Semicon West 2003, July 14-16, Booth # 4202, Esplanade Hall, Moscone Center, USA

Collaboration will leverage technology and expertise to expedite solutions for sub-45-nm device manufacturing

SEMICON West, San Francisco, Calif., July 14, 2003 — Semiconductor-industry technology and material leaders IMEC, Soitec and Umicore today announced that they have joined forces to help overcome some of the scaling challenges for sub-45nm device geometries identified in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS).  Through a groundbreaking collaborative agreement, the three companies will enable (1) fabrication of germanium-on-insulator (GeOI) substrates and (2) development of semiconductor devices on these substrates.  IMEC will leverage the findings of this joint work into its recently launched Industrial Affiliation Program targeting development of a Ge-based technology to fabricate high-performance CMOS transistors, using process steps compatible with a state-of-the-art integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing environment.  The resulting technology solution is expected to enable the industry to meet some of the key semiconductor manufacturing requirements at the 45-nm technology node and below.

Due to its attractive chemical and electrical properties, germanium has recently been put forth by the semiconductor industry as a potential replacement for planar silicon, which is unlikely to accommodate the rigorous scaling requirements of sub-45-nm geometries.  The material’s carrier mobility is higher than that of silicon, for both electrons and holes, and it is expected to be compatible with high-k materials.  Moreover, the dopant activation temperatures are much lower than those required by silicon, facilitating the formation of shallow junctions.  These features make germanium an excellent candidate for substrates that can be used to fabricate high-performance CMOS devices leveraging the existing silicon manufacturing infrastructure, thereby creating an urgent need for high-quality Ge-based substrates.

Each participant in this collaborative effort will contribute state-of-the-art technological expertise in its respective field, sharing data and findings throughout the process.  Umicore, which has a solid background in the commercialization and development of germanium substrates, will be responsible for the development and production of the 200-mm and 300-mm crystalline germanium wafers.  Soitec will apply its expertise in fabrication methodology, using its proprietary Smart Cut™ process to transfer a germanium layer from these wafers to form a GeOI wafer.  IMEC will leverage its extensive knowledge of high-k materials, metal gates, device development and characterization, and process integration to develop a high-k layer deposition technique for GeOI substrates, as well as defect inspection techniques for the completed GeOI wafers. These activities will enable the wafer suppliers to tune wafer quality towards optimized device performance. Finally, IMEC will fabricate advanced devices to demonstrate the potential of GeOI substrates for the sub-45-nm node.

“It’s clear that innovative solutions are required to overcome the scaling challenges for sub-45nm devices. To solve the channel mobility and gate leakage current problems present in scaled silicon devices, we believe that alternative concepts such as the combination of high-k dielectrics with germanium need to be examined,” explained Gilbert Declerck, president and CEO of IMEC.  “We look forward to leveraging our expertise in semiconductor process technology research in helping to identify and solve process challenges in the GeOI technology”.

Umicore CEO Thomas Leysen noted, “Our approach allows us to deliver solutions in the form of technology and product advancements to our customers.  This joint effort is a good example of a partnership that will help ensure the commercial viability of advanced, GeOI-based devices in a timeframe compatible with chipmakers’ accelerated time-to-market requirements.”

 Echoing the need for collaboration among best-of-breed suppliers, Soitec’s president and CEO, André Auberton-Hervé, said, “This alliance takes advantage of each company’s respective strengths, encouraging technology collaboration among experts in different fields of applications where Smart Cut is providing innovative solutions. This joint development work is a new major project from the Soitec’s SCEALAB technology platform, which is available to our partners to develop and evaluate new experimental composite substrates engineered to a variety of target application.”

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Notes to editors

About IMEC Industrial Affiliation Programs

The IMEC Industrial Affiliation Program (IIAP) is IMEC’s premier R&D collaboration formula for joint R&D between industrial researchers and IMEC research teams. IIAPs focus on a specific topic or technology area.  The concept is recognized worldwide as one of the most successful international partnership models for joint development of next-generation technologies.

About IMEC

IMEC (Inter-university MicroElectronics Center) was founded in 1984. Today IMEC is Europe’s largest independent research center in the field of microelectronics, nanotechnology, enabling design methods and technologies for ICT systems.  IMEC’s activities concentrate on design technology for integrated information and communication systems; silicon process steps and modules; silicon processes; nanotechnology, microsystems, components and packaging; solar cells; and advanced training in microelectronics.  IMEC is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, and has a staff of more than 1250 people including over 380 industrial residents and guest researchers.  Its revenue is derived from agreements and contracts with the Flemish government and companies, equipment and material suppliers and semiconductor and system-oriented companies worldwide, the EC, MEDEA+

and ESA. News from IMEC is located at www.imec.be

About Soitec

Soitec is the world’s leading manufacturer and supplier of SOI wafers, with greater than 80-percent market share.  Headquartered in Bernin, France, Soitec provides a broad range of advanced thin-film substrates for IC manufacturing, including bonded SOI (UNIBOND™) and silicon-on-quartz (SOQ) wafers—all of which are manufactured using Soitec’s proprietary Smart Cut™ process.  Soitec is traded on the French “Nouveau Marché” of Euronext Paris (Sicovam code 7206).  Additional information is available on the Internet at www.soitec.com

About Umicore

Umicore is an international metals and materials group.  Its activities are centered on four business areas: advanced materials, copper, precious metals and zinc.  Each business area is divided into market-focused business units.  Umicore focuses on application areas where it knows its expertise in materials science and metallurgy can make a real difference, be it in products that are essential to everyday life or those at the cutting edge of exciting, new technological developments.  Umicore’s overriding goal of sustainable value creation is based on this ambition to develop, produce and recycle metals in a way that fulfills its mission: materials for a better life. The Umicore Group has industrial operations on all continents and serves a global customer base. 

On June 2nd 2003, Umicore reached an agreement to acquire the Precious Metals Group (PMG) of US-based OM Group for € 643 million in cash. PMG is a leading global producer of autocatalysts and is also active in precious metals refining, recycling and marketing. It holds strong positions in a wide range of precious metals based, value-added materials. The acquisition of PMG will make Umicore a pre-eminent actor in the global precious metals business and marks a major step in Umicore's strategy of expanding its activities towards more technology-intensive materials.

More information can be found at www.umicore.com

For more information

IMEC Contact:

Katrien Marent, Corporate Communication Manager; Phone: +32-16-28-18-80 Fax +32-16-28-16-37;

E-mail: Katrien.Marent@imec.be

Soitec Contact:

Camille Darnaud-Dufour, Marketing Communications; Phone/Fax: +1-650)-251-9066

E-mail: camille@attglobal.net

Umicore Contact:

Eddy Cornelis, External Communication; Phone: +32 2 227-7064; Fax: +32 2 227-7903,

E-mail: eddy.cornelis@umicore.com

Smart Cut and UNIBOND are trademarks of Soitec. 

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