News Article
Deep Silicon Etching System Revealed
SAMCO has announced the release of their newest deep silicon etching system "” the RIE-800iPBC "” for MEMS and TSV production processing. The RIE-800iPBC is the latest in SAMCO's etching system line-up, and was officially introduced by SAMCO at SEMICON Japan 2013 held in Tokyo in December.
The RIE-800iPBC is an extension of SAMCO's RIE-800iPB system designed for deep silicon etching for R&D and semi-production applications, and includes a vacuum cassette chamber as well as a wafer alignment chamber.
Both the RIE-800iPB and RIE-800iPBC can process up to 8" wafers, and are capable of achieving etch rates of over 50 μm/min and etching uniformity of less than ±3%. Additionally, both systems have features that allow for low-scallop and notch-free processing on SOI (Silicon on Insulator) substrates. The RIE-800iPBC is a mass-production system designed with easy maintenance in mind "” reaction chamber parts, RF generators, turbo molecular pumps, etc. can be removed and exchanged simply and safely.
Aggregate growth of the MEMS market is anticipated due to the widening of the MEMS application area involving deep silicon etching for various sensor and inkjet head applications, a rise in TSV processing, and developments in the medical field. After 34 years of providing solutions in the compound semiconductor field, SAMCO now aims to be a leading supplier of etching solutions in the MEMS field.
In August 2013, SAMCO's R&D Division initiated the "MEMS Project". The MEMS Project team developed the RIE-800iPBC and is actively involved in boosting system performance and application support. SAMCO's existing line-up of plasma CVD systems, used for deposition of insulation films in MEMS, is complete with both R&D and production-type systems. The introduction of the RIE-800iPBC system completes SAMCO's lineup of deep silicon etching systems that serves the MEMS market.
Developing solutions for MEMS applications and securing a foothold in the growing MEMS market is a key objective. The MEMS Project team is collaborating with SAMCO's OPTO Films Laboratory in Silicon Valley to extend MEMS technology to fields such as general health care and sports medicine. Additionally SAMCO is looking into the expansion of the MEMS application field by incorporating MEMS technology in data communication systems (smartphones, tablets, etc.).
