A major foundry has chosen Nanometrics’ IMPULSE integrated metrology (IM) system and NanoDiffract software for optical critical dimension (OCD) metrology to deploy them for front-end-of-line etch process control in volume production of advanced 2x nm products.
This selection incorporates a multi-system follow-on order that stands for the first phase of procurements to deploy Nanometrics IM solutions in this foundry’s sophisticated 2x nm volume production line.
Major etch companies have qualified and integrated the IMPULSE system for OCD on their multiple platforms for interconnect, contact and transistor applications. Besides etch integrations, Nanometrics offers other configurations of IM solutions for OCD and thin film applications and for controlling other crucial fab processes such as CVD, lithography and CMP. The integration of IM solutions and other Nanometrics inspection and metrology systems onto the Lynx platform helps device manufacturers to handle complex process control applications at a lower cost of ownership.
Customers can deploy integrated metrology together with automated standalone systems, the NanoCD Suite and the Lynx Cluster Metrology Platform, to achieve a comprehensive fab-wide metrology process control solution.
Nanometrics’ Director of Integrated Metrology, Steve Bradley commented that the company together with an etch OEM platform provider and this foundry customer have demonstrated better process control for critical structures and layers using its NanoDiffract software and integrated IMPULSE OCD system. The company is excited about the selection of its comprehensive process control metrology solution by this foundry customer to volume produce second-generation 2x nm products.
Next-generation device production needs lower critical dimension variances within-wafer, lot-to-lot, and wafer-to-wafer. The IMPULSE system enables superior control of CDs related to end device yield and performance.
Source: http://www.nanometrics.com