\n\tSematech, Albany, N.Y., and the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering\/SUNY Institute of Technology, have formed the Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) Center, based at the Albany Nanotech Complex. The new planarization center will serve as a technology test-bed that will enable participating companies to develop, demonstrate, integrate, and qualify advanced CMP technologies for the semiconductor industry.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Center aims to accelerate the development of next generation CMP technology, and to drive improvement in the yield and cost of ownership of CMP processes.<\/p>\n
\n\t“The CMP Center is an important part of our strategy to provide our members with the critical capabilities needed to accelerate process maturity for end users,” said Edward Barth, Director of Strategic Growth Initiatives at Sematech. “In addition to our network of consortium members, the newly merged CNSE\/SUNYIT’s leadership in providing state-of-the-art process and metrology toolsets will enable the development of new materials and CMP processes in further scaling of IC devices.”<\/p>\n
\n\tAs semiconductor dimensions are scaled, advances in test structures and process flows are critical for accelerating process development to support industry needs.<\/p>\n
\n\t“The CMP community has been asking for this, and the newly merged CNSE\/SUNYIT and SEMATECH have responded loud and clear,” said Frank Tolic, Associate Vice President for Business, Wafer Processing of the newly merged CNSE\/SUNYIT. “Leveraging our combined strengths creates the next generation of cost effective test vehicles, test wafers, and industry know-how that will lead the CMP community successfully through the next technology generations.”<\/p>\n