'Round The Circuit

IC sector ranks high in safety

A recent Bureau of Labor Statistics survey found the semiconductor industry to be one of the safest U.S. manufacturing sectors. The "2002 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses," released in December 2003, showed 1.9 cases of work injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time-equivalent workers in the chipmaking industry, making it the seventh lowest group out of the 201 durable-goods industries surveyed. According to SIA, the rate is the smallest ever recorded for the U.S. semiconductor industry.

"Factors responsible for the semiconductor industry's excellent safety and health record include the nature of high-tech manufacturing," notes SIA president George Scalise, "which can include continuous monitoring for chemicals, thereby reducing the risks of exposure." He also cites "a commitment by the industry to participate in the exchange of safety, health, and environmental information and data through various national and international organizations."

Static charge RP issued

A revised recommended practice for electrostatic charge in cleanrooms and other controlled environments has been released. The Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST) has issued IEST-RP-CC022.2, which includes expanded sections on air ionization and packaging as well as a section on developing a static control training program for cleanroom personnel. The document serves as a guideline for specifying the components of an overall control system to manage and limit the effects of electrostatic charge and discharge. It also lists methods of testing and measuring charge generation, charge neutralization, resistivity of surfaces and materials, and static-field attenuation. To order the recommended practice, go to www.iest.org.

Albany lands ALD program

The University of Albany Center of Excellence for Nanoelectronics will host a $12 million, three-year program to develop atomic-layer deposition technology for nanoscale memory devices. Researchers and engineers from Infineon and Genus will partner with the Albany NanoTech staff, which will develop ALD processes for both metal electrode and high-k dielectric materials for sub-45-nm DRAM capacitors. The equipment platform for the work will be Genus's StrataGem-300 300-mm bridge cluster tool. "The establishment of our partnership with Infineon and Genus represents a critical enabling step in our strategic plan to establish a center of excellence in ALD to address high-end nanoscale device fabrication and integration needs," says Alain Kaloyeros, executive director of Albany NanoTech.

Intel funds EUV source work

Intel and Cymer have signed a development agreement to accelerate development of production-worthy extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light sources. Under the terms of the deal, the chipmaking giant will provide $20 million over the next three years to the illumination source supplier.

Experts note that a key issue confronting plans for the deployment of EUV development tools by 2006 and their commercial introduction by 2009 is the ability to augment source output power to meet the production-level wafer throughput requirements, while minimizing the cost of ownership for EUV litho tools. "Accelerating EUV technology development to enable its successful implementation in high-volume manufacturing for the 32-nm node in 2009 is a critical mission at Intel," notes Peter Silverman, the chipmaker's director of lithography capital equipment development.

NanoForum to debut

Nanotechnology applications and commercialization opportunities will be explored at NanoForum 2004. The inaugural event, hosted by SEMI, will take place November 14–17 at the Austin Hilton in the Texas state capital. Two days of speaker sessions and meetings will be featured, along with a one-day tutorial on the basics of nanotechnology at the University of Texas and a postconference workshop. Presentations will focus on nine targeted markets: consumer, information technology, biotech, energy, chemicals, industrial controls, automotive, aerospace, and defense. SEMI president and CEO Stan Myers hopes the forum will reveal the "opportunities in nanomarkets" to the trade association members as well as showing "nanocompanies" some of the "available semiconductor technologies that can benefit their current, research, design, and manufacturing programs." For more information on NanoForum 2004, go to www.semi.org.

ICP-MS textbook released

A new book offers a tutorial written specifically for beginners in the science and applications of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Authored by trace metal analysis expert Robert Thomas of Scientific Solutions, the Practical Guide to ICP-MS covers basic component descriptions and features guidelines describing the appropriate uses for the spectrometry tool. Its topics include principles of ion formation, sample introduction, plasma generation, ion focusing and detection, quantitation methods, contamination issues, sample preparation, and routine maintenance. The book concludes with chapters on alternate sampling accessories, common ICP-MS applications (including its widespread use in the semiconductor industry), comparisons with other atomic spectroscopy techniques, and important selection criteria when evaluating ICP-MS instrumentation. It can be ordered from its publisher, Marcel Dekker, via www.dekker.com.