Issue

If the industry were starting over from zero again, would some of these newfangled ideas make more sense than the way we build fabs today?

N.A. tool orders, billings continue upward marchNorth American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.16 billion in orders in June 2002 and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.28, according to Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (Semi).

Three-dimensional SOI, planar/vertical double gate transistors will be ready in the next few years (Fig. 1), said John Borland, director of advanced business development at Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates (VSEA).

The growth of optical planar waveguide technology for communications applications has been driven by a dramatic increase in bandwidth demand beyond the limits of copper.

Once e-diagnostics standards are finalized, expected technology benefits can be more rapidly put into place.

It is widely stated that wafer fab and tool efficiency must be improved, particularly as 300mm manufacturing comes on line, and that e-diagnostics via a supplier-to-user link will be one of the key enablers.

A new method is introduced for the deposition of tungsten in the extreme high-aspect-ratio features required for future generations of advanced devices. The method has been used to fill vias with aspect ratios of 15:1 or more.

Many emerging semiconductor-manufacturing production applications are calling for wafer thinning to less than 100æm. Handling these paper-thin discs, especially with automation, is no trivial task. Thin wafers have unusual degrees of bow and warp, sag from gravity, stick together, flutter in a breeze, have razor-sharp edges, and cannot be placed in conventional cassettes.

Increasing beam voltage has enabled the photomask industry to keep pace with shrinking critical dimensions, tightening critical-dimension linearity requirements, and more complicated optical proximity correction strategies.

The presence of moisture, oxygen, and other impurities in a process gas stream is highly undesirable.