FEI Joins Novellus, LAM and SpeedFam-IPEC in Damascus Alliance
Installation of FEI's 3D Structural Metrology System in the Damacus Customer Integration Center to Be Completed This Week
HILLSBORO, Ore., June 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FEI Company (Nasdaq: FEIC - News) today announced that it has joined equipment suppliers Novellus Systems (Nasdaq: NVLS - News), Lam Research Corporation (Nasdaq: LRCX - News), and SpeedFam-IPEC (Nasdaq: SFAM - News) in the Damascus Alliance industry consortium, founded in 1998 to tackle the technology transition to copper dual damascene manufacturing. With the installation of a DualBeam(TM) metrology system at the Customer Integration Center this week, FEI will bring sub-surface defect sourcing and 3D metrology -- critical tools for the development and control of copper and low-k processes -- to alliance customers. The Customer Integration Center is located at Novellus' Silicon Valley campus.
With circuit sizes shrinking every 18 to 24 months; the introduction of new materials such as copper and low-k dielectrics; and a wafer size increase from 200 mm to 300 mm, semiconductor manufacturing is becoming increasingly complex. With all these changes occurring simultaneously, chipmakers' exposure to process development risk is increasing. Operating as a formal, cross-company collaborative effort, the Damascus Alliance is designed to help customers solve their unit process integration problems, give them access to advanced copper technologies and state-of-the-art toolsets, and help them fine-tune their dual damascene processes to deliver a reliable, cost-effective interconnect structure.
"The role of the equipment suppliers in the semiconductor industry is changing," said Drs. Wilbert van den Hoek, CTO and executive vice president for integration and advanced development at Novellus. "We still need to supply state-of-the-art equipment and unit processes, but with the changes to new materials and manufacturing methods, there's also a role for leading equipment companies to assist customers with optimizing their process flows, and helping to accelerate their production yield learning. With FEI's DualBeam(TM) metrology, Alliance partners can analyze complex structural failures and understand the source of defects. FEI's diagnostic capability provides a powerful tool for analyzing the interactions of materials and processes, thus leading to a better understanding of the integration issues."
"FEI's three-dimensional structural metrology system is an important addition to the Alliance capabilities," said Dr. John Lindquist, senior vice president and general manager of FEI's microelectronics group. "With critical dimensions now lying deep below the surface of today's advanced devices, FEI's DualBeam tool will give Alliance customers new abilities to measure, analyze, and control their copper interconnect manufacturing processes starting with development and continuing through process ramps and ongoing process control for volume production.
"Since the Damascus Alliance is an open collaboration, we can continually incorporate best-known methods to address customer challenges and excited to be a part of this important industry consortium," added Lindquist. "This alliance support's FEI's commitment to ongoing strategic alliance development to ensure that customers have complete and timely solutions for the challenges they face with new designs and processes."
In addition to the DualBeam metrology system, FEI will supply full-time, on-site applications specialists, experienced in advanced sub-surface critical dimension and defect sourcing applications, to the Alliance's Customer Integration Center.
About Novellus Systems:
Novellus Systems Inc., an S&P 500 company, manufactures, markets and services advanced deposition and surface preparation equipment for today's advanced integrated circuits. The company's products are designed for high-volume production of advanced, leading-edge semiconductor devices at the lowest possible cost. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with subsidiaries throughout the U.S. as well as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Ireland, Israel, Italy, India, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, Novellus is a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq stock exchange and a component of the Nasdaq-100 Index®. Additional information about the company is available on Novellus' home page at www.novellus.com.
About LAM Research Corporation
Lam Research Corporation is a leading supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the world's semiconductor industry. Lam's common stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol LRCX. The Company's World Wide Web address is lamrc.com .
About SpeedFam-IPEC, Inc.
SpeedFam-IPEC, Inc. is a pioneer and innovator in the manufacture of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) systems used in the fabrication of advanced semiconductor devices. With more than 1,300 CMP systems installed worldwide, the company enables the development of next-generation integrated circuit technology through its leading-edge polishing systems. With headquarters in Chandler, Ariz., and offices throughout the world, SpeedFam-IPEC is publicly traded on Nasdaq under the symbol SFAM. The company's web site URL is www.sfamipec.com .
About FEI: The Structural Process Management(TM) Company
FEI is the 3D innovator and leading supplier of Structural Process Management(TM) solutions to the world's technology leaders in the fields of semiconductors, data storage, structural biology and industry. Its range of industry-leading DualBeam(TM) and single column focused ion and electron beam products enables manufacturers and researchers to keep pace with technology shifts and develop next generation technologies and products. The Company's products allow advanced three-dimensional metrology, device editing, trimming, and structural analysis for management of sub-micron structures including those found in integrated circuits, high density magnetic storage devices, industrial materials, chemical compounds, and biological structures. FEI solutions deliver enhanced production yields, lower costs and faster time to market-critical benefits in highly competitive markets.
Headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon, FEI has approximately 1,600 employees worldwide, with additional development and manufacturing operations located in Peabody, Massachusetts; Eindhoven, The Netherlands; and Brno, Czech Republic. FEI's Internet site can be accessed at feicompany.com .
SOURCE: FEI Company |
