Applied Materials` Unique Integrated Liner/Barrier Solution Hits 100th System Shipment
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 2, 1999--
Industry's First Integrated PVD/CVD System Helps Chipmakers
Extend Aluminum Interconnects to Smaller Geometries for Higher Speed
Devices
Applied Materials, Inc., the world's leading supplier of metal deposition systems to the semiconductor industry, has shipped its 100th Endura Integrated Liner/Barrier system to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC) where it will be used to manufacture advanced devices using sub-0.25 micron feature sizes.
The Endura Integrated Liner/Barrier system was announced in
December 1996 and features the industry's first integrated PVD
(physical vapor deposition) and CVD (chemical vapor deposition)
process technologies on a single system. These critical processes are
used for depositing robust, conformal titanium/titanium nitride
(Ti/TiN) liner/barrier films in tungsten-based contact and via
("plug") structures of advanced metal interconnects. By significantly
reducing the resistance of these plug structures, these layers enable
the fabrication of high speed microprocessors, logic and memory chips.
"This system's integrated PVD titanium and CVD titanium nitride
processes have enabled us to extend our aluminum-based designs to
next-generation products and achieve excellent device performance,"
said Dr. Mark Liu, vice president of TSMC. "The combination of Applied
Materials' advanced IMP (ion metal plasma) PVD and CVD technologies on
a single system have allowed us to reduce the liner and barrier film
thickness for better performance. The system is a manufacturing
workhorse that contributes to our profitability and
cost-effectiveness."
In little more than two years, the Endura Integrated
Liner/Barrier system has rapidly gained an unrivaled position in the
marketplace with more than 100 systems shipped to prominent
microprocessor, logic, memory and foundry chipmakers in the U.S.,
Europe, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. The system was featured as
a Best Product of 1998 by Semiconductor International magazine.
Applied Materials' Endura platform, which supports various PVD and
integrated applications, has been the industry's global market leader
in PVD since the early 1990s and has an installed base approaching
2000 systems.
"Many customers are actively seeking ways to extend today's
conventional aluminum-based circuit wiring to 0.13 micron geometries
and gigahertz-level speeds," said Dr. Ashok Sinha, president of
Applied Materials' Metal Deposition Product Business Group. "TSMC is
uniquely positioned to help its customers extend their chip designs
through cost-effective aluminum-based interconnect technologies.
Applied Materials' excellent relationship with TSMC gives both
companies the opportunity to develop ways to optimize this technology
for several additional generations of leading-edge products."
To provide an exceptionally thin and conformal liner film layer
in the contact and via structures, the system uses Applied Materials'
Vectra IMP technology for highly directional deposition of Ti with
superior bottom coverage on aggressive aspect ratio structures
(greater than 40% bottom coverage for aspect ratios higher than 4:1).
Extendible to 0.13-micron designs, this efficient process combines
excellent film results with simple and easily maintained hardware to
produce very cost-effective Ti films.
The system's CVD process, which operates at a lower temperature
than alternative techniques, provides thin (less than 100 angstroms),
low resistivity barrier layers. CVD TiN provides excellent
conformality, superior step coverage and robust barrier performance to
deliver high production yield, enabling advance unlanded via designs,
as well as overetched and re-entrant contacts.
"The enabling capabilities of the Endura Integrated Liner/Barrier
system have given the industry a production-proven vehicle in the race
to more speed and computing power, enabling customers to extend their
device performance with an extremely reliable, production-proven
system, said Dr. Fusen Chen, vice president and general manager of
Applied Materials' Liner/Barrier Division. "We are continuing to
enhance our PVD IMP and metal CVD technologies to provide customers
with the flexibility and productivity needed for their continued use
of aluminum interconnect designs in advanced devices."
By integrating the PVD and CVD processes in an integrated,
high-vacuum process sequence, the formation of performance-limiting
titanium oxide formation is eliminated. Competing production
technologies require multiple mainframes and a vacuum break during the
process sequence, resulting in higher resistance, lower throughput,
more process steps and a higher cost of ownership. At the same time,
the Endura system's low processing temperatures enable significantly
easier integration with various low dielectric constant (low k)
materials. The adoption of low k dielectrics is expected to
allow chipmakers to further reduce device density while significantly
boosting operating speed and lowering power requirements.
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 www.appliedmaterials.com.
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CONTACT: Applied Materials, Santa Clara
Betty Newboe, 408/563-0647 (editorial/media)
Caroyln Schwartz, 408/748-5227 (financial community)
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED PRODUCT