Tegal expands ProNova ICP silicon DRIE reactor family with introduction of ProNova2

SEMICON Japan 2010, CHIBA, JAPAN & PETALUMA, USA: Tegal Corp., an innovator of specialized production solutions for the fabrication of advanced MEMS, power ICs and 3D ICs, will launch the newest member of its popular ProNova family of high-density inductively coupled plasma (ICP) reactors for the company’s DRIE series wafer processing products.

The ProNova2 is targeted for fast-growing 200-mm MEMS and 3D IC applications. It was built to out-perform the etch rates of comparative tools and deliver industry-leading DRIE productivity and yield benefits. In addition to demonstrating sustained high etch rates, the new reactor offers a three-fold improvement in ion uniformity.

For some applications, the higher uniformity enables a 40-plus percent improvement in etch selectivity. The ProNova2 also allows users to adjust selected etch parameters across the ICP reactor plasma and diffusion zones. This allows for better control of etch process performance across the wafer which boosts the silicon DRIE etch flexibility needed for some advanced applications.

The first ProNova2 tool has been installed in a Japanese development laboratory where it is meeting the performance expectations set by Tegal’s France-based R&D team.

Porting established MEMS processes onto 200-mm tools and then improving on the baseline process results has been a key challenge for 200-mm MEMS fabrication. For silicon DRIE, these challenges include achieving higher etch rates, along with tighter control of tilt angles and etch profiles, and better etch depth uniformity across 200-mm wafers.

The ProNova reactor family was developed to address all key market requirements identified by the 200-mm MEMS community which include Tegal’s 3D IC Through Silicon Via (TSV) commercial partners. With an improved ICP reactor geometry and plasma source design, the ProNova products achieve superior etch depth uniformity and etch profiles, as well as better etch tilt angles across 200-mm wafers when compared to traditional ICP sources.

“At Tegal, we remain focused on driving continuous product and technology improvement so that our customers have the best tools to address the evolving process requirements of advanced silicon DRIE applications like MEMS and 3D ICs,” said Nicolas Launay, R&D Director at Tegal France.

“The ProNova2 builds on the process improvements featured in our first ProNova reactor and offers customers further gains in productivity and yields. It is one of the most advanced silicon DRIE reactors on the market today.”

The ProNova2 is immediately available to ship on Tegal 110, 200, 3200 and 4200 DRIE wafer processing systems. It is also compatible as a retrofit with Tegal and AMMS DRIE systems already in the field. As with the first member of the ProNova family, the product supports Tegal’s Super High Aspect Ratio Process (SHARP), which achieves etched feature aspect ratios of greater than 100:1 in production environments.