tag: TEL

3D NAND’s Vertical Scaling Race
By Mark LaPedus - 17 Dec, 2020 - Comments: 1

3D NAND suppliers are accelerating their efforts to move to the next technology nodes in a race against growing competition, but all of these vendors are facing an assortment of new business, manufacturing, and cost challenges. Two suppliers, Micron and SK Hynix, recently leapfrogged the competition and have taken the scaling race lead in 3D NAND. But Samsung and the Kioxia-Western Digital (... » read more

200mm Demand Surges
By Mark LaPedus - 17 Dec, 2020 - Comments: 1

A surge in demand for various chips is causing shortages for select 200mm foundry capacity as well as 200mm fab equipment, and it shows no signs of abating in 2021. Foundry customers will face a shortfall of 200mm capacity at select foundries at least in the first half of 2021, and perhaps beyond. Those customers will need to plan ahead to ensure they obtain enough 200mm capacity in 2021. Ot... » read more

Novel Etch Technologies Utilizing Atomic Layer Process For Advanced Patterning
By TEL - 17 Dec, 2020 - Comments: 0

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

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test
By Mark LaPedus - 20 Nov, 2020 - Comments: 0

Fab tools PDF Solutions has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Cimetrix. Under the terms, PDF will pay a cash amount of $35.0 million, net of cash on Cimetrix’s balance sheet as of closing, and subject to other closing adjustments. With the move, PDF will expand into new markets. Cimetrix is a provider of equipment connectivity products for smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0... » read more

EUV Challenges And Unknowns At 3nm and Below
By Mark LaPedus - 19 Nov, 2020 - Comments: 1

The chip industry is preparing for the next phase of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography at 3nm and beyond, but the challenges and unknowns continue to pile up. In R&D, vendors are working on an assortment of new EUV technologies, such as scanners, resists, and masks. These will be necessary to reach future process nodes, but they are more complex and expensive than the current EUV pro... » read more

Yield Enhancement Technology: Efforts To Suppress Nanosized Particles In Semiconductor Production Equipment
By TEL - 18 Nov, 2020 - Comments: 0

The currently dominant semiconductor process size is in the range between a few and a few dozen nanometers. That means if a nanosized particle smaller than a virus (hereinafter simply “particle”) is present on a silicon substrate, it could cause a defect in the semiconductor device, lowering the production yield (i.e., the percentage of good chips produced in a manufacturing process). Preve... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test
By Mark LaPedus - 30 Oct, 2020 - Comments: 0

Trade and government The U.S. continues to tighten its export controls for hi-tech, including a move to restrict fab technologies that enable 5nm chip production. The U.S. Department of Commerce has imposed controls on six more technologies, bringing the total to 37. They include: hybrid additive manufacturing/computer controlled tools; computational lithography software designed for EUV masks... » read more

Regaining The Edge In U.S. Chip Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus & Ann Steffora Mutschler - 26 Oct, 2020 - Comments: 16

The United States is developing new strategies to prevent it from falling further behind Korea, Taiwan, and perhaps even China in semiconductor manufacturing, as trade tensions and national security concerns continue to grow. For years, the U.S. has been a leader in the development of new chip products like GPUs and microprocessors. But from a chip manufacturing standpoint, the U.S. is losin... » read more

Defect Challenges Grow For IC Packaging
By Mark LaPedus - 22 Oct, 2020 - Comments: 0

Several vendors are ramping up new inspection equipment based on infrared, optical, and X-ray technologies in an effort to reduce defects in current and future IC packages. While all of these technologies are necessary, they also are complementary. No one tool can meet all defect inspection requirements. As a result, packaging vendors may need to buy more and different tools. For years, p... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test
By Mark LaPedus - 09 Oct, 2020 - Comments: 1

Chipmakers and OEMs AMD is in talks to acquire Xilinx in a deal that could be worth more than $30 billion, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. If the deal transpires, AMD will enter the FPGA business, putting it further in competition with Intel. No deal has been struck, though. --------------------------------------------- Multiple sources believe that China’s Huawei i... » read more

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