SOITEC'S NEW ALTATECH SUBSIDIARY DELIVERS ADVANCED CVD SYSTEM TO CEA-LETI

SOITEC’S NEW ALTATECH SUBSIDIARY DELIVERS

ADVANCED CVD SYSTEM TO CEA-LETI

AltaCVD System to be Used for Next-Generation Semiconductor Research

Bernin, France , June 26, 2012 — Soitec (Euronext), a world leader in generating and manufacturing revolutionary semiconductor materials for the electronics and energy industries, announced today that its Altatech subsidiary has installed an AltaCVD system in CEA-Leti’s Silicon Technology Division, where the international applied research center will use it to develop advanced phase-change memory devices and high-k metal gates for the sub-20 nm technology node. This repeat order from CEA-Leti reinforces the AltaCVD system’s leadership position in advanced materials deposition and represents the first equipment order received by Altatech Semiconductor S.A., since it became a subsidiary of Soitec earlier this year.

For its development work in phase-change memories, a promising solution for next-generation nonvolatile memory applications, CEA-Leti will use AltaCVD’s technology to perform low-temperature deposition of binary and ternary alloys. With its tightly controlled stoichiometry, the system can create highly conformal thin films with thicknesses of 100 nm or less. This ability to deposit advanced materials with very high uniformity and repeatability also will be used by CEA-Leti in creating high-k metal gates.

In recent years, CEA-Leti and Altatech have collaborated in several research projects involving advanced-materials deposition and the integration of next-generation semiconductor devices. In 2011, CEA-Leti installed another AltaCVD system for use in creating high-k oxide gates.

“The AltaCVD tool provides both the flexibility and the performance we need to conduct our semiconductor research projects. Furthermore, its reactor technology opens new areas of exploration for advanced materials,” said Olivier Demolliens, CEA-Leti’s equipment asset manager.

“Our AltaCVD platform continues to demonstrate its strengths in depositing next-generation materials at both R&D facilities and commercial fabs,” said Jean-Luc Delcarri, general manager of Altatech. “Following the release of our advanced CVD systems for front-end and memory processing and the roll out of our deposition tools for TSV (through-silicon-via) isolation and conductive layers, we are now applying our proven technology in creating advanced memories and high-k metal gates.”

The new AltaCVD system has been qualified for use by CEA-Leti, with Altatech’s team providing process engineering and hardware support.

Capable of accommodating 200-mm or 300-mm wafers, the versatile AltaCVD system is a multi-chamber tool designed for plasma-enhanced or metal-organic deposition of advanced semiconductor materials using liquid precursors. Using direct injection of liquid precursors and a patented flash-vaporization system, this system can operate over a wide range of vaporization and deposition temperatures, enabling users to select the optimal process windows for their specific applications. These can include deposition of advanced materials for high-k gate dielectrics, metal gate electrodes, capacitors and 3D integration. In thermal CVD or RF-enhanced deposition steps, low-frequency plasma enables tuning of the thin film’s mechanical, electrical and optical properties.

About CEA-Leti

CEA is a French research and technology organization, with activities in four main areas: energy, information technologies, healthcare technologies and defence and security. Within CEA, the Laboratory for Electronics & Information Technology (CEA-Leti) works with companies in order to increase their competitiveness through technological innovation and transfers. CEA-Leti is focused on micro- and nanotechnologies and their applications, from wireless devices and systems, to biology and healthcare or photonics. Nanoelectronics and microsystems (MEMS) are at the core of its activities. As a major player in the MINATEC campus, CEA-Leti operates 8,000-m² state-of-the-art clean rooms, on 24/7 mode, on 200 mm and 300 mm wafer standards. With 1,400 employees, CEA-Leti trains more than 190 Ph.D. students and hosts 200 assignees from partner companies. Strongly committed to the
creation of value for the industry, CEA-Leti puts a strong emphasis on intellectual property and owns more than 1,700 patent families. Visit www.leti.fr/en

About Soitec

Soitec is an international manufacturing company, a world leader in generating and manufacturing revolutionary semiconductor materials at the frontier of the most exciting energy and electronic challenges. Soitec’s products include substrates for microelectronics (most notably SOI: Silicon-on-Insulator) and concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems. The company’s core technologies are Smart Cut™, Smart Stacking™ and Concentrix™, as well as expertise in epitaxy. Applications include consumer and mobile electronics, microelectronics-driven IT, telecommunications, automotive electronics, lighting products and large-scale solar power plants. Soitec has manufacturing plants and R&D centers in France, Singapore, Germany and the United States. For more information, visit: www.soitec.com.

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