Exelan dielectric etch systems include the Exelan HPT and the 2300 Exelan. The Exelan HPT is Lam's latest offering in the highly successful 200mm Alliance® wafer processing line, while the 2300 Exelan is a member of Lam's award winning 2300 Etch Series, designed to process both 200mm and 300mm wafers. The 2300 Exelan is the industry's low—risk path to the benefits of 300mm production, providing the ability to develop processes on 200mm wafers then simply scaling the process for 300mm substrates in the same dielectric etch chamber. For all substrate sizes, Exelan systems feature the industry's largest dielectric etch portfolio, including in situ dual damascene etch for both oxide and low k, critical front—end contact etch applications, and large open—area applications such as gate mask open, spacer, and passivation etch.

Exelan meets the challenges of new materials and reduced geometries at the 130nm technology node and below with versatile, Dual Frequency Confined™ (DFC™) plasma technology, Waferless Auto Cleans™ (WAC™), and an innovative narrow gap chamber design. The versatile DFC technology extends Exelan's dielectric etch capability into a wide range of process regimes. After a wafer is processed, WAC removes all process residue, returning the chamber to its original, clean condition. By removing residues that produce "process memory," a complete etch sequence from mask open to etch and photoresist strip can be performed in an Exelan chamber. This eliminates the need for multiple dedicated chambers as well as the need to move wafers among them. This in situ capability delivers pace—setting reductions in both cycle time and cost of ownership across all process regimes. When compared to traditional etch methods, in situ savings of 20 percent in process time are realized with a corresponding increase in throughput and productivity.

Due to the versatile DFC technology, Exelan has the production—proven process for every dielectric etch application. It provides the CD and profile control needed to etch high aspect ratio contacts (HARC) that are required in dense memory chips. It is capable of the high selectivity required to preserve the ultrathin photoresist used on 193nm geometries in the industry's fastest logic chips. By processing multiple steps in a single chamber, Exelan delivers production—proven capability for in situ low k dual damascene, and provides the capability of completing complex integration schemes such as dual and triple hardmask in one chamber. In all applications, Exelan produces results that are repeated wafer to wafer across all systems in fabs and foundries.

Since their introduction, versatile Exelan systems have been production proven across a wide range of process regimes and have been used to develop the industry's largest process portfolio for the increasingly complex requirements of dielectric etch. The Exelan HPT for 200mm wafers and the 2300 Exelan for both 200mm and 300mm wafers offer trend setting performance for all dielectric applications. Processes developed on the Exelan HPT transfer easily and directly to the 2300 Exelan for 200mm wafers and can simply be scaled for 300 mm processing. Scaling a known process provides fabs and foundries with the lowest—risk path to 300mm.

From integrating multistep processes in new materials, to offering the lowest risk transition to larger substrates and diminishing geometries, Exelan has the innovative solution for every dielectric etch application.