Tokyo Electron and Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo Develop a Recycling Process for Discarded Ruthenium Precursors
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Tokyo, - Tokyo Electron Limited and Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K.(1) announce the successful development of a recycling process for ruthenium precursors (CVD-ruthenium material) used in next generation semiconductor miniaturization technology.
Ruthenium precursors which are disposed of without being collected as valuable resources can now be collected, refined, and re-used without returning them to ruthenium metal. Tokyo Electron Limited developed the recovery system which collects residue of the ruthenium-CVD precursor not deposited on the wafer, and Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K. developed the process to refine and re-use the collected ruthenium precursors.
In semiconductor fabrication there are challenges to scaling, such as improving the copper filling performance in a narrow interconnect. Tokyo Electron has proposed an improvement in copper filling performance by utilizing a ruthenium liner film with excellent adhesion and lower resistivity.
With the goal of lowering overall cost and ensuring a stable supply of ruthenium precursors, Tokyo Electron and Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo agreed to jointly develop the recycling process. The process will save almost 20% of ruthenium precursor cost and significantly lower the CoC(2) of the CVD-ruthenium process. Further, an almost 30% reduction in CO2 emissions is expected utilizing the new recycling process.
About Ruthenium
Ruthenium is produced primarily in South Africa and is found in platinum ore in amounts of about 10-20%. The annual output of ruthenium worldwide is approximately 30 tons. It is estimated that ruthenium reserve quantities are nearly 6,000 tons.
Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo is engaged in business with the mining company Anglo Platinum Inc., which has over 40 percent of world market share in the PGM(3) metals.
Atomic Number: 44
Melting Point: 2,250 degrees Celsius
Resistivity: 7.6 micro ohm cm
- Ru Oxide is electroconductive.
Lattice parameter: Ru(002) 2.14 angstrom
- near Cu, Cu(111) 2.09 angstrom
Chemical stability: - No dissolution in the plating bath.
- Neither diffusion nor the alloy are in Cu.
For details of this release, please see: pdf.japancorp.net/english/clientreports/4294/TanakaMetals.pdf .
Explanation of terms
(1) Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K.: The core company conducting manufacturing operations in the Tanaka Precious Metals Group, which has TANAKA HOLDINGS Co., Ltd. as its holding company
(2) CoC: Cost of Consumable
(3) PGM(Platinum Group Metals): Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium, Iridium, Ruthenium, Osmium
About Tokyo Electron Limited
Head quarters: Akasaka Biz Tower 5-3-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Established: 1963
Capital: 54,961 mil yen (as of April 1, 2010)
Consolidated sales: 418 bil yen (FY 2009)
Employees: 1,127 (as of Oct 1, 2010)
Rep. Director, President: Hiroshi Takenaka
Activities: Semiconductor Production Equipment, Flat Panel Display Production Equipment, Photovoltaic Production Equipment, Electronic Components and Computer Networks
Website: www.tel.co.jp
About Tanaka Holdings Co., Ltd. (Holding company of Tanaka Precious Metals)
Headquarters: 22F, Tokyo Building, 2-7-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Hideya Okamoto, President & CEO
Founded: 1885
Incorporated: 1918
Capital: 500 million yen
Consilidated employees: 3441(FY2009)
Consilidated net sales: 710.2 billion yen(FY2009)
Main group businesses: Manufacture, sales, import and export of precious metals (platinum, gold, silver, and others) and various types of industrial precious metals products. Recycling and refining of precious metals.
Website: www.tanaka.co.jp
About Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K.
Headquarters: 22F, Tokyo Building, 2-7-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Hideya Okamoto, President & CEO
Founded: 1885
Incorporated: 1918
Capital: 500 million yen
Employees: 1,599 (as of March 2010)
Sales: 388.8 billion yen (March 2010)
Businesses: Manufacture, sales, import and export of precious metals (platinum, gold, silver, and others) and various types of industrial precious metals products. Recycling and refining of precious metals.
Website: pro.tanaka.co.jp
About Tokyo Electron
Tokyo Electron Limited (TSE: 8035) lies at the core of the Tokyo Electron Group, one of the world's top manufacturers of semiconductor production equipment, LCD production equipment, computer systems and electronic components. In 1963, a group of young and innovative entrepreneurs established TEL, the first company to introduce American semiconductor production equipment and integrated circuit (IC) testers to Japan. Since then, the company has grown to encompass nearly 80 offices in 16 countries that engineer, manufacture, sell, and service wafer-processing or semiconductor production equipment (SPE), as well as flat panel display (FPD) equipment. As the world market share leader in several product lines, TEL plays a key role in the evolving global semiconductor industry.
About Tanaka Precious Metals
Established in 1885, the Tanaka Precious Metals has built a diversified range of business activities focused on the use of precious metals. On April 1, 2010, the group was reorganized with Tanaka Holdings Co., Ltd. as the holding company (parent company) of the Tanaka Precious Metals. In addition to strengthening corporate governance, the company aims to improve overall service to customers by ensuring efficient management and dynamic execution of operations. Tanaka Precious Metals is committed, as a specialist corporate entity, to providing a diverse range of products through cooperation among group companies.
Tanaka Precious Metals is in the top class in Japan in terms of the volume of precious metal handled, and for many years the group has developed and stably supplied industrial precious metals, in addition to providing accessories and savings commodities utilizing precious metals. As precious metal professionals, the Group will continue to contribute to enriching people's lives in the future.
The eight core companies in the Tanaka Precious Metals are as follows.
- Tanaka Holdings Co., Ltd. (pure holding company)
- Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K.
- Tanaka Kikinzoku Hanbai K.K.
- Tanaka Kikinzoku International K.K.
- Tanaka Denshi Kogyo K.K.
- Electroplating Engineers of Japan, Limited
- Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry K.K.
- Tanaka Kikinzoku Business Service K.K.
Contact:
Tokyo Electron Limited
Takahiro Nozaki
Corporate Communication Dept.
Tel: +81-3-5561-7004
Tanaka Kikinzoku International K.K.(TKI)
E-mail: tki-contact@ml.tanaka.co.jp
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