Ultratech Inc.’s laser spike annealing (LSA) technology has been selected as a primary annealing tool for the Global 450-mm Consortium (G450C), headquartered at SUNY’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) in Albany. G450C is a public-private partnership announced by New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in September 2011 to facilitate the transition of wafer size from 300 to 450 mm. It is spearheaded by CNSE in partnership with Intel, IBM, Globalfoundries, Samsung, and TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. A new 450-mm cleanroom was developed at CNSE’s Albany NanoTech complex within the NanoFab Xtension expansion. Ultratech’s 300-mm LSA system is currently the preferred technology for high-volume manufacturing of advanced logic devices from the 40- to 14-nm nodes. Built on the customizable Unity Platform, the LSA’s scanning system features uniformity and low-stress processing, which can be scalable to 450-mm applications. “LSA's advantages of low pattern effects, full-wafer temperature control and low-stress processing have been demonstrated in high-volume manufacturing at 300 mm, and now we will carry those same advantages to the 450-mm wafer size,” said Ultratech Chairman and CEO Arthur W. Zafiropoulo. “Because LSA is a scanning system, it is quite straightforward to scale the system to larger wafer sizes, as compared to full-wafer processing systems. Furthermore, we are now seeing an increase in LSA applications beyond the ultrashallow junction formation, and we expect this trend to continue as we move to smaller device nodes where 450 mm will be adopted.” “New York is firmly established as the hub for the critical industry transition to 450-mm wafer technology,” said Paul Farrar Jr., CNSE vice president for manufacturing innovation and general manager of G450C. “We look forward to working closely with Ultratech and utilizing its capabilities to help enable the important transition to 450-mm technology.” Delivery of the 450-mm LSA system will begin in late 2013. For more information, visit: www.ultratech.com