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KLA Corporation is an American capital equipment company based in
Milpitas, California Milpitas (Spanish for "little milpas") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in Silicon Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 80,273. The city's origins lie in Rancho Milpitas, granted to Californio ranchero José Mar ...
. It supplies
process control An industrial process control in continuous production processes is a discipline that uses industrial control systems to achieve a production level of consistency, economy and safety which could not be achieved purely by human manual control. I ...
and
yield management Yield management is a variable pricing strategy, based on understanding, anticipating and influencing consumer behavior in order to maximize revenue or profits from a fixed, time-limited resource (such as airline seats or hotel room reservation ...
systems for the
semiconductor industry The semiconductor industry is the aggregate of companies engaged in the design and fabrication of semiconductors and semiconductor devices, such as transistors and integrated circuits. It formed around 1960, once the fabrication of semiconduct ...
and other related
nanoelectronics Nanoelectronics refers to the use of nanotechnology in electronic components. The term covers a diverse set of devices and materials, with the common characteristic that they are so small that inter-atomic interactions and quantum mechanical pr ...
industries. The company's products and services are intended for all phases of
wafer A wafer is a crisp, often sweet, very thin, flat, light and dry biscuit, often used to decorate ice cream, and also used as a garnish on some sweet dishes. Wafers can also be made into cookies with cream flavoring sandwiched between them. They ...
,
reticle A reticle, or reticule also known as a graticule, is a pattern of fine lines or markings built into the eyepiece of an optical device such as a telescopic sight, spotting scope, theodolite, optical microscope or the screen of an oscilloscope, ...
,
integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...
(IC) and packaging production, from research and development to final volume manufacturing.


History

KLA-Tencor was formed in 1997 through the merger of KLA Instruments and Tencor Instruments, two companies in the semiconductor equipment and yield management systems industry. The merger was intended to create a single source for chip process and diagnostics equipment. KLA Instruments was founded in 1975 by Ken Levy and Bob Anderson, and focused on
photomask A photomask is an opaque plate with holes or transparencies that allow light to shine through in a defined pattern. They are commonly used in photolithography and the production of integrated circuits (ICs or "chips") in particular. Masks are used ...
detection to identify chip defects. KLA later broadened its product line to include wafer inspection, wafer
metrology Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to standardise units in Fran ...
and integrated inspection and analysis software. Tencor was founded in 1976 by Czech scientist and US immigrant Karel Urbanek, along with colleague John Schwabacher. The company initially focused on making precise measurements of semiconductor film layer thickness, and in 1984, developed laser-scanning technology to detect particle and other contamination. The company also developed defect review and data analysis equipment. At the time of the merger, the companies' combined revenue was greater than $1 billion. In February 1998, KLA-Tencor acquired
Freiburg, Germany Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...
-based Nanopro GmbH, a company that used advanced
interferometric Interferometry is a technique which uses the ''interference'' of superimposed waves to extract information. Interferometry typically uses electromagnetic waves and is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy, fiber op ...
technology for wafer shape and thickness measurements. In April, the company acquired Amray, Inc., a
Bedford, Massachusetts Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Bedford was 14,383 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. History ''The following compilation comes from Ellen Abrams (1999) based on information ...
-based provider of scanning electron microscope (SEM) systems for applications including semiconductor manufacturing. In June, the company acquired
San Jose, CA San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...
-based VARS, a developer of image archiving and retrieval systems. In November, KLA-Tencor acquired the Quantox line of oxide monitoring products from
Solon, Ohio Solon ( ) is a city in southeastern Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. A suburb of Cleveland, it is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. According to the 2020 census, the population of Solon was 24,262. The city has been recognized by ''M ...
-based measurement and instrument company
Keithley Instruments Keithley Instruments is a measurement and instrument company headquartered in Solon, Ohio, that develops, manufactures, markets, and sells data acquisition products, as well as complete systems for high-volume production and assembly testing. ...
. In December, the company acquired the Ultrapointe subsidiary of
Uniphase Corporation JDS Uniphase Corporation (JDSU) was an American company that designed and manufactured products for optical communications networks, communications test and measurement equipment, lasers, optical solutions for authentication and decorative applica ...
. In December 1999, the company acquired Taiwan-based yield analysis software maker ACME Systems. In February 2000, KLA-Tencor acquired
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
-based Finle Technologies, Inc., a developer of lithography modeling and analysis software. In March, the company acquired
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
-based advanced process control (APC) software developer Fab Solutions, from parent ObjectSpace. In 2001, the company acquired yield management and process control company Phase Metrics, Inc. In 2004, KLA-Tencor acquired surface inspection system manufacturer Candela Instruments, Inc. and the Wafer Inspection Systems business of Inspex, Inc. In 2006, the company acquired ADE Corporation, a supplier of silicon wafer
metrology Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to standardise units in Fran ...
and related gear. In 2007, KLA-Tencor acquired lithography and plasma etch products manufacturer OnWafer Technologies, temperature monitoring firm SensArray Corporation and process control and metrology company Therma-Wave Corporation. In 2008, the company acquired test and measurement company ICOS Vision Systems Corporation NV, and the Microelectronic Inspection Equipment (MIE) business unit of Vistec Semiconductor Systems, Inc. In 2010, KLA-Tencor acquired technology hardware company Ambios Technology, Inc. In 2014, the company acquired
computational lithography Computational lithography (also known as computational scaling) is the set of mathematical and algorithmic approaches designed to improve the resolution attainable through photolithography. Computational lithography has come to the forefront of p ...
and inspection company Luminescent Technologies, Inc. In 2017, the company acquired optical profiling and inspection company Zeta Technologies Co. Ltd. In 2018, KLA-Tencor acquired the Nano Indenter product line from
Keysight Technologies Keysight Technologies, or Keysight, is an American company that manufactures electronics test and measurement equipment and software. The name is a blend of ''key'' and ''insight''. The company was formed as a spin-off of Agilent Technologies, wh ...
. The company also acquired Nanomechanics Inc. and MicroVision. In March 2018, KLA-Tencor announced an agreement to acquire
Yavne, Israel Yavne ( he, יַבְנֶה) or Yavneh is a city in the Central District of Israel. In many English translations of the Bible, it is known as Jabneh . During Greco-Roman times, it was known as Jamnia ( grc, Ἰαμνία ''Iamníā''; la, Iamnia) ...
-based automated optical inspection equipment vendor Orbotech for approximately $3.4 billion. Orbotech also owned
Newport, Wales Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2 ...
, UK-based SPTS Technologies Ltd, a manufacturer of etch, PVD and CVD wafer processing equipment for the MEMS, advanced packaging, LED, high-speed RF, and power management devices. On January 10, 2019, KLA-Tencor announced that they were changing their name to KLA Corporation. In February, the company announced that its acquisition of Orbotech was complete. The company's name change took effect in July 2019. In June, KLA announced plans to open a second US headquarters in
Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
. The facility was scheduled to open in summer 2021, with plans to host 500-600 new hires, around 50% of whom were to be engineers. The facility would reportedly have a relationship with the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
and support automotive industry partnerships. In July 2021, the company introduced new inspection products for automotive chips. In November, KLA's new North American headquarters opened in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The facility is 230,000 square feet, and is designed to support 1,000 employees.


Illegal stock options backdating

On January 2008, KLA paid $65 million to settle allegations that the company and certain executives had illegally backdated stock option grants. The
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
stated that "KLA dramatically overstated its reported financial results, depriving investors of accurate information about the company's compensation costs and financial performance. It is especially troubling for a public company to engage in such misconduct even after being cautioned that these practices were impermissible."


KLA Foundation

KLA Foundation (originally KLA-Tencor Foundation) is the company's philanthropic arm, and was founded in 2000. KLA Foundation supports and benefits the global communities in which KLA employees live, such as donations to the Milpitas school district, the American Red Cross, and Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s Covid-19 Aid Coalition.


References


External links

* {{Authority control Companies based in Milpitas, California Electronics companies established in 1997 Equipment semiconductor companies Companies listed on the Nasdaq