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Nanoplas equipment replace wet etch with dry etch in 14nm pilot production

Date: 13/11/2013
Semiconductor manufacturing equipment vendor Nanoplas has announced a second purchase order for its ALDE (Atomic Layer Downstream Etching) process module for extreme selectivity dielectric dry-etching. Nanoplas said it foresees many different applications at 14nm and beyond, Nanoplas also announced a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with CEA-Leti, extending the technology to additional applications in 14nm dry-etching, stripping and cleaning.

The new ALDE order to replace H3PO4 wet etch with extremely selective isotropic Si3N4 dry etch in a 14nm pilot line. This first beta site in Asia will also enable significant cost-of-ownership reductions, as per Nanoplas.

“We are very encouraged by this sale, in which Nanoplas offers an OEM customer a unique dry process solution to replace wet processing,” explains the company's CEO, Gilles Baujon. “At the 14nm node, Nanoplas expects a massive shift from wet to dry. The drivers will be costs (chemicals, high purity water consumption and infrastructure), process performance and safety. By addressing all these challenges and targeting a range of applications, we expect ALDE to play a significant role in this shift.”

“The ALDE system offers unique performance in etching the many critical silicon-nitride spacer films in advanced transistor-formation technologies,” notes CEA-Leti CEO Laurent Malier. “In this decisive final phase of development for the 14nm node, the CEA-Leti Plasma Etching & Stripping Laboratory will join forces with Nanoplas to ensure full qualification of their tool. Our experts will also help to expand the range of applications in which the ALDE technology can be used, including etching, stripping and cleaning at the 14nm node and well beyond.”