Ideas and Innovation Blog

EKC® CuSolve™ 590 remover, an innovative cleaning chemistry for semiconductor fabrication, has been recognized as a finalist in the 2019 R&D 100 Awards, a curated list of the top 100 innovations of the year. 

EKC® CuSolve™ 590 is a first-of-its-kind post-etch residue remover (PERR) used by leading-edge chipmakers to enable reliable copper interconnects at their most advanced technology nodes. These integrated circuits are used in high-performance mobile devices, including advanced 5G-compatible smartphones. EKC® CuSolve™ 590 is one of many offerings from DuPont’s wide range of materials for precision cleaning and surface preparation in semiconductor fabrication processes, including front- and back-end-of-line wafer processes, packaging and assembly.

As DuPont’s customers adopt advanced integration schemes at the 7nm and 5nm technology nodes, there are new compatibility requirements. EKC® CuSolve™ 590 remover is a new chemistry designed to meet those requirements, and it efficiently eliminates residues left after the etching process, while also preparing the surface for subsequent steps. For chip fabricators, it can reduce complexity and process time, and increase product throughput and yield.

“Our customers are pushing boundaries when it comes to the speed, reliability and performance of today’s semiconductor chips,” said Hua Cui, Research Fellow, DuPont Electronics & Imaging. “EKC 590 is one of many product examples that are helping make production possible for the chips that will go into devices for cutting-edge applications such as 5G connectivity, high-speed computing, artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles.”

EKC® CuSolve™ 590 was one of four DuPont innovations that were honored as runners-up for the awards, along with two products from the Hytrel® family used in automotive applications and Zytel® fiber-reinforced filaments for 3D printing. Two DuPont products were named R&D 100 Award winners: GREAT STUFF™ SMART DISPENSER™ for air sealing and Crastin® thermally conductive and emissive PBT resin for heatsink applications, including high-power LED housing.

The 2019 R&D 100 Awards, presented by R&D World magazine and its new parent company, WTWH Media, LLC, were chosen by a judging panel of more than 40 industry professionals. Widely recognized as the “Oscars of Invention,” the R&D 100 Awards identify and celebrate the top technology products and services of the year.