ASM has unveiled the XP8 Vertos Flowable Carbon technology, the first industrial system designed for PECVD-based carbon film deposition. This solution addresses manufacturing challenges for logic and memory chips featuring complex 3D architectures, where traditional methods often fail to fill deep, narrow gaps.
The process allows carbon material to flow into tight spaces, filling them from the bottom up while simultaneously planarizing the surface. This dual-function approach combines filling and leveling into a single PECVD operation, effectively eliminating the need for additional chemical-mechanical polishing or etching steps.
The material offers high thermal stability and supports controlled partial filling, which is critical for the production of advanced 3D NAND, DRAM, and logic circuits. By minimizing surface irregularities, the technology helps improve manufacturing tolerances and overall chip yield.
ASM confirmed that the XP8 Vertos system has moved beyond the laboratory stage and is currently being utilized in mass production. By streamlining the manufacturing workflow and reducing the number of inter-operational steps, the company aims to facilitate further semiconductor scaling.
