TRUMPF Hüttinger Acquires HBH Microwave

TRUMPF Hüttinger, laser and machine company TRUMPF’s high-tech division, has acquired HBH Microwave, based in Stutensee, Germany.

This acquisition adds semiconductor-based, solid-state microwave generators to TRUMPF Hüttinger’s technology portfolio. These devices are used in industrial heating, drying, and plasma applications, as well as in communications and radar technology.

The energy required for Trumpf’s CO₂ lasers is supplied by RF generators from Hüttinger, while generators manufactured by Hüttinger create plasmas for displays and other applications.

“This acquisition gives us a real boost in the trending field of microwave power generators,” said Rafal Bugyi, managing director of TRUMPF Hüttinger in Freiburg. “In the plasma processing market, which is an important area of our business, there is a noticeable trend toward higher frequencies in the microwave range … This gives us a solid basis for making a calculated transition from the vacuum-tube-based magnetron to solid-state microwave power generators.”

Plasma generators operating in the medium and radio frequency range are used in thin-film coating applications and processes. Plasma generator applications include the large-area coating of glass and foils, as well as the deposition and ablation of materials on semiconductor chips, data storage media, displays, and solar cells.

The acquisition will also enable TRUMPF Hüttinger to expand its business in the particle accelerator market. Medical applications that involve particle acceleration include radiation and particle beam therapy for the treatment of cancers.

“By combining our expertise in microwave technology with that of TRUMPF Hüttinger in industrial manufacturing, we will gain access to much bigger markets,” said Guido Bauman, HBH managing director .

Terms of the deal were not revealed. HBH Microwave was founded in 1999 and currently employs 50 people at its headquarters in Stutensee.