Molecular Imprints Awarded Contract to Provide Advanced Lithography Equipment and Wafer Patterning Services in Support of the Global 450mm Consortium (G450c) Initiative

AUSTIN, Texas, November 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Molecular Imprints Receives Order for the First 450mm Lithography System from Leading IC Manufacturer

Molecular Imprints, Inc., the market and technology leader for nanopatterning systems and solutions, today announced it has been awarded a contract by a leading IC manufacturer to build the industry's first 450mm capable lithography system.  This purchase includes a multi-year wafer patterning services contract and the option for additional 450mm nanoimprint systems.  The company's proprietary Jet and Flash™ Imprint Lithography (J-FIL™) technology and the commercial availability of high quality imprint masks were deciding factors in selecting Molecular Imprints to serve as a keystone for the industry's transition to 450mm wafers.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100504/MILOGO )

"The semiconductor equipment and manufacturer supply chain must have early access to high quality, fully patterned 450mm wafers in order to develop and optimize their products and processes in time for this transition.  In addition to the larger substrate size, increasingly small device features on the wafer must reach far enough into the future to be useful as an OEM and process development tool," said Mark Melliar-Smith, President and CEO of Molecular Imprints.  "Our J-FIL™ technology is the only lithographic solution available today that can meet the broad requirements of the industry's 450mm transition.  We look forward to leveraging our capabilities to enable a timely 450mm transition at the required design rules."

With optical 193i lithography already forced to adopt complex multiple patterning schemes to fabricate today's semiconductors and EUV's elusive readiness it is no surprise that MII's J-FIL technology has been called upon to start the 450mm transition.  J-FIL has demonstrated 24nm patterning with exceptional line edge roughness (<2nm LER, 3 sigma) and critical dimension uniformity (1.2nm CDU, 3 sigma) with extensibility beyond sub-18nm using a simple single patterning step process.  J-FIL's inherent cost of ownership advantages achieved by avoiding power hungry x-ray light sources, complex optical lenses and mirrors, and yet to be developed ultrasensitive photoresists, make it well aligned with the underlying productivity motive of the 450mm initiative.  

As part of this 450mm contract award Molecular Imprints will provide the lithography system and subsequent wafer services beginning the second half of next year.   The five year wafer services agreement calls for thousands of 450mm fully patterned wafers to be delivered to the G450C consortium with an option to buy additional J-FIL imprint systems as required.

About Molecular Imprints, Inc.

Molecular Imprints, Inc. (MII) is the technology leader for high-resolution, low cost-of-ownership nanopatterning systems and solutions in the semiconductor and hard disk drive (HDD) industries.  MII is leveraging its innovative Jet and Flash™ Imprint Lithography (J-FIL™) technology with IntelliJet™ material application to become the worldwide market and technology leader in high-volume patterning solutions for storage and memory devices, while enabling emerging markets in display, clean energy, biotechnology and other industries.  MII enables nanoscale patterning by delivering a comprehensive nanopatterning solution that is affordable, compatible and extendible to sub-10-nanometer resolution levels.  For more information or to follow us on twitter, visit http://www.molecularimprints.com

Corporate PR Contact
Paul Hofemann
Molecular Imprints, Inc.
+1-512-339-7760 X311
phofemann@molecularimprints.com