FSI International Receives U.S. Patent for ViPR+ Cleaning Technology

All wet ViPR™+ method strips highly implanted photoresist without ashing and completely removes unreacted metal in low temperature platinum salicide processes

• Press Release
• Source: FSI International, Inc.
• On 8:00 am EDT, Tuesday October 6, 2009

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FSI International, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSII - News), a leading supplier of wafer processing, cleaning and surface conditioning equipment for semiconductor manufacturing, announced today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded the company a patent for its ViPR™+ cleaning technology.

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Available on FSI’s ZETA^® spray cleaning systems and FSI ORION^® single wafer cleaning systems, the ViPR process uses steam to increase the reactivity of cleaning chemical mixtures at the wafer surface by achieving a high concentration of reactive species at elevated temperatures. In one illustrative application, the ViPR+ technology strips highly implanted photoresist with a unique one-step wet process, eliminating ashing and reducing surface damage, material loss, manufacturing cycle time and capital investment. ViPR+ technology will play an expanded role in removing unreacted metal as our customers increase the platinum content in their nickel platinum salicide films.

“ViPR+ is a pivotal FSI technology that enables our memory and logic customers to achieve a variety of technical objectives required for 4x and smaller technology nodes. This technology is responsible for our expanded memory business at the 4x and 3x nodes,” said Dr. Scott Becker, FSI’s vice president of engineering. “We see it as key to expanding our logic business at the 3x node for the implementation of low material loss photoresist removal and the stripping of high platinum content nickel films. In addition to these technical benefits, it enables these processes on a single wafer platform to be cost competitive with batch processes,” continued Dr. Becker.

The incorporation of a number of specialized blending, delivery, and temperature control technologies make the ZETA spray processing system and FSI ORION single wafer system uniquely capable of implementing the ViPR+ process. For additional information about the ViPR process, and the ZETA and FSI ORION cleaning systems, please visit the FSI website: www.FSI-intl.com.

About FSI International
FSI International, Inc. is a global supplier of surface conditioning equipment, technology and support services for microelectronics manufacturing. Using the company’s broad portfolio of cleaning products, which include batch and single-wafer platforms for Immersion, Spray, Vapor and CryoKinetic technologies, customers are able to achieve their process performance flexibility and productivity goals. The company’s support services programs provide product and process enhancements to extend the life of installed FSI equipment, enabling worldwide customers to realize a higher return on their capital investment.

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