Applied Materials, Inc., the global leader in Nanomanufacturing Technology™ solutions with a broad portfolio of innovative equipment, service and software products for the fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells, flexible electronics and energy efficient glass, today raised CMP* technology to a new level while lowering system cost of ownership (CoO) with the launch of its Applied Reflexion® GT system for advanced metal CMP applications. The system's novel, dual-wafer design sets new benchmarks in CMP performance and productivity, delivering superior profile control and 60% higher throughput than competing systems. The Reflexion GT also dramatically cuts consumables cost, requiring up to 30% less slurry and processing twice as many wafers per polishing pad.
Key to the Reflexion GT system is its dual mode architecture, enabling two wafers to be processed simultaneously on each platen using independently-controlled Titan Contour polishing heads. (Photo: Business Wire)
“Today's copper-based logic and memory devices have more copper interconnect layers, requiring faster CMP processing and more efficient use of consumables,” said Lakshmanan Karuppiah, general manager of Applied's CMP business unit. “Like Applied's highly-successful Producer® GT™ CVD* platform, the Reflexion GT system is another dream machine for customers – combining innovations in CMP technology with dual-wafer processing to achieve best-of-breed performance. In addition to its high speed throughput, this new architecture allows customers to realize substantial savings in the cost of consumables, which typically comprises 70% of the total cost per wafer.”
Key to the Reflexion GT system's benchmark performance is its dual mode architecture, enabling two wafers to be processed simultaneously on each platen using independently-controlled Titan Contour™ polishing heads. After polishing is complete, a parallel-path, clean module featuring Applied's proven Marangoni™ vapor drying delivers highly-effective, water mark-free wafer cleaning. The system's proprietary, real-time profile and endpoint control technologies provide industry-leading, wafer-to-wafer uniformity.
The Reflexion GT system is available now for copper interconnect planarization and has demonstrated extendibility to tungsten applications. This innovative system adds to Applied's decade of leadership in CMP technology, with more than 2,700 systems at customer sites worldwide.
*CMP = chemical mechanical planarization; CVD = chemical vapor deposition