Plasma-Therm, a leading manufacturer of plasma-process equipment for the semiconductor and compound semiconductor industries, announced it has redesigned its flagship Heatpulse Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) platform. The move was driven by three key factors: an increase in market demand for power devices, other specialty markets, and ≤200 mm silicon fabs; the need to establish a new supply chain to enable faster time to market and bring customers readily available spare parts for their systems; and the company’s commitment to delivering improved system reliability and performance to customers. Top global chipmakers have already placed multi-tool orders for the newly designed Heatpulse RTP platform, which is fully compatible with the legacy AG Heatpulse 8108 and 8800 systems and existing processes.
Representing the first of several phases in Plasma-Therm’s planned technology roadmap for Heatpulse RTP, the new platform includes greater flexibility to accommodate multiple wafer sizes, upgraded robotics, and a control system backed by Cortex, Plasma-Therm’s industry-leading software. By using readily available components instead of specialized custom parts to maintain their equipment, customers can mitigate supply chain and replacement parts challenges to optimize production yields and capacity with maximizing uptime during high-volume manufacturing. Additionally, the new easily implemented Heatpulse RTP wafer size conversion kits eliminate the complicated, time-consuming system hardware changes.
“With more than 450 systems shipped, the legacy AG Heatpulse 8108 and 8800 models have run reliably for over 30 years, serving a variety of markets and applications,” said Jim Garstka, vice president of sales and business development, Plasma-Therm. “Our customers are eager to upgrade to the new and improved Heatpulse systems to keep their existing processes running smoothly in production both now as well as into the next decade and beyond. Receiving multiple purchases from some of the top chipmakers in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. reaffirms our position as a top supplier of wafer etch and clean equipment in the semiconductor industry.”
Like its predecessor Heatpulse 8800 and 8108 models, the new Plasma-Therm Heatpulse RTP platform can process substrates up to 200 mm in diameter and can handle a diverse range of materials. This includes traditional CMOS silicon as well as compound semiconductors, such as gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN), and silicon carbide (SiC).
The Heatpulse technology features are designed to address a multitude of semiconductor process steps, including post-implant annealing, oxide and nitride film growth, reflow, and formation of silicides, salicides, and metal alloys, as well as ohmic contact formation. The Heatpulse RTP is available in either a single-oven or a new dual-oven configuration unique to the redesigned platform and features a multi-zoned, independently controlled temperature capability.
