Boron-Free Nickel Plating for Semiconductor Applications

Cranston, RI, USA – Technic is pleased to announce the commercial release of Elevate Ni 5950, after several successful production installations. The process has been run successfully in a variety of applications including pattern plating, metal stack plating, and as a hard mask for difficult to etch substrates such as SiC.

Unlike the current standard boric acid nickel processes, Elevate Ni 5950 utilizes all liquid components, making it easier to replenish and more compatible with semiconductor fabrication processes.

"Nickel electroplating chemistries with boric acid have been utilized for decades in the electronic and industrial plating industries. The replacement of boric acid could only be successful if the nickel deposit was uncompromised. Elevate Ni 5950 has been shown to not only produce deposits that are comparable to standard nickel plating processes, but in many cases, the deposit attributes have shown superior results."

- Anthony Gallegos, Global Product Manager, Semiconductor Technology

About Technic, Inc.
Technic continues to be a leader in the development of specialty chemicals for the semiconductor industry that are free of toxic components and safer for the environment. Technic sulfite gold chemistries are free of toxic additives like thallium and arsenic and our NMP free photoresist strippers, are just a few examples of products currently being used around the world in mass production enabling safer and more sustainable production.

Learn More: https://www.technic.com/applications/semiconductor/fabrication-packagin…

• Read more about Technic Announces the Commercial Release of Elevate Ni 5950

November 03, 2021 | 11:30 AM SAST | Nicol Ritchie | • Press releases

AMSTERDAM - DataProphet, the leading AI-for-manufacturing company, today announced the extension of its Semiconductor Advisory Board. The award-winning industrial technology business welcomes Dr. Antonio (Toni) Mesquida Küsters. Dr. Mesquida Küsters joins Susan Wilkerson and Markus Keil, who recently formed this strategic committee of specialist semiconductor advisors at DataProphet in August of 2021.

Toni brings more than 25 years of management experience in the semiconductor industry, where he has held positions at major integrated circuit and semiconductor equipment manufacturers such as Infineon and ASML, where he currently heads up product marketing and business development. His responsibilities have included product marketing, business development, strategy and sourcing & operations management.

As an experienced venture capital investor, Mesquida Küsters also understands start-ups, how they operate and how they best execute expansion strategies. This experience will be relevant as DataProphet extends a global presence in the silicon space via its broader Integrator and Machine Builder partnership ecosystem.

Taken together, DataProphet's Semiconductor Advisory Board members bring a wealth of frontline semiconductor experience. Furthermore, Dr. Toni Mesquida Küsters, Susan Wilkerson and Markus Keil are outstanding additions to the broader DataProphet Industry Advisory Board, which will increasingly bolster the business’s expansion strategy as this relates to the diverse and critical manufacturing verticals benefiting from its AI-as-a-Service.

Specifically, the Semiconductor Industry Advisory board will work closely with DataProphet's leadership team as they strive to revolutionize production for the semiconductor industry worldwide with advanced Deep Learning.

The inclusion of Dr. Mesquida Küsters to the DataProphet team directly reflects the business's growth-oriented, go-to-market mindset at a crucial turning point in its commercial development.

Speaking of the announcement, Toni Mesquida Küsters had this to say:

"I am delighted to join the DataProphet team and contribute with my network and expertise to the growth of this exceptional company. As widely covered in the news, especially since the COVID pandemic started, semiconductor chips have become one of the key bottlenecks in many supply chains, including automotive, industrial, and consumer, to name a few. There is huge pressure from OEMs towards chip makers to increase the output of their factories by improving their yield and efficiency. Here is where manufacturing solutions based on Artificial Intelligence will bring huge value, as provided by DataProphet. The value of AI will be especially significant for IC makers, who barely use it in their current operations. I'm looking forward to working with Susan and Markus and the DataProphet management team in making the expansion of the company into the Semiconductor market a great success."

In response to the expansion of the Advisory Board, Frans Cronje, CEO, and Co-Founder of DataProphet stated:

"I'm thrilled to welcome Toni to our Semiconductor Advisory Board. Along with Susan Wilkerson's and Markus Keil's, Dr. Mesquida Küsters expertise will help us overcome the complex challenges customers contend with during semiconductor manufacturing. I look forward to the results we will achieve together as we roll out DataProphet's state-of-the-art AI technology for chipmakers and semiconductor machine builders."

ABOUT DATAPROPHET
DataProphet is a venture-backed, high-growth AI for manufacturing company that pioneered the development and delivery of Deep Learning solutions for manufacturers in key industries worldwide. As heavy industry moves towards autonomous manufacturing, its world-leading AI-powered solutions move customers from over-reliance on human experts to machine learning expert guidance. DataProphet's mission is for its manufacturing process-agnostic AI-as-a-Service innovations to continue revolutionizing process optimization—supporting its manifold manufacturing sector partners while expanding these partnerships globally.

DataProphet helps manufacturers of semiconductors, automotive equipment, rubber, glass, plastics, cast iron, and minerals to meet and exceed critical KPIs with cutting-edge AI-as-a-Service. Requiring no additional hardware investments, DataProphet supports users of its technology to become more competitive and more resource-efficient at any stage of the digital transformation journey. DataProphet AI deployments guarantee ROI in the first year of operation and provide ongoing and complete support after installation—including additional data sources and full model maintenance.

ABOUT TONI MESQUIDA KÜSTERS
Dr. Antonio (Toni) Mesquida Küsters joined ASML in Veldhoven as Director of Market Intelligence in 2006, where he significantly contributed to the management directions and priorities of the Dutch company. Between 2011 and 2014, he served as Sourcing Director and Managing Director of the ASML German Operations in Alsdorf (formerly Ushio / Xtreme Technologies) in EUV DPP Sources. Since the beginning of 2015, Toni has been in charge of product marketing & business development for all TWINSCAN dry lithography products with yearly sales of close to 2 billion Euros.

Between 1995 and 2001 in Munich, Toni held various management positions at Siemens AG (later Infineon Technologies AG) in IC development, technology transfer, product marketing, and corporate venturing. As one of the founding members of Infineon Ventures, he served on the supervisory board of various high-tech start-ups worldwide. At the German MOCVD equipment provider, AIXTRON SE, he was head of Corporate Strategy between 2002 and 2006.

Toni holds both Spanish and German nationality and earned his master's degree in Electrical Engineering (1990). He also attained a Ph.D. in Semiconductor Science (1994) from the RWTH Aachen in Germany. His technical education has been extended over the last 25 years with various executive courses at well-known business schools like INSEAD and Rotterdam School of Management.

• Read more about DataProphet Extends Semiconductor Advisory Board with new Industry Veteran

Breker Verification Systems today unveiled its System Coherency Synthesis TrekApp used to generate thousands of high-coverage tests to stress cross-system coherency for a broad range of SoC platforms and processors.

Based on Breker’s Cache Coherency TrekApp, the System Coherency Synthesis TrekApp uses abstract models of common and novel algorithms to automatically generate coherency test content for complex, multi-agent system platforms based on coverage directives. The TrekApp can be configured for Arm, RISC-V and other processor configurations and broad range of storage and I/O architectures.
“System coherency is an increasingly complex and error-prone challenge for many SoC platforms that requires considerable expertise and effort to accomplish,” says Adnan Hamid Breker’s executive president and CTO. “Our Test Suite Synthesis technology produces dramatic improvements in test composition time and coverage over manual tests and basic test generators including templating schemes.”

Breker, the leading provider of advanced test content synthesis solutions for SoC, UVM and Post-Silicon verification environments, will demonstrate its System Coherency Synthesis TrekApp and other solutions at Design Automation Conference (DAC) in Booth #2528. DAC will be held Monday, December 6, through Wednesday, December 8, from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. at Moscone West in San Francisco.

Introducing the System Coherency Synthesis TrekApp
The increase in SoC complexity and diverse processor architectures makes coherency a challenge that cannot be ignored in semiconductor development projects. Breker’s next-generation TrekApp uses its Test Suite Synthesis technology to address coherency across the entire system to include fabric and I/O issues as well as advanced memory architectures more effectively than zero abstraction templating and similar schemes.

The TrekApp leverages established methods such as the Dekker algorithm, the Moesi state protocol for system-wide testing, stride testing, false sharing analysis and other exclusive test mechanisms.
Coupled with a range of processor integration tests for Arm v8/v9 and the RISC-V Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) the TrekApp generates comprehensive test content for most SoCs in development today. Specialized custom instructions or even complete instruction sets can be included, and alternative test algorithms can be inserted, crossing test content output results for high verification coverage.

The System Coherency TrekApp generates C code and transactions for system-level testbenches or UVM sequences for cache unit and sub-system simulation. It operates on virtual prototype platforms, simulation, emulation, FPGA prototyping or final silicon, and enables the full debug and profiling of the device under test on those platforms.

The System Coherency Synthesis TrekApp is a component of the Breker TrekApp solution library that provides automated test content for a variety of SoC scenarios, including cache coherency, Arm and RISC-V integration, power domain management, security and network traffic generation. TrekApps operate on the Breker Test Suite Synthesis Solution and Synthesizable VerificationOS for automated, coverage-driven test generation for a variety of multi-threaded platforms from a single, easy-to-understand specification model.

Availability and Pricing
System Coherency Synthesis TrekApp is available and in use on multiple development projects.
Pricing is available upon request.
For more information, email [email protected].

About Breker Verification Systems
Breker Verification Systems is a leading provider of Portable Stimulus solutions, a standard means to specify verification intent and behaviors reusable across target platforms. It is the first company to introduce graph-based verification and the synthesis of powerful test sets from intent-based, abstract scenario models based on AI planning algorithms. Breker’s Test Suite Synthesis and TrekApp library allows the automated generation of high-coverage, powerful test cases for deployment into a variety of UVM, SoC and Post-Silicon verification environments. Case studies that feature Altera (now Intel), Analog Devices, Broadcom, IBM, Huawei and other companies leveraging Breker’s solutions are available on the Breker website. Breker is privately held and works with leading semiconductor companies worldwide.

Engage with Breker at:
Website: www.brekersystems.com
Twitter: @BrekerSystems
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breker-verification-systems/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrekerSystems/

TrekSoC, TrekSoC-Si, TrekBox and SoC Scenario Modeling are registered trademark of Breker Verification Systems. Breker Verification Systems acknowledges trademarks or registered trademarks of other organizations for their respective products.

• Read more about Breker Verification Systems Unveils System Coherency Synthesis TrekApp Building on Its Successful Cache Coherency Test Solution

San Francisco, California–December 7, 2021– Brewer Science, Inc., a global leader in developing and manufacturing next-generation materials and processes for the microelectronics and optoelectronics industries, will be presenting its trailblazing efforts as a Certified B Corporation™ at the SEMICON West annual conference in hopes to inspire a more sustainable and inclusive industry.

In May 2021, Brewer Science became the first Certified B Corporation in the semiconductor industry. The certification accredits the company for meeting the “highest standards of corporate social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability to all their stakeholders.” An extensive audit evaluates all facets of the company, determining areas for improvement in the scope of five Impact Areas: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers.

“Brewer Science was founded on the philosophy that directly aligns with the B Corp purpose of ‘using business as a force for good.’ We have programs in place that exemplify our commitment to our people, our customers, and the community. By sharing and collaborating with our supply chain counterparts, together we can create a more sustainable and inclusive industry,” states Matthew Beard, Executive Director of Strategic Planning, Management Systems, and Sustainability at Brewer Science.

Matthew Beard will be presenting at the SEMICON West conference with a talk titled, “Attracting and Retaining the Best Talent and the Purpose Driven Organization.”

The 2021 SEMICON West conference is held December 7th thru 9th at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. The conference unites the entire extended electronics supply chain, with the mission “to see what’s next and discover the latest innovations driving industry growth.” Brewer Science is hosting a presentation at the event to encourage other tech innovators to consider B Corp certification for their companies to pave a pathway for continuous improvement within the industry.

You can learn more about Brewer Science by visiting their website: www.brewerscience.com, or schedule a meeting with an expert by emailing, [email protected].

About Brewer Science
Brewer Science is a global leader in developing and manufacturing next-generation materials and processes that foster the technology needed for tomorrow. Since 1981, we’ve expanded our technology portfolio within advanced lithography, advanced packaging, printed electronics, and smart devices to enable cutting-edge microdevices and unique monitoring systems for industrial, environmental, and air applications. Our relationship-focused approach provides outcomes that facilitate and deliver critical information. Our headquarters are in Rolla, Missouri, with customer support throughout the world. We invite you to learn more about Brewer Science at www.brewerscience.com.

###

Company Contact:

Tracy Jenkins
Tel: (US) +1.573.364.0300, ext. 1427
Email: [email protected]

• Read more about Brewer Science presents best practices for workplace culture at SEMICON West

R&D World magazine (Cleveland, OH) has announced the winners of the 2021 R&D 100 Awards during its virtual ceremony broadcast. The world-renowned competition has celebrated its 59th year, receiving entries from 17 countries/regions. The judges panel was comprised of nearly 40 industry professionals from around the world.

Amongst this year’s winners in the Analytical/Test category was PerkinElmer’s (Waltham, MA) NexION® 5000 Multi-Quadrupole ICP Mass Spectrometer. The NexION® 5000 multi-quadrupole ICP-MS is the first in its category to boast four quads delivering low background equivalent concentrations (About PerkinElmer
PerkinElmer enables scientists, researchers, and clinicians to address their most critical challenges across science and healthcare. With about 14,000 employees worldwide, PerkinElmer pioneers scientific technologies for better detection, imaging, and informatics to help make a profound impact on the world. In many industries, in more countries, PerkinElmer is committed to providing innovative solutions and forging progressive partnerships for a safer, healthier world.

• Read more about PerkinElmer's NexION 5000 ICP-MS Wins R&D 100 Award

ESPOO, Finland, 23 of November 2021 – Picosun Group has launched a Medical Materials Library consisting of over ten materials intended for medical-related coating and encapsulation with Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). ALD coatings are ultra-thin, and they guarantee hermetic encapsulation of virtually any implanted device.

The materials library is a reflection of over six years extensive research and development that shows ALD can render biocompatibility to a substrate coated with Picosun library materials. Biocompatibility tests were carried out according to ISO standards in accredited third-party laboratories. The performed tests included for example cytotoxicity, antimicrobial activity, skin irritation or sensitization, hemocompatibility, bacterial endotoxins, bioburden and sterilization residuals. From the tested materials Picosun is able to design tens of different types of end materials according to customer needs.

ALD technology provides dimensionless coating thus enabling miniaturization of components and devices in the field of electronic implants. Antibacterial function together with excellent barrier properties and outstanding corrosion resistance pave the way for using the materials both in electronic and orthopedic implants and show high potential in pharmaceutical packaging. The superior film uniformity and conformality ensure a pinhole-free coverage over even the smallest details of the device.

“The demonstrated results show the undisputable opportunities ALD offers to the medical sector already today. While the basic surgical principles and technologies have remained the same for decades, now ALD enables unforeseen applications potentially improving patient safety and cost-effectiveness by extending implant durability and reducing adverse effects”, says Niku Oksala, professor of surgery at Tampere University and medical advisor for Picosun.

“Picosun’s Medical Materials Library targeted to the medical device manufacturer segment reflects the innovative spirit of the company. I’m really excited over the fact that we are able to flexibly design tailored encapsulations according to our customers’ needs. I’m especially proud of our medical customers and partners who are already in pre-clinical and clinical trials with their ALD coated devices”, says Juhani Taskinen, Vice President, Medical Business Area of Picosun Group.

More information:
Juhani Taskinen
Vice President, Medical Business Area, Picosun Group
Tel: +358 50 4066 957
Email: [email protected]
www.picosun.com

About Picosun
Picosun provides the most advanced ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) thin film coating solutions for global industries. Picosun’s ALD solutions enable technological leap into the future, with turn-key production processes and unmatched, pioneering expertise in the field – dating back to the invention of the technology itself. Today, PICOSUN® ALD equipment are in daily manufacturing use in numerous leading industries around the world. Picosun is based in Finland, with subsidiaries in Germany, USA, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, China mainland and Taiwan, offices in India and France, and a world-wide sales and support network. Visit www.picosun.com.

• Read more about Medical technology companies to benefit from Picosun biocompatible materials

SANTA ANA, Calif. (November 19, 2021) – Fit-Line Global®, a leading component supplier for high-purity fluid processing applications in the semiconductor industry, announced today the launch of its latest product innovation, Nexus Connect®. The new product line will be available beginning December 2021.

“Fit-Line Global fittings are known for their high quality reliable, leak-free connections that meet customer and regulatory requirements,” said Frank Hayes, president at Fit-Line Global. “Nexus Connect® will be the gold standard of ultra-high pure PFA insert fittings that are reliable and an easy-to-use solution for a broad range of demanding fluid handling applications.”

Nexus Connect® insert fittings are made from virgin ultra-high purity PFA material cleaned in Fit-Line Global’s certified class 1000 cleanroom. The extensive product line features sweep elbows and is available in sizes ranging from ¼” through 1”. They are designed to handle extreme temperatures up to 392F (200C) and are compatible with wet-insert style fittings. NexusConnect fittings also work with Fit-Line Global’s industry-proven TruFASTEN® torque wrenches.

Nexus Connect®, along with Fit-Line Global’s collection of industry-leading products and tools will be on display during the SEMICON West show December 7 through 9, 2021.
For more information on Fit-Line Global’s Nexus Connect® and their unmatched commitment to quality visit www.fit-lineglobal.com.

About Fit-Line Global
Fit-Line Global® is a trusted supplier, designer, research and development resource for SEMI F57-0120 compliant PFA and PVDF components. They employ efficient manufacturing processes to create products that meet the most demanding applications. Fit-Line Global has been a trusted supplier to the Semiconductor industry for more than 25 years. Headquartered in California, Fit-Line Global dedicates itself to providing quality products, with the fastest lead time in the industry, and at a fair price. The company exclusively manufactures PFA and PVDF components, which are strong choices for use in high-purity and corrosive chemical semiconductor applications. To learn more, visit www.fit-lineglobal.com.

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• Read more about FIT-LINE GLOBAL ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF NEW NEXUS CONNECT® PRODUCT LINE

The Silicon Valley lab expands its electron microscopy capabilities with industry-leading S/TEM lamella sample preparation on the newly installed Thermo Scientific Helios 5 UX DualBeam instrument.

November 15, 2021 ¬¬– Sunnyvale, CA. Covalent Metrology, a leading North American provider of analytical services, announces the installation of a new Thermo Scientific Helios 5 UX DualBeam Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscope. The instrument is available now for client projects and is one of the only such tools available through an analytical service provider in the United States.

With the installation, Covalent now provides ultra-precise focused-ion-beam (FIB) capabilities, including enhanced lamella preparation for (scanning) transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM). Covalent customers in the semiconductor, nanotechnology, quantum computing, and microelectronics industries will benefit from groundbreaking FIB resolution at low FIB acceleration energies, allowing samples to be prepared with an amorphous damage layer thinner than 1 nm.

Covalent customers gain the most insights from S/TEM images generated from the best-prepared S/TEM samples. For experts to visualize elemental and structural information at atomic-scale resolution, samples must be prepared for imaging with pinpoint precision. Advanced ion-beam optics incorporated into the Helios 5 UX facilitate efficient and accurate milling and nanomanipulation. Combined with the automated alignments and improved resolution on the Helios 5 UX, samples can now be manipulated and prepared for S/TEM characterization or other FIB-SEM applications with unparalleled precision and reduced damage layers.

“Covalent’s Transmission Electron Microscopy Group is thrilled to use the new Helios 5 UX instrument to deliver even more vivid TEM and S/TEM analysis to our clients,” says Jason Donald, Director of Transmission Electron Microscopy at Covalent Metrology. “The Helios 5 UX is the top-of-line DualBeam available for this important work, and it allows us to reliably and efficiently generate the high-quality lamella needed to provide clients with the best possible TEM results.”

The Helios 5 UX’s automation and processing software maximizes consistency and speed of S/TEM sample preparation at Covalent. With these additional capabilities, Covalent experts can now create multiple S/TEM lamella with unparalleled repeatability and quality for customer’s single site imaging needs, more advanced multi-point arrays for structured S/TEM analysis, as well as repeat or routine analytical projects.

Learn more about Covalent Metrology’s TEM, S/TEM and FIB-SEM capabilities.

About Covalent Metrology
Covalent Metrology is a disruptive analytical services laboratory and platform based in Sunnyvale, California. Its mission is to help companies who use advanced materials to get better data and insights more easily and affordably to facilitate faster development and production. Covalent is dramatically changing the characterization and imaging landscape by combining transparent pricing, data platforms, and top-notch customer service with world-class scientists, state-of-art tools, and strategic partnerships.

Covalent now has over 500 customers in 30+ industries.
Learn more at: https://covalentmetrology.com

• Read more about Covalent Metrology Installs the Latest FIB/SEM Lamella Sample Preparation Instrument