View PDFFREMONT, Calif., June 19, 2007—Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX) today announced it has released the 2300 Motif post-lithography pattern enhancement system, designed for cost-effective production of next-generation feature sizes using current lithography technology. Employing a proprietary plasma-assisted process, the new system delivers controlled photoresist hole and space CD shrinks of up to 100 nm, creating features as small as 10 nm, demonstrating extendibility to the 22 nm node and beyond. Competitive post-lithography pattern enhancement systems are typically limited to shrinks of less than 30 nm.
"The 2300 Motif's precision film deposition and versatility in modifying critical dimensions are enabling a wide range of shrink strategies for foundry, logic, and memory customers to implement innovative new integration schemes that are advancing semiconductor manufacturing," said Jeff Marks, Lam Research's vice president of New Businesses. "Customers are using Motif to create sub-lithography design rule features down to 10 nm – significantly smaller features than those possible with today's advanced lithography. Motif enables customers to delay investments in costly, more advanced lithography and will support the transition to next-generation lithography."
"In joint development work with Lam, we achieved 30 nm to 60 nm CD shrinks, including contacts down to 40 nm with sub 3 nm across-wafer uniformity and wide exposure latitude," said Serge Vanhaelemeersch, department manager, Silicon Process and Device Technology Division, IMEC. "These impressive results clearly demonstrate Motif's effectiveness in extending current lithography with the process control and performance required for production."
Customers are using Lam Research's 2300 Motif to provide solutions for a range of challenging applications. For example, some customers are applying Motif in a removable spacer application to simplify otherwise costly and complicated processes. Others are employing Motif's plasma-assisted shrink capability to create sub-lithography design rule features down to 10 nm using current lithography.
To shrink feature sizes, the 2300 Motif deposits a thin film coating on printed photoresist holes and spaces. The film is typically the thickness of the desired feature shrink. Using current lithography and mask technology, the photoresist holes and spaces are printed at a large enough size to optimize exposure latitude and minimize distortion. The shrink process is applied after lithographic patterning to reduce printed features to the desired size prior to etching. After etch, the film deposited by Motif is removed during the photoresist strip step.
The film deposited by Motif enhances etch plasma resistance, resulting in reduced line roughening and distortion during pattern shrinking and transfer, providing excellent CD uniformity, typically equivalent to or better than incoming lithography. In addition, the Motif process can be tuned for a range of feature sizes in the pattern.
2300 Motif systems are being employed by foundry, logic, and memory customers who are developing new technologies cost effectively by employing the system's precision post-lithography patterning capabilities.
Note to editors: The following caption accompanies a graphic of a post-lithography CD shrink process with "before" and "after" SEM images: "The 2300® Motif™ post-lithography pattern enhancement system delivers CD shrink capability for obtaining final CDs as small as 10 nm, extending the limits of conventional lithography."
Statements made in this press release which are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements and are subject to the safe harbor provisions created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements relate, but are not limited, to the process results that might be expected from the use of Lam equipment, customer plans for the Motif systems, customer intentions regarding future investment in more advanced lithography technology, and future technology development plans of both Lam and its customers. Some factors that may affect these forward-looking statements include: the processes used on Lam's tools, our customers' device requirements, the cost and capability of advanced lithography systems, the performance of our competitors' tools and the development of new technologies. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to uncertainties and changes in condition, significance, value and effect as well as other risks detailed in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including specifically the report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 25, 2006, and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 25, 2007, which could cause actual results to vary from expectations. The Company undertakes no obligation to update the information or statements made in this press release.
Lam Research Corporation, one of Fortune magazine's "100 Fastest-Growing Companies" in 2006, is a major supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the world's semiconductor industry and market share leader in plasma etch. The Company applies its expertise for emerging 3D IC applications and a wide range of MEMS-based processes and has developed technology in market areas adjacent to etch, including wet clean, bevel clean, photoresist stripping, and patterning for extending the capability of advanced lithography. Lam Research's common stock trades on The NASDAQ Global Select MarketSM under the symbol LRCX. Lam Research is a NASDAQ-100® company. For more information visit our web site at http://www.lamresearch.com.
Company Contact:
Dan Carpenter
Corporate Communications
phone: 510/572-5241
e-mail: dan.carpenter@lamresearch.com
Agency Contact:
Shawn Lynch
Forerunner Communications
phone: 816/500-8191
e-mail: lynchshawn@sbcglobal.net