Mattson Technology, a provider of cutting-edge semiconductor processing equipment, has reported the shipment of its paradigmE etch system to a key chipmaker.
This is the first etch system supplied to this semiconductor manufacturer, which will use the system for sophisticated etch applications that include cutting-edge pattern multiplying etches for the development and production of advanced ICs at £ 20-nm technology node.
Multi-pattern etch technologies such as spacer-defined double patterning, quadruple pattern transfer, and dual pattern transfer offer replacements for IC makers to fabricate features tinier than the existing limits of immersion lithography at a cost lower than present experimental extreme ultraviolet lithography. Nevertheless, multi-pattern etching raises the overall cost of etching for wafer production facilities.
Plasma Products Group's Vice President and General Manager, Rene George stated that the company's etch systems help chipmakers to control the increasing wafer production costs, which is one of the key issues faced by them in their efforts for developing advanced technology nodes. Since the industry shifts to multi-pattern etching as a major enabler of scaling sophisticated devices, the role of dry etch is vital in pattern shrinking. The paradigmE's proprietary plasma source facilitates advanced etch performance in the company's innovative two-wafer chamber design. The combination of advanced etch performance and the efficiency of a two-wafer chamber design helps customers achieve a 30% reduction in cost-of-ownership.
Several key foundry and logic and memory facilities are already using Mattson Technology's etch products and this latest order corroborates the expansion of the company's reach in the dry etch market. The company expects helping etch customers in the ever-growing advanced patterning and other sophisticated applications for 3D memory array and 3D transistor devices. It anticipates the paradigmE's advanced etch capabilities and superior productivity will result into production orders from numerous customers to promote their 20-nm production ramps.
Source: http://www.mattson.com