Lam Research markets first USDC-developed etching system

Lam Research markets first USDC-developed etching system

The first product to be marketed under a US Display Consortium (USDC, San Jose, CA) development contract is a flat-panel-display (FPD) etch system from Lam Research Corp. (Fremont, CA). The fruit of a $13.6 million award in June 1994, the etcher, dubbed Continuum, was developed in conjunction with dpiX (Palo Alto, CA), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore, CA), and the University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI). The program goal was an etch system enabling cost-effective volume production of new-technology, large FPDs. The system uses etch technology that allows high etch rates and throughput with good performance. Lam`s transformer-coupled plasma technology features a planar, inductively coupled high-density plasma source that provides independent control over ion energy and density while producing a uniform plasma over large substrate areas. The system is designed to handle u¥to 600 ¥ 720-mm panels. Initial applications will be for films and film stacks for thin-film transistor arrays and active-matrix liquid-crystal displays. The system can accommodate four process chambers; initially more than 50 substrates per hour will be etched with a three-chamber arrangement.