Introduced in 2011, VECTOR Excel is the latest model of the industry-leading VECTOR 300 mm PECVD system. Designed primarily for logic fabs and foundries, VECTOR Excel is a modular system developed to address the needs of advanced technology nodes (28 nm and below) that require pre-and/or post-processing of dielectric films, such as diffusion barriers. The new system incorporates an innovative interface engineering approach developed by Novellus that results in a significant reduction in the RC delay constant without needing to incorporate new materials into the back-end-of-line (BEOL) integration scheme.

VECTOR Excel

Introduced in 2007, VECTOR Express is the latest enhancement to Novellus' 300 mm VECTOR plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) platform. VECTOR Express maintains industry-leading capital and footprint productivity by improving process throughput by up to 40%, while delivering benchmark thin film process performance that is critical to tool extendibility to 45 nm and beyond. VECTOR Express incorporates the SmartSoak™ processing feature, which utilizes the multi-station sequential processing (MSSP) architecture of VECTOR to control wafer heat-up independently from film deposition, improving film quality and reducing processing time.

VECTOR Express is also available in an ashable hard mask configuration (VECTOR Express AHM), designed to deposit films for the high aspect ratio patterning requirements required by 193 nm lithography. Additionally, a version of VECTOR Express, called VECTOR 3D, has been developed for advanced wafer-level packaging applications.

VECTOR Express

VECTOR Extreme is a 300 mm PECVD system designed for memory fabs with extremely high throughput requirements. Capable of processing up to 250 wafers-per-hour, VECTOR Extreme features a central wafer process chamber with a dual handling robot that allows the integration of up to three PECVD process modules on a single system. Employing Novellus' proven multi-station sequential processing (MSSP) architecture, the VECTOR Extreme's process modules retain hardware transparency with VECTOR Express for ease of process integration between platforms. In comparison to industry benchmarks, the system improves capital productivity by greater than 25%, and shows a commensurate reduction of greater than 40% in the number of tools required in the fab.

VECTOR Extreme is also available in an ashable hard mask configuration (the VECTOR Extreme AHM), as well as in the VECTOR Extreme TEOS xT model -- at 300 wafers-per-hour, the industry's most productive PECVD system.

Qualified Vendors

ESCAPE TWIN point of use abatement system,
Manufactured by DAS-Dresden GmbH

Integrated Metrology Module
Manufactured by Nanometrics, Inc. 

PICO-TRAP: Equipment for Acetone Removal from Acetylene for AHM Applications
Manufactured by Matheson Tri-Gas

VECTOR Extreme