AIXTRON AG (FWB:AIXA) (NASDAQ:AIXG)
and Ovonyx, Inc. today announced an agreement to cooperate on the qualification
of Atomic Vapor Deposition (AVD®) process technology to further advance
scaling of next-generation phase change memory ("PCM") products. As
FLASH and DRAM both encounter increasing scaling challenges in the face of shrinking
chip geometries - PCM is widely considered a practical alternative for future
commercial, high-volume semiconductor memory.
“AIXTRON’s leading market position in thin-film deposition equipment
for the semiconductor industry provides an excellent platform for competitive
development of new phase change material by AVD® technique for next-generation,
high-density confined cell PCM device structures,” said Tyler Lowrey,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Ovonyx. “We look forward to working
with AIXTRON to develop conformal deposition processes that will further enhance
the commercialization of PCM products by worldwide chipmakers.”
“PCM is on the verge of commercial adoption using conventional sputter
Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) techniques, however, it is clear that subsequent
generation PCM cells would significantly benefit from Atomic Vapor Deposition
of phase change materials to further increase scalability and accelerate cost
reductions,” said Dr. Bernd Schulte, Executive Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer of AIXTRON AG. “We believe that, working with Ovonyx,
we can accelerate commercialization of AVD® phase change material deposition
into high volume production and offer chip manufacturers higher productivity
and low cost of ownership solution.”