Novellus, ATMI and Enthone Introduce Enhanced Electrochemical Deposition Process For Copper

Danbury, CT - Novellus Systems, ATMI, Inc., and Enthone Inc. recently introduced ViaForm Extreme Pura, a new copper deposition process and chemistry for manufacturing advanced copper interconnects at 32 nanometers (nm) and beyond. This new process technology provides a high degree of process control, enables a more robust interconnect fill capability and ensures greater device reliability.

The process was developed through a three-way partnership among Novellus, a provider of advanced process equipment for the global semiconductor industry, ATMI, and Enthone, a manufacturer and developer of high performance semiconductor products. Through an agreement with Enthone, ATMI markets and distributes ViaForm Extreme Pura worldwide for exclusive use on Novellus' market leading SABRE Electrochemical Deposition product line. ViaForm Extreme Pura is available for immediate use.

In 2003, ATMI and Enthone formed a partnership to develop and distribute state-of-the-art electrochemistries to meet the developing need for manufacturing advanced copper interconnects. Since then, the ViaForm family of plating chemistries and the Novellus SABRE system have consistently met the stringent performance, uniformity, and device yield parameters required by the world's leading manufacturers of copper chips.

"Novellus is focused on providing innovative solutions to the industry's most challenging copper extendibility problems," said Dr. Andrew McKerrow, director of technology for Electrofill at Novellus Systems. "The Pura chemistry has demonstrated improved fill and defect performance at beta customer sites and allows customers to extend their existing technology to the next generation while minimizing cost."

"It's critical for us to meet the unique manufacturing requirements of our semiconductor customers," said Mike Besnard, ATMI Materials director of marketing. "We provide the ability to create copper films that are of high purity, have low defectivity, and consistently deliver the performance and yield that our customers require."

"At 32 nm, copper plating is a critical technology for both memory and logic devices," said Richard Hurtubise, global product line manager - semiconductor products, Enthone. "ViaForm Extreme Pura has a clear advantage in that it meets the demands of shrinking device geometries while giving chip manufacturers the flexibility to apply this chemistry to their existing processes and installed base of Novellus SABRE systems."

SOURCE: Novellus Systems, ATMI, Inc., and Enthone Inc.