SEOUL, February 14, 2014 – Honeywell today announced it is introducing copper manganese (CuMn) sputtering targets based on patented technology for semiconductor production that provide customers with increased strength, performance and extended product life.

The sputtering targets announced today are based on Honeywell’s Equal Channel Angular Extrusion (ECAE) process technology, an advanced manufacturing process originally developed by Honeywell for aluminum (Al) and aluminum alloys.

“Honeywell Electronic Materials (HEM) has nearly 50 years of metallurgical experience and expertise,” said Chris LaPietra, product line director for Honeywell’s Targets business. “We leverage that knowledge to develop technologies for our customers, and the new ECAE copper manganese target is a testament to that.”

The target processed by the ECAE process technology has extremely fine grain size, resulting in a highly homogeneous microstructure, high mechanical strength, and reduced grain size. While the grain size for standard targets is approximately 50-80 microns, the new ECAE copper manganese target shows an ultra-fine grain size of less than 1 micron. The fine grain structure created by this technology prevents plasma break-off when semiconductor manufacturers use conventional bonded targets. This phenomenon creates arcs and particles, resulting in wafer scrapping and target replacement, all of which result in unnecessary costs.

Because the target’s strength is increased, the entire target can be made from the same metal (a single metal), and the overall target life is effectively doubled from the standard 1,800 kWh (kilowatt hours) to 3,600 kWh. The extended product life enables manufacturers to purchase fewer targets, reduce the time and resources spent on target replacement and chamber cleaning, and increase production process uptime. All of these factors contribute to lower total cost of ownership for semiconductor manufacturers.