A little more info on LAM's Continuum Etchers...
This is from LAM's website at www.lamrc.com
Continuum(TM)
Lam Research Corporation is a new entrant to the rapidly
growing market for FPD production tools. By leveraging its
advanced proprietary semiconductor etch technology, Lam
plans to bring new performance capabilities to the FPD
market, while simultaneously addressing the need for cost
reduction.
The Continuum(TM) System was designed to meet the majority of FPD etch
requirements, including amorphous silicon, silicon nitride, oxide, and indium tin oxide.
Plasma uniformity measurements show very uniform ion saturation currents over a 600 mm x 650 mm electrode area with impressive etch uniformities below 5% (max./min.). To control substrate temperature (a major process requirement in the manufacture of FPDs) Lam developed a proprietary (patent pending) large-area electrostatic chuck (ESC). The ESC holds a substrate against a chilled electrode with clamping forces that are distributed uniformly across the entire surface area of the substrate, not just the edge. Since the ESC has no contact with the top surface of the substrate, particle generation is minimal and controlled.
Additionally, the Continuum system employs Lam's "Alliance(TM)" cluster tool platform to meet throughput and reliability requirements for volume FPD manufacturing with low COO. The Lam cluster platform, with a typical three chamber configuration, should achieve throughputs exceeding 50 substrates per hour for typical processes.
This system was developed, assisted by a contract award from the United States Display Consortium (USDC) in 1994 to leverage TCP technology for FPD etch applications. Lam's partners in the two-year research and development program include dpiX (formerly Xerox Palo Alto Research Center), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, and the University of Wisconsin.
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-Bob |
