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Product Briefing Outline: Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials' CMP Technologies has introduced a number of new products in two different product lines. The company has unveiled several new additions to its ‘VisionPad' line of polishing pads as well as a new series of ‘IC1000' pads known as ‘IC1000' AT series pads.

Problem: The range and scope of requirements for polishing pads used for CMP processes continue to grow due to the need to meet the demand for continuous productivity and technology improvements by advanced semiconductor manufacturers, and to provide various options for polishing applications from 90nm through 45nm technology nodes.

Solution: The new IC1000 AT series of polishing pads have been designed to achieve reduced defect levels and improve the cost of ownership in existing high-volume manufacturing applications through a variety of innovative new pad features. These features include an ultra flat design to reduce break-in time, the latest in end-point technology for improved consistency, new adhesive technology for extreme process conditions, and unique groove designs to achieve longer life, edge correction and defect reduction. The VisionPad for STI is claimed to achieve a 50 percent reduction in defects without sacrificing planarization results, and the EcoVision EV4000 achieves an order of magnitude reduction in defectivity for copper barrier processes, according to the company.

Applications: VisionPad VP3200 for Copper Barrier; Planarizing VisionPad for Copper Barrier - IC1000; EcoVision(TM) EV4000 for Copper Barrier; VisionPad for STI - IC1000.

Platform: The standard thickness for an IC1000 pad is 50 mils, but it is also offered in a thickness of 80 mils if a stiffer pad is required. IC1000 pads are offered with a transparent urethane window to enable the optical endpoint technology in leading-edge CMP tools. Advanced optical endpoint pads feature a window that is bonded to the IC1000 pad to prevent slurry leakage and window delamination in all CMP processes. The IC1000 pad is also offered in a wide variety of grooving patterns across the surface of the pad.

Availability: The IC1000 AT CMP pads will be commercially available in Q1 of 2007, while the new VisionPad products will be commercially available in Q4 of this year and in Q1 of 2007.