Multibeam Obtains Funding For Next-Gen E-Beam Lithography
Investors include Onto Innovation, Lam Capital, UMC Capital and MediaTek Capital
By Mark LaPedus
Multibeam Corp., a supplier of multi-column electron-beam lithography systems, has raised $31 million in venture capital funding.
The funding round was led by Onto Innovation and Lam Capital. UMC Capital and MediaTek Capital also participated in the round. Several financial and corporate investors also contributed to the oversubscribed round, alongside existing investors.
Lam Capital is the venture capital arm of Lam Research. UMC Capital is the venture capital arm of UMC. And MediaTek Capital is the venture capital arm of MediaTek.
Based in Santa Clara, Calif., Multibeam will use the proceeds to accelerate the development of its next-generation multi-column e-beam lithography platform for 300mm wafer and panel-level maskless lithography applications.
Who is Multibeam?
David Lam, a long-time semiconductor executive, acquired proprietary e-beam technologies in 2010 and formed Multibeam. Lam is the founder, chief executive and chairman of Multibeam. Lam was also the founder and first chief executive of Lam Research. (David Lam is no longer associated with Lam Research.)
Multibeam recently introduced the MB platform, a multi-column e-beam lithography system built for mass production. Multibeam’s system is used to write patterns on devices without a mask (See Figure 1). This technology is sometimes referred to as direct-write or maskless lithography. Direct-write lithography has several advantages. First, it doesn’t require a costly photomask. Second, it patterns chips with fine resolutions.
Applications for Multibeam’s system include rapid prototyping, quick-turn manufacturing, advanced packaging, chip ID, compound semiconductors, silicon photonics, MEMS and others.
Designed for 150mm, 200mm and 300mm wafers, Multibeam’s lithography system incorporates a 5kV beam energy unit. The system has a >100µm depth of focus with a throughput of 2-25 wafers per hour per writing module.
Basically, the system uses multiple beams to pattern a device, which speeds up the throughput. The main productivity driver is a novel architecture which employs multiple miniature columns that operate individually and in parallel, with a control system directing the beams to achieve maximum accuracy, quality and speed. Throughput is more than 100 times greater than conventional e-beam lithography systems.
Multibeam has installed one of its systems at SkyWater Technology, a U.S.-based foundry vendor. SkyWater is using the system for early concept prototyping and rapid production of chips.
Figure 1. Multibeam’s system Source: company
New funding
Now, Multibeam has obtained a new round of funding, which will be used to accelerate its technology. The funding round was led by Onto Innovation, a supplier of metrology, inspection and other equipment. “For packaging with interconnects below 1µm, we see enormous potential for Multibeam’s direct-write lithography technology to enable denser interconnects between chips cost-effectively,” said Michael Plisinski, chief executive of Onto Innovation.
Lam Capital also participated in the funding round. “Multibeam, with its disruptive, innovative miniaturized design, has developed an e-beam lithography system that has the potential to deliver unparalleled patterning flexibility for emerging chiplet applications at the wafer scale and beyond,” said Audrey Charles, senior vice president of corporate strategy and advanced packaging at Lam Research. Charles is also the president of Lam Capital.
UMC Capital President Kris Peng said: “Multibeam has developed a highly flexible lithography tool capable of patterning fine features across full wafers. This new type of direct-wafer writing system with high resolution, large depth of focus, and wafer-scale field of view, opens the aperture on the type of chips that can be made.”
MediaTek Capital Partner Brian Hsu added: “Multibeam’s system enables rapid time to prototype and time to market. These new capabilities enable agile development of a wide variety of novel and diverse applications.”