European patent for Atomic Layer Etch Pitch Splitting (APS)
AlixLabs in Sweden has been granted a patent on a semiconductor manufacturing technology that uses the walls of devices to avoid the need for more complex manufacturing techniques such as double patterning below 20nm.
As a result Atomic Layer Etch Pitch Splitting (APS) could open up more sustainable mass production of electronic products and improve the performance of existing fab equipment say the founders of the company, based in Lund.
The patents covers methods to split nanostructures in half by a single process step using Atomic Layer Etching (ALE). The method is complementary for single exposure Immersion and Extreme UV (EUV) Lithography and corresponding multiple patterning technologies like self-aligned double and quadruple patterning (SADP resp. SAQP) as well as multiple exposure lithography-etch and directed self-assembly (DSA).
“Our key technology is based on a surprising discovery that sidewalls act as a topographical mask in Atomic Layer Etch Processes,” said Dr. Dmitry Suyatin, CTO and Co-founder of AlixLabs. “This technology has been proven for such different materials as Gallium Phosphide (GaP), Silicon (Si) and Tantalum Nitride (TaN) – all being critical materials to the semiconductor and optoelectronic industry. Besides already having secured a granted two US and one Taiwan patent, we are now delighted to announce that our European patent will also be granted and that we have more patent applications in the pipeline. A process of validating the patent in key countries in Europe is in process.”
Dr. Jonas Sundqvist, CEO and Co-founder said, “The APS method is complementary for single exposure Immersion and Extreme UV (EUV) Lithography and corresponding multiple patterning technologies like self-aligned double and quadruple patterning (SADP resp. SAQP) as well as multiple exposure lithography-etch and directed self-assembly (DSA).
“However, APS can reduce complexity, capital expenditure and the environmental footprint for wafer manufacturing considerably,” he said. “Besides that EU is one of the biggest markets for semiconductor components, the recent announcements of 300 mm wafer fab expansions and leading automotive sector means that it is more important than ever to have European IP”.
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