GaSonics International Provides Residue Removal System for New Fab Joint Venture

GaSonics International (San Jose, Calif.) has increased its share of the foundry market with an order from Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing (Woodlands, Singapore).

The order is for the Performance Enhancement Platform (PEP) 3600 system, a new configuration of GaSonics integrated clean platform that features two residue removal/isotropic etch process chambers. The PEP 3600 system will be installed at Silicon Manufacturing Partners, a new joint venture between Chartered Semiconductor and Lucent Technologies, where it will be used to manufacture devices with 0.25-micron design rules.

According to GaSonics' director of marketing Andy Kirkpatrick, this order contributed to GaSonics' growing share of the foundry business, where the company now supplies two of the three leading foundries with photoresist and residue removal equipment.

The two residue removal/isotropic etch chambers featured on the PEP 3600 system have already been qualified for 0.25- and 0.18-micron device manufacturing at several customer sites. The chamber is designed to remove the new genre of residues created during the manufacture of advanced semiconductor devices, including those created by new interconnect materials, etch techniques and deep ultraviolet resists.

GaSonics International supplies integrated clean solutions for the critical process steps between etch and deposition.