Lam Research Corp., Fremont, Calif, announced Vantex, the latest in dielectric etch technology designed specifically for Sense.i, the most intelligent etch platform available today. Built on a legacy of etch leadership, this pioneering design delivers higher performance and greater extendibility for current and future generation NAND and DRAM memory devices.<\/p>\n
Chipmakers building 3D memory devices for applications such as smartphones, graphics cards, and solid-state storage drives continually strive to reduce their cost per bit from node to node by increasing device dimensions vertically and reducing critical dimensions (CD) laterally. This is driving etch aspect ratios in 3D NAND and DRAM to new levels.<\/p>\n
Vantex\u2019s new chamber design enables the use of higher than previously available radio frequency (RF) power levels to etch high aspect ratio features at high throughput and achieve cost scaling. The increased power is coupled with advancements in RF pulsing technology to deliver the tight CD control required to improve device performance.<\/p>\n
3D NAND device roadmaps require etching to achieve greater depths with every new generation, driving a need for improved etch profile uniformity. The Vantex technology controls the vertical angle of the etch to meet the tighter placement requirements of these 3D device features and achieve high yield across an entire 300 mm wafer.<\/p>\n
Lam\u2019s Sense.i etch platform with Equipment Intelligence includes capabilities for collecting data from hundreds of sensors monitoring system and process performance. The Vantex chamber leverages the high bandwidth communication in the Sense.i system to collect more data per wafer than any other tool on the market \u2013 with the ability to utilize data much more efficiently in order to improve both on-wafer and wafer-to-wafer performance.<\/p>\n
Vantex on the Sense.i platform continues to ship to Lam\u2019s leading memory customers for qualification, with repeat orders to ramp in high volume production in 2021.<\/p>\n
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