MICROCHIP RESEARCH:
Speeding up microchips

James Crivello, professor of chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has developed and patented a new insulating material that has the potential to double the processing speed of microchips.

Crivello has developed a process for making pure multifunctional epoxy siloxane resins, which are considered to be the next-generation insulator for a range of micro- and optoelectronic applications. Silicon dioxide, the material now used on most chips, has a dielectric constant of
about 4. The lower the number, the faster the computer signals will transmit through the
material.

Some companies have already begun to manufacture chips using a dielectric constant of 2.8. A strong market exists for a material with a value of around 2.2.

“But given the high cost and high risks involved in semiconductor manufacturing, industry will not be willing to use any new low-k material until it has been demonstrated to be reliable and practical for manufacturing,” says Toh-Ming Lu, the Ray Palmer Baker Distinguished Professor of Physics and director of Rensselaer’s Center for Advanced Interconnect Science and Technology (CAIST). Lu is principal investigator and manager of the project.

New York state recently awarded Rensselaer $300,000 to evaluate the novel resins for use as interlayer dielectrics in all integrated circuit applications, such as insulators in microelectronics packaging, and as waveguides in optoelectronics on a chip, in a package, or in optical communication. The money is part of $1 million in awards to four institutions through the New York State Office of Science, Technology, and Academic Research (NYSTAR) Technology Transfer Incentive Program.

Rensselaer issued a license to the Polyset Company in Mechanicville, N.Y., to manufacture and market the resins. The company, along with other resources, will provide an additional $300,000 in funding for a total of $600,000 for the two-year project.

CONTACT: Theresa Bourgeois, (518) 276-2840, bourgt@rpi.edu