To All,
U.S. Patent Office Awards Applied Materials Key Polysilicon
Deposition Patents
Single-wafer Polysilicon Technology Will Be Key for Advanced Device Manufacturing
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 1997--The U.S. Patent Office granted Applied Materials, Inc.
patents number 5,607,724 and number 5,614,257 for its single-wafer polysilicon deposition process technology. The patents
were filed in 1993 by Dr. Israel Beinglass, David Carlson and Dr. Mahalingam Venkatesan, all of Applied Materials. The first
patent covers a method of depositing doped and undoped polycrystalline silicon layers in a single-wafer chamber by chemical
vapor deposition (CVD); the second patent pertains to amorphous silicon deposition.
This technology has enabled Applied Materials to develop its Poly Centura(R) system that deposits very high quality films at
rapid deposition rates of 500 angstroms to 3000 angstroms per minute to provide customers with an economically competitive,
single-wafer processing solution for fabricating part of their transistor structures. By comparison, conventional batch furnaces
typically deliver polysilicon deposition rates of approximately 100 angstroms per minute. Applied Materials' single-wafer
technology can also control dopant placement with a degree of precision unknown to batch furnace technologies, for higher fab
yield and faster semiconductor devices.
``With the Poly Centura, Applied Materials was the first semiconductor equipment maker to offer a production-worthy,
single-wafer polysilicon deposition system,'' noted Dr. Israel Beinglass, general manager of Applied Materials' High
Temperature Films (HTF) division. ``Our customers are very enthusiastic about the advantages offered by this technology and
are developing applications for it that will be used in future generations of semiconductor device designs.''
Applied Materials' single-wafer polysilicon deposition technology was introduced to the market in 1992. It has achieved wide
acceptance, especially as part of an integrated polysilicon/tungsten silicide application in the Polycide Centura that deposits both
film layers in a single system without exposure to atmosphere. More than 120 Polycide Centura systems are in use in
semiconductor manufacturing facilities around the world.
``Single-wafer polysilicon opens up many new capabilities for our customers that are likely to be increasingly important with
each new device generation,'' noted Nick Miller, president of Applied Materials' Thermal Process and Implant Product
Business Group. ``As we move beyond 0.25-micron geometries, our polysilicon technology demonstrates significant process
and productivity benefits over batch furnaces, at all wafer sizes. These advantages are even more pronounced for 300mm
processing and we expect our 300mm poly system to be the technology of choice for most 300mm fabs as that market
emerges over the next few years.''
Applied Materials, Inc. is a Fortune 500 global growth company and the world's largest supplier of wafer fabrication systems
and services to the global semiconductor industry. Applied Materials is traded on the Nasdaq National Market System under
the symbol, ``AMAT.'' Applied Materials' web site is appliedmaterials.com . |
