- Lam Research introduces the world’s first molybdenum deposition solution
- ALTUS Halo drives scaling needed for the next-gen computing era
We’ve living in a computational revolution, driving unprecedented complexity and transformative shifts in the semiconductor industry. As demand for advanced computational power surges, today’s chipmakers are pushing the limits of what’s possible in the race to scale.
The challenge: The atom-by-atom deposition of metal is essential in manufacturing today’s advanced chips, from creating complex patterns, to memory wordlines, to logic contacts. Tungsten has been the metal of choice for over two decades, but traditional metallization schemes can no longer support the aggressive scaling demands driven by the next-gen computing era.
- For chips to function effectively, they must transmit fast electrical signals through connections. In traditional tungsten-based metallization, extra barrier layers are required to prevent unwanted electrical interactions. As DRAM, NAND, and logic scale to more complex 3D architectures, these signals must travel through higher stacked layers, resulting in increased bottlenecks, slower speeds, and risking electrical shorts.
- Enter molybdenum: Unlike tungsten, molybdenum does not require a barrier layer, simplifying the process while significantly reducing overall resistance.
The solution: Lam’s ALTUS® Halo is the world’s first atomic layer deposition (ALD) tool that harnesses the capabilities of the metal molybdenum in the production of leading-edge semiconductors.
- ALTUS Halo leverages molybdenum along with a range of patented innovations to achieve outstanding feature fill and high-precision deposition of void-free films.
- In most instances ALTUS Halo provides better than 50% improvement in resistance over conventional tungsten metallization.
Why it matters: Currently in qualification and ramping with all leading chipmakers, ALTUS Halo represents an inflection point in semiconductor metallization, driving future scaling of advanced memory and logic devices.
- "The integration of molybdenum metallization enables Micron to be first to market with industry-leading I/O bandwidth and storage capacity in the latest generation of NAND products," says Mark Kiehlbauch, corporate vice president of NAND development at Micron. "Lam’s ALTUS Halo tool has made it possible for Micron to bring molybdenum into mass production."
Flash back: More than 20 years ago, we pioneered the introduction of tungsten ALD in high volume manufacturing and later developed ALD processes to enable the industry to transition from 2D to 3D NAND while improving on-wafer performance and device yield.
- Our extensive knowledge from years of experience and research in ALD put us at the forefront of equipment design, unit process performance, and integration across devices and applications.
Bottom line: “Building on Lam’s deep metallization expertise, ALTUS Halo is the most significant breakthrough in atomic layer deposition in over 20 years,” says Sesha Varadarajan, senior vice president and general manager of the Global Products Group at Lam Research. “It brings together Lam’s quad station module architecture and new advancements in ALD technology to provide engineered, low-resistivity molybdenum deposition for high-volume manufacturing — a critical requirement for emerging and future chip inflections, including 1,000-layer 3D NAND, 4F2 DRAM and advanced gate-all-around logic.”
Related information:
- Learn more about how we're transitioning to molybdenum
- Here's an insider's guide to deposition
- Bonus: We unveiled another product. Learn more about Akara.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this article that are not of historical fact are forward-looking statements and are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements relate to but are not limited to: market and industry trends; the future growth of the semiconductor industry and our ability to capitalize on such growth; the potential future benefits of, opportunities arising from, and applications to the semiconductor industry resulting from our products and technologies; and our continued ability to produce and apply products and technologies resulting in benefits to our customers, suppliers, and the semiconductor industry.. Some factors that may affect these forward-looking statements include: trade regulations, export controls, trade disputes, and other geopolitical tensions may inhibit our ability to sell our products; business, political and/or regulatory conditions in the consumer electronics industry, the semiconductor industry and the overall economy may deteriorate or change; the actions of our customers and competitors may be inconsistent with our expectations; supply chain cost increases and other inflationary pressures have impacted and may continue to impact our profitability; supply chain disruptions or manufacturing capacity constraints may limit our ability to manufacture and sell our products; and natural and human-caused disasters, disease outbreaks, war, terrorism, political or governmental unrest or instability, or other events beyond our control may impact our operations in affected areas; as well as the other risks and uncertainties that are described in the documents filed or furnished by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including specifically the Risk Factors described in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 and our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 29, 2024. These uncertainties and changes could materially affect the forward-looking statements and cause actual results to vary from expectations in a material way. The Company undertakes no obligation to update the information or statements made in this article.