the microelectronics industry. Founded in 1975, H-Square has long been known as a trusted supplier of reliable, high-quality automated and manual wafer-handling equipment, as well as aligners, cassettes, photolithography tools and other custom products. https://www.h-square.com/
