Customer Integration Center

Semiconductor manufacturing requires the integration of a number of different process steps, including circuit patterning, deposition, cleaning, etching, and chemical mechanical planarization. The drive for smaller footprint and increasing functionality is pushing the technology in several areas, including advanced patterning techniques to shrink feature size, three dimensional architecture for greater circuit density, advanced materials for improved circuit performance and reliability, and new product applications. Each new technology node increases the challenges for integration.

Recognizing this trend, Novellus has established a Customer Integration Center, or CIC, with operations at both major company campuses in San Jose, California and Tualatin, Oregon. The CIC resources provide a complete set of 300 mm process equipment:

     State-of-the-art 193 nm lithography (ASML XT 1250 scanner, services provided via SVTC)

     Novellus VECTOR® for deposition of dielectric barrier films and intermetal low-k dielectric films

     Lam Exelan Flex® for dielectric etch/in situ photoresist strip

     Novellus GAMMA® for ex situ photoresist and ashable hard mask strip/clean

      Novellus INOVA® xT for copper barrier/seed deposition

      Novellus SABRE® NExT™ for copper Electrofill™ electrodeposition

      Novellus XCEDA™ for chemical mechanical planarization

The center also provides a variety of metrology and inspection resources.

Novellus uses the CIC resource to provide customers with unit process integration proofs, as well as for customer-specific process integration demonstrations and rapid resolution of process integration issues. By employing the resources of the CIC, customers accelerate their integration learning.