Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (6522)	7/21/2003 1:57:02 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

CVD ahead for low-k at 90-, 65-nm, says Applied By Mark LaPedus Semiconductor Business News 07/21/2003, 12:00 PM ET SAN JOSE, Calif. -- What are the major roadblocks for low-k dielectrics in chip designs? "The big challenge for low-k is integration," said Ken MacWilliams, chief technology officer for the dielectric systems group at Applied Materials Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif.). "It's like when people say: 'It's the economy, stupid.' With low-k, it's the integration, stupid." MacWilliams contends that the 90- and 65-nanometer IC manufacturing nodes will be dominated by low-k films based on chemical-vapor deposition (CVD), which is vying with spin-on technology as the low-k deposition methodology of choice. "We think the 65-nm node will be evolutionary, vs. revolutionary. The most aggressive k-value is expected to be 2.6 at 65 nm," he said. Applied's film, dubbed Black Diamond, with a k-value of 3.0, has been endorsed by Agere Systems, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., NEC, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Toshiba Corp., among others. At 65 nm, Applied Materials is readying a film with a k-value of 2.6. At 45 nm, it is targeting k-values of 2.4. The CVD-based low-k road maps from ASM International and Novellus are approximately similar to Applied's, but one player is taking a more aggressive approach. Trikon Technologies Inc. (Newport, Wales) has devised a CVD-based film called Orion, which supports k-values of 2.5 to 2.2. Trikon's technology is being deployed at LSI Logic Corp. and evaluated by Motorola, Taiwan Semiconductor and others at the 65-nm node. "We've demonstrated 1.9 k-value," said Carl Brancher, vice president of corporate development at Trikon. "We're the only CVD company that can do that."