Lam Research is expanding its leading deep silicon etch technology to support the development of chips for automotive and smart technologies with the launch of new etching equipment that can produce devices on 300mm wafers.

Lam Research announced its new product, Syndion® GP, on the 8th.

This product launch enables deep silicon etching for semiconductor chip manufacturers developing next-generation power devices and power management integrated circuits for automotive, power transmission and distribution, and energy sectors.

Advances in technology in the automotive, power transmission, and energy sectors have driven increased power, improved performance, and increased density at the chip level, increasing requirements for full-wafer uniformity for higher aspect-ratio structures.

This high aspect ratio technology with wafer-to-wafer uniformity could enable advanced device development without sacrificing form factor. To achieve this, device manufacturers must have a very precise and uniform deep silicon etching process.

Syndion GP is designed to support these high-precision manufacturing processes.

This Syndion GP can be configured to produce devices not only on existing 200mm but also on 300mm sized wafers, simplifying the process of increasing capacity.

Many power devices are currently manufactured on 200mm diameter silicon wafers, but there is a shift to 300mm wafer production to meet growing demand.

Recently, the foundry industry has been developing toward implementing larger capacities based on 300mm wafers compared to the existing 200mm, and top foundries in the industry, such as Samsung Electronics, are already primarily using 300mm wafers.

Syndion GP solutions build on Lam’s industry-leading deep silicon etch capabilities and expand the range of related specialty technology products.

Specialized technologies include power devices, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), analog and mixed signal semiconductors, radio frequency IC (RF) solutions, optoelectronic devices, and CMOS image sensors (CIS) that support a wide range of consumer and industrial technologies/applications such as electric vehicles, the Internet of Things, and 5G.

“Demand for specialized devices continues to grow rapidly,” said Pat Lord, vice president of Customer Support and Global Operations at Lam Research. “Working closely with our customers, Lam has identified a need to rapidly scale advanced power device manufacturing to 300mm wafers. Syndion GP can meet the growing demands of semiconductor chip manufacturers while continuing to support new specialty technology innovations,” he said.