Issue



Table of Contents

Solid State Technology

Year 2001
Issue 5

DEPARTMENTS

Editorial


Who ordered this?

The semiconductor industry is used to ups and downs, so a downturn like this is nothing new. But 2001, according to last year's glowing forecasts, was supposed to be a continuation of a strong upswing.


World News


World News

Inventory overhang, macroeconomy keep sales in slump; Three companies partner to design new chip; What goes up, must come down...


Tech News


Technology News

Bell Labs plastic superconductor; New "nanobelts" hailed for more promising nanodevices...


Show Report


Industry's problems, solutions exposed at lithography's annual showcase

Even though lithography has been "the whipping boy of the industry for so long," there will be greater problems as the industry approaches the wall of CMOS technology, said Dennis Buss, VP of silicon technology development at Texas Instruments, Dallas, TX, to the attendees of SPIE's 26th International Symposium on Microlithography.


Asiafocus


Asia Focus

Sparks fly at ISS Japan over national research projects; Outlook from Japan: Cloudy.


Market Watch


Wireless and broadband: Opportunities for chipmakers

Communications applications once constituted the ugly brother of the PC world in terms of its relationship to the growth of the semiconductor market. These systems were generated in relatively low volume and represented minimal profit opportunity/device.


Calendar


Calendar

Industry events during May to October 2001.


New Literature


New Literature

Thermal products web site; LPCVD silicon nitride trap brochure; ASIC system on a chip report...


New Products


New Products

Compact wafer reader; Low-k dielectric for 100nm designs; Advanced passivation process; Accurate wire sawing...


SPECIAL-SECTION-300MM-RE

Products


300mm Products

Automated parametric test; Overhead wafer transport; FT-IR metrology tool; 3-dimensional metrology systems...


300mm


Suppliers' successes with 300mm tools and materials

An industry-wide survey of some of the latest 300mm equipment and materials shows that the challenges of processing 300mm wafers are being understood and addressed.


Fabs


Managing

Texas Instruments is nearly on track with its goals of being the "second or third IC manufacturer to ramp up to 300mm-wafer fabrication."


Foundries


Taking IC manufacturing from 300mm pilot to production

After delivering customer "first silicon" on 300mm wafers in 2000, today TSMC is actively processing customer designs on 300mm.


FEATURES

Industry Insights


2001: The

At this point, the global semiconductor industry has announced some 17 new wafer fabs using 300mm technology by the end of 2002 (according to IC Insights and Solid State Technology).


Resists


Analyzing and characterizing 193nm resist shrinkage

In addition to stability and collapse issues facing 193nm resists, there is concern regarding a decrease in linewidth when exposed to an electron beam during critical dimension measurements.


Deposition


Jet ECD plating and seed layers for sub-0.10µm Cu interconnects

Jet electrochemical deposition plating [1-2] has shown excellent capability for void-free Cu filling of narrow openings with very large aspect ratios.


Vacuum Technology


Addressing the challenges of LP-epi exhaust management

Alternating high flows of acid vapors and hydrogen with additional toxic and pyrophoric gases presents a new challenge for exhaust treatment. These processes can be sensitive to exhaust pressure surges, limiting the use of switching between dual exhaust systems.


Flat Panel Displays


Silicon foundry fabricates microdisplay with liquid crystal on silicon

Modifications to a standard silicon foundry process flow are being used to manufacture liquid crystal on silicon microdisplays. Key improvements are in the areas of planarization and reflectivity.