Weight metrology tool keeps wafers honest

A novel nanotechnology weight metrology tool offers atomic layer measurement accuracy and is designed to handle the demands of volume production environments.

Metrology specialist, Metryx has unveiled an innovative nanotechnology weight metrology tool that offers atomic layer measurement accuracy and is designed to handle the demands of volume production environments where only a single 300mm wafer cassette is required.

The wafer handling capabilities of the new stand-alone Metryx Mentor SF3 tool feature a single 300mm front opening unified pod, FOUP, located at 90 degrees to the right of the normal user interface.

The system's robot is contained within a mini-environment and is designed to access either 13 or 25 wafer FOUPs.

The system uses FOUP adapters to meet 200-300mm bridge tool requirements.

Pre-identification of the FOUP adapters by the tool enables seamless handling.

The small-footprint Mentor SF3 tool is capable of throughputs of 60 wafers per hour to enable nanotechnology weight measurement of product, test and blanket wafers independent of substrate size or material.

The Metryx Mentor SF3 tool is designed to monitor changes in process performance and quickly determine whether device manufacture process steps are operating correctly.

The innovative nanotechnology weight measurement system allows process changes to be reliably and accurately determined after deposition, wet or dry etch or CMP processing.

The tool is able to resolve to 10ug (approximately 0.1nm of material thickness).

"Metryx weight metrology offers unique and simple solutions to problems that no other metrology equipment is able to solve", explained Dr Adrian Kiermasz, Vice President, Business Development of Metryx.

"In 300mm production, there are many physical wafer parameters that customers would like to monitor to ensure their production processes perform to specification.

These could be step coverage in thin films to sidewall profiles in etch.

A key point about weight metrology is that if any of these physical wafer parameters have even minor shifts, then this will bring about a mass change.

Metryx is able to measure this change at the atomic level and provide trend monitoring or SPC solutions.

It does this without any interference to the process or wafer.

"The success of weight metrology is self evident in our company's growth and our ability to achieve multiple installations in 300mm volume production fabs worldwide".

The Metryx Mentor SF3 is the latest in a series of nanotechnology weight metrology products specifically designed by Metryx for monitoring critical IC process steps in a variety of device applications, including memory, logic and power components.

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