Laser manufacturer Trumpf has acquired an 85 per cent stake in US firm Access Laser for a non-disclosed sum.
Access Laser produces precise, low-power CO2 lasers that are notably used to fabricate microchips in EUV lithography, making the firm a key player in the supply chain for EUV technology. Trumpf’s laser amplifiers are used in EUV systems that use Access Laser’s CO2 lasers as the beam source.
An EUV system with Access Laser's low-power CO2 laser and Trumpf's laser amplifiers. Credit: Trumpf
‘Access Laser is a core partner in our EUV business and a highly innovative laser company,’ commented Peter Leibinger, managing partner and CTO of Trumpf. ‘Together, we will be working even closer to further improve the EUV performance as well as serving more applications and customers looking for innovative low-power CO2 lasers.’
Following several years in the development pipeline, EUV technology has now reached industrial maturity, which has boosted Access Laser’s sales considerably over the past fiscal year.
‘Access Laser has been a force of innovation since its inception,’ said Yong Zhang, founder and president of Access Laser. ‘The successful partnership of technologies of Trumpf and Access Laser in EUV shows the inherent synergy of the two companies. We look forward to enhancing this synergy as a member of the Trumpf Group.’
Access Laser employs around 60 people across the US and China. Its product portfolio includes precision lasers with low output powers between 100mW and 50W as well as lasers with peak powers as high as 1kW. The company also caters to applications in the medical, electronics and scientific markets.
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