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To: milo_morai who wrote (126845)	2/7/2001 4:57:50 PM
From: Paul Engel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Milo Blow Hard - Re: ""Motorola researchers developed the material, which process engineering manager Betsy Weitzman described as an inorganic porous film with a K value between 2.0 and 2.5. " Sorry to inform you - that was from TWO YEARS AGO !- but it looks like Motorola DUMPED that process and now is going to buy a ne wprocess from Applied Materials !!! Looks like YET ANOTHER NEW PROCESS MODULE for AMD and Moto's 0.13 micron process !! That AMD 0.13 micron process is going to get Later and Later ! So much for AMD' big head start in copper metallization ! Paul {==============================} Motorola-AMD copper partnership picks Applied's low-k for 0.13-micron processors By Semiconductor Business News Feb 7, 2001 (5:50 AM) URL: siliconstrategies.com SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Applied Materials Inc. announced its second major endorsement in low-k dielectric technology with Motorola Inc. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. selecting the company's Black Diamond process and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) tools for copper interconnects on 0.13-micron microprocessors. Motorola and AMD--partners in copper interconnect R&D--announced their selection of Applied's Black Diamond low-k dielectric film about a month after the same technology was tapped by silicon foundry giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (see Jan. 18 story). The selection of Applied's process has tossed momentum back into the CVD camp in dielectric processing after IBM Corp. tipped the scales in favor of spin-on low-k materials last year with its selection of Dow Chemical Co.'s SiLK organic polymer (see April 3, 2000, story). The selection of a low-k dielectric material and process technique has been a thorny issues for the chip industry, which is attempting to replace silicon-dioxide as an insulator between metal interconnects on advanced ICs. Copper metal has been used to replace aluminum metal layers, but most chip makers have opted to take an interim step in lowering the capacitance in interconnects with fluorinated silicate glass (FSG). "Our joint development program with AMD has been focused on bringing a low-k dielectric solution beyond FSG to full manufacturing readiness for our third generation of copper interconnect technology," said Gregg Bartlett, director of Motorola's Advanced Products Research and Development Laboratory. "This will enable both Motorola and AMD to fully exploit the benefits of this technology in our products." Betsy Weitzman, process engineering manager in Motorola's lab, said FSG insulators are being used with a low-k value of 3.7 in volume production compared to conventional silicon-dioxide's rating of about 4.1. She said the move to CVD low-k dielectric films will enable Motorola to integrate materials with valuations of less than 3.0 while extending the use of existing chemical vapor deposition tools and conventional chemistries. "The combination of two interconnect options at the 0.13 micron generation allows speed and performance to be tailored to meet our product requirements, offering up to nine levels of inlaid copper with FSG for high density, low power applications, and with CVD low-k for high-performance microprocessors," Weitzman said. "The nominal 20% reduction in integrated k-value achieved with the simple replacement of FSG with Black Diamond corresponds directly to a proportional decrease in interconnect delay. When used in conjunction with Applied Materials' BLOk barrier film, this performance is further enhanced."