Contact: Joseph L. Cecchi
Phone: (505) 277-5431
Contact: Chris Burroughs
Phone: (505) 277-1816
LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION DONATES PLASMA OXIDE ETCHER TO SUPPORT RESEARCH OF UNM CHEMICAL AND NUCLEAR ENGINEERING PROFESSOR
Lam Research Corporation, a leading supplier of wafer fabrication equipment, has donated a plasma oxide etcher used in the manufacture of computer microchips and valued at more than $1.1 million to support the research of University of New Mexico Professor Joseph L. Cecchi of the Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Department.
Cecchi says the equipment gives students the opportunity to do research with equipment that is state-of-the art in the chip manufacturing industry. The etcher is used in the interconnect stage of chip manufacturing to pattern the silicon dioxide insulation layers that are part of the wiring of the computer chip.
"This etcher will help us better understand the complex surface chemistry that occurs on a wafer during the oxide etching process. This in turn will be the basis for establishing reliable, reproducible processes that can be adopted by industry," Cecchi says.
The donation was arranged by Dr. Joel Cook , director of Lam's Dielectric Etch Technology, who has been a long-time supporter of Cecchi's research, dating back to when the Cecchi was director of the New Jersey SEMATECH Center of Excellence for Plasma Etching at Princeton University. Cecchi came to UNM in 1994 as professor and chair of the Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering.
The Lam etcher will join two plasma etchers presently being used in Cecchi's lab, including a Lucas Labs Cluster Tool, donated in 1996 by Lucent Technologies (formerly AT&T) Bell Laboratories, and a Plasma Quest Reactor donated by SEMATECH. In addition to the graduate students in Cecchi's group, who conduct research on the reactors as part of their masters and Ph.D. work, undergraduates in the department will use the reactors for senior theses and other independent studies. Hands-on experience with state-of-the-art equipment provides invaluable experience for students aiming to work in semiconductor manufacturing.
Cecchi says the Lam equipment is particularly attractive because it offers the latest technology. Lam Research Corporation, headquartered in Fremont, CA, provides processing solutions for dry etch, chemical vapor deposition and mechanical planarization, three essential steps in the fabrication of integrated circuits. Lam's patented high-density Transformer Coupled Plasma source is installed on more than 1,200 systems in the field.
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