Intel, IBM working on co-polymer lithography

Posted on Monday, September 29 2008 @ 11:01 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
EE Times reports several firms, including IBM and Intel, are exploring a new technology called co-polymer lithography:
Scientists at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have also made a major contribution to this field. UCSB claims to have developed a novel, self-assembly process for creating features on silicon that are between 5- and 20-nm.

Intel, IBM, UCSB and NSB funded the R&D. The university has already applied for patents on the new methods and it will retain ownership.

"We've come up with this new blending approach, called block co-polymer lithography, or BCP," said Craig Hawker, materials professor and director of the Materials Research Laboratory at UCSB, in a statement. "It essentially relies on a natural self-assembly process. Just like proteins in the body, these molecules come together and self assemble into a pattern. And so we use that pattern as our lithographic tool, to make patterns on the silicon wafer."


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Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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