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Rudolph Ships MetaPULSE-III to Asia Memory Fab for Copper Interconnect Metrology
Thursday March 6, 7:00 am ET
Memory Move to Copper Interconnect Sparks Demand for Broad Application Metrology Tool
FLANDERS, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rudolph Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: RTEC - News), a worldwide leader in high-performance process characterization systems for the semiconductor manufacturing industry, today announced that it has shipped its next generation MetaPULSE-III™ opaque film metrology tool to a major Asia fab for metrology of copper interconnect in memory devices. A key factor influencing the selection was the tool’s ability to measure all phases of the process, including barrier layer, seed layer, electroplate and CMP using the same metrology system. The delivery marks Rudolph’s early success with the MetaPULSE-III system as memory manufacturers transition from aluminum to copper.
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“This customer has a long history of using the MetaPULSE on other metal films,” said Ardy Johnson, vice president of marketing at Rudolph. “That experience, coupled with success in development and first-production copper programs, led to this sale. The MetaPULSE system has the ability to cover the entire copper interconnect process with one metrology technology.”
“Several Rudolph customers first used the MetaPULSE for barrier/seed layer metrology applications. It met full production requirements, and is now being used during electroplate and post-CMP stages.” Johnson added, “The small spot size of the MetaPULSE system enables fabs to use this tool directly on the product wafer, and the ability to measure line array thickness across the device gives them control of variation in CMP. Mapping the copper interconnect thickness at electroplate provides insight into the variation that we subsequently see at CMP, enhancing control of the overall copper interconnect process.”
MetaPulse-III is the leading tool for opaque film measurement of copper interconnect processes in logic ICs, and its market acceptance is one of the reasons over two-thirds of Rudolph revenues are derived from front-end applications. It incorporates Rudolph’s patented picosecond laser sonar (PULSE™) technology, which uses a picosecond pulse of laser energy to send an acoustic wave through the sample. By detecting the return of waves reflected from material interfaces, the tool calculates thickness, modulus and other film characteristics that are necessary to control today’s leading-edge device manufacturing. |
