News Release

For immediate release, Santa Clara, CA, April 18, 2006.


sp3 Introduces Advanced Diamond Deposition System

New tool combines uniform wide-area deposition with an enhanced user interface and broad range of nano-crystalline and micro-crystalline diamond film processes
sp3 Diamond Technologies, Inc., a leading supplier of diamond film products, equipment and services, introduced the Model 650 hot filament CVD diamond deposition reactor, the most economical system available for the production of high quality diamond products.
   The Model 650 is a fourth generation system which continues the proven process automation and safety features of sp3's earlier CVD reactors while adding fully integrated process control that allows unattended operation and external monitoring. The Model 650 can be configured to produce finely tuned deposition processes in ultra-smooth nano-crystalline or rougher micro-crystalline structures from submicron to 50-micron plus in thickness.
   “Diamond has many properties that enable its use in a variety of applications, including hardness, high stiffness, high thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity or electrical insulation for semiconductor applications, high biocompatibility and extreme chemical resistance,” stated Dwain Aidala, president and COO of sp3 Diamond Technologies, Inc. “The Model 650 further accelerates diamond's use in mainstream manufacturing by offering the most automated and flexible system available for CVD diamond deposition.”
 

Integrated process controller provides precise, repeatable diamond deposition in production and R&D applications.
 
  Predecessors of the Model 650 have been used to grow thermal films on silicon wafers up to 300 mm, silicon-diamond-silicon wafers successfully used as a base wafer for successful GaN growth, and nanocrystalline films for MEMS wafers. sp3's Model 650 addresses expanded applications such as diamond on wafers in sizes up to 300mm, wear coatings, substrates for thermal management, amorphous silicon deposition for solar cells and other products, electrodes for water treatment and electrochemistry, passivation layers for semiconductor chucks, as well as cutting tools.
   sp3's Model 650 is available in a standard production configuration and a more flexible configuration for research and development applications. It supports a uniform or mixed batch of irregular shaped substrates with proprietary fixturing while flat substrates are coated with the standard planar filament array fixturing package. An optional three-dimensional filament array produces process uniformity without the complexity and reliability sacrifices of mechanisms inside the process chamber.
For information on pricing and delivery times, please contact Seki Technotron, sp3's worldwide CVD reactor distributor. In North America and Europe, please contact Bob Johnson via e-mail at bjohnson@sekitech.com or call 408 496-4121. In Japan and the rest of Asia, please contact Kikuo Sakuma via e-mail ksakuma@sekitech.jp or call +81 3 3820 1712. Additional information is available online at www.cvdsolutions.com.
About sp3 Diamond Technologies, Inc.
sp3 Diamond Technologies is focused on providing diamond-based solutions for electronics thermal management, diamond-on-silicon applications, and enhanced cutting surfaces. Based in Santa Clara, California, USA, the company provides diamond products for thermal and cutting applications, diamond deposition services, hot filament CVD reactors, and deposition consulting services to companies worldwide across a broad spectrum of industries.
  sp3 Diamond Technologies is a subsidiary of sp3 Inc., a full service provider of products and services relating to thin-film and thick-film diamond deposition and other diamond materials. sp3 Inc. is composed of sp3 Diamond Technologies and sp3 Cutting Tools.
  For more information about the company and its products and services please visit www.sp3inc.com.