Tokyo Electron Limited announced today that it will begin accepting orders for the Vesta^TM, its new 300mm wafer process etching chamber, beginning in April 2004.

The Vesta can be built into TEL's Telius^TM platform, which has a strong production track record and a large share of the global market for 300mm semiconductor production. It supports next-generation micro-fabrication technologies of 65nm - 45nm and smaller, which enables enhanced productivity.

The Vesta is based on high-frequency RF delivered to a parallel plate configuration, which improves the controllability of plasma density and dissociation. Another new development in the Vesta chamber is Independent Distribution Control (IDC), which is designed to improve control of wafer surface uniformity. The Vesta is equipped with two kinds of IDC: Plasma Distribution Control (PDC), capable of controlling the density of plasma electrons, and Radical Distribution Control (RDC), capable of controlling radical density.

By offering these new, cutting-edge features, the Vesta achieves further improvements in CD uniformity and reproducibility out to the wafer edge. The chamber provides a wide process window for low-k films, such as SiCOH and organically based films, which are expected to be used in many next-generation electronic devices. The Vesta also provides high etch rates and selectivity necessary for advanced manufacturing.

TEL will continue to meet the needs of increasingly diverse etching applications, including high aspect ratio contact, Dual Damascene, poly gate, and shallow trench.