Lam Research Launches Flex(TM) G Series for High-Aspect-Ratio Dielectric Etch

FREMONT, CA--(Marketwired - July 13, 2015) - Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX), a major global supplier of innovative wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry, today announced it has introduced the Flex™ G Series for high-aspect-ratio (HAR) dielectric etch to enable the continued scaling of DRAM and 3D NAND devices. The HAR capacitor cells and vertical transistor channels within these devices require the formation of distortion-free vertical profiles from the top to the bottom of these tall, narrow features. Built upon Lam's Flex product family, the market leader in dielectric etch for memory, the new system meets these challenges by combining high ion energy, advanced process uniformity tuning, and proprietary RF pulsing. Together, these deliver overall best-in-class on-wafer performance, as well as the productivity needed to reduce manufacturing costs.

"Advanced memory device designs involve increasingly high-aspect-ratio dielectric etch applications," said Vahid Vahedi, group vice president, Etch Product Group. "These require etching through very deep structures with exceptional process control. Using innovative technology that enables tuning critical process parameters like etch profile and mask selectivity, our new Flex G Series is designed to help our customers address their most difficult challenges."

As aspect ratios increase, dielectric etch steps become more challenging. For DRAM, scaling below 20 nm makes the dimensions of the capacitor (cell) features even more extreme and therefore harder to etch. These applications require stringent critical dimension (CD) control throughout the depth of the feature and tight across-wafer uniformity for both etch depth and profile. Similarly for 3D NAND, critical HAR processes include the vertical transistor channel and slit. Today, these can involve etching through 30 or more stacked pairs of films, with aspect ratios in excess of 30:1. This is growing to 60 or more pairs for next-generation devices, further increasing the aspect ratio of the structure being etched. Due to challenging dimensions, HAR structures are especially vulnerable to bowing, distortions such as tilting or twisting, and premature etch-stop. To address these issues, high selectivity and controlled material removal are required.