Bill, it looks as if you all survived the test. Well, the final installment is below. This puppy just came in the mail. An insert asked if I would like to see this in a WWW or email format. I returned the inforamtion slip and said, YES YES YES.
FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE
UltraSteps March 1997
Ultratech Fourth Quarter and Yearend Highlights
On January 30, 1997, Ultratech Stepper announced unaudited results for the three month and one-year periods ended December 31, 1996.
For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 1996, net sales were $43.5 million, down from $47.3 million in the same quarter last year. Net income increased to $8.6 million, up from $8.0 million in last year's fourth quarter.
For the 1996 year, Ultratech's net sales reached $193.5 million, a 22.6 percent increase over 1995, and net income for 1996 was up 45.7 percent to $35.3 million.
As of December 31, 1996, the company had $167.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. Ultratech's six month order backlog at the end of 1996 was $81 million and consisted primarily of thin film head product orders, followed by scanner replacement and low-cost IC products, mix-and-match products, micromachining products and spare parts.
"Nineteen ninety-six was a challenging year. Yet, Ultratech executed very well and achieved profitability under these difficult circumstances," stated Arthur W Zafiropoulo, chairman and chief executive officer. "Our diversification strategy, and specifically the strength of our thin film head product offerings, coupled with our close attention to expense management, were the keys to our success. We are also pleased to report that our newest product line, micromachining, gained momentum during the fourth quarter and, we believe, is poised to make a greater contribution to revenues in 1997. Furthermore, during the fourth quarter we received our first order for the new Model 6700, our most advanced thin film head product, from a leading US supplier. In addition, we expect to add to our product diversification in 1997 with new products for the semiconductor and thin Film head markets. Additional offerings of e-beam lithography and surface activation (P-GILD) systems are also expected to be introduced in 1997."
============================================
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ULTRATECH 1500 IN A 1.5um PROCESS
At the most recent SEMICONJjapan Cost-Effective Lithography Seminar, Naoki Kuneshita of Fuji Electric discussed the implementation of Ultratech 1500 steppers for 1.5 [im processing. The 1500 stepper is designed for optimal processing down to 0.8 pm feature sizes. Its low cost of ownership also makes it ideal for production in a wide range of applications. Fuji Electric's IC business involves mainly ASIC production. However, in recent years, orders increased from the rapidly expanding portable electronic devices sector, such as cellular telephones and PDAS. As a result of the greatlv increased demand on their existing facilities, Fuji has focused on improving device output and yield, cost reduction and device design rule shrinks.
It was decided to raise the production output of high value-added ICs in the 4 inch line, with focus on improving the output of intelligent power ICs, DC/DC converter ICs and others. In ICs which have such high power output, the area devoted to logic circuitry is small, rypically about 10 percent. As a result, chip size does not strongly depend on the design rule. Therefore, requirements are fullv satisfied by the 1.5 pm capabilirv and there is not such a strong motivation to shrink linewidths. As a result of these requirements, an investigation into a new lithography solution was launched.
Search for Lithography Solution
Mirror projection aligners were considered initially, but were rejected for the 1.5 pm process because of lack of performance in the key areas of resolution and alignment precision. Reduction steppers currently available on the market were considered next. Reduction steppers have a large footprint, and have reached costs on the same order as ion implanters. In addition, there were technical problems of exposing 4 inch wafers with large-field reduction steppers, and lack of DOF performance due to the high NA. As a result, Fuji concluded that there was no reduction stepper suitable to their applications. A used reduction stepper was also considered. Here, the uncertainty in delivery, support and performance guarantees led Fuji to conclude that this was a very risky approach.
Afier consideration of their findings, it was decided to introduce the Ultratech 1500 because it satisfies almost all the specifications that Fuji required.
1500 Selection
As a result of the demonstration evaluation, it became clear that for the Ultratech Model 1500, there were no problems in meeting the exposure performance target values. But there were some technical issues surrounding the machine's introduction. Of these issues, the most important was achieving 80 pm scribe capability.
After extensive investigation on target delectability, a solution was reached. The target size was reduced to 90 pm and the targets were placed at the point of intersection of the scribe lines. In this way, 80 pm scribes were realized. However, to limit the influence of noise from around the target and to reduce alignment error, some optimization of cross masks and of the scanning area was required. With the resolution of other lesser problems it was concluded that the 1500 could be used for Fuji's 1.5 pm process.
1500 Implementation
Generally speaking, the product life of ASICs is short, so timely product supply is required. The introduction schedule for ASICs is very aggressive at just three months to full production. This was satisfactorily met with the 1500. The stepper set-up time after delivery to the factory was as little as one week.
The Ultratech system also has several valuable tools that help shorten the time required to begin processing a new product on the stepper. These include AutoKT, which automatically evaluates and selects the best alignment targets for the device, and Retman C for reticle layout and job preparation.
The technical performance of the 1500 is comparable with existing reduction steppers, but at a lower price. Hence, the cost effectiveness is high. The 1500 has a very simple design with a low number of components. This results in good reliability, easy maintenance and serviceability. There are several fundamental differences between the 1500 and common reduction steppers however. Among these are on-axis, site-by-site onlv alignment and I X reticles with multiple fields per reticles It was necessary for Fuji to learn the different techniques used by Ultratech in these areas, and adapt them to their production line.
Summary
After the successful installation of the first 1500, it was decided to install additional 1500s. With more 1500 systems arriving, matching between steppers will become important. Since the Ultratech tens distortion is stable as a function of time, it is anticipated that there will be no special challenges in matching. A future issue to be resolved is mix-andmatch with the rough layers from Mirror Projection svstems. The overlay performance of the non-critical metallization layers of the device will need to be carefully evaluated.
============================================
A LOW COST LITHOGRAPHY PROCESS FOR FLIPCHIP APPLICATIONS IN ADVANCED PACKAGING INDUSTRY
As part of the Asian Electronics Engineer Technical Seminar series, Peter Cheang recently presented a paper coauthored by Wolfgang Staud and Gary Newman, all of Ultratech Stepper. The paper was presented as part of the Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Seminar. The series included presentations in Singapore, Bangkok and Manila and was sponsored in association with The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
Presentation Overview
Mr. Cheang's presentation included an introduction to a low cost thick resist manufacturing process that meets bump bonding requirements. SEM cross-section micrographs were shown with a greater than 1: I aspect ratio in thick resists (greater than 25 pm). Key lithography tool success factors discussed included throughput, high wafer plane illumination intensity, low cost reticle technology and a pattern recognition based alignment methodology.
Titan Wafer Stepper
An Ultratech Titan Wafer Stepper was the exposure tool of choice for this application. Titan has a numerical aperture of 0.26 and a partial coherence of 0.6, which suits it well for thick photoresist or polyimide applications. The combination of a simple optics design and broadband exposure spectrum allows for a very high wafer plane intensity. This particular capability enables high throughput even under high. dosage exposure conditions that are usually associated with thick film lithography.
Although no alignment was required in-this experiment,Titan is equipped with a pattern recognition based alignment system called Machine Vision System (MVS). The MVS alignment system allows auto-alignment using almost any unique existing feature on the wafer as the aliginment mark.. This capability greatly enhances the effectiveness of the tool for this application and alleviates the burden from the end-user to make special dedicated alignment marks on the wafer.
=======================================
LEADING U.S. DISK DRIVE MANUFACTURER ORDERS MODEL 6700
Utratech Stepper recently an nounced that it has received the first order for its Model 6700 from a leading U.S. disk drive maufacturer. Shipment of the order is scheduled for the first fiscal quarter of 1997.
The Model 6700 is an i-line tool designed to meet the need for increased storage capacity and performance. Building on Ultratech's worldwide leadership in TFH lithography tools, the system leverages the company's experience providing i-line lithography tools for the semiconductor industry.
Rapid growth in the data storage industry has accelerated the need for disk drives with added storage capacity, faster access, smaller packaging and lower prices.the industry is responding to these requirements with the production of magnetoresistive (MR) heads that allow for higher aerial density and enable greater storage capability. Introduced in September 1996 specifically for the manufacture of MR heads, the Model 6700 is designed to meet the tighter for requirements for advanced TFH production, while addressing cost sensitivities prevalent in the industry.
Commenting on the order, Ultratech's Senior Vice President of Sales, Service and Marketing Dan Berry noted, "The Model 6700 was selected for its process capabilities, including advanced resolution and alignment for finer linewidths, as well as the manufacturer's success with its existing base of Ultratech tools. Other deciding factors included a successful processing demonstration of the system at Ultratech's manufacturing facility and the tool's ability to maintain cost of ownership and productivity benefits -two essential factors for this rapidly changing, cost-sensitive market," stated Berry
The Model 6700 features 0.65-micron resolution capabilities; 80 nm, 3 sigma alignment and 50 nm colinearity Its 18 x 55 mm field size enables the exposure of an entire width of a two-inch strip of magnetic head devices. This wide-field exposure capability, which can provide up to a 50 percent reduction in the number of exposures imaged on the wafer, also offers improved colinearity for tighter throat height control. When coupled with the system's high wafer plane irradiance, these technology attributes offer throughput, cost and productivity advantages to manufacturers. Leveraging Ultratech's common tool platform, the Model 6700 is designed to offer mix-and-match capabilities with Ultratech's Model 4700 advanced TFH system.
============================================
ULTRATECH ACQUIRES ADVANCED E-BEAM LITHOGRAPHY COMPANY
Utratech Stepper has completed the acquisition of the assets of Lepton Inc., a developer of high performance electron beam lithography (e-beam) systems. Ultratech has created a wholly-owned subsidiary, UltraBeam Lithographv, Inc., to focus on designing products to meet existing and future mask and reticle manufacturing requirements.
"This strategic acquisition exemplifies Ultratech's commitment to adding advanced technological products to our company's offerings," stated Arthur W Zafiropoulo, chairman and chief executive officer of Ultratech. "Lepton's electron beam lithography systems target advanced maskmaking, which is a critical component of our thin film head and semiconductor stepper businesses. The e-beam system is designed to overcome many of the obstacles in manufacturing IX masks and other advanced reduction and X-ray masks. Therefore, this is an excellent strategic fit for Ultratech."
Zafiropoulo continued, "With the global infrastructure Ultratech has established, the UltraBeam subsidiary should serve as an excellent platform from which to launch and support this new, advanced lithography system. We are delighted several outstanding scientists and engineers from Lepton have joined our team to serve as the management nucleus at UltraBeam. The acquisition is also an excellent use of cash, following through on our strategic plan to search for synergistic acquisition targets."
On an interim basis, Richard Williams, Ultratech's vice president of business development, will oversee the UltraBeam operation, which is located in Murrav Hill, N.J. Carl Rose, UltraBeam's vice president and chief technical officer, and Don Joseph, UltraBeam's vice president of operations will continue to handle the day-to-day management of the company
=========================================
ATLAS STEPPER MANAGEMENT UPDATE
Atlas Stepper Management software is Ultratech Stepper's next generation reticle management and design tool. It is a Microsoft Windows'-based program, designed to help Ultratech Stepper users optimize stepper performance on the production floor. Atlas builds upon and improves the functionality of the Retman stepper management software program.
Atlas 1. 1.0 is currently available in a Phase I release and can be ordered from Ultratech Stepper Customer Service. This version will fully support and supply the reticle data and wafer layout information needed to operate Ultratech Stepper models 2700, 2244i, 4700, Titan Wafer Stepper, Saturn Wafer Stepper and 6700. Atlas 1.2.0 is the Phase 11 release and will include reticle de-' sign features, including support for printing and plotting all reticle and wafer data. Testing of Phase 2 is expected to begin in Q297. Updates to each full release version will be included as part of any Atlas purchase.
Atlas 1500, for Model 1500 and other 1000 series steppers, is currently under development. This product will also be a Windows based program and will be capable of data output in the HPL format. Atlas 1500 testing is expected to begin in Q397.
=======================================
SATURN WAFER STEPPER DEMONSTRATES EXCELLENT MIX-AND-MATCH OVERLAY
In a recent customer demonstration, a Saturn Wafer Stepper demonstrated excellent mix-and-match performance to a Canon 3OOOi3 critical layer stepper. Patterned silicon wafers were provided by the customer and used throughout the demonstration. A KLA 5107 Coherence Probe Metrology system was used for all overlay measurements, along with KLASS III software for data anaivs[s. Five points per I X field were measured. Alignment was performed with the pattern recognition based Machine Vision System (MVS).
Machine Vision System
The MVS alignment system is included with Ultratech Stepper's advanced mix-and-match products. MVS uses a vision processor and two calibrated CCD cameras to measure relative positions of patterns on the reticle ("keys") and patterns on the wafer ("targets"). The MVS cameras view the wafer through two clear "windows" located above the baseline of the reticle. The stepper then uses the XY-stage to drive wafer features into the appropriate camera view for measurements. Alignment target positions are calculated bv comparing measured positions to nominal pattern positions. These nominal pattern positions are user-defined in either Retman or Atlas Reticle Management. The primary benefit of MVS implementation is reduced cost.
Through the use of digital image processing, any wafer feature meeting certain criterion may be selected as an alignment target. The primary criteria for an MVS target is that it be unique within the field of view of the MVS system. By allowing customers to align to features already existing in their product designs, an Ultratech system mav be easily integrated into an existing production environment. Additionally, reticle sets for previous lavers need not be redesigned and refabricated to include Ultratech specific alignment targets. As a result, implementation time and associated costs mav be greatly reduced.
MVS Set-Up
MVS Enhanced Global Alignment (EGA) mode was used to maximize system throughput. In EGA mode, the stepping grid is determined by sampling a user-definable number of sites, from which the entire stepping grid is computed. Five EGA sites were used in this demonstration, which represents a typical number ofsites used in production.
Mix-and-Match Overlay Results
The standard field size of Saturn is 44 x 22 mm, whereas the leading edge 5X steppers have field sizes of 22 x 22 mm. For this reason, the Saturn exposes an area equivalent to two 5X fields with each shot. The mix-and-match overlay results uinder these conditions, are presented in Table I.
x y
Mean - 36 -32
3 Sigma 200 206
Mean + 3 Sigma 236 238
Throughput Results
Saturn system steady-state throughput of95 wafers per hour was recorded under the operating conditions in which the above overlay results were obtained. Steady-state throughput excludes the first wafer from the calculation. This is due to the additional overhead time in which a continuous flow of wafers is established within the stepper.
Conclusions
A successful demonstration ofthe Ultratech Saturn was performed. Mix-and-match overlav to a Canon FPA 5OOOi3 5X reduction stepper was better than 250 nm lxl+3cr using the pattern recognition based MVS alignment svstem. Saturn system throughput of 95 wafers per hour was obtained under these operating conditions.
Regards
Andrew |
