SEMATECH, the global consortium of chipmakers, announced today that Kurita Water Industries Limited has partnered with SEMATECH to develop innovative technologies for low defectivity ultrapure water (UPW) applications used in semiconductor manufacturing.

“SEMATECH, along with suppliers, is working to improve preparation and cleaning techniques by both optimizing existing technologies, testing novel methods and developing new characterization technologies that will address current and projected challenges in semiconductor and wafer manufacturing processes,” said Kevin Cummings, SEMATECH’s Director of Lithography. “The collaborative effort between SEMATECH and Kurita illustrates the demand for next-generation ultrapure water systems in the semiconductor industry.”

As a SEMATECH member, Kurita will collaborate with metrology, process and manufacturing experts at SEMATECH to identify and develop UPW defect removal techniques that will improve capabilities for key process applications in semiconductor manufacturing.

“Ultrapure water plays a critical role in manufacturing today’s extremely compact semiconductor chips and, as such, SEMATECH continues to expand our expertise and capabilities in liquid-phase defectivity, including ultrapure water, chemicals and resists,” said Edward Barth, SEMATECH’s Director of Strategic Growth Initiatives. “SEMATECH will leverage Kurita’s unique ultrapure water technology to investigate methods for improving lifecycle costs and increasing efficiency of critical manufacturing process applications and equipment components.”