INDUSTRY NEWS

EXPANSIONS AND ACQUISITIONS

Applied announces Cu EPIC

Claiming an industry first, Applied Materials says its new EPIC facility will enable customers to develop and test a completely integrated multilevel metal copper interconnect process before installing it in their fab. The Equipment and Process Integration Center offers clients a money-saving method to reduce both fab start-up time and time to market for next-generation microchips. EPIC houses all of Applied's copper-based technologies, which have been combined to demonstrate a multilevel copper interconnect process. Nearby buildings contain a deep-UV photolithography cell for wafer patterning and a set of analytical and testing gear to verify electrical performance, Applied says.

EPIC incorporates Workstream DFS and Fab300 manufacturing execution systems software from Consilium. The center uses SMIF pods to transport wafers in a Class 1 minienvironment. Additional features at the site include a closed-loop waste abatement system that removes all traces of copper from the facility's effluent, according to the vendor. The center currently processes 200-mm wafers. It can be expanded to accommodate 300-mm processes. A range of technologies is available for process testing, including FTIR, Auger, and SIMS, Applied says.

Allied buys mini vendor

AlliedSignal Electronic Materials of Sunnyvale, CA, has purchased Clean Link, a manufacturer of minienvironments, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will enable the materials unit to address customer concerns over contamination-related defects caused by the use of copper and low-k materials, AlliedSignal says. San Jose—based Clean Link will become part of AlliedSignal Electronic Materials' wafer fabrication business. In related news, the AlliedSignal division announced plans to build a comprehensive process integration facility at its Sunnyvale plant to further explore low-k spin-on dielectric technology. The Class 10 cleanroom will house low-k spin coaters, curing equipment, and film characterization tools. CMP, CVD, etch, and strip systems will also be installed, and Class 1 minienvironments will be used to enclose the various integration tools.

Reticle defect pact revealed

Numerical Technologies (NTI) will incorporate its defect analysis software in reticle inspection systems made by KLA-Tencor, the suppliers announced. Under the terms of an OEM agreement, the two firms will collaborate in developing a streamlined reticle inspection and analysis process using NTI's Virtual Stepper software. The combination will allow users of KLA-Tencor systems to detect reticle defects and determine the effect their printability will have on yields. Ed Grady, executive vp of KLA-Tencor's precision measurement group, asserts that previously undiscovered reticle defects are printing on wafers and lowering yields. NTI says Virtual Stepper is the first software package to use information from the lithography process to accurately characterize mask defects. The program can be used for in-line and off-line inspection of advanced sub-wavelength masks, the supplier says.

Cabot adds slurry capacity

Cabot's microelectronics materials division is building a new headquarters that will enable the supplier of CMP slurries to increase manufacturing capacity by 25%. Located in Aurora, IL, the 65,000-sq-ft facility will also make it possible for the business unit to expand product development, applications support, and customer service operations by 70%. Cabot cites research showing the market for CMP materials will increase by a 37% CAGR to $690 million by 2003. The materials division has grown at a double-digit rate since it was formed three years ago. The new headquarters will house a Class 1000 cleanroom within 25,000 sq ft of manufacturing space. The site is near Cabot's current headquarters, which will continue to manufacture slurries. Completion is scheduled for this August.

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