Scaling 3D Chips With Molybdenum-Based Metallization

PDF | 8 Pages

Overview

The semiconductor industry is at an inflection point. With over 1 trillion chips produced in 2024, the pressure to scale advanced memory and logic devices is intensifying. Traditional materials like tungsten, long used in chip metallization, are no longer sufficient for the demands of next-generation 3D architectures such as NAND.

This whitepaper by Counterpoint Research, in collaboration with Lam Research, explores molybdenum (Mo) as a breakthrough replacement in the metallization process. Offering lower resistivity, barrierless deposition, and enhanced scalability, molybdenum unlocks significant performance and efficiency gains.

At the forefront of this shift is Lam Research’s ALTUS® Halo, an industry-first deposition tool that enables molybdenum integration at scale by overcoming long-standing technical challenges. With improved throughput, precision, and compatibility, ALTUS Halo positions Lam as a key enabler of the future of semiconductor manufacturing.

Explore how molybdenum and Lam Research’s innovation are setting the stage for the next era of chip performance and production efficiency.

Introduction 2
The Semiconductor Manufacturing Process And Metals 3
- Seven Key Stages In Semiconductor Manufacturing 3
Why Molybdenum? 3
- Resistance Comparison 4
- Metallization Inflection Required Across Device Types 5
Why Hasn’t Molybdenum Been Introduced in the Metallization Process So Far? 5
- Solid Precursor Delivery 5
- In-Feature Deposition 5
- Engineered Low Resistance 5
ALTUS® Halo From Lam Research Represents Important Milestone Introducing Molybdenum in the Metallization Process At Scale 6
Summary & Conclusions 6