Applied Materials’ Innovative Pattern-Shaping Technology Reduces the Cost, Complexity and Environmental Impact of Advanced Chip Manufacturing
February 28 2023 - 7:30AM
Applied Materials, Inc. today unveiled a breakthrough in patterning
technology that allows chipmakers to create high-performance
transistors and interconnect wiring with fewer EUV lithography
steps, thereby lowering the cost, complexity and environmental
impact of advanced chipmaking.
Customers increasingly use EUV double patterning to print chip
features smaller than the resolution limits of EUV to optimize chip
area and cost. Using EUV double patterning, chipmakers split a
high-density pattern in half and produce two masks that adhere to
the resolution limits of EUV. Both halves of the pattern are
combined on intermediate patterning films and then etched into the
wafer. While double patterning is effective at increasing feature
density, it adds design and patterning complexity along with
process steps that consume time, energy, materials and water – and
increase the cost of wafer fabs and wafer production.
Introducing the Applied Materials
Centura®
Sculpta® Patterning
System
To help chipmakers continue shrinking designs without the added
cost, complexity, and energy and materials consumption of EUV
double patterning, Applied Materials worked closely with leading
customers to develop the Centura Sculpta patterning system.
Chipmakers can now print a single EUV pattern and then use the
Sculpta system to elongate the shapes in any chosen direction to
reduce the space between features and increase pattern density.
Because the final pattern is created from a single mask, design
cost and complexity are reduced, and the yield risk from
double-patterning alignment errors is eliminated.
EUV double patterning requires a number of added manufacturing
process steps that generally include CVD patterning film
deposition, CMP cleaning, photoresist deposition and removal, EUV
lithography, eBeam metrology, patterning film etching and wafer
cleaning. For each EUV double patterning sequence it replaces, the
Sculpta system can provide chipmakers with:
- Capital cost savings of approximately $250 million per 100K
wafer starts per month of production capacity
- Manufacturing cost savings of approximately $50 per wafer
- Energy savings of more than 15 kwh per wafer
- Direct greenhouse gas emissions reduction of more than 0.35 kg
of CO2 equivalent per wafer
- Water savings of approximately 15 liters per wafer
“The new Sculpta system is a great example of how advances in
materials engineering can complement EUV lithography to help
chipmakers optimize chip area and cost while also tackling the
growing economic and environmental challenges of advanced
chipmaking,” said Dr. Prabu Raja, Senior Vice President and
General Manager of the Semiconductor Products
Group at Applied Materials. “The Sculpta system’s unique
pattern-shaping technology combines Applied’s deep expertise in
ribbon-beam and materials removal technologies to create a
breakthrough innovation for the patterning engineer’s toolkit.”
Customer and Industry Comments
“As Moore’s Law drives us to ever-greater compute performance
and density, pattern shaping is proving to be an important new
technology that can help reduce manufacturing cost and process
complexity, and conserve energy and resources,” said Ryan Russell,
corporate vice president for logic technology development at Intel
Corp. “Having collaborated closely with Applied Materials in the
optimization of Sculpta around our process architecture, Intel will
be deploying pattern-shaping capabilities to help us deliver
reduced design and manufacturing costs, process cycle times and
environmental impact.”
“Three critical issues must be considered when pushing the
limits of patterning: tip-to-tip spacing, pattern bridge defects
and line edge roughness,” said Jong-Chul Park, Master of Foundry
Etch Technology Team at Samsung Electronics. “As an early
development partner on the innovative pattern-shaping technology, I
believe Applied's Sculpta system is a fascinating breakthrough
that addresses these patterning challenges and reduces
manufacturing costs for chipmakers worldwide.”
“Applied Materials’ new Sculpta system is a revolution in
patterning that brings an entirely new capability to chipmakers,”
said Dan Hutcheson, Vice Chair, TechInsights. “As the industry
keeps pushing the limits of chip scaling, we need breakthroughs
like Applied’s pattern-shaping technology that can improve chip
power, performance, area and cost while also reducing design cost,
and energy and materials consumption. Sculpta is the most
innovative new process step in wafer fabrication since the
introduction of CMP.”
The Sculpta system is receiving high interest from leading
chipmakers and has been selected as a production tool of record for
multiple steps in high-volume logic manufacturing.
Additional information about Applied’s Sculpta system will be
discussed at the company’s “New Ways to Shrink: Advanced Patterning
Products Launch” event being held today.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release
contains forward-looking statements, including those regarding
anticipated growth and trends in our businesses and markets,
industry outlooks and demand drivers, technology transitions, our
market share positions, our development of new products and
technologies, our products’ expected cost savings and environmental
benefits, and other statements that are not historical facts. These
statements and their underlying assumptions are subject to risks
and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those expressed or implied by such statements include, without
limitation: the introduction of new and innovative technologies,
and the timing of technology transitions; our ability to develop,
deliver and support new products and technologies; market
acceptance of existing and newly developed products; our ability to
obtain and protect intellectual property rights in key
technologies; the level of demand for our products, our ability to
meet customer demand, and our suppliers' ability to meet our demand
requirements; consumer demand for electronic products; the demand
for semiconductors; customers’ technology and capacity
requirements; our ability to accurately forecast cost savings and
environmental benefits from using our products; and other risks and
uncertainties described in our SEC filings, including our recent
Forms 10-Q and 8-K. All forward-looking statements are based on
management’s current estimates, projections and assumptions, and we
assume no obligation to update them.
About Applied MaterialsApplied Materials, Inc.
(Nasdaq: AMAT) is the leader in materials engineering solutions
used to produce virtually every new chip and advanced display in
the world. Our expertise in modifying materials at atomic levels
and on an industrial scale enables customers to transform
possibilities into reality. At Applied Materials, our innovations
make possible a better future. Learn more at
www.appliedmaterials.com.
Contact:Ricky Gradwohl (editorial/media)
408.235.4676Michael Sullivan (financial community) 408.986.7977
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