KDF was founded in 1986 however it was really born in 1957 with the beginning of Materials Research Corporation, which became a world leader in vacuum processing technology.
As often happens in the cycle of Industry there are births and rebirths with a new enterprise formed from the elements of a past Firm, KDF is one of these. KDF was created during one of the now too common downturns in the Semiconductor industry when the equipment companies discarded anything not perceived as mainstream front-end chip related. Materials Research Corporation, MRC, like others started leaving behind these other applications in pursuit of being the DRAM and CPU ‘Top Gun’ equipment supplier. KDF has, from that beginning, focused on servicing the customer in all aspects from custom integration and system design to individual maintenance planning. KDF has not left behind the semiconductor industry; we have taken the position of not leaving any application that we are capable of supporting and supporting well, behind.
As the large front-end semiconductor companies moved on in their almost single-minded pursuit a vacuum was left behind where customers wanted a ‘technology leader’ or ‘best of breed’ sputtering system but they weren’t necessarily coating silicon wafers. They may have been able to utilize the new cluster tool generation of systems coming out and even if sub-micron high-aspect via filling wasn’t on the wish list the stupendous cost of the systems was simply overwhelming and could not keep them in a competitive position. Here is where KDF has moved in and established a position as a leading provider of small and large area multi cathode inline sputtering systems that are evolved from a world standard MRC design. These systems were the first commercially manufactured semiconductor sputtering system with an installed base that grew to over 3,000 systems worldwide and is still growing today.
KDF today is a system provider to a large and diverse customer base covering a wide range of markets and applications.
Here are some examples; DWDM components, laser diode mirrors, digital micro mirrors, replicated diffraction gratings, Super lattice structures, X-Ray Mirrors, super-bright LEDs, ring laser gyroscopes, high power solid state lasers, large area digital X-Ray detector plates, OLED displays, TFT displays, pace maker components, PZT sensors & actuators, Si , GaAs, Ge and other (all) compound semiconductor devices, micro switches, photo masks, reticules, SAW & BAW devices, hybrids and resistor products, superconductor filters, photovoltaic, MCP night vision optics, MEMS-microsystems-nanotechnology, DNA and other medical sensors, thin film magnetic read write heads, HDI & MCM, multilayer nanocomposites, optical fiber coatings, and more.
KDF is a small company comprised of less than 50 individuals but one that has over 500 person years of experience in-house today and a heritage that goes back to 1957 with thousands of system delivered, hundreds of ‘specials’, dozens of designs and a few truly unique systems.
We at KDF strive to maintain integrity with our customers through our systems and our support as a partner.
Kurt Flechsig
President & CEO
