Novellus and IBM have declared partnership to merge their technologies and develop manufacturing processes for semiconductor manufacturing 3D slices called TSV.

Technologies Novellus
Through Silicon Via means a vertical electrical connection through the die completely. It is a fundamental technology for creating 3D package. Novellus will provide expertise in electroplating, a process that can make a metallic substance from a liquid on the surface of a material through a continuous electrical current. This is not without recalling the principle of electrolysis, which is based on this technology.

IBM will also advantage licenses Novellus on backwardation chemical vapor plasma. This process permits the deposition of a film on a substrate from a gas will move to solid state chemical reaction happening after the making of plasma from the gas reactor.

IBM to search for 3D
The 3D architectures are just the Holy Grail of founders who hope to continue to raise the number of transistors in a package without having to spend large sums to raise the fine print. More and more scientists to cry as physical limits such procedure and if they are still far, the fears are real.

With this partnership, IBM therefore hopes to advance research in this field, and more specifically, reduce excessive copper deposits in order to obtain a homogeneous surface facilitating the superposition of dies. Big Blue believes that Novellus technologies on chemical deposition of metals and justify a partnership. It must be said that both companies had been united in the 90s and they know so well. It remains now to see when we can finally talk about marketing.