Co-operating on low-k
18 Jul 2001
Axcelis Technologies and ASM International will be working together to further develop dry strip methods for removing photoresist over advanced low-k dielectric materials.
The joint development programme is aimed at accelerating the integration and adoption of these low-k materials into IC manufacturing processes. Chipmakers are now rapidly adopting low-k dielectrics to produce devices with 0.13-micron and below geometries.
Axcelis and ASM will seek to demonstrate optimised downstream plasma resist strip processes, performed in Axcelis' tools over ASM's Aurora low-k films, deposited in the ASM Eagle PECVD tools. The work is expected to lead to a cost-effective, damage-free resist strip process for Aurora low-k materials.
'By working together, ASM and Axcelis are resolving one of the more significant low-k integration challenges facing our customers - that is, how to remove resist while maintaining the high quality of the low-k material itself,' said Ivo Raaijmakers, chief technology officer for ASM. 'As Aurora 2.7 gains acceptance for the 130nm and below device generations, customers need a low-cost, easy-to-integrate resist strip method. This partnership will produce an optimal resist removal process for ASM's low-k materials, and will enable us to achieve quicker qualification in our customers' low-k dielectric integration schemes.'
Under the planned agreement, the companies also intend to extend the process development work to ASM's next-generation ultra low-k materials using Axcelis' enhanced strip technologies. The optimised resist strip processes will be developed using Axcelis' advanced 300mm toolsets, the FusionES3 and the recently released Axcelis FusionES3i plasma ashers. The Aurora low-k dielectrics will be deposited in the ASM Eagle 10, Eagle 10 / Trident and the 300mm Eagle 12 / Rapidfire PECVD tools.
'The industry's current method for removing resist over low-k involves the use of a reactive ion etch process, which is a solution with high cost-of-ownership. Through this partnership, we can offer a superior low-k resist strip method with significantly lower cost of ownership,' said Michael Dreyer, vice president and general manager of Axcelis' photoresist processing group.
