TSMC Devises 0.13-Micron Copper Interconnect Production Process
July 24, 2000 (TAIPEI) -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC) said it has developed and put into trial production the 0.13-micron copper interconnect manufacturing process in CVD, FSG and Spin On versions.
Moreover, TSMC said that it is confident it could soon begin production on a satisfactory scale and with a high degree of quality.
TSMC said it is perfecting details of its research and development process, and would soon go public with the results.
On May 15, United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) announced that it had developed a 2Mb SRAM using the 0.13-micron copper interconnect manufacturing process, ahead of its rivals.
TSMC denied the implication that TSMC had lagged behind UMC in the development of the 0.13-micron process. TSMC said that it had completed its own development of a 4Mb SRAM with the 0.13-micron copper interconnect manufacturing process as early as March, but had decided to delay an announcement until it could provide its customers with better products and services.
Also, TSMC pointed out that it had developed ways of manufacturing copper interconnects on a satisfactory scale using all three main 0.13-micron manufacturing processes, CVD, FSG and Spin On, and noted that UMC had so far only developed the FSG process.
Although TSMC was apparently proud of its manufacturing process breakthrough, it said that it was not going to jump the gun and go public with its success until it had sorted out all the details and obtained the related certificates.
Asked what kind of equipment the company intended to use for manufacturing 0.13-micron microchips, TSMC said that several suppliers could provide equipment for the CVD, FSG and Spin On versions. TSMC said that it needed to be thoroughly satisfied with all details of the production process before choosing a supplier.
U.S. semiconductor equipment providers are apparently eager to compete for TSMC and UMC's equipment procurement orders for the advanced manufacturing process.
Representatives of some such companies said that if they could win the procurement business of the two local IC powerhouses, their future profits would be assured. They also said that the supply of advanced manufacturing process technology to Taiwan would likely help win them orders from other global semiconductor makers.
(Commercial Times, Taiwan) |
