Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "BASF and Evonik co-develop advanced CMP slurries"

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Abstract:
Enhanced cost effectiveness and quality of ceria-based slurries to face future challenges

BASF and Evonik co-develop advanced CMP slurries

Germany | Posted on July 3rd, 2008

Evonik Industries AG and BASF have agreed to collaborate on the development of ceria-based slurries for fabricating computer chips. The agreement will leverage BASF's chemical expertise, global marketing and distribution capabilities with Evonik´s leading position in nanomaterials. The resulting slurries are expected to be commercialized in 2009.

Slurries containing nanoscale materials such as ceria are used to polish the silicon dioxide surfaces of wafers to produce highly planar surfaces in a process known as chemical-mechanical polishing, or CMP. The most important processing steps of integrated circuit (IC) fabrication are STI (shallow trench isolation), one of the fastest growing applications requiring CMP slurries, and ILD (inter-layer dielectric).

"With the introduction of smaller node sizes, the requirements of the CMP process have become increasingly critical to IC fabrication. Evonik and BASF believe that this project will enable both parties to stay ahead in the CMP technology and provide next generation solutions and materials for the IC industry," said Dr. Iordanis Savvopoulos, Vice President Technology Solutions in Evonik´s Business Unit Inorganic Materials.

"Chemistry plays an important role in the development of IC products. Combining BASF's extensive background in chemistry and long years of experience in the IC industry with the expertise of Evonik in abrasive particles, we can provide intelligent solutions that meet the increasingly stringent requirements in the market," said Dr. Klemens Mathauer, head of CMP business of BASF's global business unit Electronic Materials.

Evonik´s contribution to the joint development includes various grades of cerium oxide as important fundamental components and formulation know-how for these particles. BASF will contribute its CMP slurry formulation chemistry, production and application know-how, backed by its high-tech laboratories in Europe and Asia.

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About BASF
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from oil and gas to chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals. As a reliable partner BASF helps its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF has more than 95,000 employees and posted sales of almost €58 billion in 2007.

About Evonik
Evonik Industries is the creative industrial group from Germany which operates in three business areas: Chemicals, Energy and Real Estate. Evonik is a global leader in specialty chemicals, an expert in power generation from hard coal and renewable energies, and one of the largest private residential real estate companies in Germany. Our strengths are creativity, specialization, continuous self-renewal, and reliability. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In its fiscal year 2007 about 43,000 employees generated sales of about €14.4 billion and an operating profit (EBIT) of more than €1.3 billion. Further information on Evonik is available on the Internet at www.evonik.com.

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