Applied Materials Launches Tungsten Process for
Mirra CMP System; Production-Proven Process
Delivers Consistent High Performance
Business Wire - April 16, 1998 07:21
%APPLIED-MATERIALS AMAT %CALIFORNIA %COMED %COMPUTERS %ELECTRONICS
%PRODUCT V%BW P%BW
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SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 16, 1998--Applied Materials, Inc., a
leading supplier of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) equipment to the semiconductor
industry, introduces a tungsten process capability for its Mirra(R) CMP system. This new
process is expected to maximize customers' device yield by enabling more precise and
cost-efficient planarization of tungsten "plugs" used as contacts and vias in sub-0.35 micron
devices.
"The Mirra is quickly becoming the CMP system of choice worldwide because of its unique
design that includes multi-platen processing, in situ endpoint detection, and the industry's most
advanced polishing head," said Gino Addiego, vice president and general manager of Applied
Materials' CMP division. "The system is now installed at more than half of the top 20
chipmakers worldwide, including both logic and memory manufacturers. Our increasing
presence in many leading-edge facilities demonstrates the system's exceptional process
capability and the value customers place on Applied Materials' extensive global support service
infrastructure."
Orders for Mirra systems for tungsten planarization have been received from customers in the
U.S., Taiwan and Korea; system shipments have already begun. Dataquest, a market research
firm, estimates the market for metal CMP equipment, including aluminum, copper and tungsten,
to be $255 million in 1998, growing to $553 million by 2002.
"The Mirra's proven capabilities for high-volume production enabled us to develop and optimize
high-productivity CMP-tungsten processes using commercially available slurries and polishing
pads," noted Dr. Kapila Wijekoon, manager of metal CMP process technologies at Applied
Materials. "This advanced work allows users to confidently implement the process with
consistent, reliable performance. Semiconductor manufacturers have reported yield increases of
up to 15 percent using tungsten CMP compared to alternative planarization technologies."
CMP is increasingly being used to planarize blanket tungsten films to create pathways between
metal interconnect layers on IC devices. Earlier etchback technologies are being replaced by
CMP in advanced devices because of CMP's ability to precisely remove the blanket tungsten
film from the top of the via, leaving a flat surface at the exposed tungsten plugs and surrounding
thin oxide with minimal erosion and plug recess.
The Mirra's design features Applied Materials' proprietary In Situ Rate Monitor (ISRM(tm))
endpoint technology that allows the system to accurately stop the polishing process when it
reaches the thin oxide dielectric layer under the tungsten. The ISRM technology minimizes
overpolishing and easily controls plug recess within less than 200 angstroms. The system's
third-generation polishing head, the Titan Head(tm) polisher, enables one of the industry's
highest levels of throughput and within-wafer, wafer-to-wafer uniformity.
The Mirra's CMP-tungsten process takes full advantage of the system's unique architecture that,
with its four polishing heads and three platens, creates three independent polishing stations.
Users can devote all three polishing stations to single-step polishing or may create a sequential
process flow that performs different polishing operations on each platen. All four heads are
matched for consistent process performance without the need for outside calibration or tuning.
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.
CONTACT: Applied Materials Inc.
Betty Newboe, 408/563-0647 (editorial/media)
Carolyn Schwartz, 408/748-5227 (financial community)
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