Chabot College – Intro to Engr
Al Schoepp
2/13/14
Lam Research Confidential
Outline

Introduction

Industry Overview

Lam Research: Products & Technology

Future Technology Challenges

College Programs Overview

Summary

Q&A
Slide - 2
Lam Research Confidential
Meet the CTO’s Team
Al Schoepp
Senior Technical Director
San Jose, California
Slide - 3

Responsible for the hardware support for technology
investigations, as well as investigating novel chamber
materials and novel hardware designs for future
generations of semiconductor equipment.

Earned his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from
University of Missouri-Rolla and his masters in mechanical
engineering from Stanford University, the emphasis of his
graduate work was in high temperature gas dynamics and
product design.

Has been involved in semiconductor equipment
development for the last 29 years, his first 6 years were
with Watkins-Johnson where he was the chief designer
and architect of the WJ-999 CVD system, then a 4 year stint
at Novellus where he worked on the SPEED product
development , while the last 19 years have been with Lam
Research mainly focused in New Product Development.

Originally from New Athens, Illinois, Al currently resides in
Ben Lomond, California with his wife, Anne and their five
children.

Enjoys weightlifting, playing music, archery, camping,
hunting, making sausage, and building unique items.
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How do I explain to my parents what Lam Research does?
Power Management
NAND Flash
Graphics Engine
Multi-core CPU
Slide - 4
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Wafer Fabrication Equipment
Lam Research manufactures the
equipment that is used
for some of the processes
needed to create semiconductor
integrated circuits (chips)
Slide - 5
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Semiconductor Basics
Pure silicon ingots

What is a Semiconductor?
– Semiconductor = “partial conductor”
• Pure silicon is highly resistive
• Impure silicon can be a conductor
– This tailoring of resistances and materials can be used to make
nanoscopic electronic switches (transistors)
– Transistors can be “wired” together to make useful devices
– Integrated circuits are made on silicon wafers
300 mm Wafer
Single Chip (or Die)
(fingernails grow @ ~1nm/sec)
Slide - 6
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36 nm
© 2004 IEEE (IEDM 2004)
For comparison, the
diameter of a red
blood cell is about
8 µm = 8,000 nm
Single
Transistor
Relative Size of Wafer Fabrication Equipment (WFE) Market
Electronic Equipment
$1,600 Billion
Microprocessors
Major Market Segments
Computing
Automotive
Consumer
Communication
NAND Flash
Semiconductors
$300 Billion
Industrial/Military
Buildings, Computers, and Equipment
DRAM
Capital Spending
$60 Billion
WFE
$30B
Source: Dataquest, Lam Internal
Slide - 7
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Lam Research Customers by Region
Top Three Customers
China
Europe
Japan
Korea
N. America
Singapore
Taiwan
Not all customers are listed
Slide - 8
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Lam Products Introduction
Wafer Fabrication Applications
Hundreds of steps are needed to create an integrated circuit
Cross-Section of a Logic Device
Process Applications:

Ion Implantation
BEOL:

Thermal Processes
Back-End-of-Line
(Interconnect)

Lithography

Etch

Strip

Clean

Deposition

Chemical-Mechanical
Planarization (CMP)

Metrology

Inspection
© 2004 IEEE (IEDM 2004)
FEOL:
Front-End-of-Line
(Transistors)
Individual Transistor
© 2004 IEEE (IEDM 2004)
Slide - 10
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Lam Research
Applications
Lam’s Product Leadership
Installed Base
Support
Etch
Deposition
Strip & Clean
#1 in Conductor
#1 in Copper ECD
#1 in W-CVD
#2 in PECVD
#2 in HDP-CVD
#1 in Dry Strip
#2 in SW Clean
Spares
Productivity Services
Performance Upgrades
Reliant Systems
6% – 8%
of WFE
5% – 6%
of WFE
World-class
customer support
#2 in Dielectric
12% – 14%
of WFE
Silicon &
Industrial Apps
Silfex and
Peter Wolters
Lam Research serves ~26% of total wafer fab equipment market
Source: Leadership positions based on Gartner Dataquest and company data specific to 2012 shares; WFE percentages based on Gartner Dataquest and company data
ECD = electrochemical deposition; CVD = chemical vapor deposition; PECVD = plasma-enhanced CVD; HDP-CVD = high-density plasma CVD; SW = single-wafer
Slide - 11
Lam Research Confidential
Wafer Fabrication Process Steps Example
Incoming
Wafer
Deposition
Lithography
Etch
Photoresist
Put down
the film to
be patterned
Slide - 12
Create the
pattern
mask
Strip
Clean
Remove
photoresist
Remove
residues and
particles
Residues
Selectively
remove film to
define features
Lam Research Confidential
Deposition Processes
Plasma Enhanced
Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD)
Gnd
Showerhead
Supply Gas Mix
Supply Energy
for Reaction
Heat or/and Plasma
Reaction
Wafer
(PECVD)
RF
Gnd
Example: SiH4 + NH3  SiN
Slide - 13
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13
Lam Research Deposition Product Portfolio
ECD
W-PNL/CVD
PECVD
electrochemical deposition
tungsten pulsed nucleation layer/chemical vapor deposition
plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition
SABRE® Product Family
ALTUS® Product Family
VECTOR® Product Family
Gapfill HDP-CVD
Slide - 14
UVTP
high-density plasma chemical vapor deposition
ultraviolet thermal processing
SPEED™ Product Family
SOLA® Product Family
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Future Technology Challenges
Slide - 15
Lam Research Confidential
Transistors per Die
How and Why Did Moore’s Law Happen?
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
9
8
64M
16M
7
4M
1M
6
Pentium III
Pentium II
i7
Atom
i386
i286
4K
8086
1K
3
Duo
i486
64K
16K
4
1G
4G
Pentium
256K
Fairchild IC (1961)
5
256M
128M
512M
2G
4004
8080
100
10
Intel Core i7-980X MPU (2010)
1
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Sources: Gordon Moore, ISSCC 2003 & Intel 2010
Fairchild/Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA
Slide - 16
Lam Research Confidential
Moore’s 1965 Article Predicts Why It Happens?
Source: Gordon E. Moore, Electronics, vol. 39, no. 8 (1965)
Slide - 17
Lam Research Confidential
What if everything followed Moore’s Law…
Moore’s Law Comparison: Semiconductors vs. Automobiles
Year
Speed
Capacity
Cost
Automobile
~200 mph
17 mpg
$8500
Integrated Circuit
8 MHz
(Intel 286)
130,000 transistors
(Intel 286)
$128
(64K DRAM Module)
Integrated Circuit
4 GHz
(Intel Haswell)
1,400,000,000
(Intel Haswell)
$30
(8GB DRAM Module)
“Moore’s Law” Automobile
100,000 mph
180,000 mpg
< $0.02
1983
2013
Slide - 18
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($20,000 in 2013 $)
What if everything followed Moore’s Law…
Moore’s Law Comparison: Semiconductors vs. Automobiles
Year
Speed
Capacity
Cost
Automobile
~200 mph
17 mpg
$8500
Integrated Circuit
8 MHz
(Intel 286)
130,000 transistors
(Intel 286)
$128
(64K DRAM Module)
Integrated Circuit
4 GHz
(Intel Haswell)
1,400,000,000
(Intel Haswell)
$30
(8GB DRAM Module)
“Moore’s Law” Automobile
100,000 mph
180,000 mpg
< $0.02
1983
2013
Slide - 19
Lam Research Confidential
($20,000 in 2013 $)
What if everything followed Moore’s Law…
Moore’s Law Comparison: Semiconductors vs. Automobiles
Year
Speed
Capacity
Cost
Automobile
~200 mph
17 mpg
$8500
Integrated Circuit
8 MHz
(Intel 286)
130,000 transistors
(Intel 286)
$128
(64K DRAM Module)
Integrated Circuit
4 GHz
(Intel Haswell)
1,400,000,000
(Intel Haswell)
$30
(8GB DRAM Module)
“Moore’s Law” Automobile
100,000 mph
180,000 mpg
< $0.02
1983
2013
Drive around the world in 15 minutes …
… on a pint of gas …
Slide - 20
Lam Research Confidential
($20,000 in 2013 $)
… and the car would
cost less than two
cents.
Summary – Semi Industry

Moore’s Law continues to drive the Semiconductor (& Equipment) Industry and enables
today’s and tomorrow’s electronic breakthroughs.

Semiconductor Equipment continues to require technology innovation.
– Must stay 1-2 generations ahead of the device makers.

The challenges are continuing to increase with each new device generation.
– There are a lot of hard problems that need to be solved in the coming years.

A wide variety of technical disciplines are needed to be able to solve these problems:
– Engineering, chemistry, physics, devices (EE), mathematics, materials, flow/transport, RF power,
chamber design, software, operations research, control systems, ergonomics, data analysis, sensors,
…

Lot’s of non-technical disciplines are needed as well:
– Business management, human resources, finance, operations, manufacturing, supply chain,
information technology, investor relations, marketing, …

Lam is a great place to work – full time or as a intern
Slide - 21
Lam Research Confidential
College Programs Overview
Slide - 22
Lam Research Confidential
Mission, Vision, and Core Values
Mission
Lam Research is dedicated to the success of our customers
by being the world-class provider of innovative technology
and productivity solutions to the semiconductor industry
Vision
Core Values

Number one in customer trust

Achievement

Number one in market share

Honesty and integrity

A company where successful people
want to work

Innovation and continuous improvement

Mutual trust and respect

Best-in-class products and services

Open communication

Financial performance to:

Ownership and accountability

Teamwork

Think: customer, company, individual
– Fund the solutions our customers require
– Provide the return our shareholders expect
Slide - 23
Lam Research Confidential
Lam Research

More than 30 years as a major supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the
global semiconductor industry

Locations – 17 Countries Worldwide

Over 6,600 employees worldwide

Lam Research looks for interns, NCGs, MBAs, advanced degrees, and post-doctorates with
the following attributes:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Alignment with Lam’s Core Values
A Relevant Educational Background
Relevant Experience (internship experience)
Technical Capability/Industry/Business Knowledge
Innovation/Creativity
Achievement
Interpersonal Skills/Teamwork
Communication Skills
Project Management
Community Involvement
Leadership Program/Skills
Slide - 24
Lam Research Confidential
College Programs Overview – NCG’s

New College Graduate (NCG) Criteria
– Must be hired within 24 months of graduation
– OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC RECORD (Great GPA)
– Degree in one or more of the following subjects:
• Chemistry (Organic, Inorganic)
• Engineering (Chemical, Computer, Electrical, Industrial, Manufacturing, Mechanical)
• Finance
• Human Resources
• Information Systems
• Management Information Systems
• Marketing
• Materials Science
• Physics
• Plasma Physics
• Software Development and Engineering
• Supply Chain
 NCG 2013 – hired over 100 NCG’s globally
Slide - 25
Lam Research Confidential
College Programs Overview – Internships

Internship Program
– Summer and/or co-op employment for students
– Hands-on business experiences that complement academic studies and prepare for real-world
situations
– Project-based with a focus on learning and development
– $2500 Core Values Scholarship (2 Interns each Summer)
– Keynote Speaker Series, Social Events and Poster Session

Internship Criteria
– Must be currently enrolled in a University program
– Pursuing a B.S., M.S., MBA, or Ph.D. in engineering, science, or
a business related field
– Outstanding academic record

Summer 2013 – hired over 75 Interns in US

College Recruiter: Jennifer Lu

Email: Jennifer.Lu@lamresearch.com for any additional questions
Slide - 26
Lam Research Confidential
Advice from Al

Need to find your own path
– OK to try multiple areas
– Strengthen your weaknesses, but go with your strengths

Absolutely do project courses and get an internship at a company
– Need to validate your assumptions about interests
– Need to have failures…everything works on paper….

Must constantly be learning – even after college
– Problems are very diverse and multi disciplined..
– All of the easy stuff has been done already….

It is a marathon, not a sprint
– Hate the news about “get rich quick” invention…..very rare
– Usually takes years of continuous work to bring solutions/products to market
Slide - 27
Lam Research Confidential
Q&A