Semiconductors

Photomasks, the quartz plates that hold microchip circuit patterns, must be as close to perfect as possible. Any imperfections will be reproduced on every chip on every wafer, potentially wasting a lot of time and expensive silicon.Applied is a vital part of the mask making ecosystem. Virtually every high-end mask is made using Applied’s Tetra etch systems, a new version of which has just been released.

In his blog, James Moyne talked about Applied Materials’ software footprint as it relates to crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar production. James highlighted a specific scenario where advanced process control plays an important role in addressing issues associated with solar cell printing. As this type of technology becomes widely adopted, the c-Si solar industry will collectively improve processes and drive the quality and conversion efficiency of the product to new highs.The LED manufacturing world has an interesting mix of semiconductor technology and c-Si manufacturing practices. This raises the question: can automation software be beneficial—and affordable—for LED production lines? The answer is YES, and I’ll begin to tell you why.

Tomorrow I will be at Applied Materials meeting with employees to provide a brief overview of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and an approach to generating carbon-free, economically competitive power from Laser Inertial Fusion Energy (LIFE). 

For the past several years, the industry has been transitioning to high k metal gate (HKMG) transistors in high-performance logic chips. It’s been a tough engineering challenge requiring extensive research into new materials and production processes. But today, HKMG transistors are successfully being produced in high volume manufacturing for advanced logic devices.

Applied Materials was highlighted in an article released by FORTUNE today about the incredibly low and ever-falling price of transistors, the new kinds of jobs they are doing and the pervasiveness of the technology.

At this year's SEMICON West 2010, Applied Materials introduced the Producer Avila system, the latest innovation for TSV production. Sesh Ramaswami, Senior Director, Through-Silicon Via Program discusses how Applied Materials is leading the next technology inflection to advance Through-Silicon Via (SV) technology for high-volume manufacturing.

Micron Technology, Inc. announced today that it has started the deployment of the Applied Materials E3 framework within its 300mm fabrication facilities. Applied E3 is an integrated engineering system that allows sophisticated control strategies aimed at increasing product performance, raising product yield and improving quality.

Below is an excerpt of an article I co-authored in the latest issue of Nanochip Fab Solutions, an Applied Materials publication, on new green house gas regulations and the pressure added to efforts to lower energy costs in the Fab.