Corvallis firm develops advanced laser for semiconductor industry

By BENNETT HALL
Gazette-Times business editor

Joe LaChapelle believes he has seen the future — and it’s invisible to the naked eye.

LaChapelle is the CEO of Deep Photonics, a two-year-old Corvallis company he claims is on the verge of making millions by producing deep ultraviolet lasers for the semiconductor industry.

The high-frequency light produced by these lasers is outside the visible spectrum. According to LaChapelle, it’s also beyond the capability of anything else in his target market.

“Right now what we have is a disruptive technology that, as near as we can tell, nobody can compete with,” LaChapelle says.

Looking something like a high-tech pencil sharpener, a Deep Photonics laser sells for about $200,000. And LaChapelle is planning to sell a lot of them.

“The general application space for this technology is absolutely huge,” LaChapelle said. “It’s about a $500 million market.”

In its never-ending quest for faster and cheaper semiconductors, the industry is constantly striving to make smaller, more circuit-packed computer chips. But current fabrication technology, which relies heavily on solid-state lasers for micromachining features on silicon and for inspecting the finished product for defects, is nearing its limits.

That’s where Deep Photonics sees a golden opportunity.

The company has found a way to modify an off-the-shelf solid-state infrared laser so it emits light in the deep ultraviolet range. Because Deep Photonics’ lasers operate at a shorter wavelength — 266 nanometers, compared with 355 nanometers for standard solid-state lasers — manufacturers can use them to fabricate and inspect semiconductors on a smaller scale than currently possible.

“The wavelength reduction, going from visible to ultraviolet, represents a reduction in feature size,” said Ted Alekel, the chief technology officer for Deep Photonics.

“You can make things smaller and see things smaller, which is the bread and butter of semiconductor manufacturing.”

The secret is a novel crystal material developed by Alekel working with Doug Keszler of the Oregon State University chemistry department and licensed from OSU. Laser radiation is passed twice through a crystal of the proprietary substance, called IP04, which cuts the wavelength in half each time. The two-stage process steps the wavelength down from 1,064 nanometers to 266.

The result, Alekel says, is an industrial laser that outperforms the 355nm models that are the workhorses of today’s wafer fabs. Deep Photonics lasers, he says, will be able to drill smaller holes for connecting and repairing circuits, make finer cuts for slicing and scribing silicon wafers, and provide higher resolution for inspecting the smallest features on a chip.

He’s also working with OSU researchers to push the performance of the company’s lasers still further.

“We are pursuing some R&D to extend that down into lower wavelengths,” Alekel said. “We are anticipating being as low as the 190 to 193 (nanometer) area. If we are able to do that, we would be all alone in delivering lasers that would be useful in that area, besides the excimer.”

Excimer lasers, based on an entirely different technology from solid-state lasers, dominate the market for printing circuits directly onto silicon wafers. These devices are very large, very high-intensity and very expensive — in the range of $1 million per unit.

Alekel says his company won’t be able to compete for that business with industry heavyweights such as Cymer, but he anticipates that Deep Photonics lasers operating in the 193nm range could do well in the business of wafer inspection.

Terry Slavin, director of investor relations for Cymer, is skeptical.

Slavin said an upstart like Deep Photonics could have some trouble finding its feet in an industry that’s well-stocked with established names. But if the company can live up to its performance claims, he added, it could be successful.

“They’re coming in so late in the game,” Slavin said. “It would be difficult to break in — not to say they couldn’t do it if they have the right technology at the right price.”

LaChapelle — a veteran of several startups, including Corvallis-based Lucidyne Technologies — clearly is not too worried about the competition.

The company has already booked its first sales and plans to ship its first few lasers this month, he said. And discussions with some potentially big customers could lead to much larger orders.

“We have our first customers, our first orders,” LaChapelle said. “We’re right at the point where we’re taking prototypes to customers to qualify for volume production.”

For now Deep Photonics has 10 employees, but LaChapelle expects to have 29 by year’s end and to continue to grow as orders come in and production ramps up.

“This company could probably go to maybe 100 (employees) by the end of next year,” LaChapelle said. “The only thing keeping us from getting to maybe $100 million in revenues is how fast we can run.”

Bennett Hall is the business editor for the Gazette-Times. He can be reached at 758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net.