Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO), a leading supplier of advanced three-dimensional AFM metrology equipment to the semiconductor industry, announced today that its InSight™ 3D Atomic Force Microscope has been accepted by SEMATECH. The InSight 3DAFM will provide non-destructive reference metrology for critical dimension (CD), overlay and contour, as well as three-dimensional characterization of next-generation EUVL resist features. International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative's (ISMI) Metrology Program is located at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering's (CNSE) Albany NanoTech Complex, the most advanced research enterprise of its kind in the world.
“One of the greatest metrology concerns for the 32-nanometer node and below is accuracy as it applies to CD and overlay measurements,” said John Allgair, SEMATECH Metrology Program Manager. “The InSight 3DAFM tool will address this concern and will be used as part of our overall CD metrology strategy to provide reference metrology for CD-SEMs and scatterometry. Additionally the InSight will be used to provide three-dimensional characterization of advanced EUVL resist structures.”
“The addition of Veeco's InSight 3DAFM at CNSE's Albany NanoTech provides further capabilities that will enhance leading-edge research and development to accelerate the introduction of EUVL for the manufacturing of innovative nanoelectronics devices,” said Richard Brilla, CNSE Vice President for Strategy, Alliances and Consortia. “Veeco is also a great demonstration of the world-class network of New York companies providing support for the SEMATECH-CNSE partnership, which is enabling advances in nanoscale research, development and commercialization that are critical to industry.”
“Veeco is pleased by the acceptance of the InSight 3DAFM by an industry leader of SEMATECH's stature,” commented David Rossi, Vice President and General Manager of Veeco's AFM Business Unit. “With its unique, three-dimensional, accurate 32-nanometer measurement capabilities, the InSight is enabling semiconductor manufacturers to reduce their process development times for advanced technology nodes and speed time to money. Additionally, the InSight's, non-destructive true profile metrology with TEM-level profile accuracy allows manufacturers to achieve lower development costs by replacing TEM cross-sections. This and the other successful installations in North America, Europe, and Asia, have proven the InSight 3DAFM's capabilities and performance in both process development and production environments.”
Poted July 6th, 2009