Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94550

A -- LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY SEEKS PARTNERSHIPS WITH INDUSTRY TO COMMERCIALIZE AND MARKET COPPER ELECTROCHEMICAL PLANARIZATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR ELECTRONIC PACKAGING AND ULSI CIRCUITRY POC For Further information, contact Industrial Partnerships & Commercialization, at (510) 423-3139. Announcement. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), operated by the University of California under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is seeking U.S. companies interested in licensing or participating in a cooperative research and development agreement to commercialize LLNL Copper Electrochemical Planarization Technologies developed for Electronic Packaging and ULSI Circuitry. We have developed an electrochemical planarization process that fills vias and trenches with copper (without voids) and subsequently planarizes the surface. Blanket electroplating completely fills the patterns and partially planarizes the surface. Electropolishing further planarizes the surface down to a thin metal layer. Finally, a special wet etch process removes the remaining field metal, leaving behind embedded conductors. The process can be repeated as necessary for multilevel metallization. The process has significant advantages over the conventional chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) planarization process: Endpoint determination can be done visually (in-situ), by measuring the charge passed, by current, or by time. No slurries or pads touch the sample. The dielectric layer remains completely intact. The parnerships will be coordinated through Industrial Partnerships and Commercialization at LLNL. Moving critical technology beyond the Laboratory to the commercial world helps our U.S. licensees gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. The University of California's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory can license technology through exclusive or non-exclusive licensing agreements, as appropriate. Cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) are structured to offer partner companies the opportunity to license LLNL technologies at the end of the project. All projects are conducted under policies relating to the strict nondisclosure of company proprietary information. NOTE: THIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT. If you are interested in working with LLNL on commercializing Copper Electrochemical Planarization Technologies for Electronic Packaging and ULSI Circuitry, please respond in writing within 45 days of this announcement. Note that any or all or the portions of this technology (electroplating, electropolishing, or seed layer removal) can be licensed or developed in to a CRADA. Provide a short (two page maximum) description of company history, experience in the field, present position in the market, and ability to commercialize the results of this joint effort. (156)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0007 19950606\A-0007.SOL)