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SCHÄRDING,
Austria – Dec. 7, 2004 - EV Group (EVG), which has
the world's largest installed base of nanoimprinting
equipment, today announced the launch of a global
consortium dedicated to commercializing advanced nanoimprint
lithography (NIL) technologies. NIL is a next-generation
lithography method that utilizes a low-cost, high-resolution
and large-area patterning process.
Known
as NILCom, the consortium is a technology platform
supported by an established infrastructure and qualified
processes, including leading technology companies
and research centers. Its mission is to establish
a high volume manufacturing NIL platform in nano-electronics,
data storage, life sciences and opto-electronics by
creating a technology interface for qualifying and
standardizing the related infrastructure.
“A
recent report by Lux Research projected NIL to be
the long-term winner among nanolithography platforms,
and noted that toolmakers need to work together for
our mutual interests,” said Dr. Peter Podesser, chief
executive officer of EV Group. “NILCom does that and
more. We have assembled critical elements of the entire
supply chain. Spanning North America, Europe and Asia,
we will leverage NIL synergies and support accelerated
market segmentation for key applications. With our
leading companies and research centers of excellence,
we will focus on providing total, high-volume NIL
solutions, equipment and processes for chemicals,
templates and leading IC manufacturers.”
NILCom
will facilitate transparency and availability of NIL
requirements and infrastructure, including template
standardization, materials qualification and advanced
metrology solutions. Devices and applications developed
with NILCom technology can take full advantage of
the most advanced and cost efficient pattern-replication
methods, promoting an accelerated product commercialization
path.
NILCom members include:
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Templates: IMS-Chips / Institut für Mikroelektronik
Stuttgart, Quantiscript Inc.,
Transfer Devices Inc.
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Resist: Micro Resist Technology GmbH, Toyo Gosei Co.,
Ltd (New Business Development, Photosensitive Materials
Research Center)
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Processes: AMO GmbH, National Research Council of
Canada’s Industrial Materials Institute (NRC-IMI),
Waseda University
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Equipment: EV Group, Applied MicroStructures Inc.
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Metrology: Leica Microsystems AG
“Our
investments in imprint lithography are already proving
very beneficial as the technology is becoming ever
more useful for low cost, high-throughput micro- and
nanopatterning using polymers. Participating in the
NILCom consortium allows us to accelerate the development
of solutions in fabrication technologies for Canadian
industry. Further investments are being planned as
NRC-IMI has chosen to expand the nanoimprint R&D
facilities and build a NIL Prototyping Centre dedicated
to providing services to our client base,” says Michel
Dumoulin, Director of Advanced Materials Design at
IMI. “Hot embossing, UV-NIL and micro-contact printing
capabilities will be available at the centre, slated
to open in 2005, allowing our clients to use their
ideas into products in areas from bio-sensing to magnetic
data storage.”
Olaf
Fortagne, corporate manager technology partnership
at Leica Microsystems AG said, “Leica considers NIL
to be a fast-growing business in areas of semiconductor
and nano technologies. As a member of NILCom, Leica
sees a strong demand for tools to process adaptation
and standardization based on proven tool platforms.”
“We
welcome the opportunity to work with our partners
in the NILCom consortium to deliver comprehensive
solutions for nanoimprint lithography,” said Andrew
G. Zanzal, Quantiscript’s vice president, business
development. “Since sub-50nm imprint templates are
a key enabler to this technology, we see great benefit
to being closely aligned with other organizations
working to advance the technology in this regime.”
The
official launch ceremony took place at NNT ’04 - the
3rd international conference on nanoimprint and nanoprint
technology – in Vienna, Austria on December 2.
Visit
www.NILCom.org <http://www.nilcom.org/> for
more information on the consortium.
About
NRC-IMI
NRC-IMI
is a leading institute of National Research Council
of Canada and conducts multidisciplinary research
on breakthrough technologies related to materials
development and processing, and is considered a key
player with a growing position in the Canadian nanotechnology
area. It helps Canadian companies meet the risks of
the new economy by providing them competitive advantages
and the required leverage to grasp opportunities.
About Leica Microsystems AG
Leica Microsystems is a leading global innovator,
manufacturer and supplier of high precision optical
solutions based on microscopes and related instruments.
Leica Microsystems manufactures a comprehensive portfolio
of products used in a wide variety of applications
in the life sciences, the material sciences, industrial
inspection and the semiconductor manufacturing industry.
About Quantiscript
Quantiscript Inc is a commercialization stage start-up
company located in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Quantiscript's
core business is development and licensing of resists
and associated processes used to enable e-beam writing
of high resolution pattern transfer artifacts such
as mask and nano-imprint stamps. The company's initial
product, QSR-5™, has been proven useful in the fabrication
of nano-imprint stamps in the sub-100nm regime. With
QSR-5™ and Quantiscript's suite of fabrication tools,
early adopters of NIL can take advantage of the infrastructure
and processes to obtain custom made nano-imprint templates
for research purposes.
About
EV Group
Founded
in 1980, EV Group is a global supplier of wafer bonders,
aligners, photoresist coaters, cleaners and inspection
systems for semiconductor, MEMS and emerging nanotechnology
markets. EV Group holds the dominant share of the
market for wafer bonding equipment (especially SOI
bonding) and is a leader in lithography for advanced
packaging and nanotechnology. The company’s unique
Triple I approach (Invent – Innovate – Implement)
is supported by a vertical infrastructure, allowing
EV Group to respond quickly to new technology development,
apply the technology to manufacturing challenges and
expedite volume production. Headquartered in Schärding,
Austria, EV Group operates via a global customer support
network, with subsidiaries in Tempe, Arizona; Albany,
New York; Yokohama and Fukuoka, Japan; and Chung-Li,
Taiwan. For more information, visit www.EVGroup.com
<http://www.evgroup.com/>
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