Merck KGaA : presents next-generation lithography and patterning solutions at SPIE 2015

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Darmstadt, Germany, February 18, 2015 - Merck, a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials, joins SPIE Advanced Lithography 2015, as a result of the acquisition of AZ Electronic Materials, a key lithography and patterning materials supplier and the participant of SPIE for over 30 years. Merck will present at SPIE 2015 the latest developments in patterning technologies on directed self-assembly (DSA), spin-on metal oxide hardmasks (MHM), and chemical shrink materials for the advanced technology nodes. These innovative imaging materials enable the development of the most advanced integrated circuits and microelectronics technologies, many of which are found in next generation consumer electronic devices, such as smartphones or tablet computers.

Merck KGaA

Group Communications Performance Materials Phone: +886 2-2162-1111 od.1561

Frankfurter Strasse 250 Fax: +886-2-8751-1909

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Darmstadt E-Mail: pm_communications@merckgroup.com www.merckgroup.comwww.merck-pm.com

Rico Wiedenbruch, Head of Merck's Integrated Circuit Materials Business Unit, explains the benefits of the acquisition, "With AZ and Merck joining forces, two leading companies in the global electronics materials industry are now sharing know-how and resources. This is great news for our customers as they will benefit from substantially strengthened R&D capabilities, a broader product and solution portfolio, and of course a significantly increased network of experts collaborating to deliver state-of-the-art technologies".

Merck champions in many innovative patterning technologies for semiconductor industry as key solutions to meet future technology nodes.
"Merck's state of the art technology offers solutions to the challenges of shrinkage trends for future nodes, which includes pitch scaling in lithography and 3D structures in devices. In terms of lithography materials, Merck has leading DSA technology which enables patterning for 7nm logic and 1xnm DRAM device technology nodes and beyond. Our chemical shrink material enables finer imaging with good pattern quality and wider process margin. Merck's metal hardmask materials (MHM) offer value by simplifying the manufacturing process of advanced device structures", states Shinji Tarutani, Head of R&D Lithography for Integrated Circuit Materials at Merck.
At SPIE 2015, Merck will unveil new process flows and materials for advanced patterning in extreme ultra-violet (EUV) lithography and directed self-assembly (DSA), which help enable future imaging requirements. Partnering with leading material research centers, Integrated Circuit (IC) equipment and device manufacturing companies, and a major industry consortium, Merck is the leading material and process know how provider for DSA, a novel technology that offers a very significant reduction in cost-of-ownership compared with existing patterning techniques.
Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) is another emerging and developing lithography approach for improvement in imaging capabilities. Merck's EUV resist roughness controller (ERC) is an innovative concept that can improve resist Line Edge Roughness (LER) by about
15%. This material also works with ArF resists.

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Merck's novel spin-on metal oxide hardmasks (MHM) are highly etch resistant and easily removed to simplify next-generation pattern transfer applications, resulting in more efficient and cost-effective process flows compared to traditional methods. This innovative platform can be used as a sacrificial filling material, for reflectivity control, or as a permanent layer, depending on the device and integration requirements.
Merck is the market leader for chemical shrink solutions. This key enabling technology can extend 193 nm lithography to substantially lower feature sizes without investing in new scanner technology.
SPIE Advanced Lithography 2015, the premier conference for the global lithography community, will be held in San Jose, California, United States, February 22 - 26, 2015. Merck's experts will explain the major advances in patterning materials with various presentations throughout the five days conference. Special topics on the latest DSA advancements will be reported in a total of eight presentations during the upcoming SPIE proceedings, such as DSA defectivity, LER/LWR, templated DSA, chemoepitaxy DSA, high chi DSA, novel block-co-polymers and DSA integration.

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Merck is a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials. The company comprises six businesses - Merck Serono, Consumer Health, Allergopharma, Biosimilars, Merck Millipore and Performance Materials - and generated total revenues of €

11.1 billion in 2013. Around 39,000 Merck employees work in 66 countries to improve the quality of life for

patients, to further the success of customers and to help meet global challenges. Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company - since 1668, the company has stood for innovation, business success and responsible entrepreneurship. Holding an approximately 70% interest, the founding family remains the majority owner of the company to this day. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are Canada and the United States, where the company operates under the brands EMD Serono, EMD Millipore and EMD Performance Materials.

In 2014, Merck completed the acquisition of AZ Electronic Materials into its Performance Materials business sector, making it a leading solutions provider in the premium segment of high-tech materials and functional specialty chemicals. AZ now operates as a product brand under the Merck branding umbrella. AZ materials are widely used in integrated circuits and devices, flat panel displays, and light-emitting diodes.

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