News: Suppliers
2 June 2021
Picosun’s PicoArmour corrosion protection increases tool up-time
Atomic layer deposition (ALD) thin-film coating technology provider Picosun Group of Espoo, Finland says that it has pending patent rights for an ALD-enabled corrosion protection solution against plasma etch that can bring benefits in semiconductor fabrication processes in terms of throughput, film uniformity and conformality. With PicoArmour, corrosion protection can be achieved more efficiently compared with the industry solutions commonly used today, it is claimed.
Wafer fabrication process flows include several steps where plasma etching is necessary. An inevitable consequence of using etching chemicals is that the tool itself is etched. A common industrial solution for reducing tool damage is applying a corrosion-resistant coating to the etch tool using, for example, physical vapor deposition (PVD) or spray coating with Y2O3. Compared with only using Y2O3, PicoArmour enables a method of producing the coating that is up to five times faster and more cost-effective, it is reckoned. Compared with Y2O3, the coating can be five times more durable (depending on the deposition and etch parameters). Also, the maintenance interval for etch tools can be increased, which also translates to significant reductions in manufacturing costs.
“Picosun’s approach with PicoArmour is to combine the highly etch-resistant Y2O3 ALD process with more robust ALD processes,” says Juhana Kostamo, vice president, Picosun’s Industrial business area. “A high-performance ALD corrosion barrier combining the speed and convenience of the Y2O3 process with the durability of Y2O3 can be achieved by carefully controlling the film composition,” he adds. “With ALD, the protective effect can be achieved with thinner films, which in turn leads to material savings and a more environmentally friendly process.”
Picosun is giving a presentation related to protective coatings against plasma damage at the virtual conference on Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD 2021) at 10:25am EDT on 29 June.
