Sematech Boosts Litho Research Funds

Nanoelectronics consortium Sematech and the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering of the University at Albany (UAlbany), home to the New York State Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology, announced today that International Sematech North (ISMTN) will provide additional funding to Columbia University to expand research and development in immersion lithography.

The research focuses on the identification and development of novel chemistries to enable double-exposure materials, which could lead to advances in immersion lithography that are critical to nanoelectronics manufacturing. The work, which will involve testing of materials produced by Columbia, will be conducted at ISMTN’s resist test center at the UAlbany-based nanotechnology center (CNSE CENN), using an immersion micro-exposure tool. ISMTN has already started a project with Columbia to develop high-index materials, and the expanded scope with double exposure materials now covers both of the most likely options of extending immersion lithography, the center said in a statement.

The additional funding provided by ISMTN to Columbia University more than doubles the initial scope of the project to more than $700,000, and builds on the approximately $10 million that ISMTN has provided to a number of colleges and universities in New York to fund research programs and to produce PhD and MS-level scientists and researchers to staff New York's emerging nanoelectronics cluster.

The UAlbany NanoCollege houses a 300-mm wafer computer chip pilot prototyping and demonstration line within 65,000 square feet of cleanrooms. More than 1600 scientists, researchers, engineers, students and faculty work on site at CNSE's Albany NanoTech complex, including IBM, AMD, SONY, Toshiba, Qimonda, Honeywell, ASML, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron and Freescale Semiconductors. An expansion currently underway will increase the size of the complex to more 750,000 square feet, including about 80,000 square feet of cleanroom space, and to increase staff to 2000 by the end of 2008.

For more information, visit: www.cnse.albany.edu