Mass metrology proves popular with chip makers

Metryx has received orders from three new customers for its innovative mass metrology Mentor technology.

Metryx has received orders from three new customers for its innovative mass metrology Mentor technology.

The tools will be deployed in volume production environments to provide process control for a variety of applications.

The orders were received from three different semiconductor manufacturers, one each from Asia, Europe and North America.

All three placed orders for Mentor SF3 tools, which are capable of measuring errors in the microgram range.

"More production orders from new customers is simply further validation for our technology", stated Dr Adrian Kiermasz, President and CEO of Metryx.

"Our nonintrusive inline measuring tools deliver exceptional early warning process control and the accompanying peace of mind that the process is working as it should".

"There is a great deal of interest in this technology, which is increasingly bringing additional business from both new and existing customers".

"Investment in process diagnostic equipment by chip makers is currently running at the rate of around $4 billion", stated John West, Principal Analyst at VLSI Research, Europe.

"Any technology which is able to provide a simple, straightforward solution is going to be a welcome addition to a field that is characterised by tools that are often expensive and difficult to use".

Designed for monitoring critical semiconductor device manufacturing process steps on product wafers in a variety of applications, including memory, logic and power components, Metryx's Mentor SF3 is a 300mm mass metrology tool offering atomic level repeatability, low cost of ownership and high return on investment.

The SF3 monitors wafer mass following a process step to quickly determine whether the process is operating consistently using passive data collection (PDC) and normal distribution analysis.

The tool allows process changes to be reliably and accurately determined after deposition, wet or dry etch, or CMP processing.

"We have designed a simple, cost-effective way of measuring whether or not a process is depositing or taking away the material it is supposed to during each respective process step".

"Semiconductor manufacturers worldwide are now reaping the rewards of this elegant technology as valuable time and money is saved by simply understanding the mass fingerprint of a wafer after every process step", added Dr Kiermasz.

The small-footprint SF3 is capable of throughputs of 60 wafers per hour to enable nanotechnology mass measurement of production wafers, as well as test and blanket wafers, independent of substrate size or material.

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