Alchimer S.A., a provider of nanometric deposition technology for semiconductor interconnects and through-silicon vias, said it has opened a new applications-and-development facility in Seoul, South Korea, for demonstration of its innovative processes on 300mm wafers. The facility will begin accepting customers’ wafers in April.

On-site Alchimer personnel will be able to provide full-stack demonstrations of Alchimer’s breakthrough technology, electrografting (eG™), which is an electrochemical process that enables the growth of extremely high quality polymer and metal thin films on both conducting and semiconducting surfaces. The company’s deposition technology reduces overall cost of ownership for high aspect ratio TSV metallization by up to two-thirds compared to conventional dry processes and shortens time to market.

Electrografting technology is made available in several products and processes, all of which will be available for evaluation at the new facility. Alchimer’s AquiVia and AquiVia XS combine wet deposition processes for multiple layers in TSV metallization. These unique full-stack approaches also utilize Alchimer’s proprietary Chemicalgrafting (cG™) technology to create strong chemical bonds between each molecular layer. This results in highly conformal and uniform layers for TSVs with aspect ratios of 20:1 and beyond.

“This 300mm facility represents our commitment to accelerating adoption of our innovative deposition technology by chipmakers worldwide,” said Alchimer CEO Steve Lerner. “The semiconductor community in Asia is clearly ahead of other regions in implementing new technologies for 3D TSVs and semiconductor interconnects, and we are pleased to be able to demonstrate these new, cost-effective options locally.”

About Alchimer
S.A.                                                                                       
Alchimer develops and markets innovative chemical formulations, processes and IP for the deposition of nanometric films used in both semiconductor interconnects and 3D TSVs (through-silicon vias). The company’s breakthrough technology, Electrografting (eG™), is an electrochemical-based process that enables the growth of very thin coatings, of various types, on both conducting and semiconducting surfaces. Based in Massy, France, Alchimer is a spin-off from the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA). Founded in 2001, it won the First National Award for the Creation of High Tech Companies from the French Minister of Research and Industry and is a Red Herring Top 100 European Company.