Wafer Processing

WAFER PROCESSING ARTICLES



Machine Vision Engine

02/01/2000  Based on the Windows CE operating system for embedded control applications, NetSight provides users with a fully programmable, mmx scaleable, high-performance and deterministic extension (or alternative) to host-based vision procession. Configurable with self-boot or remote-boot capability, the product can be used as a stand alone or network-ready device. In its self-contained, small footprint, OEM-style enclosure with 16-bit digital I/O for monitoring and controlling discrete processes, the pro

Wastewater recycling system addresses environmental concerns

02/01/2000  NEWBURY, OHIO -The STMicroelectronics (Phoenix, Ariz.) wafer fab has begun operation of an integrated wastewater recycling system designed and built by Kinetico Inc. (Newbury, Ohio). The system uses propritary recycling technology and is believed to be the first integrated water recycling system installed in the U.S. semiconductor industry for chemical mechanical planarization (CMP), metal, oxide and backgrinding process wastewater.

Tru-Si tackles problems of chip-to-chip vertical interconnection

02/01/2000  SUNNYVALE, CALIF. - Tru-Si Technologies Inc., a leader in atmospheric downstream plas- ma (ADP) processing for vertical miniaturization solutions, has announced a breakthrough overcoming the challenges that threaten Moore`s Law. Using its ADP etching process, the company has discovered a method of successfully stacking multiple chips by stacking wafers containing dif- ferent circuit functions, such as memory, logic, analog and digital. This technology, which maintains the economies of scale inhe

Numeritech: Integration, not market share, the first challenge

01/24/2000  With the announcement that Numerical Technologies (NumeriTech) is licensing several of its subwavelength design-to-manufacturing products to Cadence Design, an EDA vendor, industry observers are speculating that the alliance will square off against a similar corporate pairing between ASML MaskTools and Mentor Graphics.

Vanguard plans foundry operations by end of year

01/20/2000  DRAM supplier Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp., Hsinchu, Taiwan, said it will transition its memory business to a foundry model by the end of the year.

Wafer Dicing

01/01/2000  To achieve maximum wafer dicing process yield and productivity, there is an integral need for greater accuracy and new control capabilities.

Motorola Acquires Japanese Company

01/01/2000  Tohoku Semiconductor Corp. (TSC), a unit of Toshiba, has been purchased by Motorola Inc. TSC is a wafer manufacturer based in Sendai, Japan, that has had a 12-year relationship with its new owner but is also credited with expanding Toshiba`s logic and microcomputer LSI business (flash-embedded microcontroller units and digital signal processors). Motorola will now run TSC as a part of its manufacturing network, which includes other semiconductor operations in the Sendai area.

Taiwan's capacity boost: TSMC, UMC outline spending, 300mm fab plans firm up

11/11/1999  Taiwan's top two foundries are planning to invest a total of more than $4.6 billion on the island next year to upgrade and build a several fabs, including two 300mm facilities.

Balzers' parent company gets ESEC stake, plans for takeover

11/10/1999  Oerlikon-Buhrle Holding AG, the parent company of Balzers Process Systems, said it is acquiring a 27% stake in ESEC, Cham, Switzerland, and has plans to ultimately takeover the back-end toolmaker's operations.

Chartered completes IPO

11/09/1999  Under a temporary NASDAQ symbol of "CHRTV", Singapore foundry Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing launched its initial public offering (IPO) of 250,000,000 shares on October 29, 1999.

Taiwan's chipmaking park to get new leadership

11/09/1999  In an unexpected move, the head of Taiwan's Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park (HSIP) -- the island's chipmaking hub -- will leave the general director's post next month.

Latest quake rattles more nerves on Wall Street than in Taiwan

11/03/1999  It was business as usual in the Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park -- Taiwan's chipmaking hub -- after another earthquake rocked the region early Nov. 2.

Process control advances critical for 300mm wafers

11/02/1999  The economics of 300mm wafer processing will demand more effective process control of equipment and tools, according to William Rozich, IBM's director of equipment technology. Improved overall equipment efficiency (OEE) will be essential to cover the higher cost of wafers and the tools needed for 300mm production. Rozich points out that the area of a 300mm wafer is 2.25 times larger than that of a 200mm wafer, but the raw material is expected to cost three times as much.

Japan mulls Sematech-like consortium for 100nm process development

11/02/1999  Ten of Japan's top chipmakers have signed on to participate in a proposed five-year, 200 billion yen (US$2 billion) consortium in Japan for development of 100nm and below process technologies.

Japan, US firms diverge on lithography approaches

11/02/1999  Advantest, Hitachi, and Japanese R&D consortia are developing cell-projection e-beam lithography, whereas US manufacturers are emphasizing EUV and SCALPEL, both of which require potentially expensive masks.

ETCH: Addressing Cu contamination via spin-etch cleaning

11/01/1999  While a wafer backside and back edge can be hermetically sealed and protected from copper contamination during electroplating, the front-side exclusion zone and beveled edge are still vulnerable because clamping during electroplating is not a totally effective mask.

METROLOGY / TEST: The emerging role for data mining

11/01/1999  The complexity of semiconductor manufacturing and its wealth of data provide an ideal environment for the application of data mining to discover patterns of behavior leading to knowledge.

Fickle Particles

11/01/1999  There are a number of reasonably well understood forces that cause particles to adhere to a surface. While not necessarily, or even usually, the dominant force, van der Waals forces are universal — they are always present.

Partnerships change industry

10/01/1999  BRAINTREE, MA - THE NUMEROUS partnerships recently announced among semiconductor and other vendors could in some cases be the first step toward a merger or acquisition.

The minienvironment mystery

10/01/1999  I continue to be mystified by the universal, resounding success of minienvironments in reducing wafer contamination. Everyone who has examined and reported the impact of minienvironments on product contamination agrees that wafer contamination is reduced and reduced significantly when compared to similar processing operations carried out in the traditional ballroom type of cleanroom [Refs 1 -3].




WEBCASTS



Environment, Safety & Health

Date and time TBD

The semiconductor industry is an acknowledged global leader in promoting environmental sustainability in the design, manufacture, and use of its products, as well as the health and safety of its operations and impacts on workers in semiconductor facilities (fabs). We will examine trends and concerns related to emissions, chemical use, energy consumption and worker safety and health.

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Wafer Processing

Date and time TBD

As the industry moves to 10nm and 7nm nodes, advances in wafer processing – etch, deposition, planarization, implant, cleaning, annealing, epitaxy among others – will be required. Manufacturers are looking for new solutions for sustained strain engineering, FinFETs, FDSOI and multi-gate technologies, 3D NAND, and high mobility transistors.

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