Applied Materials' Flowable CVD Offers New Chip Process Technology

Applied Materials announced a breakthrough film deposition technology capable of electrically isolating the densely-packed transistors in 20nm-and-below memory and logic chips. The company describes its Eterna FCVD (Flowable Chemical Vapor Deposition) system as a "game changer" that solvesthe most critical challenges in scaling Moore's Law -- 3D isolation of gates at tight geometries and thermal budgets with high density designs.


The Eterna FCVD process leverages a bottoms-up deposition technique to deliver a dense, carbon-free dielectric film at up to half the cost of spin-on deposition methods. The process results in a liquid-like film that flows freely into virtually any structure shape to provide a bottom up, void-free fill.


The Eterna FCVD system is installed at six customer sites for DRAM, Flash and Logic applications, where it is integrated on Applied's benchmark Producer platform.


"The need to fill smaller and deeper structures in advanced chip designs creates a physical roadblock for existing deposition technologies. Applied has broken through this barrier today with the introduction of its new Eterna FCVD system -- delivering the disruptive technology that can enable the continued progress of Moore's Law," said Bill McClintock, vice president and general manager of Applied's DSM/ CMP2 Business Unit. "With the Eterna FCVD system, Applied continues its decade-long leadership in gap-fill technology, providing a unique, simplified and cost-effective solution for customers to meet the challenges of multiple new chip generations."http://www.appliedmaterials.com