- Email: [email protected]
The VG plasmaquad 3
l The VG Plasmaquad 3
The n e w VG PlasmaQuad 3 system is the "highest performance quadrupole ICPMS ever built, and the most automated~" claims t h e company. It introduces a range of new features, including a fully automated dual m o d e plasma torch designed to operate in the standard mode for the m a -
jority of elemental determinations, and in a cool plasma mode for the determination of selected elem e n t s ; t h e "S" o p t i o n interface to dramatically increase sensitivity allowing routine determination of sub ppq levels; SuperQ u a n t to a u t o m a t i c a l l y provide accurate, interfer-
6-inch GaAs w a f e r s by Sumitomo
ence-corrected concentrations; and, AutoRange plus, an advanced d e t e c t o r system providing a linear dynamic range of eight orders of magnitude, i n c r e a s e s a c c u r a c y and productivity.
• Contact: Kath Welton, tel~fax: [44] (0) 1625 434343/434335.
Bell Laboratories physicist, Federico Capasso, awarded Materials Science medal at Boston MRS Bell Laboratories physicist Dr Federico Capasso was awarded the Materials Research Society Medal for g r o u n d b r e a k i n g w o r k in engineered semiconductor research and design. World-renowned in the scientific community, this MRS medal h o n o r s outstanding innovations and discoveries that are exp e c t e d to significantly advance materials science. During his 19 years at Bell Laboratories, Capasso has pioneered new areas of research in electronics and optoelectronics including the techniques known as '~andgap engineering." the latter can create materiaLs having electrical and optical properties that don't exist in nature.
"Capasso's discovery of artifically structured comp o u n d semiconductor materiaLs is as significant to the semiconductor industry as is genetic engineering to biology," said Mark Melliar-Smith, chief technical officer at AT&T Microelectronics. Recently, Capasso and his Bell Labs research team invented a n e w type of device, called the quantum cascade laser. It is the world's first laser that can be tailored to emit light at a specific wavelength over a broad spectrum of wavelengths by controlling the device's layer thickness. In c o n v e n t i o n a l lasers, t h e wavelength is determined by its "natural" chemical properties. Page 12 I
Capasso also has shown h o w n e w semiconductors with manmade properties can be designed for many types of devices, such as low-noise detectors, infrared lases and high-speed transistors, making the commercial production of such devices less expensive. It was achieved by controlling the composition and thickness of ultra-thin layers with atomic precision, using the Bell Labs-invented MBE process. This medal joins a list of other honors Capasso received for his technical a c h i e v e m e n t s . B o r n in Rome, Italy, Capasso joined Bell Labs in 1977. He has b e e n the D e p a r t m e n t at AT&T since 1987. I Vol 9 No 1
S u m i t o m o Electric has s u c c e e d e d in g r o w i n g 15 cm long, high-quality, 6-in diameter Gags crystal ingots using the company's proprietary VCZ (vap o u r pressure controlled Czochralski) technology. The VCZ p r o c e s s involves growing the crystal under an arsenic ambient; the crystal grows under a m u c h lower temperature gradient while suppressing the arsenic disassociation from the crystal surface. T h e s e g r o w t h conditions provide for a crystal with a significantly lower dislocation density and less residual strain than a crystal grown by the conventional LEC method. Sumitomo Electric has also developed associated wafer processing technolog i e s s u c h as s l i c i n g , polishing and cleaning. By c o m b i n i n g t h e s e crystal growth and wafer processing technologies, the company can p r o d u c e a 6-inch wafer with quality comparable to that of a 3- or 4-inch wafer. As the 6-inch wafer has a m u c h larger usable area that the c u r r e n t 3- or 4 - i n c h wafer, t h e r e is a significant cost reduct i o n f o r GaAs d e v i c e manufacturers. Sumitomo Electric foresees that 6-inch diameter GaAs w a f e r s w i l l b e widely used by 1998. In order to m e e t this time frame, the c o m p a n y is evolving these technologies for mass-production.
The n e w VG PlasmaQuad 3 system is the "highest performance quadrupole ICPMS ever built, and the most automated~" claims t h e company. It introduces a range of new features, including a fully automated dual m o d e plasma torch designed to operate in the standard mode for the m a -
jority of elemental determinations, and in a cool plasma mode for the determination of selected elem e n t s ; t h e "S" o p t i o n interface to dramatically increase sensitivity allowing routine determination of sub ppq levels; SuperQ u a n t to a u t o m a t i c a l l y provide accurate, interfer-
6-inch GaAs w a f e r s by Sumitomo
ence-corrected concentrations; and, AutoRange plus, an advanced d e t e c t o r system providing a linear dynamic range of eight orders of magnitude, i n c r e a s e s a c c u r a c y and productivity.
• Contact: Kath Welton, tel~fax: [44] (0) 1625 434343/434335.
Bell Laboratories physicist, Federico Capasso, awarded Materials Science medal at Boston MRS Bell Laboratories physicist Dr Federico Capasso was awarded the Materials Research Society Medal for g r o u n d b r e a k i n g w o r k in engineered semiconductor research and design. World-renowned in the scientific community, this MRS medal h o n o r s outstanding innovations and discoveries that are exp e c t e d to significantly advance materials science. During his 19 years at Bell Laboratories, Capasso has pioneered new areas of research in electronics and optoelectronics including the techniques known as '~andgap engineering." the latter can create materiaLs having electrical and optical properties that don't exist in nature.
"Capasso's discovery of artifically structured comp o u n d semiconductor materiaLs is as significant to the semiconductor industry as is genetic engineering to biology," said Mark Melliar-Smith, chief technical officer at AT&T Microelectronics. Recently, Capasso and his Bell Labs research team invented a n e w type of device, called the quantum cascade laser. It is the world's first laser that can be tailored to emit light at a specific wavelength over a broad spectrum of wavelengths by controlling the device's layer thickness. In c o n v e n t i o n a l lasers, t h e wavelength is determined by its "natural" chemical properties. Page 12 I
Capasso also has shown h o w n e w semiconductors with manmade properties can be designed for many types of devices, such as low-noise detectors, infrared lases and high-speed transistors, making the commercial production of such devices less expensive. It was achieved by controlling the composition and thickness of ultra-thin layers with atomic precision, using the Bell Labs-invented MBE process. This medal joins a list of other honors Capasso received for his technical a c h i e v e m e n t s . B o r n in Rome, Italy, Capasso joined Bell Labs in 1977. He has b e e n the D e p a r t m e n t at AT&T since 1987. I Vol 9 No 1
S u m i t o m o Electric has s u c c e e d e d in g r o w i n g 15 cm long, high-quality, 6-in diameter Gags crystal ingots using the company's proprietary VCZ (vap o u r pressure controlled Czochralski) technology. The VCZ p r o c e s s involves growing the crystal under an arsenic ambient; the crystal grows under a m u c h lower temperature gradient while suppressing the arsenic disassociation from the crystal surface. T h e s e g r o w t h conditions provide for a crystal with a significantly lower dislocation density and less residual strain than a crystal grown by the conventional LEC method. Sumitomo Electric has also developed associated wafer processing technolog i e s s u c h as s l i c i n g , polishing and cleaning. By c o m b i n i n g t h e s e crystal growth and wafer processing technologies, the company can p r o d u c e a 6-inch wafer with quality comparable to that of a 3- or 4-inch wafer. As the 6-inch wafer has a m u c h larger usable area that the c u r r e n t 3- or 4 - i n c h wafer, t h e r e is a significant cost reduct i o n f o r GaAs d e v i c e manufacturers. Sumitomo Electric foresees that 6-inch diameter GaAs w a f e r s w i l l b e widely used by 1998. In order to m e e t this time frame, the c o m p a n y is evolving these technologies for mass-production.