NEWPORT, Wales, May 31 -- Trikon Technologies Inc., a provider of semiconductor processing equipment, announced the availability of its new Orion family of ultra-low dielectric constant (k) materials for copper damascene processes at the 90 nm technology node, and below.
    Orion is an organosilicate material deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). It complements Trikon's Low k Flowfill dielectric material, currently used in production for aluminum gap-fill metalization. The Orion family incorporates integrated copper diffusion barriers, buried etch stops and dielectric layers to give complete damascene dielectric stacks.
    "Trikon now offers advanced semiconductor makers a low risk CVD route to dielectric materials from k = 2.8 to sub 2.0," said Nigel Wheeler, Trikon's president and CEO. "CVD dielectric deposition processes are widely considered preferable to competing spin-on technologies, as they require fewer process steps and smaller clean room footprint whilst giving faster batch cycles times and lower per-wafer costs."