Lam’s India engineers build complex chip fab machines
TNN | Oct 6, 2021, 07.59 AM IST
Lam Research may not be as known in the semiconductor sector as those like Intel, AMD or Samsung. But the capital equipment that it provides to chip fabrication facilities enable the manufacture of some of the most advanced semiconductors. “We’re probably the world’s most underappreciated company responsible for critical output,” says Rangesh Raghavan, corporate VP and general manager at Lam Research India.
Lam Research has a large presence in India, with over half of the R&D resources of the company based out of its offices here. So the work done out of India has a huge impact on the firm’s capabilities. The research done here is what allows the machines used to make the world’s chips run. Lam is also building a new state-of-the-art lab in Bengaluru which should be ready by the middle of next year and which will more than double its footprint.
“On the software side, some of the engineering work that our people do here is actually very sophisticated. They enable precision control in our machines. The machines are extremely expensive and therefore have to run flawlessly,” says Raghavan.
Here, one of the responsibilities Lam’s India team had was to develop a new product that would enable deposition of a low resistivity film for 3D NAND applications. “The team was responsible for the design, development, and integration of the key mechanical, electrical, and software systems for this module. This equipment’s stateof-the-art gas distribution and delivery technology were critical to the success of the application. The topnotch design ensured a high-quality product developed in record time, keeping up with our customer expectations,” says Raghavan. In order to develop the product, the team needed to have experts in the fields of systems integration, fluid and gas delivery, electrical distribution and controls, and thermal competencies.
Lam Research has a large presence in India, with over half of the R&D resources of the company based out of its offices here. So the work done out of India has a huge impact on the firm’s capabilities. The research done here is what allows the machines used to make the world’s chips run. Lam is also building a new state-of-the-art lab in Bengaluru which should be ready by the middle of next year and which will more than double its footprint.
“On the software side, some of the engineering work that our people do here is actually very sophisticated. They enable precision control in our machines. The machines are extremely expensive and therefore have to run flawlessly,” says Raghavan.
Raghavan says one of the product groups the India centre is best known for is the one involved in deposition systems. “A major shift that has occurred in the semiconductor industry is the switch from 2D architecture to 3D. Instead of just shrinking everything (like transistors), we can fit more by building vertically (stacking dies on top of each other and interconnecting them). This vertical flip has particularly played to Lam’s strengths because our core technologies are able to deposit and pattern the films correctly,” he says.
Here, one of the responsibilities Lam’s India team had was to develop a new product that would enable deposition of a low resistivity film for 3D NAND applications. “The team was responsible for the design, development, and integration of the key mechanical, electrical, and software systems for this module. This equipment’s stateof-the-art gas distribution and delivery technology were critical to the success of the application. The topnotch design ensured a high-quality product developed in record time, keeping up with our customer expectations,” says Raghavan. In order to develop the product, the team needed to have experts in the fields of systems integration, fluid and gas delivery, electrical distribution and controls, and thermal competencies.
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