variable frequency microwave technology significantly reduces cure times of polymer dielectrics, georgia tech study confirms

Lambda Technologies has announced the completion of a research study by the Georgia Institute of Technology on the performance of the company's Variable Frequency Microwave (VFM) technology in curing polymer dielectrics. Results of the study were presented May 2, 2000 at the Symposium on Polymers for Microelectronics in a paper, "Rapid Curing of Polymer Dielectric via Electron Beam and Variable Frequency Microwave Processing," by Dr. Paul Kohl, group director, Integrated Substrates, Georgia Institute of Technology Packaging Research Center. The work was sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) through the MCM-D Consortium. The study looked at the rapid curing of high performance, thin-film polymer (PI 2611 and PI 2734 from Hitachi DuPont, 7501 from Amoco, and Cyclotene 3022 from Dow chemical). The study found VFM technology to be a highly effective means of decreasing the lengthy cure times associated with polymer dielectrics in packaging applications. According to the research, the VFM process reduces cure times, which typically range from three to six hours in traditional convection ovens, to less than thirty minutes. Furthermore, tests showed that the electrical and mechanical properties of the VFM-cured polymers were similar to those cured in conventional ovens, preserving the structural advantages of polymers as interlevel dielectrics. Dick Garard, president of Lambda Technologies, commented, "Long cure times have been a roadblock to production-level implementation of polymer dielectrics in packaging applications. The Georgia Tech research confirms and quantifies what many of our customers have discovered—that VFM cuts cure times to a fraction of what traditional ovens can deliver and without compromising material or product quality." Copies of the research paper are available by mail, please send requests to tchristiansen@microcure.com.