Top Quality Cu Diffusion Barriers from Picosun in the ENIAC JU Project ESiP

ESPOO, Finland, June 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Picosun Oy, leading Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) equipment manufacturer, reports excellent process results for copper diffusion barrier deposition. ALD materials for copper diffusion barriers were investigated in the project ESiP (Efficient Silicon Multi-Chip System-in-Package Integration - Reliability, Failure Analysis and Test), running from May 2010 to June 2013.

In ESiP, Picosun worked in close collaboration especially with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, developing processes for copper diffusion barriers for Through-Silicon-Via (TSV) structures. Several different barrier materials were investigated and evaluated, e.g. tantalum oxide (Ta₂O₅), titanium nitride (TiN), titanium-aluminium carbonitride (TiAlCN), ruthenium (Ru), and tantalum nitride (TaN). Based on the studies made at VTT, TaN proved to be the best option for diffusion barrier application. With the results of the ESiP project Picosun's leading ALD reactor design ensures that the TaN process can now run safely and be introduced to industrial manufacturing. The TaN films deposited in the PICOSUN™ ALD tool showed high uniformity and conformality. The process is also cost-efficient because of the low price of the precursors.

"We are proud to take part in a project such as ESiP - the project addresses directly the challenges in European electronics and IC industry today and collects together the finest expertise in the field. ALD process development is in central role in our position as the leading provider of ALD solutions. The now optimized, efficient, safe, and cost-effective TaN process for copper diffusion barriers enables integration of Picosun ALD technology in the next generation TSV manufacturing," states Juhana Kostamo, Managing Director of Picosun.

The project ESiP was funded by ENIAC Joint Undertaking* and Tekes - The Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation. With its 41 partners, bringing together the biggest actors in micro- and nanoelectronics from nine EU countries, the project is the largest international R&D consortium Picosun has participated in this far.

The goal of the project ESiP, which was managed by Infineon Technologies, was to secure Europe's competitiveness on the global micro- and nanoelectronics market. One of the technological solutions for this can be found from the "More than Moore" approach. This approach pushes innovation not only by downscaling the individual electronic component size, but also by developing novel solutions for high density silicon multi-chip packaging, package stacking methods, and failure and reliability testing of the new devices - the core target of the project ESiP. This "System-in-Package" (SiP) technology allows realization of highly sophisticated, highly integrated, and highly miniaturized multifunctional micro- and nanoelectronic devices. Application areas for these novel devices can be found e.g. from the sensor, communication, automotive and healthcare industries.

TSV structures are a central part of upcoming and future SiP devices. The active layers stacked on top of each other often need to be connected and this is realized with TSV trenches the insides of which are coated with conducting material such as copper. Diffusion barriers are needed to prevent copper diffusion into underlying semiconductor material which could render the whole device nonfunctional.

Picosun Oy is a Finland-based, globally operating manufacturer of state-of-the-art ALD systems, representing continuity to almost four decades of pioneering, exclusive and groundbreaking ALD reactor design and manufacturing. Today, PICOSUN™ ALD systems are in daily production use in numerous prominent industries across the globe.

*The ENIAC Joint Undertaking (JU) is a European, public-private partnership focusing on nanoelectronics that brings together ENIAC Member/Associated States, the European Commission, and AENEAS (an association representing European R&D actors in this field). http://www.eniac.eu/web/index.php

Contact:
Juhana Kostamo, Managing Director
(email juhana.kostamo@picosun.com; tel. +358-50-321-1955)