March 27, 2007 – Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials has agreed to license technology from Harvard University’s Office of Technology Development for manufacturing and marketing new metal amidinate compounds used in atomic-layer deposition (ALD) of thin films of metal and metal compounds for 45nm and below semiconductor processes.

Under the deal, Rohm and Haas will produce the compounds at its facilities in North Andover, MA, and collaborate with Harvard scientists to further develop the technology for advanced ALD and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes.

The technology, developed in the labs of Harvard chemistry prof. Roy Gordon, target high-k dielectric, metal gate, and barrier/adhesion layers, providing better functionality, throughput, and thermal stability for emerging ALD and CVD processes.

Gordon’s lab centers on thin-film deposition, targeting films including thin metals (e.g. Cu, Ag), thin conducting films (WN, F-SnO₂), magnetic materials (e.g. Fe₂O₃), and high-k dielectric materials (e.g. HfO₂, ZrO₂), according to the Harvard Web site.