Watkins-Johnson shows HDP product line at SEMICON/West.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 1995--Watkins-Johnson Co.'s (NYSE:WJ) Semiconductor Equipment Group (SEG) has developed a high density plasma (HDP) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system for intermetal dielectric (IMD) films of 0.25 - 0.35-micron IC device geometries.

The result is the WJ-2000, to be shown for the first time at SEMICON/West '95.

"Our customers and industry analysts have been waiting for a supplier to provide the superior gap fill and planarization qualities HDP can enable," said James Schram, SEG president.

Clark Fuhs, Dataquest director and principal analyst for semiconductor equipment, manufacturing and materials, said, "At the 0.25 micron generation, the best chance for good performance today is HDP CVD in gap fill capability and material quality."

Several plasma source technologies had been evaluated during the development program and the ESRF (electrostatic shielded radio frequency) source was selected due to its excellent process results, reliability and resultant productivity.

"Our goal was to achieve intermetal dielectric deposition in a single-step process providing excellent gap-fill and planarizable films," said Robert Bratter, SEG senior vice president, engineering and technology. "Early films were excellent, and samples are currently being run on our in-house beta systems."

Benefits of the WJ-2000 include: throughput increased from 50% to 300% over alternative methods because less frequent cleaning is required; lower dielectric constants (low k) enabling faster ICs; and sputter/deposition planarization which makes chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) easier and faster.

"Current IMD gap-fill techniques require multiple steps on combinations of very costly equipment," said Tom Pye, product marketing manager for the WJ-2000. "Our HDP-CVD processes provides single-step gap fill and top coat capability with excellent CMP and planarization properties. We have accomplished a void-free filling of 0.25 micron 3-to-1 aspect ratio structures with best-of-breed thickness and film uniformity and quality."

According to Pye, the gap fill process is also applicable for use with separate top coat processes or equipment.

The WJ-2000 is configured as a cluster tool with up to four identical process modules. Single pressure processing for both gap fill and top coat eliminates steps and particle generation, maximizing uptime, yield and throughput over mixed-process tools.

Wafer sampling is already underway. WJ plans to deliver the first WJ-2000 systems to customers in the first quarter of 1996.

Watkins-Johnson Co. is a high-technology corporation specializing in semiconductor manufacturing equipment and electronic products for defense and telecommunications applications. Sales in 1994 exceeded $330 million. Corporate headquarters are in Palo Alto, Calif.

The Semiconductor Equipment Group, in Scotts Valley, Calif., is the worldwide leader in APCVD systems for the semiconductor and flat panel display industries. The group is a major growth element of Watkins-Johnson and is dedicated to continued expansion through aggressive investment in research and development to produce advanced pre-metal dielectric (PMD) and intermetal dielectric (IMD) deposition technologies to meet growing global demand.

CONTACT: Watkins-Johnson Co.

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