Lam Research is actively working to achieve the mass production of 1,000-layer 3D NAND by 2030, the goal of memory chip manufacturers, through cryogenic etching technology with proven mass production potential.


Lam Research announced today the launch of Lam Cryo™ 3.0, its third-generation cryogenic dielectric etching technology.

Lam Cryo™ 3.0 combines cryogenic process temperatures, high-power, high-density plasma reactor technology, and innovations in surface chemistry to achieve industry-leading precision and profile control.

“With Lam Cryo™ 3.0, we are paving the way for our customers to achieve 1,000 layers of 3D NAND,” said Sesha Varadarajan, senior vice president, Global Products Business Unit, Lam Research. “With more than 5 million wafers already manufactured on Lam’s cryogenic etch tools, this latest advancement represents another significant milestone in 3D NAND production. It achieves 2.5x the etch rate of conventional dielectric processes while reducing environmental impact and consistently creating high aspect ratio features with angstrom-level precision. Lam Cryo™ 3.0 is the etching technology that our customers need to overcome the key challenges of NAND manufacturing in the AI era,” he emphasized.

To date, 3D NAND scaling has primarily been accomplished by vertically stacking memory cells, using deep, narrow, high-aspect-ratio memory channel etching technology.

During this process, if there was a minute deviation at the atomic level from the target profile of the structure, it would have a negative impact on the electrical characteristics of the device as well as the yield.

Lam Cryo™ 3.0 is optimized to overcome a variety of challenges in the etching process, including these issues in scaling.

“AI is driving explosive growth in demand for flash memory performance and capacity, both in the cloud and in edge computing. This is driving chipmakers to scale NAND flash in a race to reach 1,000 layers of 3D NAND by 2030,” said Neil Shah, co-founder and VP of Research at global research firm Counterpoint Research.

He also emphasized, “Lam Research’s Lam Cryo™ 3.0, which makes this possible, is a groundbreaking technology that overcomes existing limitations. It etched deep memory channels that are more than 50 times the channel width with near-perfect precision and control, achieving a profile deviation of less than 0.1%. This technological breakthrough will significantly improve the yield and overall performance of advanced 3D NAND, and strengthen the competitiveness of chipmakers in the AI era.”

Lam Cryo™ 3.0 is implemented using Lam’s unique high-power, high-density plasma reactor, process improvements, and an ultra-low temperature environment that allows the use of new etching gases. When combined with the scalable, high-power pulsed plasma technology of Lam Research's latest Vantex® dielectric system, etch depth and profile control are dramatically improved.

Using Lam Cryo™ 3.0, 3D NAND manufacturers can etch memory channels up to 10 microns (μm) deep while maintaining critical dimension deviation of less than 0.1% from top to bottom.

Other key strengths include the ability to etch 2.5 times faster than existing plasma technologies while simultaneously increasing cost efficiency and yield, as well as improving sustainability by reducing energy consumption per wafer by 40% and reducing carbon emissions by up to 90% using new etching gases.

It can also be applied to RAM's latest Vantex® system and the Flex® portfolio of existing high aspect ratio dielectric etching equipment used by major memory chip manufacturers, maximizing equipment investment efficiency.

Additional information about Lam Cryo™ 3.0 can be found on our website.