KLA-Tencor Ships 100th 300-mm Optical Thin-Film Metrology System for Sub-130-nm Processes
Tuesday March 18, 5:00 pm ET
SpectraFx 100 Tool Shipped to Samsung to Support the Production of the Company's Next-Generation, High-Speed/High-Density Memory Devices
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Signaling another milestone in its pursuit to help chip manufacturers accelerate their technology transitions through advanced process control and yield management solutions, KLA-Tencor (Nasdaq: KLAC - News) today announced the shipment of its 100th 300-mm optical thin-film metrology tool-one of KLA-Tencor's latest-generation SpectraFx 100 systems. The system was purchased by Samsung for its Line 12 in Kyunggi-Do, South Korea, to support the production of sub-130-nm high-speed/high-density memory products.
"Manufacturing advanced memory devices at these design rules requires that we use very complex semiconductor films that are extremely thin and that must meet exacting specifications," stated Dr. Choon-Sam Jeon, senior manager of Samsung's Advanced Materials team. "Maintaining thin-film process uniformity during the production of these devices is essential, since the slightest process deviation can seriously impair device performance.
KLA-Tencor's SpectraFx 100 system has demonstrated the precision and accuracy needed to monitor our thin-film processes during production and help ensure the manufacturability of our latest-generation products."
The digital multimedia and computer gaming market is driving much of the demand for higher-speed and higher-density DDR (double data rate) memory chips, which are composed of multiple layers of semiconductor films. At sub-130-nm design rules, many of these film layers must be extremely thin (less than 100 angstroms) and highly uniform. To maintain tight control over the processes used to build these film layers requires metrology systems that are highly precise and stable, and which can measure each layer within a multi-layer film stack. Existing metrology tools that use only visible light have difficulty measuring these films, since changes in the film thickness and properties produce less of a response in the visible part of the spectrum. In addition, with the transition to 300-mm wafers, process monitoring using test wafers becomes extremely cost prohibitive-driving the need for higher sensitivity thin-film metrology systems with on-product measurement capabilities.
SpectraFx 100 provides the high-precision monitoring and characterization needed to accurately measure advanced thin films, such as 193-nm anti-reflective coatings (ARCs), silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and silicon germanium (SiGe), as well as complex multi-layer film stacks, such as those required in DDR SDRAM, Rambus DRAM and other advanced memory chips. Incorporating KLA-Tencor's proprietary Resolution(TM) optics, SpectraFx 100 can perform film measurements across a wavelength spectrum from 900 nm down to 190 nm on product wafers, while providing exceptional tool-to-tool matching (0.2 angstroms thickness matching, 0.001-0.003 refractive index matching).
With its uniquely designed 190-nm spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) capability, the tool can measure into the deep-ultraviolet (DUV) spectrum-providing more reliable and accurate measurements than can be achieved with competing optical measurement tools. This also enables SpectraFx 100 to achieve greater sensitivity to differences in thickness between oxide and nitride layers. The reflective-focusing design of the optics used in the SpectraFx 100 system enables the use of a small spot size on product wafers (with measurement capability on 40x40-micron features) to provide more extensive process monitoring and higher-rate sampling, eliminating the use of monitor wafers.
"With shrinking product life cycles, advanced process control solutions like our SpectraFx 100 system play a key role in helping our customers reduce their process development time and bring their advanced chips to market on time and in volume," stated Dr. Sergio Edelstein, vice president and general manager of KLA-Tencor's Film and Surface Metrology Division. "This benefits not only them, but ultimately the end-user as well, who has access to more sophisticated electronics products at more affordable prices."
About KLA-Tencor: KLA-Tencor is the world leader in yield management and process control solutions for semiconductor manufacturing and related industries. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with operations around the world, KLA-Tencor ranked #6 on S&P's 2002 index of the top 500 companies in the U.S. KLA-Tencor is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol KLAC. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at kla-tencor.com .
NOTE: Resolution is a trademark of KLA-Tencor.
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Source: KLA-Tencor |
