Riber, a world-leading supplier of MBE products
and services to the compound semiconductor community,
joins IMEC's Industrial Affiliation Program (IIAP)
on Germanium (Ge) and III-V devices for CMOS beyond
the 22nm node. The availability of a unique molecular
beam epitaxy (MBE) cluster at IMEC, the Belgian nanoelectronics
and nanotechnology research institute, will enable
IMEC and its partners to create fundamental know-how
on Ge and III-V processing and to develop the core
technology ingredients. The program aims to demonstrate
that the introduction of Ge and III-V materials allows
for CMOS scaling beyond 22nm. Moreover, this collaboration
will form the base for a possible extension of the
IIAP on Ge and III-V devices beyond mere CMOS into
the area of photonic applications.
Research will be performed on Riber's ultra-high
vacuum molecular beam epitaxy cluster system for
200mm. It includes a III-V compound semiconductor
growth chamber and a metal/oxide deposition chamber
which will be installed in IMEC's clean room. The
unique cluster will allow both deposition of compound
semiconductor layers on GeOI or other Ge substrates
and deposition of high-k dielectrics and metal gates
on Ge and on III-V materials. This is considered
as a potential enabling technology to make aggressively
scaled devices in CMOS beyond 22nm.
The semiconductor industry has cited Ge as a potential
replacement for planar silicon, since silicon is
unlikely to accommodate the rigorous scaling requirements
of sub-22nm geometries. The attractive properties
of Ge, such as higher mobility resulting in lower
intrinsic gate delay make it an excellent candidate
for high-performance CMOS devices, allowing companies
to leverage their existing silicon manufacturing
infrastructure.
Last year, IMEC has already successfully demonstrated
the feasibility of sub-micron pMOS devices on GeOI
substrates. To solve the problems that occur with
processing Ge nMOS transistors, III-V nMOS devices
on the same Ge substrates are targeted. The process
will be based on silicon wafers enabling manufacturing
in a standard silicon process line using advanced
CMOS compatible equipment. One of the most demanding
challenges is to improve the gate stack for MOS devices
on Ge as well as on III-V compounds. The Riber MBE
cluster will play a crucial role in this development.
The Ge and III-V devices program is part of IMEC's
sub-45nm CMOS research platform which is being executed
with IMEC's core partners Infineon, Intel, Matsushita/Panasonic,
Philips, Samsung, ST Microelectronics, Texas Instruments
and TSMC all world leading IDM and/or foundry companies.
About IMEC
IMEC is a world-leading independent research center
in nanoelectronics and nanotechnology. Its research
focuses on the next generations of chips and systems,
and on the enabling technologies for ambient intelligence.
IMEC's research bridges the gap between fundamental
research at universities and technology development
in industry. Its unique balance of processing and
system know-how, intellectual property portfolio,
state-of-the-art infrastructure and its strong network
of companies, universities and research institutes
worldwide position IMEC as a key partner for shaping
technologies for future systems.
As an expansion of its wireless autonomous microsystems
research, IMEC has created a legal entity in the
Netherlands. Stichting IMEC Nederland runs activities
at the Holst Centre, an independent R&D institute
that develops generic technologies and technology
platforms for autonomous wireless transducer solutions
and systems-in-foil.
IMEC is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, and has
representatives in the US, China and Japan. Its staff
of more than 1450 people includes more than 500 industrial
residents and guest researchers. In 2005, its revenue
was EUR 197 million. Further information on IMEC
can be found at www.imec.be
Contact:
Katrien Marent, IMEC Corporate Communications IMEC,
T: +32 16 28 18 80, katrien.marent@imec.be
About Riber
Riber is the leading manufacturer of MBE processing
equipment and related services. The company offers
the largest range of innovative MBE and nanometer
deposition tools, from basic research equipment for
each compound semiconductor material system to volume
production equipment for consumer market. It also
provides a global service network to support about
500 tools that have been installed worldwide. Solutions
for epitaxial work or nanometer thin-film process
development are offered to customers by Riber Process
Technology Center (PTC), equipped with MBE and characterization
tools. In some PTC, device processing is also available.
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