Morgan Advanced Materials recently announced it has joined SEMATECH’s International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI), a program designed to improve semiconductor equipment manufacturing productivity, yield and cost. Morgan Advanced Materials will help develop process variation solutions to improve availability and process control across 200 mm and 300 mm semiconductor manufacturing facilities, while allowing for forward-compatibility with 450 mm.

As a member of SEMATECH’s Manufacturing Technology Program, Morgan will reportedly collaborate with ISMI engineers to develop and introduce new material solutions that will help to significantly extend the life of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) pads and CMP conditioners, as well as electrostatic chucks. The partnership will further the development of processing solutions for effective CMP processing, including pad conditioning, to eliminate legacy high-volume manufacturing issues, shorten pad break-in time, and extend pad life of soft-pad textures.

“We are excited to collaborate with ISMI on innovative technology development to help address current and future technology challenges for both CMP and electrostatic chuck design,” said Daniel Manoukian, general manager of Morgan’s Allentown, Pa., site. “These projects will enable high-volume manufacturing of 10 nm devices and improve manufacturing for current technologies. As the complexity of the technology increases, innovations in pad conditioner materials to control pad textures are essential for successful manufacturing.”

For additional information, visit www.morganadvancedmaterials.com or www.sematech.org.