Solid State Technology articles from October 2005

Solid State Technology archives from October 2005

Multilayer barrier coatings for flexible organic electronics.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... All electronic and optoelectronic devices require protection from the influences of the environment. A thin-film, transparent, and flexible moisture and gas barrier called Barix can be applied at low temperatures (e.g., This work will first...

The big picture for nanotech.(EDITORIAL)
October 1, 2005... Few technologies in recent memory have generated more confusion than nanotechnology. While the popular media sing its praises as a futuristic science that will someday revolutionize everything from materials science to medical research,...

STARC and Tohoku U. eliminate barrier layer from bottom of via.(Semiconductor Technology Academic Research Center)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Taking a starkly different approach to the usual sputtered or ALD barrier layer that keeps copper from diffusing into the dielectric, Semiconductor Technology Academic Research Center (STARC) and Tohoku U. instead just add manganese to the Cu...

LSI Logic to embed carbon nanotube memory in mainstream products.(Nanotechnology news)
October 1, 2005... It looks like the first carbon nanotubes are about to show up in mainstream semiconductor products, and it turns out it won't be any exotic new ultrahigh-end, high-performance application, but embedded memory on 0.18nm logic--driven by lower...

Startups aim nanotechnology processes at enhanced resist coating, sensors, interconnects.(Nanotechnology news)
October 1, 2005... Proposing an alternative to spin-coating for polymer resists or dielectrics down to 1nm layers, Nanometrix, a five-person startup in Montreal, has devised a novel technique that floats a layer of coating material on water, then slides it over...

New ways to make cavities within wafers may reduce MEMS costs.(TECHNOLOGY NEWS)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Robert Bosch GmbH and Hitachi Ltd. are each reporting radically new approaches to making the covered cavities in silicon needed for MEMS pressure sensors and other applications, eliminating the high cost of etching out a deep area and attaching...

'Electro Pen' may impact developing nanotechnologies.(TECHNOLOGY NEWS)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... A new chemical writing technique that can create lines of "ink" only a few nanometers wide has been developed by scientists at the US Dept. of Energy's Brookhaven National Lab. "Our new 'writing' method opens up many new possibilities for...

Ceating shaped piezo silicon micropumps using MEMS-based manufacturing.(Microelectromechanical systems )
October 1, 2005... Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology is driving progress in the manufacturing of new "inkjetting" products called shaped piezo silicon micropumps. This technology provides the capability for the deposition of a whole new generation...

The challenges of adjusting scaling control knobs.(F E O L: FRONT END OF LINE)
October 1, 2005... In 1965, Gordon Moore first observed an exponential growth in the number of transistors per IC and devised a law that threw down a gauntlet and, through intense competition, has enabled amazing gains in chip performance. However, all...

Nanometer deposition processes create new challenges for cryopumps.(VACUUM TECHNOLOGY)
October 1, 2005... Every time cryogenic pumps are pushed to lower pressures in semiconductor manufacturing, new and often unexpected phenomena occur. Such is the case with advanced processes needed for magnetoresistive memory, or magnetic random-access memory...

A 90nm wafer-level technique for thin-film stress monitoring.(METROLOGY SERIES, PART IV)
October 1, 2005... Coherent gradient sensing (CGS) is an emerging thin-film stress metrology technique that provides a method to map wafer-level stress on both blanket and patterned films. The technique was evaluated at Intel to assess wafer stress concentration...

Cu interconnects with Ru diffusion barriers.(DEPOSITION)
October 1, 2005... Extensive characterization of physical vapor-deposited ruthenium and [Ru.sub.x][N.sub.y] films was carried out to evaluate their performance as a copper diffusion barrier. Barrier strength, crystal structure, film stress, adhesion, and...

Using multiple transducers at sub-65nm for single-wafer megasonics-based cleaning.(WAFER CLEANING)
October 1, 2005... Wafer cleaning has traditionally relied on the combination of strong chemistries and high-power megasonic energy to achieve cleaning efficiencies >90%. With new 65nm processes now moving into the preproduction phase and 45nm technologies in...

300mm tool integrates PVD and ion-induced ALD.(physical-vapor deposition )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... The Inova NeXT 300mm metallization system for copper/ barrier seed applications is intended to extend beyond the 45nm node. The tool is capable of both physical-vapor deposition (PVD) with its single-target hollow cathode magnetron technology,...

Scalable light source enables 45nm immersion lithography.(PRODUCT NEWS)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... The XLA 300 is a 193nm, 6kHz argon fluoride light source for volume production in 45nm immersion lithography applications. With master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) technology, the resulting high repetition rate and tight bandwidth ([less...

3D probe evaporates atoms to analyze samples at atomic scale.(PRODUCT NEWS)
October 1, 2005... The advanced laser three-dimensional atom probe (3DAP) provides atomic-scale analysis of semiconductor structures by evaporating individual atoms from materials samples in an ultrahigh-vacuum chamber at cryogenic temperatures ( [ILLUSTRATIO

Darkfield tool inspects defects for 45nm development and 65nm production.(PRODUCT NEWS)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... The WaferXam system is an advanced darkfield laser-scanning system for inspecting silicon substrates at semiconductor incoming quality control and silicon wafer suppliers. Intended to serve the 45nm process-development market and exceeding the...

XPS metrology tool.(PRODUCT NEWS)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... The Theta 300XT tool maps thickness and elemental and chemical uniformity, provides nondestructive depth profiles, and determines interface chemistry for 200mm and 300mm production wafers. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques allow...

Vacuum cure system.(PRODUCT NEWS)(PBX-300 by Yield Engineering Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... The PBX-300 series high-temperature vacuum cure systems are air-cooled, particle-free, and can offer high vacuum up to [10.sup.-7] torr. Two configurations are available with either two or four 300mm loadports and one or two oven modules. A...

Dispensing system.(PRODUCT NEWS)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... The XyflexPro+ dispensing system uses a "total system accuracy" specification for precise placement on a substrate relative to a target, and reportedly incorporates faster point-to-point movement and virtually eliminates z-axis travel time,...

Miniaturization platform.(Shellcase Ltd)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... ShellUltraThin (ShellUT) is a next-generation platform for optical devices that provides a true die-sized package for savings in board space and assembly costs. Based on wafer-level chip size packaging, the platform uses a glass-silicon...

Optical inspection system.(PRODUCT NEWS)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... The AL Series optical inspection and defect review system inspects wafer edge and bevel areas, allowing the user to see the top, side, and bottom of the wafer from multiple angles with continuous angle adjustment. Proprietary Universal Infinity...

Film calibration standards.(PRODUCT NEWS)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... PSI Standards are thin-film calibration standards for ISO compliance, tool monitoring, and standardization. 150mm, 200mm, and 300mm NIST-traceable silicon dioxide and silicon nitride standards are available, and are manufactured from thermally...

MEMS design software.(Microelectromechanical systems)(SoftMEMS)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... MEMS Pro version 5.1 is a flexible CAD tool suite for designing and analyzing microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The updated software offers more output formats for 3D geometries, improved automatic meshing, automatic translation of...

Compositional metrology option.(PRODUCT NEWS)
October 1, 2005... zMAX is an elemental depth distribution technology, now available on the RVX 1000 compositional metrology system for 65nm and 45nm process development and manufacturing. With this tool, users are able to control variations inside a film from...

iGX Drypump Series.(Literature showcase)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... The BOC Edwards 3X Dry Vacuum Pump Series provides a versatile reliable, high-performance dry vacuum dump platform for applications from loadlock and wafer handling to metal etch and ion implant. Compact size and low vibration allow the iGX to...

Vacuum Valves 2008.(Literature showcase)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... VAT has just released a new catalog! The 'Vacuum Valves 2008' catalog s an excellent reference source containing technical information and drawings for 1000+ standard valves Vacuum Valves 2008' details a complete line of vacuum valves, pressure...

Vanguard[TM] Solid State UV Laser.(Literature showcase)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Spectra-Physics, a Division of Newport Corporation, has introduced the 1 Watt Vanguard[TM] UV laser. Vanguard is a quasi-CW laser that delivers a stable high performance beam, low CoO, and high reliability. Ideal for demanding OEM applications...

A major shakeup in reliability testing.(INDUSTRY FORUM)
October 1, 2005... If there is one grand truth in the semiconductor industry, it is this: Simple device scaling to achieve performance gains is dead. Gains at future technology nodes will no longer come from simply shrinking devices by ratcheting down...