October 30, 2008: SEMATECH, in partnership with the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany, has received a 300mm Telius SP UD system from Tokyo Electron Ltd (TEL).
The Telius SP UD system is a through-silicon-via (TSV) etch tool that can investigate various chemistries to etch vias ranging from sub-1μm to tens of μm wide. The TSV RIE tool, which is a critical component of all 3D TSV integration schemes, will be used in SEMATECH’s 3D R&D Center at CNSE’s Albany NanoTech Complex in Albany, NY.
“TEL was the first associate member of the 3D program and has been a valued partner of the Interconnect division for many years. Given their experience in deep silicon etching, we are very pleased to partner with TEL on this critical aspect of developing 3D interconnects,” said John Warlaumont, SEMATECH’s VP of advanced technology. “Leveraging CNSE’s pilot line to establish a 300mm 3D R&D center is a unique opportunity. It allows our researchers to address the technical and manufacturability issues of creating 3D interconnects within a state-of-the-art CMOS environment.”
Michael Tittnich, associate VP for technical operations at CNSE, said, “The strategic partnership between the UAlbany NanoCollege and SEMATECH continues to demonstrate global leadership in accelerating cutting-edge nanoelectronics education, research, development and deployment for the benefit of a growing number of worldwide industry partners. This latest acquisition of Tokyo Electron’s next-generation TSV RIE tool expands CNSE’s state-of-the-art 300mm line, while also illustrating the success of SEMATECH’s 3D R&D program and its growing presence and partnerships at CNSE’s Albany NanoTech Complex.”
Issues which have restricted 3D interconnects from entering high-volume manufacturing encompass the front-end, assembly and packaging, and design and test. In an effort to transcend these barriers, SEMATECH’s 3D program has been working jointly with chipmakers, equipment and materials suppliers, and assembly and packaging service companies from around the world on early development challenges, including cost modeling, technology option narrowing, technology development, and benchmarking, while also building industry consensus.
