Semiconductors

Applied technologists discuss TSV processes and integration, and review new requirements in a typical integration flow. 

At the 2014 Flash Memory Summit, I participated in a panel discussion titled, “Is 3D NAND a disruptive technology for Flash storage?” The consensus is that 3D NAND will be the most viable storage technology in the years to come, although opinions were mixed on when that disruption would be evident.

Innovation is alive and well in the semiconductor industry. That was a key takeaway from the strategic investor panel at the second annual Silicon Innovation Forum at SEMICON West, and one I can’t reinforce enough within the venture capital (VC) community.

Today Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron achieved another important milestone in our merger as we unveiled the new company name. Eteris™ is bold, speaks to what makes us unique, and is representative of our future together and what we aim to achieve.

Applied Materials’ newest products, the Applied Producer XP Precision CVD and the Applied Reflexion LK Prime, address two of the most difficult yet critical aspects of 3D device fabrication.

Historically, many of the developments in the semiconductor industry have stemmed from the continued progress in lithography. However, with the persistent uncertainty of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) for future-generation patterning, the industry has developed techniques such as self-alignment double patterning (SADP) to extend optical lithography. In a video produced by SPIETV, Chris Bencher of Applied Materials Office of the Chief Technology Officer, reviews the evolution of SADP and looks to its future. 

In a couple weeks the semiconductor equipment industry will descend upon San Francisco, CA. for the annual SEMICON West event. Applied Materials executives will be front and center sharing industry and business outlooks, and providing their perspectives on the company’s strategies, opportunities, products and financial performance. Precision materials engineering will be the central theme as it continues to enable significant inflections in transistors and memory technology.

As a member of the organizing committee, I’m pleased to share that Applied Ventures will be participating in the second-annual Silicon Innovation Forum (SIF) held in conjunction with SEMICON West 2014 in San Francisco on Tuesday, July 8.The forum is designed to bring new and emerging innovators together with the semiconductor industry’s top strategic investors and venture capitalists (VCs), in order to enable closer collaboration and showcase the next generation of entrepreneurs in microelectronics.

Applied Materials’ Endura Ventura PVD, the first metallization solution for high-volume manufacturing of high aspect ratio through-silicon via structures enables the smaller, lower power, high-performance integrated 3D chips required for high-end electronic devices.