Next-Generation Etch Chemistry for the AI Era: Performance & Sustainability Enabled by Merck’s End-to-End Innovation

The semiconductor industry is entering a new era defined by unprecedented structural complexity, AI-centric computing, high-bandwidth memory, three-dimensional integration, and sub-nanometer transistor architectures. 
As device structures evolve toward deeper, narrower, and more intricate patterns, plasma etching has become one of the most critical levers for scaling, energy efficiency, and yield stability. 

Meeting these advanced requirements today demands co-innovation across both etch hardware and process-gas chemistry. 
Controlling vertical and lateral profiles under extreme aspect ratios, managing selectivity across increasingly sophisticated hard-mask stacks, and enabling emerging techniques such as cryogenic etching all place novel etch-gas chemistry at the center of next-generation process development. 

At the same time, the global drive toward net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions has intensified the focus on process gases—one of the most significant contributors to Scope-1 emissions in semiconductor fabs. 
Traditional fluorocarbon chemistries like CF₄ and C₄F₈, while effective, exhibit long atmospheric lifetimes and high global-warming potential, underscoring the need for high-performance yet environmentally responsible alternatives. 

Merck Electronics is addressing this dual challenge of performance and sustainability through a fully integrated, end-to-end innovation platform that connects: 

• new-molecule design and synthesis,
• application-driven plasma & profile analytics (including cryogenic and 300-mm etching), and
• scalable manufacturing for high-volume deployment. 

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This platform is reinforced by computational modeling, data-driven screening, and advanced in-plasma diagnostics, enabling faster learning cycles and more targeted development of novel chemistries. 

Through this approach, Merck has developed next-generation etch gases that deliver improved profile fidelity, selectivity, and cryogenic-process stability, meeting the stringent requirements of advanced memory and logic devices. 
In parallel, Merck has introduced low-GWP, more readily degradable chemistries that provide substantial reductions in post-chamber emissions and align with global PFAS and HFC phase-down initiatives, all while maintaining the profile-control and side-wall protection required for leading-edge patterning. 

Merck’s leadership stems from the seamless integration of world-class synthetic chemistry, application-oriented plasma analytics, scalable manufacturing infrastructure, and close collaboration with customers and equipment partners. 
By linking molecular-level insight with plasma-process outcomes, Merck enables the industry to move beyond the limits of hardware-only advances and deliver robust, sustainable etch solutions for future device generations. 

This presentation will highlight how a deep understanding of molecular structure — from bond configurations to energy thresholds — guides the rational design of advanced etchants, enabling both high-precision manufacturing performance and meaningful reductions in environmental impact in the era of AI-driven, ultra-complex semiconductor architectures.