Nikon ups the ante

Nikon Precision says it has accelerated its development plans for argon fluoride (ArF) immersion lithography. The exposure tool supplier plans to ship a mass-production-type system with a "hyper-NA" projection lens (numerical aperture (NA) of ≥1.0) by the second half of 2005, a schedule that supersedes its previously announced target of marketing a "wet" tool with a 0.92-NA lens by mid-2005.

The company has worked jointly with Tokyo Electron on feasibility studies since June 2003 and says it sees "no bottlenecks preventing the realization of ArF immersion exposure." Nikon has already begun customer demos and evaluations on an ArF immersion engineering system with a 0.85-NA projection lens. Industry experts believe many semiconductor manufacturers will need some sort of immersion tool to enable device shrinks below 65 nm, with extendability to at least the 45-nm device node.

Microfabrica scores funds

The company that invented EFAB microfabrication technology has landed $15 million of Series B financing. Burbank, CA–based Microfabrica (formerly known as MEMGen) picked up the financing from an investment group led by WK Technology Fund. The company previously garnered more than $11 million in its first round of financing in February 2001, followed by an additional $5.7 million in Series A1 financing in July 2002.

The company says it will use the money to expand globally, move into production mode, and expand its technology's capabilities into additional markets. Microfabrica calls EFAB the first manufacturing technology that can fabricate intricate, three-dimensional microdevices, some of which were thought to be impossible or extremely difficult to manufacture, by depositing tens to hundreds of independently patterned metal layers. Current applications include wireless, automotive, consumer electronics, and aerospace.

ASMC returns to Boston

One of the leading conferences focused on the practical application of the science and technology of chipmaking is returning to Boston. The 15th annual IEEE/SEMI Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference and Workshop (ASMC) takes place May 4–6 at the Seaport Hotel. This year's event features 14 conference sessions, a poster session, a MEMS-related workshop, several keynote speakers, and an industry panel.

Highlights include a separate session dedicated to the latest International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors chapter on yield enhancement; a keynote speech from Hans Stork, chief technology officer of Texas Instruments; a networking luncheon; and the popular poster session reception. Other session topics include defect-free processing and defect management, equipment productivity, fab dynamics, advanced metrology and process control, materials processing, and yield-enhancement case studies. For up-to-date information and registration procedures, go to www.semi.org/asmc.

Video training course released

A newly updated training video includes film shot inside Intel, IBM, and RF Micro Devices fabs. Targeting a nontechnical audience as well as industry specialists, "Making the Microchip—At the Limits III" details the IC manufacturing process through a combination of facilities footage and graphics explaining what's going on inside the various process tools. The video includes explanations of current technology issues such as the use of copper, shallow-trench isolation, chemical mechanical polishing, and low- and high-k dielectrics. It also covers industry history and support technologies such as wafer- and maskmaking, and provides a step-by-step description of the chip manufacturing process.

The previous edition of the video, "At the Limits II," has been widely used by chipmakers, equipment and materials suppliers, and universities as an introduction to the wafer fabrication process. "We have some really good footage in the new one, significantly better than in the older one," says Anne Miller, a principal with Semiconductor Services, the training organization that produced the video. The program, priced at $495, includes a facilitator's guide and review questions. A DVD version will be available later this year. For more information and selected scenes from the video, go to www.semiconductorservices.com.

UPW standard under review

ASTM's standard guide for ultrapure water (UPW) used in the electronics and semiconductor industry is beginning its mandatory five-year review process in Committee D19 on Water. Document D5127-99 divides water into six types, depending on the linewidth of the device. The three main issues to be addressed during the review are as follows: one, should the number of water types be changed; two, should any of the maximum contamination levels be changed, and if so, by how much; and three, should the lab or the fab or both be the targeted end user of the document? Anyone with input is invited to contact group chairman Lynn Vanatta (lynn.vanatta @airliquide.com) by June 1. The committee's next meeting takes place June 13–16 in Nashville, TN, at which time a revised standard will be drafted for balloting.