Abstract: On February 10, 2022, Lam Lam (NASDAQ: LRCX) announced a new line of selective etching products that apply breakthrough wafer fabrication technologies and innovative chemical compositions to support chipmakers in developing ring gate (GAA) transistor structures. Lam's Selective Etching portfolio includes three new products – Argos, Prevos and Selis – that provide a strong advantage for the design and manufacture of advanced logic and memory semiconductor solutions.
On February 10, 2022, Lam Lam (NASDAQ: LRCX) announced a new line of selective etching products that apply breakthrough wafer fabrication technologies and innovative chemistries to support chipmakers in developing ring gate (GAA) transistor structures. Lam's selective etching portfolio includes three new products – Argos, Prevos and Selis – that provide a strong advantage for the design and manufacture of advanced logic and memory semiconductor solutions.
Integrated Lam Group's latest Prevos and Selis equipment systems
As modern technology and devices continue to evolve, so does the need for higher device densities required to improve performance and efficiency. To keep pace with Moore's Law, chipmakers are currently developing vertical transistor architectures— a very complex process that requires ultra-high selectivity, precision etching, and uniform isotropic removal without altering or damaging other critical material layers.
Lam's selective etching solutions support the ultra-high, tunable selectivity and damage-free material removal required for advanced logic nanosheet or nanowire formation, enabling chipmakers to make another evolutionary leap from planar to three-dimensional structures after DRAM reaches its planar miniature limit.
Developed in collaboration with the world's most innovative logic and wafer chip manufacturers, Lam Lam's selective etching product has been used by industry leaders such as Samsung Electronics to support nearly a dozen key steps in the advanced logic wafer development process.
Dr. Keun Hee Bai, an expert at Samsung's Semiconductor R&D Center, said: "The semiconductor industry continues to move towards stronger and faster device capabilities. As the density and complexity of devices continue to increase dramatically, selective etching techniques are critical to manufacturing our state-of-the-art logic devices. As global demand for Samsung technology continues to rise, we rely on the various innovative technologies and capabilities of selective etching products to ramp up capacity and accelerate our logic roadmap to introduce advanced logic ring gate devices and even more advanced devices. ”
Lam Group's selective etching portfolio consists of three new devices:
Argos – the revolutionary MARS (Metastable Activated Radical Source) technology – is capable of selectively modifying and purifying wafer surfaces. Its breakthrough processing and tuning capabilities enable chipmakers to precisely process and optimize wafer surfaces for optimal performance.
Prevos combines novel chemical composition and innovative steam technology with flexible temperature control to achieve ultra-selective etching with atomic layer precision for oxides, silicon and metals. Prevos leverages a new proprietary chemical technology solution developed by Lam Lam that can add additional chemical ingredients to meet the production needs of chipmakers.
Selis' unique use of free radical and thermal etch capabilities enables ultra-selective etching and uniform top-to-bottom process control without damaging the wafer structure.
Prevos and Selis can also be delivered as a single integrated device to provide unique multi-layer selective etching, better queuing time control and maximum production flexibility.
Tim Archer, President and CEO of Lam, said: "Lam is driving the development of wafer fabrication technologies to support the chip industry's shift to 3D architecture and make next-generation digital technologies a reality. For more than 40 years, Lam Has been leading the industry in etch technology innovation. We are proud to continue this tradition by offering a state-of-the-art portfolio of selective etching solutions for advanced logic and memory on the market today." ”