Novellus announced its Tualatin, Oregon “copper campus” on May 9, 2002. The 382,000-square-foot facility, built on a 58-acre site, doubled manufacturing capacity for two plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) product families and added research and development space for its SABRE copper-electrofill technology.
What the Tualatin copper campus was
The campus brought semiconductor-equipment manufacturing and process-development work together at a new Novellus site in the greater Portland area. The company designed the facility for equipment used in copper metallization and damascene dielectric deposition—two parts of making the conductive wiring and insulating layers inside integrated circuits. Novellus announced the campus on May 9, 2002, describing it as a 382,000-square-foot facility on 58 acres. Novellus’s announcement
How the expansion changed production and development
The expansion was not simply a larger assembly building. It served two equipment businesses with different roles: PECVD tools for depositing films and SABRE tools for copper electrofill. Novellus said the added facility doubled manufacturing capacity for the VECTOR and SEQUEL Express PECVD product families, while expanding R&D space for SABRE Electrofill. Novellus’s announcement
| Product or capability | Role at the campus | Reported change |
|---|---|---|
| VECTOR and SEQUEL Express | PECVD equipment used for dielectric-film deposition | Manufacturing capacity doubled, according to Novellus’s May 9, 2002 announcement. |
| SABRE Electrofill | Copper electrofill equipment | Additional research and development space; the announcement does not state a capacity increase for SABRE manufacturing. |
Cleanroom and laboratory layout
EDN’s contemporaneous account described cleanroom areas arranged for distinct tasks: Class 1000 space for system assembly, Class 100 space for system testing, and a Class 10 applications laboratory. These classifications indicate controlled particle levels, with lower class numbers denoting more stringent cleanliness requirements. EDN’s report
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
#1 Best Overall
Why copper interconnects mattered
At the time, chipmakers were moving from aluminum toward copper for on-chip wiring. Copper’s lower electrical resistance can reduce losses as signals travel through interconnects, but adopting it required manufacturing processes that could integrate copper with low-k dielectric insulating films. One approach was dual damascene, in which trenches and vias are formed in dielectric material and then filled with metal.
Novellus presented the campus as a way to advance integrated copper dual-damascene processes for future high-productivity integrated circuits. The company’s executive vice president for the deposition business group, Jeff Benzing, said in the announcement that substantial process work remained to fully harness copper interconnects’ benefits. Novellus’s announcement
Lam Research’s later account of the company’s Oregon history says Novellus’s work led to SABRE, described as the first copper-plating product, and says copper wiring helped enable faster, smaller, more energy-efficient chips. Lam Research’s Oregon history
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the Oregon location still matters
The 2002 campus is part of a longer semiconductor-equipment presence in the Portland area. Oregon remains a significant location for the industry: the Governor’s Office said a Lam Research Tualatin expansion announced in 2026 was expected to create more than 400 direct high-wage jobs and support thousands of indirect jobs. That is a separate, later project—not a measure of the Novellus campus’s employment or output. Oregon Governor’s Office
Recommended Free Tools
Quick Recap
Best Value
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
