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June 5, 2012 — Naoya Hayashi, research fellow for electronic device operations at Dai Nippon Printing, speaks with Solid State Technology chief editor Pete Singer during The ConFab 2012. Hayashi presented “NGL Mask Readiness” in The ConFab’s session on technology trends for advanced semiconductor manufacturing.

The ConFab is Solid State Technology’s invitation-only meeting for the semiconductor industry, taking place this week in Las Vegas, NV.

 

More ConFab stories:

Semiconductors in the smart society: Next-generation connectivity

Turning the technology knobs for system scaling

How to prevail over silicon cycles

Semiconductor industry experts look to the future

A virtual IDM concept

June 5, 2012 — W. L. Gore & Associates and CT Associates developed a method for measuring <50nm particles in ultra-pure water (UPW) used in semiconductor processes, and removing particles as small as 12nm, through a combination of ultrafiltration and microfiltration.

Small particles contaminating UPW can cause defects on the semiconductor wafer, and must be removed by filtration. At leading-edge nodes, semiconductor UPW must be free of particles above 10nm in diameter. Conventional particle counting instrumentation cannot measure particles this small.

W.L. Gore and CT Associates developed a particle detection technique that allows filter makers to measure retention efficiency for such small particle sizes in the lab. A precise aerosol is created from the UPW and evaporates the water, leaving the particles behind in the gas phase. These particles can then be accurately sized and counted using conventional aerosol particle detection instrumentation.

This method was used to evaluate filters from common UPW systems at semiconductor fabs. Although ultra filters have high retention efficiency, some very small particles can still pass through and create defects.

The test method showed that a very high retention micro filter is able to retain a large fraction of the small particles as well.

The researchers concluded that an overall filtration system using both an ultra filter and a high-retention micro filter in series will better retain defect-causing particles from UPW, in sizes as small as 12nm diameter.

W.L. Gore and CT Associates share the results of this study in a white paper, “Removal of 12nm particles from UPW by a combination of Ultrafiltration and Microfiltration,” by Donald C Grant and Dennis Chilcote, CT Associates, Inc., and Uwe Beuscher, W. L. Gore and Associates, Inc., is available online in the May/June issue of ULTRAPURE WATER Journal, http://www.ultrapurewater.com/UPW/Default.aspx, and will be presented at the ULTRAPURE WATER-Micro conference, November 13-14, in Phoenix, AZ.

W. L. Gore & Associates Inc. supplies PTFE-based filtration media for semiconductor, electronics, ultrapure water and high-purity chemical applications. To learn more, visit gore.com.

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June 4, 2012 — The ConFab 2012, Solid State Technology’s invitation-only meeting of the semiconductor industry, opened today in Las Vegas with a keynote address from John Chen, PhD, VP of technology and foundry operations at Nvidia Corporation. Nvidia makes graphics processing units (GPUs) and other semiconductor chips and is listed on the NASDAQ under ticker NVDA.

Chen presented the “virtual IDM” concept in his talk, “The Next Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry.” Integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) take semiconductor chips from design to wafer fab to packaging and final sale. The virtual IDM is a way for semiconductor foundries, fabless companies, and outsource semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) houses to collaborate to solve the new challenges in technology, manufacturing and business. Instead of 1 company performing chip design, fab, and packaging, the 3 companies (or many more) work in concert to both excel in their area of expertise and seamlessly coordinate with the other elements to act as one.

Chen has experience in IDM, foundry, and fabless companies, with 35 years spent in the semiconductor industry. Prior to his time at NVIDIA, Chen held senior executive positions at FlexICs Inc., TSMC, WaferTech LLC, and Cypress Corporation. He started out with Hughes Research Lab and Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, where he authored more than 100 research papers on CMOS technology, as well as a book published by Prentice Hall.  He was elected an IEEE Fellow in 1992 for “leadership in and contributions to CMOS device and process technology.”

Chen holds a B.S. in E.E. from National Taiwan University, an M.S. in E.E. from University of Maine, a Ph.D. in E.E. from UCLA, and a Master degree from the UCLA Executive Engineering Management Program. He was a Technical Advisor for ITRI, Taiwan, and serves on boards in the industry.

Video interview with Solid State Technology chief editor, Pete Singer

 

Learn more about The ConFab 2012 at http://www.theconfab.com/index.html.

The next keynote address will take place Tuesday morning, with Ali Sebt, CEO of Renesas Electronics America, presenting “Smart Society, the Sensing Era and Signal Chain.”

The ConFab sessions cover economic outlooks, technology trends, the foundry-fabless relationship, 3D packaging, and tool investments/obsolescence. Click on any of the keywords for a session preview.

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June 4, 2012 — AKHAN Technologies Inc., advanced diamond electron device designer, will collaborate with the Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM) at Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne Labs) to fully characterize Miraj Diamond devices and materials, which are made by doping n-type diamond and can be used in the semiconductor industry.

Through "Characterization of Novel N-type Nanocrystalline Diamond and Related Diode Devices," the team will better understand the electronic properties of n-type doped diamond thin films, using CNM

June 4, 2012 — AKHAN Technologies Inc., advanced diamond electron device designer, will collaborate with the Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM) at Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne Labs) to fully characterize Miraj Diamond devices and materials, which are made by doping n-type diamond and can be used in the semiconductor industry.

Through "Characterization of Novel N-type Nanocrystalline Diamond and Related Diode Devices," the team will better understand the electronic properties of n-type doped diamond thin films, using CNM’s various nanoscale characterization techniques. Results of these studies will be disseminated in a non-proprietary manner.

“Europe has been focused on the delta doping method, which has extremely narrow process requirements including the requirement of very thick diamond on expensive single-crystal diamond carriers, implemented commercially by companies like Element 6 De Beers. Japan has been forward looking, investing heavily in more cost-effective diamond-on-silicon microchip technology, [which is] useful only in very hot and otherwise extreme environments with epitaxial diamond-on-diamond wafers but not at all with diamond-on-silicon wafers, implemented by institutions like Japan’s National Institute of Science and Technology and Nippon” said Adam Khan, AKHAN founder and chief executive.

The n-type diamond material Miraj Diamond, developed in the US with the help of wafer fabs, enables highly manufacturable, fully functioning diamond microchips, Khan said. The Miraj Diamond platform enables fabrication of complex devices such as high speed/power transistors, RF, and microwave electronics.

AKHAN Technologies is a fabless semiconductor company pioneering research and development of diamond-based semiconductor devices with applications in the microelectronics industry. For more information, visit http://www.akhantech.com. AKHAN’s Miraj Diamond IP portfolio is currently brokered by ICAP Patent Brokerage, a division of ICAP plc and the world’s largest intellectual property brokerage and patent auction firm.

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June 1, 2012 — Kyma Technologies Inc., crystalline aluminum nitride (AlN) and gallium nitride (GaN) supplier, demonstrated a 10” (250mm) aluminum nitride (AlN) on sapphire template, manufactured on its proprietary plasma vapor deposition on nanocolumns (PVDNC) technology. The 10” sapphire substrate was provided courtesy of Monocrystal.

Photo 1. Kyma’s new 10” diameter PVDNC AlN on sapphire template with smaller diameter (6” and 4”) products.

AlN templates replace bare and patterned sapphire substrates for manufacturing blue, green, and white GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs).

Photo 2. Monocrystal’s 10” sapphire substrate vs 2” sapphire substrate. Source: Monocrystal.

LED manufacturers are transitioning from 2” to 6” wafers, Kyma Technologies reports. While 10” and 12” wafers remain primarily in demonstration phase today, LED makers will be moving to the larger wafer diameters in the next few years, the company predicts. Larger wafers produce more die per wafer, making tool utilization more efficient and achieving higher volume production.

Kyma has demonstrated 12” AlN-on-silicon (Si) templates that can be used for GaN growth. The company commissioned a high-volume PVDNC tool in early 2011 and has qualified customers on it for 2” processes, said Ed Preble, Kyma CTO.

Monocrystal supplies sapphire products for LEDs and metallization pastes for the solar manufacturing industry. For more information, visit www.monocrystal.com.

Kyma makes crystalline nitride semiconductor materials including gallium nitride (GaN), aluminum nitride (AlN), and aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) and related products and services. For more information about Kyma Technologies, visit www.kymatech.com.

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June 1, 2012 — OSRAM AG will build a new light emitting diode (LED) assembly plant in Wuxi, Jiangsu, China. LED chips fabbed at its Regensburg, Germany and Penang, Malaysia wafer processing facilities will be packaged at the new back-end facility in Wuxi starting in late 2013. The plant will accommodate up to 1600 employees.

An OSRAM LED package diagram showing the chip and package.
An actual OSRAM LED package.

This will free up the Regensburg and Penang wafer fabs to exclusive manufacture LED chips. Wuxi will also augment the Penang plant by manufacturing general, automotive and industrial lighting products for key segments of the Chinese market. The new facility gives Osram more access to China, which it calls “the lighting industry’s largest single market worldwide.” Wuxi is near Shanghai.

In fiscal 2011, about one-fifth of Osram’s revenue came from the Asia-Pacific region. Osram employs about 16,000 people there, its largest regional workforce. Roughly half of these workers are in China. Osram has marketed products in the region for about 80 years.

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors manufactures optoelectronic semiconductors for the lighting, sensor and visualization sectors. Learn more at http://www.osram-os.com/osram_os/EN/

Visit the LED Manufacturing Channel on Solid State Technology and subscribe to the LED Manufacturing News monthly e-newsletter!

May 31, 2012 — Sanjay Rajguru, director of ISMI, will present “Tool Obsolescence and the Impact on 200mm Manufacturing” at The ConFab 2012’s final session, Maximizing the Longevity of Investments.

The ConFab is an invitation-only event for the semiconductor industry, June 3-6 in Las Vegas. Rajguru will join John Frank, SVP Industrial and Advanced Technology, CH2MHill; Gary Robertson, division GM, KLA-Tencor; and Mike Barrow, EVP and COO, International Rectifier, in the session.

Moore’s Law dictates that some portion of our semiconductor product base becomes obsolete every year, Rajguru points out. A growing list of 200mm manufacturing parts also becomes obsolete every year. Tool obsolescence is possibly the most critical problem faced by legacy manufacturers.

To help identify the root cause and possible solutions to obsolescence, ISMI conducted over a year’s research. Rajguru will cover tactical and strategic methods that semiconductor manufactures in the mature production sector can use for dealing with tool obsolescence.

Sanjay Rajguru is the director of International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI), responsible for the consortium’s manufacturing technology programs. His role includes leading ISMI’s Manufacturing Capabilities and Mature Fabs programs, which are focused on the systematic improvement of manufacturability: factory and equipment stability, productivity and cost improvements, and equipment lifecycle management. He also oversees the ISMI ESH Technology Center, a global collaborative research organization including chip manufacturers and equipment and material suppliers devoted to collectively finding and implementing the most cost-effective, environmentally friendly manufacturing processes and procedures. Prior to joining ISMI, Rajguru was a fab manager at National Semiconductor for 13 years and held various engineering and management positions with Nortel Semiconductors.

Other ConFab previews:

Bridging the fabless-foundry gap

EUV lithography readiness

Packaging progress

Emerging growth sectors

Visit the Semiconductors Channel of Solid State Technology!

May 31, 2012 — Ultrasonic Systems Inc. (USI), ultrasonic spray coating tool manufacturer, developed new options for its MAX-800 coating system, such as an automated reel-to-reel system, tablet-glass handling conveyor, and more.

The MAX-800 is a large-format (780mm2), high-speed X/Y/Z spray coating system using the company’s proprietary nozzle-less ultrasonic spray head technology for thin, uniform coatings. The optional active HEPA filtration system and vacuum-purged actuators ensure class-100-cleanroom-compatible conditions in the spray area. USI’s Precision Metering Pump liquid delivery system with servo motor control and automatic pump re-fill, delivers precise, repeatable liquid flow to the spray head. The tool is used to make displays, fuel cells, batteries, solar cells, and other devices.

New options for the system include application-specific-sized heated substrate fixture with vacuum hold, a heavy-duty conveyor for large substrates and pallets, an automated reel-to-reel (R2R) system for coating foil substrates, and a walking beam conveyor for transporting tablet-PC-sized glass plates.

Ultrasonic Systems, Inc. (USI) manufactures high-performance spray coating equipment based on patented, nozzle-less ultrasonic spray head technology. Learn more at http://www.ultraspray.com/.

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May 30, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Element Six, maker of synthetic diamond supermaterials, opened its first US manufacturing facility in Silicon Valley (Santa Clara, CA), housing production, technical, and customer service. It will enable direct connections to Element Six Technologies Division’s customers and partners in the US.

Figure 1. Synthetic Diamond in semiconductors offers thermal management of high-power devices, lowering device operating temperatures. SOURCE: Business Wire.

The company, based in Europe, runs manufacturing operations in China, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, South Africa, and the UK. Element Six reports “growing demand and interest in synthetic diamond for commercial use in advanced technology applications” in the US. Element Six synthetic diamond offers high hardness, thermal conductivity, and beneficial optical and electro-chemical properties for technology applications.

Figure 2. Element Six synthetic diamond is integrated into quantum computing, bio-medical sensors, water treatment, and other applications. SOURCE: Business Wire.

In addition to thermal management in semiconductors, laser applications, and bio-medical products, the synthetic diamond material is being developed into new applications, said Cyrus Jilla, CEO of Element Six.

The company also recently announced construction of its largest and most sophisticated synthetic diamond supermaterials research and development facility in Oxford, UK.

Element Six is an independently managed synthetic diamond supermaterials company. Element Six is part of the De Beers Family of Companies and is co-owned by Umicore, the Belgian materials group. Learn more at www.e6.com.

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