Carl RE: "Veeco AFM"
Whoops, sorry it's taken me so long to respond to your message, I haven't read this thread in awhile. I would still not call the tool production ready, at least not compared to CD-SEMs. The main problems with the tool are still there: 1.) Tip calibration. SInce the tips wear out, get chipped, pick up gunk, the tip width is always a big
variable, constant calibration is a necessity. 2.) Tip lifetime. They still break too often, and the smaller the tip, the more they break. 3.) Throughput. 6-10 wafers per hour ain't gonna cut it.
That said, I still think every fab should have one for engineering work, but SEMs are still the way to go for in-line CD measurements.
As for Digital instruments, they may be able to teach Veeco a thing or too about AFMs, maybe enough to help them increase the lifetime of their tips. Changing tips is a real bitch on these things.
I think that if they keep up the improvements, and if CD SEMs level off in resolution improvemnts, maybe the AFMs have a future for 0.13um
metrology. I would still bet my money on SEMs, though.
James Word. |
