CEA-Leti preps for PCM, HKMG research below 20-nm

CEA-Leti preps for PCM, HKMG research below 20-nm

LONDON – Soitec SA (Bernin, France), a vendor of silicon-on-insulator wafers, has announced that its subsidiary Altatech Semiconductor SA has installed an chemical vapor deposition system at the research institute CEA-Leti in Grenoble, France. CEA-Leti will use the AltaCVD machine to develop phase-change memory (PCM) devices and high-k metal gate (HKMG) structures for the sub-20nm technology node, Soitec said.

Soitec acquired Altatech earlier in 2012 and this is the first equipment order received by Altatech since it became a subsidiary of Soitec.

CEA-Leti plans to use the AltaCVD machine to perform low-temperature deposition of binary and ternary alloys as part of an optimization of phase-change memory properties. The machine can create thin films with thicknesses of 100-nm or less with precise stoichiometry. This ability to deposit advanced materials with very high uniformity and repeatability also will be used by CEA-Leti in creating high-k metal gates.

The machine is capable of accommodating 200-mm or 300-mm diameter wafers and is a multi-chamber tool designed for plasma-enhanced or metal-organic deposition of advanced semiconductor materials using liquid precursors.

"Following the release of our advanced CVD systems for front-end and memory processing and the roll out of our deposition tools for TSV [through-silicon-via] isolation and conductive layers, we are now applying our proven technology in creating advanced memories and high-k metal gates," said Jean-Luc Delcarri, general manager of Altatech, in a statement issued by Soitec.

Soitec made a net loss of 56.3 million euro (about $70 million) on sales revenue of 323.4 million euro (about $400 million) in the financial year to March 31, 2012.


Related links and articles:

www.soitec.com

www.altatech.com

www.cea-leti.fr

News articles:

Soitec to acquire Alatech Semi

ST, ST-Ericsson commit to SOI, says Soitec

French parallel processing research wins $40 million

ST opens up 28-nm, 20-nm FDSOI with GlobalFoundries


TAG:phase change memory CEA Leti PCM HKMG Soitec Altatech AltaCVD semiconductor