Tegal license dual-frequency etch patents to Applied Materials
Semiconductor Business News
(01/02/01 09:01 a.m. EST)
PETALUMA, CALIF. -- Tegal Corp. here today announced it has granted a non-exclusive license to Applied Materials Inc. for U.S. patents covering dual-frequency etch technology. Under the pact, Applied Materials will pay Tegal an undisclosed one-time sum for use of the company's patents for specific wafer-processing applications.
The agreement gives Applied Materials, the world's largest semiconductor equipment supplier, the rights to sell dual-frequency etch systems outside of Tegal's main areas of emphasis. The Petaluma company has been pursuing etch applications for telecommunications devices and new thin-film materials, such as high-k dielectrics. The high-k dielectrics are being developed for capacitors in next-generation DRAMs, transistor gate structures, and nonvolatile memories, such as ferroelectric RAMs and magnetic RAMs.
Tegal officials said they were restricted from commenting about how Applied Material might use dual-frequency etch technology, but observers believe the licensing pact will help give the company additional legal weight in its patent suits against Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL) and Lam Research Corp.
In September, Tegal announced it had won an injunction against TEL, prohibiting the Japanese equipment supplier from selling or serving its IEM 65DI and 85DI oxide etchers in the U.S. market. TEL is appealing that decision (see Sept. 2 story). Tegal has also filed suit against Lam of Fremont, Calif., accusing the company of violating dual-frequency patents in a new etch system, called the Exelan (see Sept. 2 story).
The Applied Materials licensing pact "leaves open the opportunity for other agreements and reaffirms the value we have placed on our intellectual property," said Michael L. Parodi, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Tegal. In an interview with SBN, Parodi declined to discuss specific details about the agreement with Applied.
"The dual-frequency technology allows you to independently control ion energy and ion density. Gate structures [in deep-submicron ICs] are becoming so thin that damage is a major issue," the Tegal CEO noted. "Those companies barred form operating below the 2-MHz range are at a significant disadvantage," he added, referring to the advantages of using dual-frequency etch in controlling processes for finer feature sizes.
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