Lam Research Corporation is an American supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and related services to the semiconductor industry.Its products are used primarily in front-end wafer processing, which involves the steps that create the active components of semiconductor devices (transistors, capacitors) and their wiring (interconnects). The company also builds equipment for back-end wafer-level packaging(WLP) and for related manufacturing markets such as for microelectromechanical systems(MEMS).
泛林集团是一家为半导体行业提供晶圆制造设备和相关服务的美国供应商。[2] 其产品主要用于前端晶圆加工，涉及创建半导体器件（晶体管、电容器）及其接线（互连）的有源组件的步骤。该公司还为后端晶圆级封装（WLP）和相关制造市场（如微机电系统（MEMS））制造设备。
History
Lam Research 由 David K. Lam 于 1980 年创立，David K. Lam 是一名出生于中国的工程师，此前曾在施乐、惠普和德州仪器工作。[5] 正是在惠普工作期间，他发现需要更好的等离子蚀刻设备，以跟上半导体晶圆的快速小型化。[5] 他称赞英特尔创始人鲍勃·诺伊斯 ( Bob Noyce )通过确保他的商业计划有意义来帮助他获得资金。
1981 年，公司推出了第一款产品 AutoEtch 480，这是一款自动化多晶硅等离子蚀刻机。选择 AutoEtch 这个名称是为了传达蚀刻机是自动化的，而 480 中的 80 来自 1980 年，即公司成立的那一年。[6] 第一个系统于 1982 年 1 月售出。[7]1982 年，Roger Emerick 被任命为首席执行官。[8]
1984年5月，公司发行IPO并在纳斯达克上市，股票代码LRCX。[9] 1985 年，David Lam 离开公司加入 Link Technologies，后者最终被 Wyse [10]收购，成为现在的Dell Wyse。[11]在 20 世纪 80 年代中期，Lam Research 继续其全球扩张，专注于台湾，并在欧洲、美国和日本开设了客户支持中心。[11]
到 1990 年代初期，该公司已在中国、韩国、新加坡和台湾开展业务。[11] 1997 年 3 月，该公司以 2.25 亿美元的价格收购了 OnTrak Systems Inc.，这是一家专门从事化学机械平面化(CMP) 清洗的芯片设备制造商。[12] CMP 清洁是一种混合工艺，使用蚀刻和机械抛光来平滑表面。1997 年 8 月，公司任命 OnTrak 的首席执行官吉姆巴格利为首席执行官。[11] [13] 1998年，巴格利被任命为董事会主席。[13]
2005 年，Steve Newberry 被任命为首席执行官。[14] 2006 年，Lam Research 收购了 Bullen Semiconductor，即现在的 Silfex, Inc. [15] 2008 年，Lam Research 收购了 SEZ AG，[16]现在是 Lam Research AG。[17] 2011 年，Lam Research 同意以 $3.3B 的价格收购加利福尼亚州圣何塞芯片设备制造商Novellus Systems。[18] 交易于 2012 年 6 月完成。[19] 2012 年，Martin Anstice 被任命为首席执行官。[14] 2015年10月，Lam Research宣布计划收购位于加州米尔皮塔斯的晶圆检测设备供应商KLA-Tencor以 $10.6B 的价格，被视为半导体行业的整合举措。[20] 2016年6月，Lam Research宣布首次跻身世界500强。[21] 2016 年 10 月，该公司宣布已终止对 KLA-Tencor 的收购要约，原因是担心该交易因反垄断问题无法获得美国司法部[22]的监管批准。[23]
2017年9月，公司宣布收购位于北卡罗来纳州卡里的芯片仿真公司Coventor。据报道，该公司的软件将使 Lam 能够缩短其新芯片的上市时间。[24]11月，该公司推出了 Lam Research Capital (Lam Capital)，这是一家获准投资于公司的风险投资集团。[25]
2018 年 1 月，公司宣布首席运营官 Tim Archer 晋升为总裁，首席执行官 Martin Anstice 继续担任首席执行官一职。[26]
2018 年 12 月，Martin Anstice 因个人行为不当指控辞去 CEO 职务，Lam Research 董事会任命 Tim Archer 为总裁兼首席执行官。[27] Archer 还被任命为 Lam Research 的董事会成员。在此任命之前，Archer 是公司的总裁兼首席运营官。[28]
2021 年 8 月，Lam 在马来西亚Batu Kawan开设了制造工厂，以满足对晶圆制造设备不断增长的需求，并与主要客户和供应链合作伙伴更紧密地合作。[29]
2022 年 11 月，Lam 宣布收购总部位于萨尔茨堡的湿法加工半导体设备供应商 Semsysco GmbH。
Lam Research was founded in 1980 by David K. Lam, a Chinese-born engineer who had previously worked at Xerox, Hewlett-Packard, and Texas Instruments.[5] It was while he was at Hewlett Packard that he saw the need for better plasma etching equipment, to keep up with the rapid miniaturization of semiconductor wafers.[5]He credited Bob Noyce, founder of Intel, for assisting him in getting funding by ensuring his business plan made sense.
In 1981, the company introduced its first product, the AutoEtch 480, an automated polysilicon plasma etcher. The name AutoEtch was chosen to convey that the etcher was automated, while the 80 in 480 came from 1980, the year the company was founded.[6] The first system was sold in January 1982.[7] In 1982, Roger Emerick was appointed CEO.[8]
In May 1984, the company issued an IPO and was listed on NASDAQ, with the symbol LRCX.[9] In 1985, David Lam left the company to join Link Technologies, which eventually was bought by Wyse[10] and is now Dell Wyse.[11] In the mid-1980s, Lam Research continued its global expansion, concentrating on Taiwan and also opening customer support centers throughout Europe, the United States and Japan.[11]
By the early 1990s, the company had a presence in China, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan.[11] In March 1997, the company purchased OnTrak Systems Inc., a chip equipment manufacturer that specialized in chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) cleaning, for $225 Million.[12]CMP cleaning is a hybrid process to smooth surfaces using both etching and mechanical polishing. In August 1997, the company named OnTrak's CEO Jim Bagley as its CEO.[11][13] In 1998, Bagley was named chairman of the board.[13]
In 2005, Steve Newberry was appointed as CEO.[14] In 2006, Lam Research acquired Bullen Semiconductor, now Silfex, Inc.[15]In 2008, Lam Research acquired SEZ AG,[16]now Lam Research AG.[17]In 2011, Lam Research agreed to buySan Jose, Californiachip equipment manufacturerNovellus Systems, for $3.3B.[18]The deal was completed in June 2012.[19]In 2012, Martin Anstice was appointed as CEO.[14]In October 2015, Lam Research announced plans to buyMilpitas, California-basedwaferinspection equipment vendorKLA-Tencorfor $10.6B, in what was viewed as a semiconductor industry consolidation move.[20]In June 2016, it was announced that Lam Research had joined theFortune 500for the first time.[21]In October 2016, the company announced it had terminated its offer for KLA-Tencor amidst concerns that the deal would not meet regulatory approval from the U.S. Department of Justice[22]over antitrust concerns.[23]
In September 2017, the company announced the acquisition of Cary, North Carolina-based chip simulation firm Coventor. The company's software reportedly would allow Lam to reduce the time to market for its new chips.[24] In November, the company launched Lam Research Capital (Lam Capital), a venture capital group chartered to invest in companies.[25]
In January 2018, the company announced that COO Tim Archer was being promoted to president, and CEO Martin Anstice remained in the CEO role.[26]
In December 2018, Martin Anstice resigned as CEO due to allegations of personal misconduct, and the Board of Directors of Lam Research named Tim Archer as president and chief executive officer.[27] Archer was also appointed to the Board of Directors of Lam Research. Before this appointment, Archer was the company's president and chief operating officer.[28]
In August 2021, Lam opened a manufacturing facility in Batu Kawan, Malaysia to meet the growing demand for wafer fabrication equipment and to work more closely with key customers and supply chain partners.[29]
In November 2022, it was announced Lam had acquired the Salzburg-headquartered, wet processing semiconductor equipment provider, Semsysco GmbH.[30]
Production
Lam Research 为半导体制造设计和制造产品，包括用于薄膜沉积、等离子蚀刻、光刻胶剥离和晶圆清洗工艺的设备。在整个半导体制造过程中，这些技术有助于创建晶体管、互连、高级存储器和封装结构。它们还用于微机电系统(MEMS) 和发光二极管(LED) 等相关市场的应用。[1]
薄膜沉积
Lam 的薄膜沉积系统沉积了构成集成电路的导电（金属）或绝缘（电介质）材料的亚微观层。这些过程需要纳米级的均匀性。
该公司采用电化学沉积(ECD) 和化学气相沉积(CVD) 技术来形成用于导电结构的铜和其他金属薄膜。 原子层沉积(ALD) 也用于钨金属薄膜的特征，如触点和插头，它们是多层互连芯片设计中金属线之间的垂直连接。
等离子增强 (PE) CVD 和 ALD 技术为各种绝缘部件制造介电薄膜。对于需要将电介质材料沉积到狭窄空间的间隙填充工艺，Lam 使用高密度等离子体 (HDP) CVD 技术。PECVD 和 ALD 也用于形成硬掩模，这些层可以被移除以改进电路图案化工艺。
等离子蚀刻
Lam Research 在其等离子蚀刻设备中使用专有技术,选择性地从晶圆表面去除材料以创建半导体器件的特征和图案的过程。该设备可帮助芯片制造商雕刻小零件，例如最新的多重图案化序列、晶体管和高级存储器结构所需的零件，这些零件涉及越来越复杂的薄膜堆叠和更高的纵横比结构。
该公司使用反应离子蚀刻(RIE) 和原子层蚀刻(ALE) 来塑造各种导电和介电特征。该公司的深度 RIE技术有助于为 MEMS 和硅通孔(TSV) 等应用创建结构。
光刻胶去除
在一系列前端晶圆加工和先进封装应用之后，Lam 的干法剥离系统使用等离子技术选择性地去除光刻胶掩模。
晶圆清洗
Lam Research 的湿式旋转清洁和基于等离子的斜面清洁产品可在相邻工艺之前或之后去除晶圆表面的颗粒、残留物和薄膜。
该公司的旋转湿法清洁技术用于芯片处理步骤之间，以去除限制产量的残留物和缺陷。Lam 的斜面清洁技术在晶圆的最边缘引导等离子体，以清洁不需要的颗粒、残留物和薄膜。如果不去除，如果这些材料在后续制造步骤中剥落并重新沉积在器件区域，则会影响良率。
Lam Research designs and builds products for semiconductor manufacturing, including equipment for thin film deposition, plasma etch, photoresist strip, and wafer cleaning processes. Throughout semiconductor manufacturing, these technologies help create transistors, interconnects, advanced memory, and packaging structures. They are also used for applications in related markets like microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and light-emitting diodes(LEDs).[1]
Thin film deposition
Lam's thin film deposition systems lay down the sub-microscopic layers of conducting (metal) or insulating (dielectric) materials that make up an integrated circuit. The processes require uniformity at the nanoscale level.[31]
The company employs electrochemical deposition (ECD) and chemical vapor deposition(CVD) technologies to form copper and other metal films for conducting structures.[32][33]Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is also used for tungsten metal films in features like contacts and plugs, which are vertical connections between metal lines in multilevel interconnect chip designs.
Plasma-enhanced (PE) CVD and ALD technologies create dielectric films for a wide range of insulating parts. For gapfill processes, which require depositing dielectric material into narrow spaces, Lam uses high-density plasma (HDP) CVD technology. PECVD and ALD are also used to form hardmasks, layers that can be removed to improve circuit patterning processes.[citation needed]
Plasma etch
Lam Research uses proprietary technology in its equipment for plasma etch,[34] the process of selectively removing materials from the surface of a wafer to create the semiconductor device's features and patterns. The equipment helps chip manufacturers carve small parts such as those needed for the latest multiple patterning sequences, transistors, and advanced memory structures, which involve increasingly complex film stacks and ever higher aspect ratio structures.
The company uses reactive ion etch (RIE) and atomic layer etching (ALE) to shape a variety of conductive and dielectric features.[34] The company's deep RIE technologies help create structures for applications like MEMS and through-silicon vias (TSVs).
Photoresist strip
Lam's dry strip systems use plasma technology to selectively remove the photoresist mask following a range of front-end wafer processing and advanced packaging applications.[35]
Wafer cleaning
Lam Research's wet spin clean and plasma-based bevel clean products remove particles, residues, and films from the wafer surface before or after adjacent processes.[36]
The company's spin wet clean technology is used between chip-processing steps to remove yield-limiting residues and defects. Lam's bevelclean technology directs a plasma at the very edge of the wafer to clean unwanted particles, residues, and films. If not removed, these materials can impact yield if they flake off and re-deposit on the device area during subsequent manufacturing steps.
