Lam releases Rainbow 4500/4520 ESC oxide system at SEMICON/Europa.

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 4, 1995--Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) announced today at SEMICON/Europa that it has released the Advanced Capability Rainbow 4500/4520 ESC, an enhanced version of its Rainbow 4500/4520 oxide etch system that now features an electrostatic chuck (ESC).

According to Way Tu, vice president of Lam's oxide business unit, Lam's proprietary-design bipolar ESC improves overall equipment efficiency of Rainbow 4500/4520 systems, offering the potential to boost yield during the dielectric etch process. "As devices become more complex, the potential for yield-limiting factors increases. The Rainbow 4500/4520 ESC system minimizes these limiting variables by reducing particle generation and edge exclusion, thus increasing the potential for more good die per wafer."

Lam's ESC replaces traditional topside mechanical clamps with an electrostatic mechanism that prevents any frontside wafer contact. The removal of moving clamp parts simplifies chamber design, minimizes consumables, and reduces particle generation an average of 40 percent. Also, by reducing edge exclusion, the ESC allows more good die to be processed to the edge of the wafer.

Benefits of the Rainbow 4500/4520 ESC also include faster throughput by enabling instantaneous chucking and dechucking of the wafer, increased mean wafers between cleans (MWBC), and improved temperature uniformity from the center to the edge of the wafer.

The system also provides an economical solution to etching high aspect ratio contacts and vias, while enabling advanced etching of layers such as spacer, planarization, and pad etch. By operating at process pressures as low as 125 mtorr, the system offers improved profile control and achieves reduced defect densities through the use of silicon as the electrode material.

The Rainbow 4500/4520 is the latest plasma etch system from Lam to be fitted with an ESC. Lam's first ESC was introduced in March 1994 for use on the company's Rainbow 4720 tungsten etchback system. The second product to be announced with an ESC was the Transformer Coupled Plasma (TCP) 9400SE system, launched in October 1994. Lam's most recent tool to feature an ESC, the TCP 9600SE metal etch system, was announced yesterday prior to the opening of SEMICON/Europa. Lam currently uses an ESC on its Epic HDP CVD system and is pursuing subsequent ESC releases on all remaining etch product lines.

The ESC is also available as a retrofit for existing Rainbow 4500/4520 systems.

Lam Research Corp. is a leading supplier of wafer processing equipment to the worldwide semiconductor industry. The company's broad product offerings are focused on etch and deposition, two of the most vital steps in the fabrication of current and future integrated circuits. Founded in 1980, Lam is headquartered in Fremont and maintains customer support centers throughout the United States, Europe, Japan, and Asia/Pacific to support its global customer base.

CONTACT: Lam Research Corp.

Karen McLennan, 510/659-6692 (media)

Carolyn Schwartz, 510/659-6848 (financial)

MCA 

Andrea Mace, 415/968-8900