Singulus reports the sale of an additional TIMARIS deposition machine for the production of MRAM semiconductor chips.

Roland Lacher, CEO of Singulus technologies comments: "At the end of previous year the break-through for TIMARIS machines for TMR applications was achieved. This was accomplished with the first order for thin film heads (write/read heads) placed in December 2005. Overall, including today's orders already the fourth machine is earmarked for delivery. This is a great success, since we were able to show that our machines overcame the high entry barriers of the market and holds up well against the competition as well."

Singulus technologies today announced the sale of a TIMARIS thin-film deposition system for MRAM wafer production to GRANDIS in Silicon Valley/USA. The two companies also signed a collaborative agreement on advanced TMR film development for MRAM (magnetic random access memory).

Dr. Yiming Huai, CTO and VP Engineering of GRANDIS remarked that "the newly-developed SINGULUS TIMARIS system allows us to accelerate the development of our STT-RAM technology". STT-RAM is a type of MRAM that employs spin transfer torque writing technology to overcome the high write currents and scaling limitations of conventional MRAM. As a result, STT-RAM is extendable to the 65 nm node and below.

Roland Lacher, CEO of SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES, commented: "The collaboration with GRANDIS is important to our company and is aimed at developing new TMR thin-film processes on the TIMARIS platform. TMR technology will be a key element in the production of next-generation MRAM. GRANDIS is a world leader in this area and works with companies such as RENESAS in Japan".

KLA-Tencor today unveiled the MRW3TM its third-generation magnetic metrology system for the hard disk drive (HDD) and semiconductor memory markets. Based on the market-leading MRW200 platform, the MRW3 measures the magnetic properties of HDD recording heads and magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) on product wafers for production control and early detection of process issues that could adversely impact yield. Leveraging a proprietary closed-loop magnet system, the MRW3 delivers best-in-class magnetic field repeatability of less than 0.1 oersted without sacrificing its performance advantage of sub-one second per resistance/magnetic-field transfer curve. In addition, the MRW3 introduces features such as GEM/SECS factory automation, high reliability (1000 hours MTBF) and both 200-mm and 300-mm configurations making it the first "fab-ready" quasi-static test system on the market today.

The MRW3 system has completed an extensive beta evaluation at one of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturing companies.

Advanced HDD recording heads, as well as MRAM, a leading candidate for next-generation non-volatile solid state memory, use magnetic tunnel junctions for their core technology. The MRW3 system incorporates specific features to accelerate the development of this important new technology, including constant-voltage electronics and bit toggle tests. According to Janusz Nowak, a leading researcher in the field of magnetic tunnel junctions, "The KLA-Tencor MRW3 provides essential measurement capability that accelerates the development and production of devices using magnetic tunnel junctions."

KLA-Tencor is currently accepting orders for the MRW3. Shipping will begin this month.

The invention provides Tegal with a unique new PVD source technology for advanced applications in chip manufacturing. Direct benefits of this invention include the capability of providing highly directional deposition of metal atoms and ions, and the easy utilization of magnetic target materials such as Nickel.

Conventional PVD sources are limited by their reliance on strong magnetic fields. This makes sputtering of magnetic materials problematic and inefficient. Nickel films will be needed for contact metal silicide formation at the 45-nanometer "node" of chip manufacturing, and in many of the "lead-free" final packaging schemes. The ability to sputter Nickel and other magnetic materials efficiently also has many benefits for MRAM, thin film heads and a wide variety of MEMS applications.

TSMC will handle the front-end of the MRAM manufacturing process, and the Electronics Research and Service Organization (ERSO) of ITRI will handle the back-end processes at its own lab, ITRI said.

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British process tool and materials vendor Trikon Technologies Inc. said Tuesday that the U.K. government had awarded it funding to develop Broad Ion Beam Deposition (BIBD) technology for the manufacture of magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) on 300mm wafers.