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To: mike jolley who wrote (7796)	11/2/1997 3:26:00 PM
From: Maxwell	Respond to of 25960

Mike Jolley (off topic): You happen to hit a field which I am expert in. I haven't heard of Sensys Instruments. However real-time in situ sensors for fabrication of integrated circuits on silicon wafers and related applications are very important in this industry. In situ sensor industry is fragmented with little good product to offer. For example, HYT insitu defect monitor was introduced in the early 90s It was touted to be the next break through in semiconductor technology. It failed miserably because the sensor couldn't be placed near the wafers where defects are really important. Furthermore, the sensors were not reliable and would get dusted easily. In your case, Sensys focused on photoresist cure monitoring during prebake which is especially critical for next generation deep UV photoresists. I don't know how they do it but if you give me this problem I would use a laser beam to measure the film thickness and refractive index and absorbtion coefficient of the film as it bakes. As the film bake, solvent would be driven off and film would shrink. The problem with this product is whether it would be needed and cost effective. Furhtermore Sensys must convince track makers such as TEL and DNS to incorporate this technology into their product. This will not be an easy task unless the whole industry is convinced that this is absolutely needed in baking resists for future technology. If you are interested in Sensys you must also look at what other products Sensys has and who are their partners before you take the job. Big partners with solid product and cash is a plus. I hate to see you waste a few years of your life working for a company that ended in bellyup. Some of the important real time in-situ sensors I see that the semiconductor industry needed is dielectric thickness measurement during deposition, defect counter seen in the plasma during etching and deposition, metallic film thickness measurement during in-situ deposition, accurate temperature measurement of wafers during processing, and thickness measurement in tiny oxide trenches during processing. Good Luck. Maxwell