The Quest For Curvilinear Photomasks


The semiconductor industry is making noticeable progress on the development of advanced curvilinear photomasks, a technology that has broad implications for chip designs at the most advanced nodes and the ability to manufacture those chips faster and cheaper. The question now is when will this technology move beyond its niche-oriented status and ramp up into high-volume manufacturing. For ye... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers Intel has re-entered the foundry business after a failed attempt several years ago. In its new efforts, Intel is establishing a new standalone business unit called Intel Foundry Services. As part of those efforts, Intel has announced plans to build two new fabs in Arizona. This build-out represents an investment of approximately $20 billion. “INTC hosted a strategy update with ... » read more

Defect Mitigation And Characterization In Silicon Hardmask Materials


From SPIE Digital Library: In this study, metal contaminants, liquid particle count and on-wafer defects of Si- HMs and filtration removal rates are monitored to determine the effect of filter type, pore size, media morphology, and cleanliness on filtration performance. 5-nm PTFE NTD2 filter having proprietary surface treatment used in this study shows lowest defect count. Authors: Vineet... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: March 8


Two-beam EUV lithography At the recent SPIE Advanced Lithography conference, Nikon gave a presentation on a two-beam extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology. Still in the conceptual phase, Nikon’s so-called EUV Projection Optical Wafer Exposure Ruling Machine, or EUV Power Machine, is designed for the 1nm node or so. The proposed system has a minimum resolution of 10nm for lines ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: March 2


Next-gen AFM At the recent SPIE Advanced Lithography conference, Imec, Infinitesima and others described a new metrology tool technology called a Rapid Probe Microscope (RPM). Infinitesima has shipped its first RPM 3D system, enabling three-dimensional (3D) metrology applications for leading-edge chips. The system was jointly developed with Imec. In the IEDM paper, Imec and Infinitesima... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers and OEMs Several chipmakers have not resumed production in their fabs in Texas for the second consecutive week. This follows power outages due to a major winter storm. As reported, a severe winter storm hit many parts of the United States, including Texas. Last week, utility providers began to prioritize service to residential areas in Austin, Texas. As a result, electricity and ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers and OEMs Third Point, a hedge fund, released a letter, saying that Intel needs to explore its strategic alternatives. This includes the breakup of the chip giant. Obtained by Yahoo and others, the letter says Intel needs to decide “whether Intel should remain an integrated device manufacturer” and should divest certain failed acquisitions. Here’s another analysis of the sit... » read more

Novel Etch Technologies Utilizing Atomic Layer Process For Advanced Patterning


We demonstrated a high selective and anisotropic plasma etch of Si3N4 and SiC. The demonstrated process consists of a sequence of ion modification and chemical dry removal steps. The Si3N4 etch with H ion modification showed a high selectivity to SiO2 and SiC films. In addition, we have developed selective etch of SiC with N ion modification. On the other hand, in the patterning etch processes,... » read more

Improving EUV Underlayer Coating Defectivity Using Point-Of-Use Filtration


Authors: Aiwen Wu (Entegris, Inc. — United States), Hareen Bayana (Entegris GmbH — Germany), Philippe Foubert (imec — Belgium), Andrea Chacko and Douglas Guererro (Brewer Science, Inc. — United States). This paper describes efforts to leverage different filtration parameters, including retention ratings and membrane materials, to understand their impact on EUV underlayer coating defe... » read more

Virtual Fabrication At 7/5/3nm


David Fried, vice president of computational products at Lam Research, digs into virtual fabrication at the most advanced nodes, how to create models using immature processes at new nodes, and how to fuse together data from multiple different silos. » read more

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