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| Infineon AMD Dupont Photomasks To Establish Joint Development Production Center DresdenInfineon Technologies AG Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. and DuPont Photomasks, Inc. today announced plans to establish and operate a new advanced photomask facility in Dresden. This move is to help ensure their continued edge in the worldwide race to create next-generation semiconductors with increased functionality in ever smaller geometries. The facility will be used to develop and pilot-manufacture next-generation lithographic photomasks for exposing patterns on semiconductor silicon wafers. For this purpose, the three companies are creating a new, equally-owned joint venture, Advanced Mask Technology Center GmbH & Co. KG (AMTC). The AMTC facility will be co-located with a new commercial photomask production facility that DuPont Photomasks will establish in Dresden as a separate entity.The building, which is planned to house the two companies, has a useable floor space of 17,500 square meters. It will be constructed in the immediate vicinity of Infineon’s and AMD’s Dresden-based semiconductor fabs. The completion date for construction is scheduled for early 2003. As soon as the building is in place, AMTC and DuPont Photomasks plan to install the necessary equipment and begin start-up of the operations in the second half of 2003. Investments for the AMTC are estimated at around EUR 360 million over the next 5 years. AMTC expects to employ approximately 170 people. Key engineers from all three companies are expected to staff the AMTC and will collaboratively develop a roadmap for technology nodes of 90/65 nanometers and below. “In building this world-leading lithographic photomask development and production center for next-generation semiconductors, we are expanding on our leadership position in the semiconductor industry,” stated Dr. Andreas von Zitzewitz, Board Member and Chief Operating Officer of Infineon Technologies. “By partnering with AMD and DuPont Photomasks, we can optimize our cost position while continuing to set the pace in future semiconductor development. Just a few months ago here in Dresden, we became the world’s first enterprise to begin volume production of 300mm wafers. Now we are laying the foundation for future chip generations. Infineon is the obvious trendsetter in this area. The fantastic results achieved in Dresden so far serve to underscore Saxony’s capacity for technological innovation. Currently, some 4,300 employees work for Infineon in Dresden.” Von Zitzewitz added that Infineon would be using lithographic photomasks made in Dresden for its chip facilities in Germany, France and the United States. In addition, partner enterprises like ProMOS, UMCi and Winbond would also be supplied with photomasks. Von Zitzewitz predicted that “in the medium term, the Advanced Mask Technology Center in Dresden will become Infineon’s new driver for semiconductor development.” Dr. William Siegle, AMD Senior Vice President, Technology Operations and Chief Scientist, stated “AMTC builds on our successful past relationship with DuPont Photomasks, providing an ideal supplement to Fab 30 and further strengthening Dresden as a microelectronics center. We see AMTC’s mission to be a world-leading mask provider for future-generation technologies. As early as 2003 we expect the AMTC to support Fab 30, which is one of the most successful fabs in the world. The advantages of having a photomask facility in immediate proximity to our fabs is self-evident: providing the shortest possible distance between the AMTC development center and our plants, which depend on ‘just in time’ deliveries of increasingly complex photomasks. Thanks to the direct feedback between our wafer fabs and the photomask facility, all three partners will be able to help ensure high-level performance on the part of AMTC. In the global semiconductor industry, this is an important key to success.” “In yet another show of our industry-leading advanced technology position, two world-class semiconductor producers have selected DuPont Photomasks as their exclusive photomask development partner,” said Dr. Peter Kirlin, chairman and chief executive officer of DuPont Photomasks. “Infineon Technologies and AMD recognize that advanced photomasks are a critical enabling technology in the production of such incredibly complicated devices, and we are delighted that they have placed their trust in DuPont Photomasks.” Kirlin concluded, “We are particularly pleased that fellow photomask innovator Infineon Technologies has chosen DuPont Photomasks as its strategic partner. Infineon operated one of the most advanced photomask research, development and production operations in the world, and we expect to strengthen our technology leadership position through Infineon’s excellent photomask intellectual property portfolio.“ Lithographic photomasks Photomasks are an integral component in the lithographic process of semiconductor manufacturing. High-purity quartz or glass plates containing precision images of integrated circuits (or chips), photomasks are used as masters to optically transfer these images onto semiconductor wafers. Current advanced lithographic tools, such as deep-UV (DUV) steppers and scanners, project light through a photomask and a high aperture lens. The intensity of the light casts an image of the device's design, the pattern on the photomask, onto a silicon wafer coated with a light sensitive material called photoresist. Using negative photoresist, the unexposed, or masked, portion of this material is then removed so it can either be etched to form channels or deposited with other materials. Chips are manufactured layer by layer, so these selective deposition and removal steps are repeated until a circuit is built. The current generation of semiconductors have 25 or more layers, each requiring a unique photomask. Photomasks, requiring sophisticated manufacturing techniques and complex mathematical algorithms to design, are at the forefront of the microminiaturization of chips, enabling more functionality to be embedded within a smaller area. This trend in making devices as powerful and as small as possible facilitates the proliferation of handheld and other portable electronic applications. Although photomasks have always been a necessary component in the chip making process, today they are a true enabler of semiconductor technology. Advanced semiconductors are being built at the sub wavelength level. Sub wavelength manufacturing requires advanced photomasks because the circuit images printed on the silicon wafer are actually smaller than the wavelength of the light source used to expose the pattern. Current state-of-the-technology, including DUV steppers and scanners use a krypton fluoride laser with a wavelength of 248 nm to build advanced chips with feature sizes of 180 nm and below. To meet this sub wavelength challenge advanced photomasks utilize reticle enhancement techniques, such as optical proximity correction (OPC) and phase shift features (PSM). These and other technologies will continue to enable the extension of optical lithography as the industry transitions to 193 nm and then 157 nm optical lithography over the next decade. + Post comment/question/reply
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