After years in R&D, several fab tool vendors last year finally
began to ship systems based a next-generation technology called atomic
layer etch (ALE).
ALE
is is moving into 16/14nm, but it will play a big role at 10/7nm and
beyond. The industry also is working on the next wave of ALE technology
for advanced logic and memory production.
Used by chipmakers for years, traditional etch systems remove materials
on a continuous basis in devices. Considered a next-generation etch
technology, ALE selectively removes targeted materials at the atomic
scale without damaging other parts of the structure. For example, ALE
can be used to remove materials in a structure to form trenches with
gaps on the order of 10 to 15 angstroms or 5 atoms wide. (An angstrom is
0.1nm.)
Applied Materials Centris Sym3 is one of the Applied Materials offering for ALE. It can be configured to handle
plasma ALE for anisotropic etch applications, such as self-align
contacts and spacer-based patterning.
Applied Materials, Hitachi High-Technologies, Lam Research and TEL are
among the suppliers of ALE tools in the market. Today, ALE represents a
tiny percentage of the overall etch market. In total, the worldwide dry
etch business is projected to reach $9.6 billion in 2017, up from $7.2
billion in 2016, according to Gartner.
Full article : "What’s Next For Atomic Layer Etch?" by Mark Lapedus, Semiconductor Engineering (LINK)
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