IBM & TEL NEXX Unite To Advance 3D Semiconductor Packaging
TEL NEXX, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo
Electron U.S. Holdings, has entered into a new multi-year joint development
program in 3D semiconductor packaging with IBM.
TEL NEXX has collaborated with IBM R&D for many
years (as NEXX Systems) to develop new concepts for interposers, lead-free
bumping, microbumps, and other cutting-edge interconnect solutions.
Now denser packaging and more energy conscious
requirements are pushing semiconductor chip designs and equipment to deliver
and accommodate more functionality, as 3D structures become a production
reality.
This latest program focuses on meeting IBM's rigorous
technology requirements through its partners in the Semiconductor Research and
Development Alliance. TEL NEXX will contribute its most advanced production
tools to the venture, including the Apollo for physical vapour deposition
(PVD), the Stratus for electrochemical deposition (ECD), among others, to study
both complex substrates and tool design.
Tom Walsh, TEL NEXX President, commented, "The challenges offered through our collaboration with IBM, one of the most distinguished technology innovators in the semiconductor industry, keeps us innovating as a company. The opportunity to work with IBM represents a chance to produce the world's latest, greatest and most production focused technologies. Enhanced Apollo PVD technology promises an economically efficient solution for barrier seed deposition. Stratus ECD will be deployed in developing plating interconnects, among other 3D structures. We're aiming to meet levels of productivity and reliability that solve problems only now being formulated in IBM's advanced labs."
Last year, the Stratus plating platform for 300mm lead-free packaging was qualified to serve the stringent reliability requirements across IBM's product family, including high-end and low-end servers and a wide range of custom logic products. IBM's next generation server products are challenged to demonstrate trouble-free lifetimes of up to twenty years. Meeting that goal requires a near-perfect processing environment provided by the PVD and ECD production tools. The new IBM-TEL NEXX collaboration is squarely aimed at unravelling and solving these types of challenges.
