Altatech Semiconductor S.A. of Montbonnot, near Grenoble, France (a subsidiary of Soitec since January 2012) has received an order from the University of Washington in Seattle for an AltaCVD chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system, whose unique combination of capabilities allows users to develop new process materials, says the firm.
The CVD system will be installed at the university’s Washington Nanofabrication Facility (WNF), a full-service user facility that is a part of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN). It will be used by both internal and external researchers in fabricating a broad range of semiconductor-based devices including leading-edge CMOS transistors, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), ICs built with the latest in through-silicon-via (TSV) technology, advanced LEDs, and solar cells.
Altatech’s pulsed CVD systems are currently used in R&D and pilot-production facilities throughout Europe. However, the new order represents the first such system to be delivered to a North American university R&D and pilot-production facility. The AltaCVD system, along with the university’s recent installations of an advanced deep reactive-ion etcher (DRIE) and a plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) tool, provides the capability to assemble an electroplated TSV fill process.
“The AltaCVD system provides a unique capability that enables researchers to deposit conformal metal films for TSV applications as well as metal oxides and nitrides for high-k dielectrics and piezoelectric materials,” comments Dr Michael Khbeis, acting director of the WNF. “The higher deposition rate enabled by pulsed CVD makes ALD (atomic layer deposition) films a tractable solution for scale-up paths toward high-volume manufacturing for our researchers and industrial clients. This ensures a viable pathway from academia to real economic impact in our region,” he adds.
“Extending the use of our CVD systems into this acclaimed user facility in North America continues to demonstrate the widely recognized advantages of our pulsed deposition technology,” claims Altatech’s general manager Jean-Luc Delcarri.
Altatech will support its AltaCVD installation at the University of Washington from its US-based business and service operation center.
The AltaCVD system uses pulsed deposition technology to offer what is claimed to be a unique combination of capabilities for developing new materials. It can perform ALD for 3D coverage at deposition rates matching those of more conventional CVD techniques, allowing superior stoichiometry control while creating highly conformal thin and thick films, which cannot be achieved using many existing technologies, it is claimed.
The system design combines a unique vaporizer technology, gas/liquid panel integration, dual-channel showerhead and chamber design. Altatech says that the combination of its proprietary reactor design and precursor introduction path with pulsed liquid injection and vaporization enables nanoscale control of film thickness, uniformity, composition and stoichiometry in complex materials.
