The Soitec Group (Euronext
Paris), the world's leading supplier of silicon-on-insulator (SOI)
and other engineered substrates for the microelectronics industry, announced
today that it has entered into collaboration with IBM to pioneer 22-nanometer
(nm) node and beyond silicon wafer substrate and bonding techniques that will
enable wafer-level, three-dimensional (3D) integration technology for next-generation
integrated circuits (ICs). The two companies have been working together for
many years to improve the design and specifications of advanced silicon wafer
substrates to meet the needs of IBM's manufacturing roadmap.
The objective of this new collaboration is to develop highly flexible and cost-effective
solutions for wafer-to-wafer stacking, a semiconductor technology designed to
yield ICs with faster speeds and higher performance. In joining IBM's 3D integration
effort, Soitec will leverage its Smart Stacking™ technology and all of
its wafer-level bonding expertise including oxide-to-oxide and metal-to-metal
molecular bonding—developed in collaboration with CEA/Leti (the Electronics
and Information Technology Laboratory of the of the French Atomic Energy Commission).
"This collaboration with Soitec is another step in IBM's drive to
accelerate 3D integration technology, and reinforces the expanding IBM ecosystem
of leading companies and research organizations that are working together to
achieve significant advances in semiconductor and packaging technology,"
said Dr. Gary Patton, Vice President, Semiconductor Research and Development
Center, IBM. "Through these collaborations, IBM intends to accelerate the
development of emerging 3D integration technology and demonstrate the possibilities
of achieving higher circuit densities, faster speeds and lower power usage with
this vertical integration approach.”
“Soitec has continuously supported IBM's development programs over
the past 15 years with our SOI and other engineered substrates. We expect this
new collaboration with IBM will help solve the challenges that IBM is addressing
through its 3D program,” said Carlos Mazuré, CTO of Soitec.