July 10, 2006 – Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials Microelectronic Technologies and Dow Corning Corp. have renewed a joint development agreement to work on novel spin-on silicon hardmask antireflective coatings for sub-65nm lithography in flash, DRAM, and logic IC devices.

Under terms of the deal, Dow will supply resins that provide that high silicon content when incorporated into Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials’ hardmask anti-reflective coating products, ultimately improving the effective resolution in the litho cell. The coatings allow chipmakers to transfer patterns onto underlying substrates of varying hardness and thicknesses using conventional etch processes. The technology combines the etch mask functionality of a traditional CVD hardmask with the reflection control of an additional spin-on organic anti-reflectant, thus eliminating the need for an additional anti-reflective coating process step normally required with CVD hardmasks, and significantly shortening the IC manufacturing process, the company claims. Further, when used in a trilayer pattern transfer process, the jointly developed spin-on silicon hard mask can manage reflection control in immersion lithography.

“The positive response to our innovative lineup of silicon hardmask products has been very exciting and we are currently in the process of creating and testing additional new products to bring to our customers in the near future,” stated Yi Hyon Paik, president of the business unit at Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials.

The two companies originally began work in 2004, with a first product, a commercial spin-on hardmask material, now being implemented in high-volume flash memory production at customers in Asia.