Silicon Saxony gets €12millon nano funding

AMD, Carl Zeiss SMT and DRAM outfit Qimonda are launching a joint nanoanalysis research project helped by a $17.5 million (12 million Euro) grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The companies aim to create improved semiconductor analysis and metrology technology.

At the new Carl Zeiss Innovation Centre in Dresden, ultra high resolution particle beam systems using electron and ion beams instead of light will allow the imaging, analysis and processing of samples down to the atomic level. The aim is to enhance the ability to study 3-D semiconductor structures and to develop new materials for use in chip fabrication.

"Process control at an atomic level plays a key role… in the introduction of new technologies," says veep of AMD's Fab 36, Udo Nothelfer. "We [now] have access to leading edge electron and ion microscopes and believe we can accelerate the introduction of new technologies."

In related news, Sony has announced its withdrawal from a joint venture with IBM and Toshiba to research sub-32nm semiconductor research. Last month, the company announced the sale of its production facilities for making Cell microprocessors and RSX graphic chips, used in the PlayStation 3. µ

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