History

THôT THôT was started in 1991 and incorporated in 1992. The name is the phonetic pronunciation of the word thought according to Webster's Dictionary. The name is also one of the alternative spellings of the Egyptian God, THôT, THôTH or TEHUTI. THôT was a principal God and his name signifies "The Measurer", inventor of sciences, letters, learning and fine arts. He is sometimes depicted as a man with an Ibis head, typically shown holding a pen and recording palette. The most famous depiction is in the Egyptian Book of the Dead where he is shown recording the comparison measurement of the heart of the deceased to that of a feather. The THôT logo is the ancient Egyptian cartouche for the God THôT.

THôT Time Line

2008

• Delivery of the first Nano-Scan tools.
• THoT Technologies awarded prestigious Nano Technology Award for Nano-Scan at the NASA sponsored National Nano Engineering Conference.

2007

• Development of Nano-Scan™ technology capable of detecting and measuring spatial size as well as separation and measurement of height or depth of sub-micron defects.

2006

• Development and delivery of the first dual laser, low noise morphology tools.
• Delivery of the first in-drive LDV defect scan tool.

2005

• Development of the first sub-Angstrom, wide band, high resolution PSD (Power Spectral Density) surface analysis system.
• Introduction of the full surface, Photonic Force Microscope (PFM) for computer memory disks and semiconductor wafers.

2004

• First installation of roundness tester to standards exceeding NIST.
• Introduction of TSM (Total Surface Metrology) for computer disks, CMP wafers, photolithography plates, lens, mirror blanks, etc. with measurement accuracy down to 0.01 Angstroms.

2003

• Introduction of nano-waviness and micro-roughness measurement capabilities. Nanowaviness wavelengths from 50 to 100 microns in length and micro-roughness below five micron wavelength.
• Fully automated, hands-off sequential testing with production summary files implemented.
• Introduction of single point roundness testing to nano-meter levels.

2002

• Correlation of disk Glide Height Avalanche (GHA) testing to surface morphology enabling pre-sputter disk sorting.

2001

• The first high speed, full surface scanner for fiberoptic filter (DWDM) substrates with AFM resolution as well as warp and bow measurement capabilities.
• The first full surface optical scanner with wide bandwidth capabilities and multiple channels capable of measuring surface finish (Ra), micro-waviness, waviness, flatness, pits and scratches, asperities and ridges, reflectivity and thickness variation at high speed in a single test.
• Introduction of a new generation of spindle tester with improved data capture and display capabilities.

2000

• Introduction of the first Optical Certifier™ for process control of disk manufacturing. The Optical Certifier is capable of making a single pass on a disk and measuring all surface features from sub-micron defects to surface flatness.

1999

• Introduction of the first high speed, wide bandpass, dynamic roundness and vibration tester. Commonly referred to as a spindle tester, it can be used to test motors, turbines, ball bearings and vibrations caused by a periodic excitement.

1998

• Introduced an improved Optical Glide™. The new system is capable of differentiating between pits and asperities, detecting defects down to 0.1 microns and height changes down to 5 Angstroms (0.5 nm).

1997

• Introduced thickness variation testing. This is referred to as TTV (Total Thickness Variation) in semiconductor terminology.

1996

• Introduced Flyability™ testing to allow the user to measure how the head and disk interact dynamically. Also used to measure the dynamic interaction of components in a mechanical assembly.

1995

• Introduced reflectivity testing to allow measurement of stains, haze and other surface reflectivity changes.
• Installed first production workcells with full robotics.
• Introduced pattern recognition software to allow users to map scratches and ridges on polished surfaces.
• Expanded the square footage of the Campbell, California facility.

1994

• Moved operations into a larger facility in Campbell, California.
• Introduced dynamic disk resonance testing. Allows the user to measure the dynamics of the rotating disk as a function of user selected rotational speeds.
• Introduced in-drive RVA testing.

1993

• Introduction of True Level™ RVA testing, the first RVA tester to combine RVA test results with profilometry.
• Introduction of Optical Glide™, the ability to optically scan a disk , detect and measure the height of asperities.
• Introduction of the first tester to measure all polished surfaces including aluminum, glass, ceramics, nickel, carbon, silicon, steel, titanium, copper, silicon carbide, metal matrix and composite materials.

1992

• THôT Technologies incorporated.
• First facility opened in Los Gatos, California.
• Introduction of the first disk RVA tester capable of sub-microinch repeatability.
• First product shipments.

1991

• THôT Technologies founded.