Dr. Luc Van den hove (President & CEO, Imec) and Dr. Sang-il Park (Chairman & CEO, Park Systems)
Park Systems, the global leader and innovator of Atomic Force Microscopy and Metrology solutions, and imec, world-leading R&D and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, have signed the 2nd Joint Development Project (JDP) within 4 years to increase the development efforts for future generation in-line AFM metrology solutions. The official signing ceremony has taken place February 17, 2020, at imec's headquarters in Leuven, Belgium.
The new JDP extends the collaboration to explore new frontiers of AFM metrology solutions for the wafer semiconductor sector. As enhanced possibilities of inline automated AFM in semiconductor research, such as surface roughness, critical dimension (CD) and sidewall roughness, have been successfully explored in the first JDP, the second JDP targets multiple strategic developments to address the current metrological challenges of continuously downscaling the geometrical dimensions of devices and 3D assembly stacking.
"Collaboration with leading research centers such as imec is crucial for us to deliver the best technological solutions addressing the needs of research and industrial markets. I am very glad to partner with imec on this mission again, and I look forward to a fruitful further cooperation," commented Dr. Sang-il Park, the CEO of Park Systems.
"Park Systems has grown a lot in the past years, which is definitely helpful also for our joint development efforts with Park. The new joint development project that we have just signed showcases the best and beautiful collaboration we have together," added Kristof Paredis, R&D Manager from imec.
After signing the first JDP in 2015 Park Systems officially joined imec's Industrial Affiliation Program (IIAP) and became a member of IIAP. Ever since then, the interdisciplinary team of Park's and imec's researchers and engineers follow the goal to develop new protocols designed to increase production yield and device performance for the semiconductor industry. With a strong focus on practical problem-solving applications of the new JDP, the partners aim to deliver innovative 3D-Metrology features for market challenges of ever smaller semiconductor devices.
About Park Systems
Park Systems is a world-leading manufacturer of atomic force microscopy (AFM) systems with a complete range of products for researchers and industry engineers in the chemistry, materials, physics, life sciences, and semiconductor and data storage industries. Park's products are used by more than a thousand institutions and corporations worldwide. Park's AFM provides the highest data accuracy at nanoscale resolution, superior productivity, and the lowest operating cost, thanks to its unique technology and innovative engineering. Park Systems, Inc. is headquartered in Santa Clara, California with its global manufacturing and R&D headquarters in Korea. Park's products are sold and supported worldwide with regional headquarters in the US, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Germany, China and Mexico, and distribution partners throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Please visit http://www.parksystems.com for more information.