Wednesday, April 10, 2019

In 2-Weeks: 2019 CMC Conference Highlights ALD/CVD Market and Technology Trends


In 2-Weeks: 2019 CMC Conference Highlights ALD/CVD  Market and Technology Trends 

 The upcoming CMC Conference, April 25-26, in Saratoga Springs, New York, will feature the latest forecasts on market drivers, trade issues, and technical issues facing precursors and other global materials supply-chains.  As shown below, CAGR for metal precursors is expected to exceed 11% through 2021.  Technology and Market Trends on atomic layer deposition (ALD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) precursors for IC fabs will be presented and discussed at this year's conference.

The Emerging Session will include: 
  • Dr. Jonas Sundqvist, Sr. Technology Analyst of TECHCET and Group Leader of Fraunhofer Institute will be revealing TECHCET's "Market and Technology Trend Forecasts for ALD & CVD Metal and Dielectric Precursors." (Sample shown below.) 
  • Dr. Matthew Stephens, VP of Sales and Product Management for Air Liquide, will provide a presentation on "Economic Considerations of ALD Precursor Selection."
  • Dr. David Thompson, Managing Director of Chemistry for Applied Materials, will present on "Preparing Supply-Chains and Managing Risk for an Uncertain Future on Emerging Devices."
  

Deputy CTO & VP of Worldwide R&D, GlobalFoundries  
 "Materials Challenges & Opportunities in Differentiated Technologies" 

 
3-Dynamic Sessions:
  1. Global Materials Supply-Chain and Market Issues
  2. Immediate challenges of materials & manufacturing 
  3. Emerging materials in R&D and pilot fabrication
Register now by clicking on the links, above, or go to: https://cmcfabs.org/cmc-conference-2019/

The public CMC Conference follows private CMC face-to-face meetings to be held April 23-24, 2019 at GlobalFoundries in Malta, New York.

Look Who's Coming - leading fabs, equipment & materials companies:
·        Samsung
·        Texas Instruments
·        GlobalFoundries
·        TowerJazz Panasonic
·        KFMI
·        Fraunhofer
·        Wonik
·        Ereztech
·        Matheson/TNSC
·        Linde
·        Inpria
·        IMEC
·        VLSI Research
·        SACHEM
·        Niacet
·        Grikin
·        Aveni
·        Silar Labs
·        ATI Metals
·        Momentive
 
·  STMicroelectronics
·  ON Semiconductor
·  Broadcom
·  TEL Technology Cntr
·  Umicore
·  Kinik
·  Revera/Nova
·  TECHCET
·  Strem Chemicals
·  Grikin
·  ATI Metals
·  Cryoin
·  MGC Pure Chemicals
·  Electronic Fluorocarbons
·  ShinHao Materials
·  Applied Seals
·  Peroxychem
·  Messer
·  MPD Chemicals
·  Mott Filters

·        Intel
·        Micron
·        Cypress
·        3M
·        IBM
·        Entegris
·        Air Liquide
·        Versum Materials
·        Air Products
·        Greene Tweed
·        Eastman
·        GrandiT
·        Edwards Vacuum
·        Mega Fluid Systems
·        Zing Semiconductor
·        Schrodinger
·        Boulder Scientific
·        Johnson Matthey
·        Veeco
·        ...and More!

2019 CMC Conference Sponsors:






Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Review Article: Atomic layer deposition of optoelectronic materials


Monday, April 8, 2019

USITC To Investigate Hanwha’s Claims

USITC To Investigate Hanwha’s Claims: Acting on Hanwha Q Cells' complaints of patent infringement in the US, an administrative law judge of the USITC will initially determine whether there has been a violation of Section 337 which will then be reviewed by the commission.


Meaglows New Hollow Cathode Plasma Source Designs Provide Better Quality Films

The University of Connecticut group of Dr. Necmi Biyikli, with others, have recently published a paper (J. Vac. Sci. and Technol. A 37 (2019) 020927) where they were able to achieve good quality, highly stoichiometric AlN using hollow cathode plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition (HCPA-ALD) with film densities near bulk values. Because of the high radical flux from the source, significantly lower RF power was required to achieve this improvement in material quality compared to past experience, and shorter plasma on cycles could be used at these lower powers (20 seconds at 100 watts compared to 40 seconds at 300 watts).

0.125 sec exposure 278 watt 4130 mTorr

Similar improvements in silicon nitride deposition were recently achieved by a team at the University of Texas, Dallas, where excellent quality, highly stoichiometric, high-density PA-ALD grown material was performed using one of our hollow cathode plasma sources (see, for instance, IEEE Electron Device Letters 39 (2018) 1195 ).

IMG_9895

The image shows the University of Connecticut plasma source with ellipsometer ports and sample entry door. The 4″ diameter source was custom made for use with an Okyay Tech ALD system.

Meaglow’s hollow cathode plasma sources are widely used by the ALD Research Community as replacements for inductively coupled plasma (ICP) sources because there is less oxygen contamination when depositing non-oxide materials. However, these recent papers, by the University of Connecticut and the University of Texas, Dallas, illustrate advantages that may be far more important for the industry moving forward. Those being an extremely high radical flux, to the point where the ion signal (ion densities are similar to ICP sources) is swamped by the signal of radicals during optical emission spectroscopy measurements, and relatively low plasma damage (see our company white paper on hollow cathode sources). These result in quicker deposition times with potentially more stoichiometric, better quality material.

Saturday, April 6, 2019

Amtech Systems plans to divest its solar businesses


Amtech Systems, a manufacturer of capital equipment and consumables used in fabricating semiconductor devices, LEDs, SiC and silicon power chips ans well as solar cells, is planning to sell its solar businesses.

Amtech management and Board of Directors have decided to focus solely on growth opportunities in the Company’s semiconductor and SiC/LED polishing businesses and intend to sell the Company’s solar businesses, including its Tempress and SoLayTec subsidiaries. 

Amtech’s J.S. Whang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “In November 2018 we announced that we had initiated a comprehensive review of our solar businesses.  In a February update we noted thus far our review strongly indicates that our combined Semi and SiC/LED polishing business provide better markets for enhancing the value of Amtech Group. We have recently completed our assessment and conclude, along with Tempress and SoLayTec management, that significant investment is required to effectively compete in the changing solar industry. We therefore conclude Tempress and SoLayTec would be better positioned to capitalize on opportunities in the solar industry under new ownership.”
 
Source: Evertiq LINK

Thursday, April 4, 2019

Yes! The ALD/CVD Paper bot on Twitter is activated!

Yes! The ALD/CVD Paper bot on Twitter is activated! 68 Tweets (Papers) and counting.

@CVD_ALD_papers
I'm a paper bot surveying publications covering CVD & ALD! Operated by @DennisZyw93 & @Semajobe (Ruhr University). Adapted open-source code from @fxcoudert.




Applied Optoelectronics orders MOCVD technology from AIXTRON

Photonics manufacturer expands production into growing laser business with multiple AIX 2800G4 systems

Herzogenrath/Germany, 2 April, 2019 – AIXTRON SE (FSE: AIXA), a worldwide leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, today announced the delivery of multiple AIX 2800G4 systems to US-based photonic maker Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (AOI) which focuses on the design, development, and manufacturing of advanced optical devices, packaged optical components, optical subsystems, laser transmitters, and fiber optic transceivers. The delivered tools feature a 12x4-inch configuration.

AIX 2800G4-TM

The AIX 2800G4 platform has established itself as the market-leading tool for high-volume production of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL) for 3D sensors and other diode lasers due to the matchless performance of the Planetary Reactor® concept with respect to thickness and wavelength uniformity control of epitaxial layers. The system provides incomparably high efficiency in handling the expensive chemicals used for MOCVD processes while delivering maximum production yield of premium level laser devices. In addition to the excellent reproducibility of each individual system, customers also appreciate the very good repeatability amongst systems.

Dr. Klaus Anselm, Vice President of Semiconductor Products at AOI, comments: "Following our good experience with AIXTRON systems in the past, we will also utilize the proven Planetary® technology from Germany for our production expansion. The AIX 2800G4 has convinced us in all test phases, so that we are now looking forward to use the system for launching volume production of our next generation of optoelectronic components."

"We are very pleased that AOI has added our market-leading AIX 2800G4 tool to its existing manufacturing equipment. A system that has acquired a reputation over the past few years as the tool of record for the production of high-quality laser devices in the semiconductor industry. We are looking forward to the collaboration with AOI," says Dr. Bernd Schulte, President of AIXTRON SE.

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Ionbond Equipment Division integrated into IHI Hauzer Techno Coating

Ionbond is pleased to announce the sale of its equipment division to fellow IHI Group company Hauzer Techno Coating.

Under Hauzer, which produces physical vapor deposition (PVD) equipment for the tribological, tool and decorative market, the equipment division will continue as an indpendent company under the name IHI Bernex. IHI Bernex will continue to work closely with the Ionbond group on key projects and developments. 

Maximize strength by expansion
Dave Doerwald, Hauzer CEO: “The Bernex portfolio is an excellent complement to the Hauzer portfolio, allowing the two companies to serve more customers together. We are both equipment manufacturers and speak the same language when it comes to doing business.” Dr. Michael Auger, Bernex CEO, adds: “Bernex is profitable and growing, and we are looking forward to the synergies that will come from working with Hauzer. Both companies have a lot to offer.”

The integration of the Ionbond equipment division into Hauzer is in line with the aim of the IHI Group to maximize synergies by aligning equipment production activities. “  Bernex will be an independent company within the Hauzer group, with the same people and the same business location in Olten, Switzerland. 


Leader in CVD Solutions
Bernex CVD systems set the industry standard in CVD enhancement of wear, friction and temperature protection of tools and components. Bernex machines are renowned for their reliability and have proven themselves in hundreds of installations worldwide. The company has over 45 years of experience with developing technology, equipment and recipes for CVD coatings. Auger: “CVD is in our DNA. We have expanded CVD technology to include CVA (for aluminum coatings) and CVI (for coating the internal surfaces of porous materials such as carbon fiber bodies). Our expertise in developing proprietary coatings for specific customer applications sets Bernex apart in the field.”

Bernex Expanding Production Capacity
Bernex engineering and manufacturing will remain in Olten, where it is expanding its production capacity. The Bernex Service Center Asia will remain in Kunshan, China.

For more information, see the new Bernex website: ihi-bernex.com

Shared by: Prof. Pedersen

VEECO Demonstrates Thought Leadership at Technical Conferences in 2Q/2019


Company’s Technologists to Present Innovations that Drive Industrial Scaling of Technology Megatrends in Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Communications, Autonomous Vehicles, Displays and More

PLAINVIEW, New York, April 2, 2019—Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO) today announced its leading technologists are scheduled to speak at seven technical events throughout Q2 2019. The forthcoming presentations, which follow several notable appearances in Q1, highlight Veeco’s depth and breadth of expertise in working with customers to break through production-scale barriers that will ultimately lead to the wide adoption of game-changing trends in big-data, high-speed communications, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, high resolution displays and more.

Veeco exhibiting and presenting at EFDS ALD for Industry (March 19-20; Berlin, Germany) “Atomic Layer Deposition Use for Decorative Applications” Ganesh Sundaram, Ph.D., vice president of Applied Technology, Veeco CNT. (Photo by Martin Knaut LINK)

Through these papers, Veeco explains how it solves tough materials engineering challenges with advances in its deposition, etch, lithography and wet processing technologies used in applications such as next-generation advanced packaging, photonics, sensors, MEMS, micro-LEDs, power electronics, high bandwidth memory and related devices. Presentations in the second quarter include:

  • MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit (April 22-26; Phoenix, AZ)—Tania Henry, process development engineer, will present “Influence of Intermixing on Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy of Ion-Beam-Deposited CoFeB MTJs for STT-RAM,” on April 25 during the annual meeting focused on the future of materials science
  • Critical Materials Council Conference (April 25-26; Saratoga Springs, NY)—Drew Hanser, vice president of technology, will present at the fourth annual forum for discussing actionable information related to semiconductor fab materials. Hanser’s talk, “Material Integration Challenges for GaN on Si for Power and RF Devices,” takes place on April 25 during Session II: Immediate Challenges of Materials & Manufacturing
  • Society of Vacuum Coaters TechCon (April 27-May 2; Long Beach, CA)—At one of the world’s leading vacuum coating technology conferences, senior research scientist Binyamin Rubin will discuss “Monochromatic and Broadband Optical Monitoring for Deposition of Band Pass Filters,” on April 29. The Veeco team will also be exhibiting its latest advances in ion beam deposition systems for optical coatings at booth #229
  • CS ManTech (April 29-May 2; Minneapolis, MN)—Phillip Tyler, process development engineer, will present “Development of Advanced Lift Off Processes for 5G and VCSEL Applications.” Stop by Veeco’s booth #609 to learn more about the company’s latest innovations in compound semiconductor and wet processing technologies
  • ECTC (May 28-31; Las Vegas, NV)—Dr. Ajit Paranjpe, chief technology officer, will co-author a presentation on “High-Yield Precision Transfer and Assembly of Gallium Nitride (GaN) Micro-LEDs Using Laser Assisted Micro Transfer Printing,” with experts from the University of California, Los Angeles
  • EUVL Workshop (June 10-13; Berkeley, CA)—At this year’s workshop focused on the fundamental science of EUV lithography and its continued extension to support Moore’s Law, Sandeep Kohli, principal research scientist, will present “Ion Beam Technology Roadmap for EUV Mask Deposition and Absorber Etch Processes”
  • TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo (June 17-19; Boston, MA)—Dr. Ganesh Sundaram, vice president of applied technology, will present “Atomic Layer Deposition for Life Science Applications” on June 17 at the Nanomedicine Symposium
Veeco scientists also presented research at a number of key technical conferences in Q1, including:
  • SPIE Advanced Lithography (Feb. 24-28; San Jose, CA)
    • “Ion Beam Etching of Advanced Absorber Materials for Sub-5nm EUV Masks”
    • “Intra-field Stress Impact on Global Wafer Deformation” (alongside ASML and imec)
  • EFDS ALD for Industry (March 19-20; Berlin, Germany)
    • “Atomic Layer Deposition Use for Decorative Applications”
  • CS International (March 26-27; Brussels, Belgium)
    • “Accelerating Photonics Growth through Advances in High-Performance Arsenic/Phosphide (As/P) MOCVD and Wet Processing Technology”
“Veeco builds production-scale fab solutions that solve tough materials engineering problems for our customers,” said Ajit Paranjpe, Ph.D., chief technology officer. “Our technical contributions to these prestigious and peer-reviewed conferences demonstrate Veeco’s commitment to remaining at the forefront of technological advances, which ultimately have a positive impact on society through life-improving applications.”

About Veeco

Veeco (NASDAQ: VECO) is a leading manufacturer of innovative semiconductor process equipment. Our proven MOCVD, lithography, laser annealing, ion beam and single wafer etch and clean technologies play an integral role in producing LEDs for solid-state lighting and displays, and in the fabrication of advanced semiconductor devices. With equipment designed to maximize performance, yield and cost of ownership, Veeco holds technology leadership positions in all these served markets. To learn more about Veeco's innovative equipment and services, visit www.veeco.com.

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

RASIRC to Highlight Precise Water Vapor Delivery in Area Selective Deposition

CTO featured as industry expert on panel at upcoming ASD Workshop

San Diego, Calif – March 29, 2019 – RASIRC will discuss test results for precise delivery of water vapor at the Area Selective Deposition (ASD) 2019 Workshop on April 4-5 in Leuven, Belgium. The company, a Silver Sponsor of the workshop, will review droplet and particle measurements as well as mass delivery under a variety of conditions. The RASIRC poster entitled “Precise Control of Water Vapor Delivery for ASD” will be displayed on Thursday April 4 and Friday April 5 as part of the workshop’s poster session. Additionally, RASIRC CTO Daniel Alvarez will be a speaking on the “Critical Challenges and Research Needs for ASD” panel during the 4th ASD workshop. The panel discussion will take place on Friday April 5 from 15:00 to 16:00.

“In order for the industry to take this to a high volume commercial level, we first must have an understanding of the underlying chemical pathways associated with ASD,” says Alvarez. “It is critical to control nucleation, which is best accomplished by the control of adsorption and surface properties on an atomic level.”
 
 
ASD Workshop is an annual event sponsored by ASM and IMEC. The workshop features leading academic and industry experts in surface chemistry, new processes, metrology, fields of applications and all technology needs and challenges for ASD.

“Controlled water addition at low concentration and temperature is vital to successful selectivity in ASD processes,” said Jeffrey Spiegelman, RASIRC President and Founder. “That is why we designed a water ampoule replacement that utilizes a membrane delivery system for precise delivery of droplet-free water vapor. Our data shows that we can achieve the required mass output in a repeatable and consistent manner.”

Spiegelman and Alvarez will be available to discuss the company’s ASD product line-up, which includes hydrogen peroxide and hydrazine gas delivery in addition to water vapor.

About RASIRC Products

RASIRC RHA enables the delivery of purified water vapor into low pressure processes. The membrane delivery system separates the liquid water and its headspace from directly seeing the process vacuum. The membrane assembly allows the mass transfer of water vapor at a known diffusion rate for a given set of parameters (temperature, pressure, surface area, carrier gas flow rate).

BRUTE® Peroxide is a novel oxidant that improves nucleation density at film interfaces when compared to other oxidants. Surface functionalization is more dense and initiation is faster using anhydrous hydrogen peroxide gas compared with alternatives. This can allow for better selectivity and less damage to metal surfaces in ASD processes.

BRUTE® Hydrazine enables uniform nitride deposition for Silicon and early transition metals at low temperature. BRUTE® Hydrazine may also be used as an atomic hydrogen source, where metals such as Ru, Cu, and Co may be cleaned and reduced. Hydrazine gas is generated in situ and is virtually water free. Brute Hydrazine has been formulated for a relatively high flash point for safer handling.

RASIRC Peroxidizer® provides high volumes of reactive H2O2/H2O mixtures for high throughput ALD. This reactive gas generator is ideal for roll-to-roll ALD coatings that require high speed deposition at reduced temperatures.

Additional RASIRC products include the RainMaker Humidification System (RHS) and the Hydrogen Peroxide Steamer (HPS). The RHS generates water vapor for oxidation applications and the HPS provides surface cleaning, preconditioning, wet thermal oxidation and residual carbon removal.

#diensttalk mit Dr. Jonas Sundqvist über Atomlagen und Lagom

Beim #diensttalk geben Mitarbeiter einen kleinen Einblick hinter die Kulissen von Europas größter Einrichtung für Keramikforschung und verraten, was sie bei ihrer Forschung antreibt. Dr. Jonas Sundqvist ist Experte im Bereich Atomlagenabscheidung und kam 2003 von Schweden nach Deutschland, um Speicherchips für die Halbleiterindustrie zu entwickeln. Im Video verrät er, wieviel Skandinavien in seiner Arbeit steckt.



Monday, April 1, 2019

Integration of high-k dielectric materials in a-IGZO thin film transistors by ALD

High field-effect mobility of Amorphous Oxide Semiconductor Thin Film Transistors (AOS TFT’s) has become more critical in switching devices for active matrix OLED’s (AMOLED). 
Out of many AOS materials, stable a-IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) TFT’s has shown high performance in display devices. However, the process integration of TFT’s is very complicated where a high number of parameters are to be considered and optimized to obtain maximum device performance. Therefore, it is essential to develop each process step through various device structure of thin film transistors using Back Channel Etch and self-aligned TFT. 
An example: Magnified image of the AMOLED screen on the Google Nexus One smartphone using the RGBG system of the PenTile matrix family (Wikipedia).
Currently, incorporation of high–k dielectric materials such as Al2O3 and HfO2 as a passivation layer and gate insulating material shows promising results in obtaining high performance of TFT’s in terms of low operating voltages, bias stability and reducing degradation by isolation from the external environment. A primary focus is on Al2O3 films by ALD technique, where the doping of film to the active layer (a-IGZO) is investigated through back channel etch (BCE) device structure by two different deposition temperatures followed by annealing studies. The performance of the self-aligned TFT's is primarily determined by the two factors :
I. Deposition temperatures of the passivation layer (Al2O3) 
II. Etching rate. 
The conclusions drawn from the studies of BCE applied to a-IGZO 10% O2 aelf–aligned (SA) device structures where Al2O3 layer deposited by ALD at 150 °C as a gate insulating material. The electrical characteristics of fabricated Thin Film Transistors are obtained to be very promising for further engineering applications. 
A deep study and understanding of each step in process flow and significance of Atomic Layer Deposition gave a fruitful insight into many aspects.
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Guest Blog by: Ravi Pendurthi, imec, Leuven, Belgium LinkedIn Profile