News Article
Molecular Imprints deploys new lithography campaign
The company deploys the next phase of step and flash imprint lithography (S-FIL) campaign across multiple industries. HDD industry standardising on S-FIL and semiconductor industry moving toward adoption.
Molecular Imprints, a provider of nanopatterning systems and solutions, announced the next phase of its ongoing S-FIL adoption and education campaign. The company will build on several notable successes achieved in 2008, as the S-FIL campaign paves the way for both the semiconductor and hard disk drive (HDD) industries to transition to this advanced form of nanoimprint lithography. Molecular Imprints will also expand its efforts in the LED market. Among the campaign’s key achievements in 2008 was the continuing standardisation by the HDD industry on S-FIL technology, with the number of orders by HDD companies for S-FIL systems reaching a total of 10, six of which have shipped. In the semiconductor industry, SEMATECH accepted delivery of a new Imprio 300 system and completed installation and formal acceptance in a record 68 days. The consortium will be characterising S-FIL for volume manufacturing at the 32nm node and below.
“In 2008, Molecular Imprints’ S-FIL solution further solidified its position as the lithography technology of choice for patterned media production in the hard disk drive industry, while in the semiconductor industry S-FIL became a favoured candidate for use in 32nm and below volume non volatile memory production,” said Mark Melliar-Smith, CEO of Molecular Imprints. “The move toward semiconductor manufacturing was evidenced not only by concrete actions, such as the investment of SEMATECH to develop S-FIL for manufacturing, but also by industry surveys from organisations such as Wright, Williams & Kelly that found the number of industry participants expecting to see imprint lithography in production between 2010 and 2012 has jumped over 50% and notably, ahead of EUV. As manufacturers better understand the high resolution, low cost of ownership advantages of S-FIL, the momentum for adoption accelerates. With this in mind we will further enhance our S-FIL campaign in 2009.”
As Molecular Imprints stepped up education efforts on S-FIL in 2008, interest in this advanced nanopatterning technology rose and system orders followed. As part of its education activities for 2009, Molecular Imprints will participate at several key industry trade shows and conferences, including the Strategies in Light Conference, the SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference, SEMICON West and DISKCON USA. These appearances follow the company’s successful outreach efforts in 2008 that included delivering the opening address on lithography trends at DISCKON USA, as well as giving an invited address at the Micro & Nano Engineering (MNE) conference.
Molecular Imprints will build on its education outreach at all of these events by expanding its participation in conference papers, technical articles and oral presentations, including findings from efforts with partners that are validating S-FIL for production applications. In addition to education efforts, the campaign will increase its focus in 2009 on enhancing the S-FIL infrastructure to support customers as they move closer to volume production on next generation solid state and hard disk memory devices and systems.
“In 2008, Molecular Imprints’ S-FIL solution further solidified its position as the lithography technology of choice for patterned media production in the hard disk drive industry, while in the semiconductor industry S-FIL became a favoured candidate for use in 32nm and below volume non volatile memory production,” said Mark Melliar-Smith, CEO of Molecular Imprints. “The move toward semiconductor manufacturing was evidenced not only by concrete actions, such as the investment of SEMATECH to develop S-FIL for manufacturing, but also by industry surveys from organisations such as Wright, Williams & Kelly that found the number of industry participants expecting to see imprint lithography in production between 2010 and 2012 has jumped over 50% and notably, ahead of EUV. As manufacturers better understand the high resolution, low cost of ownership advantages of S-FIL, the momentum for adoption accelerates. With this in mind we will further enhance our S-FIL campaign in 2009.”
As Molecular Imprints stepped up education efforts on S-FIL in 2008, interest in this advanced nanopatterning technology rose and system orders followed. As part of its education activities for 2009, Molecular Imprints will participate at several key industry trade shows and conferences, including the Strategies in Light Conference, the SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference, SEMICON West and DISKCON USA. These appearances follow the company’s successful outreach efforts in 2008 that included delivering the opening address on lithography trends at DISCKON USA, as well as giving an invited address at the Micro & Nano Engineering (MNE) conference.
Molecular Imprints will build on its education outreach at all of these events by expanding its participation in conference papers, technical articles and oral presentations, including findings from efforts with partners that are validating S-FIL for production applications. In addition to education efforts, the campaign will increase its focus in 2009 on enhancing the S-FIL infrastructure to support customers as they move closer to volume production on next generation solid state and hard disk memory devices and systems.
