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12-02 :: February/March 2012
nanotimes
Companies Facts
S
urrey NanoSystems has raised third round funding of £4.5 million (US$7.1m) – one of the largest
amounts secured by any UK semiconductor-focused company in the last year – from a consortium led by New Wave Ventures. The funds will be used to com- mercialize innovations in materials to support the continued scaling of integrated circuits. These inclu- de an advanced dielectric thin film for insulation applications, and a process for growing carbon-based interconnections or “vias”. Progress in both of these back-end-of-line semiconductor fabrication areas is critical if manufacturers are to continue silicon‘s evo- lution to next-generation geometry sizes, operating speeds and power conservation.
Surrey NanoSystems has developed a new class of high performance dielectric material for inter-layer or inter-metal insulation. With an effective dielectric constant of less than 2.4, it offers an advanced alter- native to current ‘low k‘ semiconductor insulation materials. It also has the advantages of having high Young’s modulus and hardness, being non porous, and offering excellent resistance to the liquid chemi- cals employed in semiconductor processing - making it a robust and reliable material for IC fabrication.
Moreover, Surrey NanoSystems’ fabrication system and process allows high density CNT structures to be grown at silicon-friendly processing temperatures of 350° C or less (662° F).
http://www.surreynanosystems.com S
USS MicroTec and GenISys GmbH, provider of high-performance software solutions for nano scale fabrication, announced a cooperation agree-
“As low-k dielectrics become more porous, methods for sealing these open pores will become increasingly important for integration with subsequent proces- sing,” says Robert Ditizio, Tegal’s Chief Technologist. “Tegal’s patented process solution addresses the re-
ment to combine the SUSS MicroTec mask aligner tools with the GenISys simulation software Layout LAB.
Within the cooperation GenISys Layout LAB™ has been enhanced to accurately model all available SUSS MicroTec mask aligner exposure optics. Both parties join forces to market the SUSS MicroTec mask aligner technology with the GenISys lithography simulation software Layout LAB™.
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T
egal Corporation (NASDAQ:TGAL) announced renewed efforts to make available the balance of
its semiconductor process-related intellectual proper- ty portfolio. The remaining portfolio consists of thin film structures and process technology pertaining to copper barrier and low-k dielectric technology.
On December 30, 2011, Tegal had sold over thirty patents from Lots 1-3 of its Nano Layer Deposition (NLD) Patent Portfolio to multiple bidders for an aggregate consideration of approximately $4 million. Interest in Lots 1-3 had come primarily from capital equipment manufacturers, whereas ongoing discus- sions regarding the sale of Lot 4 of the NLD Patent Portfolio is primarily with IC device manufacturers and intellectual property aggregators.