BILTHOVEN, The Netherlands, Nov. 26, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- ASM InternationalN.V. (Nasdaq:ASMI) (Euronext Amsterdam:ASM) announced that itssubsidiary, ASM Europe B.V. has shipped a Levitor(R) 4000 Rapid ThermalProcessing system for 200 mm wafers to a leading device maker inEurope.
The European customer will use the Levitor 4000 to develop implant anneal processes for the 90 nm technology node and will also use the tool for NiSi annealing applications in the temperature range of 200*C to 550*C for future technology nodes.
"The Levitor satisfies the requirements depicted in the ITRS roadmap for critical processes from the present technology node down to the 45 nm technology node," said Ernst Granneman, ASM's Levitor business unit manager. This includes state-of-the-art arsenic and boron-based ultra shallow junctions as well as CoSi2 and NiSi formation. The Levitor 4000 RTP tool's unique concept of heating the wafer distinguishes this system from lamp and susceptor-based systems on the market with respect to process performance, flexibility, low cost per wafer and extendibility.
The process capability of the Levitor in the high temperature regime as well as in the low temperature regime, particularly below 400*C, qualifies the system for development in present and future technology nodes. In addition, the capability to perform spike processes in the full temperature regime provides solutions not accessible for conventional lamp-based heating systems.
The Levitor 4000 is based on a floating wafer principle where a wafer, confined between two massive hot blocks, is heated through conduction. The gas layer between the wafer surface and reactor blocks self-centers the wafer and keeps it floating without any support. The 0.15 mm thick gas enables uniform, ultra fast heating with rates up to 900*C/s.
The 300 mm version of the Levitor RTP system will be demonstrated atthe ASM Booth # 1-A403 during SEMICON Japan 2003.
About ASM
ASM International N.V. headquartered in Bilthoven, the Netherlands, is a global company servicing one of the most important and demanding industries in the world. The Company possesses a strong technology base, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, a competent and qualified workforce and a highly trained, strategically distributed support network. ASM International and its subsidiaries design and manufacture equipment and materials used to produce semiconductor devices. ASM International and its subsidiaries provide production solutions for wafer processing (Front-end segment) as well as assembly and packaging (Back-end segment) through facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan and Asia. ASM International's common stock trades on Nasdaq (symbol ASMI) and the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange (symbol ASM). For more information, visit ASMI's website at http://www.asm.com.
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