Pulsar® XP ALD
Pulsar uses ALD to deposit the high-k dielectric materials required for advanced CMOS transistor high-k metal gates and other applications. Our most advanced Pulsar reactor is the AXIS, which includes a series of reactor improvements resulting in improved film uniformity, defect performance, and wafer-to-wafer repeatability. Additionally, the AXIS reactor package enables increased reactor lifetime between clean cycles and improved maintainability in volume production.
Major features
Our Pulsar® XP ALD reactor helped to enable the switch to hafnium-based high-k dielectrics for transistor gates and is now being used to achieve the performance requirements of advanced node 3D transistor structures such as finFETs.
The Pulsar reactor chamber and source delivery system are optimized for precise gas-flow dynamics and minimum purge times that provide advanced process control, film purity and uniformity. Pulsar is designed for gas delivery of solid source precursor materials which have demonstrably better film property performance than liquid precursors.
Up to four Pulsar modules can be configured to the XP cluster platform, a member of ASM’s 300mm XP common platform series.
Pulsar® XP ALD benefits
- Pulsar XP ALD is a low-volume, isothermal reactor optimized for ALD;
- Cross-flow reactor design with precise laminar gas flow to optimize the ALD pulse delivery which results in excellent film properties, uniformity, purity and throughput;
- Unique solid source delivery system which precisely controls the conversion of solid materials into gases for delivery into the reactor;
- Inert gas valve design that assures process control of ALD pulse / purge cycling, enabling minimum cycle time and maximum throughput.
Major applications
- High-k gate dielectrics (hafnium oxide, hafnium silicate)
- High-k capping layers for metal gate work function tuning
- High-speed aluminium oxide
- Conformal passivation layers
- High-k for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) applications