Lam Research: Vantex/Sense.i Advances Next Gen 3D Memory Manufacturing With New Etch Technology 

Lam Research Corp. announced Vantex, the latest in dielectric etch technology Vantex specifically for Sense.i, an intelligent etch platform available.

Built on a legacy of etch leadership, this pioneering design delivers higher performance and extendibility for current and future gen NAND and DRAM memory devices.

Chipmakers building 3D memory devices used in applications such as smartphones, graphics cards, and solid-state storage drives continually strive to reduce their cost per bit from node to node by increasing device dimensions vertically and reducing critical dimensions (CD) laterally. This is driving etch aspect ratios in 3D NAND and DRAM to new levels.

Vantex’s chamber design enables the use of higher than previously available radio frequency (RF) power levels in order to etch high aspect ratio features at high throughput and achieve cost scaling. The increased power is coupled with advancements in RF pulsing technology to deliver the tight CD control required to improve device performance.

The 3D NAND device roadmap requires etching to achieve greater depths with every new gen, driving a need for improved etch profile uniformity. The Vantex technology controls the vertical angle of the etch to meet the tighter placement requirements of these 3D device features and achieve high yield across the entire 300mm wafer.

“With more than a decade of industry leadership in high aspect ratio etch, our unique learning enabled the Vantex chamber design from the ground up to offer scalability and innovation for many nodes to come,” said Vahid Vahedi, SVP and GM, etch product group. “Vantex redefines performance and productivity benchmarks, driving our customers to leverage this groundbreaking etch technology.“

The company’s Sense.i etch platform with ‘Equipment Intelligence’ includes capabilities for collecting data from hundreds of sensors monitoring system and process performance. The Vantex chamber leverages the high bandwidth communication in the Sense.i system to collect more data per wafer than other tools on the market – with the ability to utilize data more efficiently in order to improve both on-wafer and wafer-to-wafer performance.

Vantex on the Sense.i platform continues to ship to the company’s memory customers for qualification, with repeat orders to ramp in high volume production in 2021.

About Lam Research
The company is a supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry. As a trusted, collaborative partner to semiconductor companies, it combines systems engineering capability, technology leadership, and unwavering commitment to customer success to accelerate innovation through enhanced device performance. In fact, today, nearly every advanced chip is built with Lam technology. Lam Research is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Fremont, CA, with operations around the globe.