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IMEC, U Albany Nanocollege to perform EUV litho experiments
Scientists from IBM and ASML will also participate in experiments meant to bring EUV lithography closer to commercial use.
By Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior Editor -- Electronic News, 1/22/2008
To speed the implementation of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) in semiconductor manufacturing, Albany, NY-based College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany and Leuven, Belgium-based nanoelectronics and nanotechnology research center IMEC said today they will jointly perform EUVL experiments, with the first set to be conducted at CNSE’s Albany NanoTech Complex.
Future joint studies are to be conducted at CNSE and IMEC, depending on throughput and availability of the tools, the groups noted.
The experiments will also involve scientists from IBM and ASML, the latter of which has built what is believed to be the world’s first full-field EUVL R&D tool: the Alpha Demo Tool (ADT). The majority of activities are set to focus on advanced imaging capabilities of the EUVL system, as well as understanding new materials and various aspects of equipment technology. EUV is still in its development phase, and the alpha demo tools have to be upgraded occasionally, so by opening its facilities for EUV experiments, IMEC said it can guarantee acceleration of EUV research to its industrial partners.
This collaboration is expected to further advance the learning on EUVL technology and the associated infrastructure required to support it, with the ultimate goal to demonstrate the practical feasibility of EUVL and build confidence in the technology for the 32-nm half pitch device node and below.
“EUV lithography is a promising solution to further scale CMOS beyond 32 nm, but still major challenges need to be overcome," Luc Van den hove, IMEC executive VP and COO, explained in a statement. "As a leading nanoelectronics R&D center, IMEC sets up collaborations to enhance further semiconductor development. This collaboration between IMEC and the UAlbany NanoCollege proves again that joint R&D is a major benefit for the semiconductor industry worldwide.”
In other IMEC news, the R&D organization today officially established IMEC Taiwan in the Hsinchu Science Park, currently a representative office but expected to grow into an R&D center within six months.
The world’s second largest semiconductor manufacturing foundry UMC is headquartered in Hsinchu.
IMEC Taiwan said it aims to set up a win-win situation by facilitating the access for Taiwanese semiconductor companies to IMEC's R&D programs and tap into the local high technology skills. The establishment of IMEC Taiwan follows several memoranda of understanding and collaborations between IMEC and leading Taiwanese companies, R&D institutes and universities, with the strong support of the National Science Council Taiwan.
Further, IMEC said it intends to reinforce its collaborations in Taiwan by focusing on semiconductor process technology research with foundries; on IC and system design with companies and academia; on dedicated training, on facilitating the interaction between Europractice IC service and the Taiwanese foundries for low-cost IC prototyping and small volume production; and on developing heterogeneous process technologies for fablite and fabless companies.
“By bridging the cultural, language, and geographical gap we can facilitate the access to our programs and easily interact with local companies," Gilbert Declerck, president and CEO of IMEC, said in a statement. "We intend also to tap into the local pool of highly schooled labor to strengthen our system and IC design team.”
