Hitachi High-Technologies and Picosun Oy launch a collaboration in Plasma-enhanced ALD

Tokyo, Japan and Espoo, Finland – 30 January 2017 – Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (TSE:8036, Hitachi High-Tech) and Picosun Oy announce a revolutionary technological co-operation in plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PE-ALD). The aim of this co-operation is to bring thin film coating technologies to a completely new level. Hitachi High-Tech’s and Picosun’s joint breakthrough, the novel Microwave Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) ALD technology will disrupt all advanced semiconductor industries.

In the PE-ALD reactor, Hitachi High-Tech’s powerful ECR plasma generator is integrated with Picosun’s industry-proven, digitally controlled ALD system. Consequently, the quality of the deposited materials is substantially better, and the deposition process is much more precise than existing traditional ALD and plasma-enhanced ALD methods.

Some superior results for various nitride and oxide films have been confirmed with 300 mm semiconductor wafers so far and some other process applications are under evaluation.