Rudolph Technologies,
Inc. (NASDAQ: RTEC), a worldwide leader in process characterization solutions
for the semiconductor manufacturing industry, announced today the availability
of its new S3000S™ Metrology System for in-line process control of advanced
diffusion and fab-wide thin film applications. The innovative optical design
of the S3000S System enables simultaneous measurement with multi-wavelength,
multi-angle Focus Beam Ellipsometry (FBE) and deep ultraviolet reflectometry
(DUVR)-reducing measurement time and significantly increasing throughput over
previous generations. Rudolph is accepting orders now with first shipments planned
for the end of this quarter.
“Our customers continue to look for ways to lower costs and improve fab
productivity. The S3000S System helps them achieve this by combining higher
throughput with the industry-leading stability needed for thinner films and
tighter process tolerances at the 45nm and 32nm nodes,” said Jack Kurdock,
Rudolph’s vice president and general manager of the Metrology Business
Unit. “The ability to measure simultaneously with focused beam ellipsometry
and deep UV reflectometry, introduced with the S3000S, allows IC manufacturers
to take advantage of a pool of multi-wavelength, multi-angle ellipsometer and
multi-wavelength reflectance data for accurate, repeatable characterization
of complex films and precise control of advanced processes without sacrificing
throughput.”
Rudolph’s patented FBE technology uses high-intensity, long-life laser
light sources to provide superior stability. A small beam size enables measurements
in small test sites. Laser light sources have the inherent wavelength accuracy
needed to meet increasingly tighter tool-to-tool matching requirements simply
and robustly. The optional MAControl™ module provides one-step, uniform,
non-destructive removal of the molecular airborne contamination layer on thin
films to allow more accurate measurement of the true thin film thickness. The
new S3000S System is built on the reliable, field-proven Vanguard-II automation
platform that is shared by all Rudolph metrology products.