Spectra-Physics has launched a major expansion of its operations in China with the creation of a new subsidiary that provides in-country sales, service and support from its Beijing headquarters.

Spectra intends to use its new, self-contained subsidiary as a springboard to continued success in the rapidly growing Chinese market for laser systems, photonic components and OEM sub-systems. The new Beijing facility will offer a comprehensive inventory of laser spares and phonic components. A satellite operation in Shanghai will focus primarily on supporting the industrial market.

"We see China as an important, fast-growing market for products across the entire expanded Spectra-Physics brand, from simple optics and photonic components to high-performance laser systems," says Guy Broadbent, president of Spectra-Physics. "Setting up a fully integrated and self-contained operation enables us to expand our attention to the growing industrial and commercial markets, where local support and fast service and repair turnaround are particularly critical."

The third quarter of this year has proven lucrative for Veeco Instruments Inc., which has received $5.6 million in orders for its Vx series atomic force profilers from semiconductor customers in Asia and Japan.

The metrology tools, used for in-line process control in 200 mm and 300 mm fabs, include one order for Veeco’s newest, high-throughput Dimension Vx 340 AFP. The Vx340 enables depth measurements for shallow trench isolation, dual damascene etch and planarity for copper, low-k and STI CMP on devices with with features as small as 65 nm. In addition, the Vx340 provides productivity enhancements in throughput with the resolution of an atomic force microscope and the long-scan capability of a profiler.

The orders for the Dimension Vx series AFPs in Asia and Japan reflect the semiconductor industry’s growing need for 90 nm nondestructive in-line metrology," says Lloyd LaComb, senior vice president and general manager of Veeco’s semiconductor metrology group. "Given this challenge, Veeco developed new versions of our Vx products with improved resolution and capability to enable users to accurately characterize and control etch and CMP processes and improve overall yields."

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Because information in document form drives nearly every action in any organization, the ability to control this information usually means the difference between success and failure. Thus, document control remains the single most critical quality assurance discipline. As with many other systems, document control is more successful if it's simple, intuitive and user-friendly. And the first step toward this end is deciding exactly which documents need to be controlled.

Documents requiring control

 "Do I need to control this document?" is one of the most frequently asked questions in organizations working toward, or maintaining, a formal management system. Given the universe of documents possibly requiring control, the question is understandable. Besides, most people would rather not control a document if they don't have to.

 The ISO 9001:2000 standard provides a quick answer to the question of what must be controlled. The first sentence of section 4.2.3 on document control states, "All documents required by the quality management system shall be controlled." This means that if a document addresses or relates to any of the issues in ISO 9001:2000, it must be controlled. Here are some questions to ask when determining whether a document should be controlled:

If your company is involved in manufacturing, chances are that a good portion of your company's assets include measurement and test equipment (M&TE). This includes everything from simple go/no-go plug gauges to air-pressure gauges, voltmeters, micrometers and calipers on up to very sophisticated equipment such as robotic coordinate measurement machines and scanning electron microscopes.

 M&TE are those assets your company uses to make critical decisions on whether to pass or fail incoming materials, in-process work and finished goods.

 Of course, M&TE itself must be periodically inspected, tested and calibrated as part of the quality process. Poor or unreliable measurements result in faulty decisions and questionable product quality. Calibration management software can be crucial to helping maintain equipment accuracy and properly calibrated testing equipment.

 Calibration management software saves time, effort and money. Computerizing your calibration records makes them instantly available in the event of product quality problems or a quality system audit.