Anhydrous HF etch reduces processing steps for DRAM capacitors
A new anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (AHF) vapor-phase etch process, at the heart of a commercial single-wafer system, dramatically reduces the number of process steps for fabrication of complex three-di ...
Understanding hydrogen silsesquioxane-based dielectric film processing
Hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) resin has demonstrated unique performance as a precursor for the formation of interlayer dielectrics (ILDs) used in manufacturing ICs with multilevel metallization scheme ...
Carbon dioxide meets the challenge of precision cleaning
Manufacturers of IC components and disk drives are evaluating advances in carbon dioxide (CO2) cleaning.
Application of FTIR for monitoring cleanroom air and process emissions
The semiconductor industry is pursuing numerousemission reduction strategies to comply with the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments and Occupational Safetyand Health Administration (OSHA) standards. Feasibi ...
Laser-imaging patterned wafer inspection
The ILM-2230 laser-imaging darkfield patterned wafer inspection system combines oblique angle darkfield illumination with small-pixel, high data rate image processing. This combination provides superi ...
Modular bond cluster system
The SUSS ABS150 automated cluster system cleans, aligns, and bonds wafers and substrates. The CL200 cleaner module cleans and bonds silicon on insulator (SOI), as well as other silicon fusion bondings ...
Process monitoring/device characterization
KTE Version 3.2 software is used with parametric test systems such as the S400UX and the S600 APT, providing features that include Smart Sampling, user access points, and automatic configuration funct ...
300-mm wafter carrier technology
CAPSil M325 is a SEMI-compliant, 25-capacity front opening unified pod (FOUP) that addresses such issues as 0.13-?m linewidths and copper processing. It has pistol-grip handles that are adjustable fro ...
Comprehensive downstream effluent management
Inappropriate handling of downstream effluents in semiconductor manufacturing processes can lead to chip yield loss and excessive equipment downtime. Serious safety issues also result from hazadous ef ...
The best, the brightest, or the cheapest
For many years, US companies have been investing and setting up production plants overseas to take advantage of the cheaper and more abundant labor work force in less developed countries. As many comp ...
Next-generation aluminum vacuum systems
The semiconductor fabrication equipment industry is aiming to produce equipment that can process devices with 180-nm features on 300-mm wafers. As feature sizes shrink, molecular impurities incorporat ...
Its good to be back where the action all begins
Glad to be back with you all again, after a two-year stint with Computer Design, PennWell`s magazine for design managers and senior engineers, covering the fabrication of processor-based electronic sy ...
Planergy creates custom template for energy usage
Independent energy services company Planergy, Austin, TX, has developed a custom template for assessing energy usage patterns in working semiconductor fabs. The set of energy assessment services is de ...
Electro-Graph
As part of an effort to meet cleanroom standards, subassembly and replacement parts supplier Electro-Graph has completed work on a Class 10,000 cleanroom at its Carlsbad, CA, facility. In addition, th ...
Ion Systems
In its efforts to bolster contamination control research and education, Ion Systems, Berkeley, CA, has donated and installed a room ionization system in the newly opened Class 10 cleanroom at Brevard ...
Motorola / Black & Veach / Ehrlich-Rominger
Motorola has selected Black & Veach and Ehrlich-Rominger to design the expansion of its MOS 12 wafer fab in Chandler, AZ. The $1.1 billion expansion will include a 260,000-ft2 Class 1 fab area; a cent ...
GaSonics International / Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing
GaSonics International, San Jose, CA, has received an order from Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing (CSM), Woodlands, Singapore, for a performance enhancement platform 3600 system, which features t ...
MEGA Systems & Chemicals, Inc. / National Semiconductor
MEGA Systems & Chemicals Inc., Chandler, AZ, has shipped a total CMP system to National Semiconductor`s South Portland, ME, facility. The order includes two MEGAflow IIIC high-flow systems, which mini ...
Lepco Inc.
Lepco Inc., Houston, TX, has been awarded the 1997 Design/Build of the Year Award for its design, construction, and service of Input/Output`s new 110,000-ft2 micro-electromechanical systems manufactur ...
Cintas Cleanroom Services
Cintas Cleanroom Services, Cincinnati, OH, has opened a Class 1 laundry facility in Greenville, SC, expanding its cleanroom apparel service operations to the southeastern US. The new facility, which e ...
Metron Technology / Extraxtion Systems, Inc.
Metron Technology, Burlingame, CA, will be the exclusive sales and service organization for Franklin, MA-based Extraction Systems Inc. (ESI) in Europe. Metron will provide ESI`s airborne molecular con ...
VERTEQ / YieldUP International Corp.
VERTEQ, a supplier of wet processing systems, has entered into an OEM contract with YieldUP International Corp., Mountain View, CA, a maker of cleaning, rinsing, and drying equipment. VERTEQ will offe ...
Brewer Science Inc.
Brewer Science Inc., Rolla, MO, will add 33,000 ft2 of space to its current facility. The expansion will include more manufacturing and office space, and a Class 10 cleanroom. The cleanroom will house ...
Koch Spechialty Chemical Co.
Koch Specialty Chemical Co., Wichita, KS, will construct a multichemical manufacturing and purification facility to serve the microelectronics industry. The plant will initially manufacture isopropyl ...
Microbar, Inc.
Microbar Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, a safe chemical management equipment supplier, has moved into new facilities. Microbar now occupies a 50,000-ft2 complex, which triples the size of its previous facility, ...
Olin Microelectronic Materials
Olin Microelectronic Materials, Norwalk, CT, will provide chemical management services to Motorola`s AISL fab in Tempe, AZ. Olin`s on-site team will be responsible for inventory management, analytical ...
News roundup: Asian financial woes affect 300-mm plans
The Asian financial crisis is evolving on several fronts. The advent of 300-mm technology is proceeding more slowly than had been anticipated earlier in the year, and analysts from a variety of organi ...
Worldwide highlights
January equipment book-to-bill softens. January market indicators for the capital equipment and IC markets are showing definite softness, reflecting difficult market conditions sparked by Asian financ ...
USA
ATMI Inc., Danbury, CT, is planning to acquire NOW Technologies, a Bloomington, MN, semiconductor materials packaging systems supplier, in a deal valued at $44 million. Under the agreement, NOW will b ...
Japan
Mitsubishi Materials Silicon Corp. has entered into discussions of a possible licensing agreement related to exclusive Japanese and Asian rights for Ibis Technology Corp.`s Advantox SIMOX wafer produc ...
Asia/Pacific
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is reportedly scheduled to break ground on its first 300-mm wafer fab in 2Q98, following in line with plans the company announced last year to build a manufactur ...
Europe
CVD system supplier AIXTRON AG, Aachen, Germany, has logged an order for its first multiwafer MOCVD system to the Research Centre Julich. Delivery is scheduled for 2H98. The barium strontium titanate ...
Rest of World
In a deal valued at $225 million, Mitel Corp., Kanata, Ontario, Canada, has acquired all shares of Plessey Semiconductors Ltd., Swindon, UK, from parent company General Electric Co. The combined unit ...
193-nm development hampered by contamination
As the world lithography research community congregated at the SPIE Microlithography Symposium in Santa Clara, CA, the aggressive drive to commercialize 193-nm technology has reached some new mileston ...
"Silicon-on-anything" process leads to button-sized systems
A new silicon-on-anything (SOA) technology (Fig. 1) should help in the development of so-called button-sized systems, a trend forecast for personal communications applications.
CMP-MIC: 3Ms no-slurry pads, Lams polisher
The CMP-MIC conference held in Santa Clara, CA, saw the introduction of 3M Laboratories` new slurry-free oxide planarization technique, and the long-awaited linear CMP polisher from Lam Research`s OnT ...
Significant role seen for selective epi and Si3N4 CMP
Selective epitaxial silicon-germanium deposition and Si3N4 CMP could be significant processes for 4-Gbit DRAM technology. These processes were used at NEC`s ULSI Device Development Lab in Kanagawa, Ja ...
Value added from backend drives assembly automation
Today`s semiconductor manufacturing backend is a linear extrapolation of technology in place for 25 years. C. Scott Kulicke, chairman and CEO of Kulicke & Soffa Industries, stated that it has been "pr ...
Laser system personalizes 0.35-um gate array
A newly upgraded laser micromachining system provides rapid personalization of 0.35-?m gate array devices, with improvements of throughput and accuracy.
Two SEMI groups discuss 9-in. reticle carriers
As the maskmaking industry works to implement standards for the transition to 9-in. reticles, two SEMI task forces charged with designing carriers for the larger glass substrates have taken divergent ...
Koreas DRAM Inc. meets reality
At the beginning of July 1997, the South Korean won stood at the then low of 888 to the US dollar. By mid-December the won stood at 1710 won to the dollar: a spectacular fall of 52 percent in less tha ...
ERSO re-invented for .18 micron
Taiwan`s Electronics Research & Service Organization (ERSO) within the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has a new general director with Dr. Genda J. Hu. Formerly VP of Information Stora ...
Fire at Winbond fab in Taiwan will cause unknown startup delay
Work on Winbond Electronics Corp.`s Fab 3 in Hsinchu, Taiwan, has been disrupted by a fire that caused significant damage to the fab building and some process equipment. Taiwanese newspaper accounts e ...
SEMICON Europa News
ASM Lithography (ASML), Veldhoven, the Netherlands, will create a Special Applications division. This new business unit will pursue silicon applications outside the domain of its mainstream sub-0.45-m ...
Korean LG Group Semicon Wales Product upgrades facility to 0.20 micron
The Korean LG Group, Newport, Wales, recently announced plans to upgrade its working technology at its LG Semicon Wales (LGSW) facility, currently under construction, to work in a 0.20-micron technolo ...
ASM International sees 4Q sales rise, but initiates small reorganization
Still adjusting to the end of its long-running patent litigation with Applied Materials, ASM International, Bilthoven, The Netherlands, has cut about 35 engineers from its Phoenix, AZ, operation. Afte ...
The inevitable shakeout in the CMP equipment market
As more and more manufacturers discover the benefits of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) for smaller and smaller design rules, an increasing number of CMP equipment suppliers are entering the field ...
Filter Media
PurePerm is a new line of ULPA filter media which was developed to address the chemical contamination issues of next-generation semiconductor fabs. It is made with microfiberglass that has been specif ...
Cleanroom actuator
The ISCR Series of cleanroom actuators are ideal for use by systems integrators, machine builders and OEMs. They include special design features that allow them to achieve a Class 10 cleanroom level. ...
Cleanroom robot
The new six-axis SV3CR robot is designed specifically for use in a Class 1 cleanroom environment. It is ideal for high-speed maching loading, including the handling of disk drive media, flat panel dis ...
Ionization bar
The new CleanTrac Ultra-Clean Ionization Bar features (non-metallic) germanium emitters that provide particle-free ionization. CleanTrac is specifically designed for use in Class 1 areas such as minie ...
Gas diffuser
The new Chamberguard FV-50K Diffuser provides gentle laminar flow for wafers during venting of loadlock, cooling and transfer, while protecting wafers from particles inside and outside the chamber. Th ...
Cleanroom tripod
The new Rigid-Damped Tripod is designed to provide cost-effective vibration isolation of semiconductor and flat panel display manufacturing and metrology equipment in raised-floor cleanroom environmen ...
Imaging Tool
The new SEM-based XL850 defect review and inspection tool is engineered specifically for evaluation, yield management and failure analysis applications supporting design rules to 0.18 microns and beyo ...
Microfiltration technology
Exxflow is a microfiltration technology that builds a dynamic filtration layer from the natural precipitate of solids present in the process solution on a fabric membrane. The system is well suited to ...
Recirculating etch bath filter
The Ulti-Etch filter provides high flow rates and rapid bath turnover in new-generation etch baths, while ensuring high-efficiency particulate removal and low extractable levels. It uses the crescent- ...
CMP slurry filtration
Due to their tangential flow, Spiraltek filters meet the special requirements of CMP slurries. Unlike conventional filters, they retain gelatinous material and prevent premature plugging. Agglomeratio ...
Clean bench
The Heraguard workbench ensures a particulate-free environment for the testing and packaging of electronic components. A horizontally conducted flow of extremely pure, multifiltered air prevents parti ...
Liquid particle counters
The PLCA-700 series liquid particle counters provide 0.1-?m sensitivity in all types of liquid with 100% counting efficiency. Operating on-line, the counters give high-sensitivity measurements from 0. ...
People Update
ShellCase Ltd., Jerusalem, Israel, has named Shlomo Oren managing director and CEO. He has 25 years of management experience in the US and Israel, including 17 years with Kulicke & Soffa Industries In ...
1998 SPIE Lithography Symposium
The recent SPIE International Symposium on Microlithography showed the maturation of the lithography field. The presentations had a more practical view than in previous years, with even the "Emerging ...
"A few bad apples"
After reading Ed Korczynski`s editorial, "A few bad apples," (March, p. 14), I must agree with you on the safety level in the US semiconductor industry. Having been a part of this industry for 18 year ...
The blurring of generations
I just read your editorial, titled "The blurring generations" (February, p. 12), and enjoyed it because my memory about my generation has become blurred after 25 years. Would you please let me know wh ...
Address clarification
I was delighted to see my joint article with Jon Goldman ("Input parameter SPC for diffusion furnaces," February, p. 69). I met up with Jon in Scotland for the first time in five years this week just ...
Literature Update
Total Thermal Solutions provides specs, performance data, and selection guidelines for a line of liquid-cooling products. The full-color, 52-page catalog offers products ranging from simple cold plat ...
Literature Update
Adding another piece to its inspection and metrology framework, KLA-Tencor will acquire scanning electron microscope manufacturer Amray Inc., Bedford, MA, in a stock swap deal. KLA-Tencor sees the acq ...
Globalization to be reality at SEMATECH
Five non-US chipmakers will join the 10 American members of SEMATECH to form a new international consortium for development of lithography infrastructure; industry standards; environmental, safety, an ...
FPD/300-mm interstep cleaning
The Microclean 960 series tools clean large substrates, including flat panel displays up to 1000 ? 1000 mm, and 300-mm wafers. The fully automatic tools are available in both ultrasonic and megasonic ...
FPD stepper
Model 6700 PanelPrinter provides high-performance, wide-area lithography capability for Gen 3 and Gen 3.5 flat panel production. Using the field-proven Model 5200 tool architecture and the new AccuSte ...
Microwave curing
The MicroCure 5100 is a variable-frequency microwave system that cures standard polymeric adhesives and encapsulants. Proprietary variable-frequency technology greatly improves cure rates over forced ...
Multihead dispensing
XYFLEX is a flexible liquid-dispensing system that dispenses up to 140,000 dots/hr and can therefore keep pace with chip shooters that place components at rates of 40,000-90,000 pph. The system, consi ...
Flip chip bonder
Model CB-5w semiautomated flip chip bonder is a granite-based tool designed to perform high-accuracy, low-force flip chip bonding (5 g to 2 kg) in both prototype and pre-production modes. The system h ...
Multipurpose bond tester
Series 4000 multipurpose bond testers feature ergonomic design and frictionless load cartridge technology, providing accurate and reliable wire pull testing up to 10 Kg, tweezer pull/peel testing up t ...
Vacuum/controlled atmosphere processing
Mark-14, a heavy-duty vacuum/controlled atmosphere processing facility for high-purity and closely controlled R&D and production applications, can perform more than 14 materials processing functions ...
Aluminum UHV flanges
The Atlas Flange is made from 6061 T-6 aluminum and 316L stainless steel; it has been developed to allow sealing of aluminum UHV systems with stainless steel knife-edge flanges. The aluminum side weld ...
Vacuum process cold traps
The CT-Series cold traps provide solutions for pumping condensables such as the products of TEOS deposition. The systems are available with -60 or -110?C minimum temperatures, and cooling powers of 62 ...
KrF excimer laser
The ELS-5010 KrF excimer laser is a light source targeted at the scanner platform for DUV lithography systems. Key features of the system - which improves upon its predecessor, the ELS-5000 - are spec ...
High-resolution ICP-MS
The VG Axiom is a compact, high-power, high-resolution ICP-MS system that provides the analyst with the power to resolve spectral interference from potential contaminants in fab processes; it is avai ...
Multifilm deposition controller
The TM-350 and TM-400 thin-film deposition monitors are designed for reliability and ease of use, and provide all the capabilities necessary for manual control of the deposition process. TM-350 is a m ...
Scan controller
The CX-2R ion implanter beam scan controller upgrade compensates beam motion to improve nonuniformity for each of two end stations. It reduces channeling up to 5?, eliminates micro nonuniformity of 3% ...
F-HDP/PECVD process
This high-volume production implementation of a CVD low-k fluorinated high-density plasma (F-HDP) film for 0.25-?m logic devices is offered for use on the existing customer base of SPEED HDP systems. ...
Wafer/mask microscope
The INM 100 modular microscope, for wafers and masks, features fingertip operation, an 8-in. stage, a tilting viewing head, a motorized objective nosepiece, an aperture diaphragm, and Class 1 compatib ...
Surface profiler
The WYKO SP3000 surface profiler expedites process control of large-format samples with accurate, noncontact 3-D data. Designed to enhance yield and improve in-line process monitoring of flip-chip pac ...
300-mm wafer inspection
Constellation is a fully automated inspection tool for both 200- and 300-mm wafers. Its inspection station employs advanced optical scanning hardware and sophisticated data analysis software to analyz ...
300-mm wafer shipper
Voyager is a reusable 300-mm wafer shipper that has compact dimensions (7 ? 13.1 ? 12.7 in.) and features a cushion design consisting of top and bottom covers to hold the wafers securely during shippi ...
Wafer inspection after dicing
The KIS2000 inspects wafers after dicing to monitor the dicing machines using statistical process control (SPC). The tool automatically scans the front and back sides of the wafer and monitors kerf (c ...
Vacuum abatement system
The VAS combines a vacuum system and waste gas incineration system with integrated scrubber, a neutralization and washing cycle, and a monitoring and control unit (compatible with any vacuum pump mode ...
Residual gas analyzer
The HPQ2 is a high-pressure residual gas analyzer (RGA) that does not require a support pumping package and offers a high level of performance and control. It is provided with Process Eye software, an ...
Lithography simulation software
Version 6 of PROLITH/3D and PROLITH 2 includes new lithography models, such as the step-and-scan exposure tool model, the notch resist development model, and a chemically amplified resist model. The u ...
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