| Dec. 7, 2005 |
Toray to Introduce CMP Pad for Cutting-Edge Semiconductors in January -- Remarkably improved performance by taking advantage of nanotechnology; Halogen-free for the first time in the world. -- |
Toray Industries, Inc. today announced that it succeeded in the development of a CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) pad that has the world’s top-notch performance when processing the most advanced 12-inch wafers while being halogen-free and therefore environment friendly by taking advantage of polymer nano dispersion technology. The newly developed polishing pad is superior in the primary characteristic of planarization when compared to existing products and it can markedly reduce the occurrence of micro scratches on the wafer surface. Toray believes that these features of the product can significantly contribute to solving the issues in the semiconductor production process where sophistication and cost reduction are simultaneously sought. Toray’s CMP pad has been already well received by major semiconductor manufacturers and the company plans to start shipping the product from January next year. CMP pad usually has a two-layered structure, which consist of polishing and cushion sheets with porosity. Currently, the products that have gained popularity manufactures the polishing sheet with a porous structure created by spreading hard microballoons into polyurethane containing chlorine and it utilizes a soft foamed sheet for its cushion layer. However, over the past few years, with the aperture of semiconductor wafers becoming larger and the semiconductor devices getting miniaturized, the functionalities required in the CMP process of planarization in device manufacturing has become even more sophisticated. At cutting-edge semiconductor plants handling 12-inch wafers with remarkably advanced devices, not just simple enlargement of the polishing pad but also further upgrades in planarization quality and significant reductions in micro scratches on wafer surface has been required. Toray, at the same time, achieved excellent planarization quality, which has never been achieved by any existing two-layered structured products, by using, instead of microballoons, a newly developed urethane-type nano dispersion composite polymer with a closed cell structure as a polishing sheet and non-porous, highly durable elastomer as a cushion sheet. Moreover, Toray believes that its new product is able to significantly reduce micro scratches, as its polishing sheet material prevents slurry aggregation, which is considered to be the main cause of micro scratches since it doesn’t use hard microballoons. Furthermore, while the existing products contain chlorine in polishing sheets, Toray is able to make its newly developed product halogen free by applying polymer nano dispersion technology, an advantage the company plans to exploit in marketing the product to semiconductor manufacturers promoting green procurement. The CMP pad to be shipped this time is being vigorously promoted as the “Advanced Materials Project” in New Projects Development Division/Electronics and Information Materials Division at present and is expected to become one of the core businesses in the company’s IT-related Products Segment. Furthermore, there are rising demands on the next generation CMP pads to meet the needs of more precise processes due to the miniaturization of wiring and adoption of new insulating materials such as organic and porous substances. Under such circumstances, Toray’s nano dispersion composite formulation technology has the big advantage that the technology gives free control over the hardness and density of a polishing sheet, thus enabling its application in next generation products. Based on this achievement, Toray is to exhibit a prototype of its next generation CMP pad at Japan’s biggest semiconductor manufacturing devices and materials fair SEMICON Japan 2005 (December 7 - 9) and promote the customization of the pad’s hardness and density according to each customer’s need. |
| # # # |
 |
||
 |
|
Back to News Index |
