ORBIS | A Horizontal Wafer-level Optical Sputter Coating System Built for Next-Generation Semiconductor Optics

A Flagship Coating System Built for Next-Generation Semiconductor Optics Mass Production

From CMOS image sensors, VCSEL laser sources, AR/VR optical waveguides, to automotive ADAS LiDAR — contemporary semiconductor optical components share the core characteristic of chip-level miniaturization + integrated optical functionality. Optical coatings are deposited directly on wafer surfaces, imposing the most demanding requirements in the semiconductor industry on film optical quality, cleanliness, and production consistency. This is the industry's core need for a Wafer-level Sputter Coating System — and a critical link where Taiwan's semiconductor optics industry has long depended on imported equipment from Europe, the US, and Japan.

The Dah Young Vacuum ORBIS Wafer-level Optical Sputter Coating System (Optical Rotation Beam Ion Sputtering) represents Dah Young's flagship-grade equipment, built through years of in-house R&D for next-generation semiconductor optics mass production. ORBIS employs a horizontal activated reactive sputtering architecture, target-zone and plasma-zone separated design, ICP high-density plasma source, and is designed to support dual-side simultaneous coating and 100+ layer multilayer stacking — covering 4–12 inch wafer sizes with SEMI-standard handling interfaces. ORBIS is one of Dah Young's 2026 key development models, currently in Pilot phase, and we sincerely invite Taiwan's semiconductor optics industry early adopter partners to jointly participate in specification definition and mass production validation, building Taiwan's solution for semiconductor optics mass production together.

Horizontal Activated Reactive Sputtering | Target / Plasma Zone Separation as Core Architecture

Conventional reactive sputtering has long faced the core pain point of Target Poisoning — reactive gases form compound layers on target surfaces, substantially reducing sputtering efficiency and causing process instability. Leading European, US, and Japanese manufacturers have each developed different solutions, with industry-recognized technologies such as PARMS (Plasma-Assisted Reactive Magnetron-Sputtering) representing notable approaches.

ORBIS employs Dah Young's proprietary horizontal activated reactive sputtering architecture, physically separating the target zone from the reactive plasma zone at the technology principle level — the target zone admits only inert gas (Ar) for pure metal sputtering, while reactive gases (O₂, N₂) are concentrated in an independent plasma zone for efficient dissociation and activation. Substrates pass through both zones sequentially via the chamber's high-speed rotation design. Combined with inter-target alloy metal baffle design, the architecture suppresses reactive gas interference and target poisoning at the root. This approach places ORBIS alongside Bühler PARMS and Optorun Metal-mode as industry-mainstream semiconductor optics sputtering technology paradigms — providing Dah Young customers with a technically complete alternative that offers local service advantages.

ICP High-Efficiency Plasma Source | Key to Low-Absorption High-Quality Optical Films

Semiconductor optical components are extremely sensitive to optical absorption — any minor absorption directly reduces CMOS sensor quantum efficiency, VCSEL optical output power, and chip filter signal-to-noise ratio. Conventional sputtered films often suffer from elevated absorption due to incomplete oxidation reaction, requiring subsequent annealing to compensate — adding process complexity and cost.

ORBIS comes standard-equipped with an ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) inductively coupled plasma source — ICP delivers the industry's highest plasma density and best reaction activity, achieving complete oxidation reactions under low-energy bombardment conditions and directly depositing low-absorption, high-density, refractive-index-stable optical films. Combined with Dah Young's proprietary low-temperature process design, ORBIS suits temperature-sensitive semiconductor substrates such as InP, GaAs, SOI, and other compound semiconductors and specialty substrates — without high-temperature-induced device performance degradation. This low-temperature, low-absorption characteristic is ORBIS's core technical competitiveness for next-generation semiconductor optics needs.

Target Spec: 100+ Multilayer | Addressing Chip Filters and Hyperspectral Sensing

Semiconductor optical components increasingly rely on complex multilayer film structures — from Narrow Bandpass Filters in 3D sensing FaceID, multicolor filter arrays in hyperspectral imaging, to DWDM Edge Filters in optical communications. These applications routinely require 100+ layer structures with atomic-level thickness precision per layer.

ORBIS is designed to support 100+ layer multilayer stacking, with Pilot phase validated at 50+ layers — targeting the same technical tier as industry-leading manufacturers. Combined with the standard-equipped Dah Young Optical Monitoring System (OMS), in-situ real-time thickness feedback ensures every layer reaches its design spectrum during deposition — substantially reducing multilayer mass production failure rates. For next-generation semiconductor optical products pursuing chip-level complex optical functionality, ORBIS delivers a complete multilayer mass production solution.

4–12 Inch Full-Range Wafer Coverage | Dual-side Coating + SEMI-Standard Handling

Semiconductor optical components span diverse wafer size needs — from 4-inch small-batch trial production to 12-inch large-scale mass production. ORBIS offers two chamber designs: ORBIS-200 corresponds to 4 / 6 / 8 inch wafers, suited for medium-volume production and multi-product flexibility; ORBIS-300 employs an 8 / 12 inch shared design, addressing large-scale mass production and advanced Wafer-Level Optics (WLO) applications.

ORBIS is designed to support Dual-side Deposition — particularly suited for wafer-level optical components requiring AR coating on one side and functional coating on the other, substantially reducing process time and wafer handling steps. Wafer handling interfaces are SEMI-compatible, designed to support EFEM (Equipment Front End Module), SMIF Pod, FOUP, and other standard wafer handling solutions — integrable with customers' existing semiconductor cleanroom production lines. For customers requiring fab-grade compliance, ORBIS targets SEMI standards from the equipment design stage, ensuring future production line compatibility.

Pilot Phase | Inviting Early Adopter Partners for Joint Specification Development

ORBIS is one of Dah Young's 2026 key development flagship models, currently in Pilot development phase. Dah Young sincerely invites Taiwan's semiconductor optics industry early adopter partners — including CMOS image sensor manufacturers, VCSEL / 3D sensing module manufacturers, Wafer-Level Optics (WLO) integration manufacturers, chip filter manufacturers, AR/VR module manufacturers, and automotive ADAS sensing manufacturers — to join the ORBIS Early Adopter Program.

Early adopter partners enjoy the following value: (1) Joint Specification Definition — direct participation in ORBIS functional definition and customization options, ensuring the final production model fully meets your process requirements; (2) Priority Sampling and Validation — priority access to Pilot machines for customer-end application validation, accelerating product development timelines; (3) Deep Local Support — Dah Young engineering teams provide on-site assistance throughout process optimization, equipment tuning, and mass production transition, delivering the industry's deepest local service; (4) Strategic Partnership Positioning — jointly building Taiwan's domestic supply chain for semiconductor optics mass production, breaking free from the long-standing industry constraint of dependence on imported equipment.