News Article
CMP pad plans
NexPlanar plan advanced cmp pad product development
NexPlanar, the semiconductor CMP pad technology company, has tasked its recently hired CTO, Rajeev Bajaj, with expanding on the core capabilities of their product platform to add new materials and microstructures, enabling customers to implement advanced processes. Bajaj will lead the materials technology and applications groups, develop the company’s technology roadmap, and accelerate product development cycles, including disruptive pad technologies.
Dr. Bajaj has 17 years’ experience in the semiconductor, semiconductor equipment and consumables industry. He was formerly the technology director at Applied Materials for copper CMP, electroplating, CVD and ALD programs. As a senior member of the technical staff at Motorola’s APRDL, he worked on development and technology transfer of tungsten CMP to Motorola MOS 11 and MOS 13 fabs and copper CMP development for introduction in HiP5 technology. Most recently, Dr. Bajaj was founder and CTO of SemiQuest, a CMP pad company working on developing innovative pad technologies. He has a PhD from University of Texas-Austin and a BS from IT-BHU, India. He holds 36 U.S. patents and has several CMP publications to his credit.
“We have demonstrated capability beyond conventional pad technologies in very challenging applications,” commented Jim LaCasse, NexPlanar president and CEO. “Semiconductor market drivers in pad technology, such as very thin film removal, advanced defectivity requirements and multiple integration schemes, require tuning pad properties for specific applications. NexPlanar is able to modulate pad properties, such as pad hardness, pore size and pore density, to develop customized solutions for demanding applications and integration schemes, including those for emerging technologies. We feel that Dr. Bajaj has the unique skill set to lead our technology development for the future.”
