DuPont Ikonic 9000 CMP Pads Win 2025 Edison Award

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DuPont announced that its Ikonic™ 9000 series of polishing pads for chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) was awarded a 2025 Bronze Edison Award™ in the AI-driven advancements category.

The Ikonic™ 9000 CMP pad series is a new expansion to DuPont’s Ikonic™ CMP product family, developed to enhance productivity and sustainability in semiconductor manufacturing processes for advanced chips. Ikonic™ 9000 pads have been recognized alongside other semiconductor innovations for AI and high-performance computing.

“Customers frequently turn to DuPont to tackle their next-generation technology challenges through advanced semiconductor materials,” said Sang Ho Kang, Vice President and General Manager, DuPont Semiconductor Technologies. “The development of Ikonic™ 9000 series pads is a successful outcome from addressing two critical needs for advanced node manufacturing—enhanced performance and more sustainable operations.”

Ikonic™ 9000 pads offer a high removal rate in CMP that leads to increased process throughput, and an advanced groove design aimed at maximizing slurry efficiency. At advanced fabrication nodes for chips supporting AI and high-performance computing, increased process complexity makes CMP efficiency especially important.

Additionally, the pads exhibit a longer operational life due to low wear rates, allowing for less frequent replacements and reduced downtime, optimizing production workflows. These features not only improve productivity, but also minimize waste, creating a more sustainable solution for semiconductor fabs.

“We are excited to see such a strong industry response to the launch of Ikonic™ 9000 pads, because they represent the start of a new wave of CMP innovation for performance, efficiency and sustainability,” said Randal King, Ph.D., Vice President of R&D/Technology, DuPont Electronics & Industrial. “DuPont is proud to be driving innovation across multiple new CMP pad and subpad families, and we look forward to launching more next-generation CMP pads to support advanced computing and AI.”

The Edison Awards™ is an annual competition honoring excellence in new product and service development, marketing, human-centered design, and innovation. Winners were selected from thousands of submissions and announced at the Edison Awards Gala in Fort Myers, Florida on Thursday, April 3, 2025.

Ikonic™ 9000 series CMP pads have been successfully placed at advanced technology nodes. Customers interested in learning more about Ikonic™ 9000 CMP pads or other opportunities to drive sustainability enhancements in their CMP processes should contact their DuPont account manager.