Picosun Group, the leading supplier of AGILE ALD® (Atomic Layer Deposition) thin film coating solutions for global industries, has launched Sprinter, a brand new, fully automated high throughput ALD production module for 300mm wafers. Barrier, high-k and other films are deposited in Sprinter with perfect ALD for semiconductor (e.g. emerging memory, transistor, capacitor), display, and IoT component applications.
In Sprinter, single wafer film quality and uniformity are upscaled to fast batch processing with the highest reliability and repeatability(*).
Compared to vertical furnace reactors typically used for batch ALD processing, Sprinter provides higher film quality with lower thermal budget, so it is suitable also for temperature-sensitive devices.
Sprinter combines very fast process times with smaller batch sizes than in vertical furnaces, which allows greater production flexibility and minimized risk without sacrificing throughput.
The core of the Sprinter is its disruptively designed reaction chamber, where fully laminar precursor flows ensure perfect ALD deposition with no parasitic CVD growth. This minimizes the need for system maintenance.
“PICOSUN® Sprinter meets directly the challenges in high volume ALD manufacturing on 300 mm wafers. We are happy to unveil this product to our new and existing customers in 300 mm semiconductor markets, and offer them a truly disruptive, modern alternative to old technologies in batch ALD manufacturing,” says Mr. Jussi Rautee, CEO of Picosun Group.
SEMI S2/S8 certified PICOSUN® Sprinter module can be integrated to customer’s manufacturing line or cluster. It is suitable also for single wafer manufacturing lines as it does not disturb the process flow. Sprinter is run with Picosun’s new, proprietary PicoOS™ operating system and process control software.
“Together with Sprinter, we are launching also our PicoOS™ operating system. Own operating system and process control software, developed by our in-house software team, means the highest control precision and accuracy, the fastest service times, and the best reliability and quality for our customers,” continues Rautee.
Full stack PicoOS™ software allows control, operation and configuration of PICOSUN® ALD equipment – either standalone systems or full production clusters – via one unified, intuitive, and user-friendly graphical HMI and ensures smooth connection between the system and the customer’s factory automation via SECS/GEM protocol.
Sprinter is available for process demos at Picosun facilities. Sprinter module sales starts in January 2021 and full Sprinter cluster with several ALD modules, central vacuum wafer handling unit and EFEM is available later in spring 2021.
(*)PICOSUN® Sprinter ALD batch process data on 300 mm Si wafers, Al2O3 process as an example (more data available on request):
| Parameter | Value |
| Film thickness 1σ non-uniformity, within-wafer @ 200 oC | < 0.5 % |
| Film thickness 1σ non-uniformity, wafer-to-wafer @ 200 oC | < 0.5 % |
| Film thickness 1σ non-uniformity, batch-to-batch @ 275 oC | < 0.3 % |
| Film thickness 1σ non-uniformity, chip-to-chip @ 275 oC | < 1.0 % |
| Cr, Fe, Ni contamination | < 1*1010 at/cm2 |
| Wet etch rate in Al-etch type A solution @ 50 oC | ~ 2 nm/min @ Tdep ≥ 300 oC |
