MICRO: 'Round the Circuit

Two suppliers have teamed to develop delivery systems for supercritical CO^₂. BOC Edwards and Micell Integrated Systems (MIS) will collaborate on developing technology that will allow BOC to supply delivery subsystems for high-purity CO^₂. Based in Raleigh, NC, MIS manufactures CO^₂-based cleaning technology. BOC Edwards supplies high-purity carbon dioxide.

The companies claim the collaboration will result in advanced cleaning solutions for wafer processing at the 90-nm technology node and below. BOC Edwards plans to sell subfab systems for chemical blending, pressure, and temperature control of the carbon dioxide before it reaches the process tool. Supercritical CO^₂ penetrates structures ≤90 nm, clean or dry, and leaves the features ready for the next process step, the partners point out. Chipmakers are building special infrastructure to support new CO^₂-based cleaning and delivery systems which operate at pressures from 40 to 200 bar, they add.

Tapping its expertise in copper-based processing, IBM is ready to begin volume production of 90-nm field-programmable gate arrays on 300-mm wafers. The chipmaker will work with Xilinx, which specializes in programmable logic technology, to manufacture FPGA devices in the second half of 2003. In addition to using copper interconnects, IBM will use silicon-on-insulator technology and low-k dielectric to make the chips at its new $2.5 billion 300-mm fab in East Fishkill, NY.

The companies claim the advanced process technology will result in a reduction of 50 to 80% in the size of the Xilinx FPGA design compared with competing devices. Xilinx says it eventually will sell the 1 million–gate arrays for less than $25, a savings of 35 to 70% over competing products. The San Jose–based company notes that its FPGA has approximately 17,000 logic cells.

"What we have just accomplished with Xilinx is testament to the fact that we have the most advanced semiconductor technology, chip design, and manufacturing capabilities in the industry," boasts Michel Mayer, general manager of IBM's microelectronics division.

In other news, IBM announced that it has pushed the boundaries of silicon processing by creating the world's smallest working transistor. The 6-nm transistor is 10 times smaller than standard transistors in production, the company says. IBM was able to scale down the gate length by reducing the silicon thickness on SOI wafers. The 6-nm transistor measures 4–8 nm thick. The chipmaker used 248-nm lithography.

Applied promises better yields

A new analytical service from Applied Materials promises to help chipmakers enhance their yields by organizing fabwide data into a manageable customized database. Called Process Excursion Control (PEC), the comprehensive data-management service can track more than 1 million disparate processing measurements, according to the equipment manufacturer. PEC will improve fab efficiency by leveraging Applied's software, hardware, and process expertise, the company claims.

The service offers more than "traditional yield-management consultation," asserts David Fried, general manager of the supplier's customer productivity support group. PEC combines automated data-mining software and advanced data collection and analysis. The service grabs data from sources such as metrology, defect, parametric, and automation software. In addition, PEC tracks operating conditions of individual process tools and equipment sensors, Applied says. The supplier's yield experts analyze the results to pinpoint causes of excursions and correct them.

Kopin claims LED advance

An advanced contact technology has enabled Kopin to make the first epitaxial contact on gallium nitride, the manufacturer claims. Kopin has combined the ohmic contacts with NanoPockets technology and other breakthroughs to make blue LED chips that are as bright as standard diodes but run on lower voltages. Called CyberLites, the LEDs require less than 2.9 V to operate, rather than the 3.3 V used by the typical LED. Brightness is 100 millicandela. Kopin says it can make CyberLites that resist ESD of more than several thousand volts.

Kopin forms the ohmic contacts by depositing layers of gold, nickel, and gold on the p-type GaN surface. The surface is annealed in air for 30 minutes at 470°C. Contacting the p-type gallium nitride, the gold layer grows epitaxially through domain-matching epitaxy, Kopin says. The technology acts as a template for growing nickel oxide through lattice-matching epitaxy.

Shadman receives EHS award

Farhang Shadman, director of the NSF/SRC Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing at the University of Arizona, has received the 2002 Akira Inoue Award for Outstanding Achievement in Environment, Health and Safety. SEMI sponsors the annual honor.

The award committee cited Shadman's initiative in establishing the research center in 1995 and his role as an educator. Water-recycling methods Shadman helped to develop with International Sematech have led to reductions in water usage per fab of 25 to 70%, committee members noted.