INDUSTRY NEWS

ROUND THE CIRCUIT

Parts start-up gets partner

Air Products and Chemicals has taken an equity stake in a semiconductor equipment parts-cleaning company launched last year. The partnership will enable the start-up, Colorado-based QuantumClean, to set up a network of regional Advanced Cleaning Technology Centers in the United States. QuantumClean's strategy is to place the centers in regional hubs where Air Products has a customer base for its gases and chemicals or where the company has technical support centers for its Megasys management services. Eventually, the partners will expand the outsourcing services to Asia and Europe. They hope to tap into a $1-billion annual global market for parts cleaning needed by the approximately 750 fabs around the world. QuantumClean is banking on the desire of chipmakers to focus on manufacturing and send their parts out to experts for cleaning. The new company uses carbon dioxide–based cleaning and a proprietary chemical single-tool cleaning method designed to eliminate cross-contamination of the parts. (A more extensive article on QuantumClean appears in MICRO, Industry News, September 2000.)

NIST ends ATP deadlines

Seeking to speed up its application procedure, NIST announced it will now accept proposals for its Advanced Technology Program (ATP) throughout the year. Launched in 1990, the ATP provides matching funds to private industry for risky or innovative research projects that offer the possibility of wider economic or social benefit. Interested companies may now submit proposals for evaluation at any time during the year. The institute also will permit companies to submit proposals in stages. Proposals for the 2001 competition will be accepted between January 10 and September 30, which is the end of the 2001 fiscal year. ATP will make approximately $60.7 million available during the fiscal year for first-year funding of projects. Information: http://www.atp.nist.gov.

Dow passes copper test

International Sematech has successfully integrated Dow Corning's XLK spin-on dielectric in a double-level metal copper damascene test structure, the materials vendor announced. The demonstration follows the evaluation of XLK in one-level copper damascene stacks last June. Dow Corning collaborated with the consortium to optimize the dielectric material to withstand etch, CMP, ash, and cleaning processes and minimize chemical and mechanical damage to the film. The XLK low-k film is based on Dow's HSQ resin in FOx flowable oxide spin-on dielectric. The film features dielectric constants of 2.5, 2.2, and 2, Dow says. Information: http://www.lowkleader.com.

Partners target polymer clean

Ashland Specialty Chemical and Dainippon Screen have launched a partnership targeting polymer cleaning on process tools. The companies hope to develop chemistries for use with single-wafer equipment. Dainippon Screen cites a trend in polymer removal processes toward a single-wafer spin process. The trend has been triggered by shrinking geometries, contamination problems, cleanroom space requirements, and 300-mm wafer processes, says Nobutoshi Ogami, CEO and president of Dainippon's semiconductor equipment division. Ashland-ACT, a business unit of the specialty chemical company's electronic chemicals division, will participate in the alliance. The unit's ACT NE polymer has a process time of less than 1 minute and is buffered to ensure process stability, Ashland says. Information: http://www.screen.co.jp/ index.html; http://www.ashland.com.

Vendor raises chemical prices

General Chemical of Hollister, CA, raised the price of all wet process chemicals sold by its electronic chemicals group. The increases of 5 to 8% took effect on December 1, 2000. Trey Vann, marketing manager for the business unit, cites several reasons for the price increases: a rise in the cost of raw materials, a tight supply of solvents, energy-intensive manufacturing, and higher freight costs. Vann expects the trend to continue for the near future.

Stepper gets Sematech nod

A Microscan V lithography system from Silicon Valley Group will be used at International Sematech in the consortium's efforts to develop advanced optical technology. The scanner will be installed during the first fiscal quarter of 2002 in Sematech's Advanced Tool Development Facility (ATDF). Sematech's member companies are trying to extend the capabilities of 193-nm lithography to the 90-nm tech node, says Dan Holladay, associate director of ATDF. Information: http://www.sematech.org; http:// www.svg.com.

Pistorio receives EHS honor

A semiconductor industry executive who insists that his company's corporate policy reflect a belief in sustainable environmental development has been awarded SEMI's first EHS prize. Pasquale Pistorio, the president and CEO of STMicroelectronics, is the recipient of the first annual Akira Inoue Award for Outstanding Achievement in Environment, Health, and Safety in the semiconductor industry. Pistorio was accorded the honor during Semicon Japan in early December. Akira Inoue is past president of Tokyo Electron Ltd. and a former member of SEMI's board of directors. Inoue was a driving force behind the establishment of SEMI's EHS division.

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