Fabtech - Product Briefings

New Product: Automated mechanical monitoring system from InnerSense prevents wafer handling issues

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:45:55 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: InnerSense LTD (a Ricor company) now offers a new wafer handling analysis product, the SMW2, for automated mechanical monitoring of the 300mm semiconductor process tools. The new product offering is based on over 6 years of experience in preventing excursions related to wafers’ micro-cracks and other mechanical defects, as well as providing capabilities to detect worn-out process tool mechanical components and to plan more effective periodic maintenance.

New Product: SABRE Excel from Novellus designed to improve plating performance on thin seeds

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:32:14 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Novellus Systems has launched the SABRE Excel, an advanced copper electroplating system designed to provide fill and defect density performance for the 22nm node and beyond. The platform features a new deposition module incorporating Novellus’ patented IRISCell technology, as well as new hardware, software and communications upgrades to the process tool’s mainframe. Additionally, an advanced plating process has been developed for SABRE Excel to take advantage of these new features.

New Product: KLA-Tencor 8900 inspection system designed for CMOS image sensor applications

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:27:06 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: KLA-Tencor has extended its product offerings in the CMOS image sensor (CIS) market by announcing the 8900 defect inspection system. The system offers selectable illumination wavelengths, color-matched to CIS pixels; simultaneous brightfield and darkfield optical channels to enable capture of a wide variety of defect types; and adjustable sensitivity and throughput settings for cost-effective defect management from initial product development through volume production of color filter arrays (CFA). An 8900 defect inspection system was recently installed at the first 300mm advanced CFA fab of Toppan Printing.

New Product: Dow’s new copper polishing pad offers reduced chatter and micro-scratch defectivity

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:42:41 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Dow Electronic Materials has introduced the Optivision 4540 CMP Polishing Pad designed to deliver low defectivity and low cost of ownership (CoO) over the pad lifetime. The new pad is formulated with a unique, surfactant-free, polymer chemistry and pore structure to help minimize defectivity and provide higher dielectric film rates in copper barrier polishing. The pad has a dual pore structure that accurately controls polishing while providing a consistent polishing surface over the life of the pad.

New Product: UV thermal processing treatment from Novellus enables improve low-k hardness

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:17:19 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Novellus Systems has developed a multiple wavelength UV Thermal Processing (UVTP) treatment on the company’s ‘SOLA’ platform that results in a claimed 25% improvement in film hardness compared to a single wavelength treatment of the same k-value dielectric. It also enables the independent optimization of key UV treatment steps to enhance film performance while maintaining a high level of manufacturability.

New Product: Mattson’s Helios XP has low temp RTP capability enabling advanced silicide formation

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:42:47 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Mattson Technology has launched the Helios XP system, its third generation of 300mm RTP tools. The company noted that its Helios XP system has been in qualification at a major IC manufacturer and it recently shipped a system to a leading foundry customer for advanced anneal processing.

New Product: Applied Materials ‘SmartMove’ system provides lot tracking to non-automated fabs

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:10:56 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Applied Materials has introduced the ‘Applied SmartMove’ system that enables a comprehensive wafer management solution for non-automated 200mm and 300mm fabs. The SmartMove system brings new efficiency to these fabs, seamlessly integrating with customers’ existing MES software to wirelessly track and direct the movement of wafer lots. Applied Materials claims the system can boost factory output by up to 10%, and typically realize a return on the investment in less than 9 months.

New Product: ‘IONX’ PVD copper seed process from Novellus provides bottom-up fill for 2xnm node

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:52:52 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Novellus Systems has developed an advanced Hollow Cathode Magnetron (HCM) ‘IONX’ PVD copper seed process that will enable copper interconnects below the 2xnm technology node. The breakthrough will allow the company’s highly-productive and proven HCM PVD technology on the ‘INOVA’ platform to continue to be used for barrier and seed thin film deposition, avoiding the migration to less-productive and costly ALD or CVD approaches.

New Product: Luminescent offers offline computational mask inspection

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:49:49 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Luminescent Technologies, has broadened its product portfolio by adding what it claims to be the industry’s first offline computational mask inspection product. A premier company in Asia is the first customer to qualify the new computational defect review product in volume production.

New Product: TSMC’s iDRC and iLVS data formats support 40nm process IC designs

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:07:03 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has unveiled interoperable design rule check (iDRC) and layout-versus-schematic (iLVS), two unified electronic design automation (EDA) data formats, for its 40nm process technology. TSMC claims to be the first foundry to collaborate with multiple EDA vendors to create and qualify an interoperable physical verification format that optimizes data delivery and interpretation between physical verification and analysis tools and advanced process technologies.

New Product: Norcimbus’ NBlend variable flow gas mixing system saves significant material loss

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:01:35 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: The NBlend system from Norcimbus, offers a new option for mixed gases, bringing to market unique gas mixing technology that combines a MFC mixing system, surge tank, concentration analyzer and a proprietary Power Purge V controller. It is designed to mix two gasses to an adjustable ratio and supply a variable flow up to 250 standard liters per minute (slpm) continuously, while the concentration analyzer monitors and adjusts the blend ratio to maintain the concentration set point. It provides control accuracy of plus or minus 0.3 percent of the requested ratio, allowing it to deliver consistent results with varying flow rates and adjustable blend ratios.

New Product: Alchimer launches cost-saving ‘AquiVia’ deposition process

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:11:27 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Alchimer S.A has launched its cost-saving ‘AquiVia’ deposition process. The AquiVia process is claimed to reduce overall cost of ownership for through-silicon via (TSV) metallization by up to 65% vs. conventional dry processes. Alchimer’s new process encompasses three distinct process steps required before the TSV can be filled with metal. It enables wet-process deposition of insulator, barrier and copper seed layers within high-aspect ratio TSVs, using Electrografting technology.

New Product: New XP upgrade for KLA-Tencor’s 28xx defect inspection systems boosts sensitivity

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:07:28 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: KLA-Tencor has announced XP, a new upgrade package for 28xx broadband brightfield inspection systems. The XP package is the first commercially available product to give an inspection system access to standard IC design layout files. With access to this information, the inspection system can use knowledge of the defect’s location within the circuit to better estimate its probability of affecting device yield. In addition, XP can use the results of the design-aware wafer inspection to identify features on the mask that may be particularly sensitive to process variations during printing. These and other features of the XP upgrade package are designed to improve the sensitivity and productivity of existing 28xx inspectors and raise the information content of defect results, helping to accelerate identification and resolution of defect issues.

New Product: Nova’s ‘MatMaker,’ solution significantly cuts optical CD measurement time

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:30:37 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Nova Measuring Instruments has launched ‘MatMaker,’ a Product-Driven Materials Characterization package, which is based on software algorithms and tools refined by Nova’s applications developers over the past 10 years. The company claims the new software changes the way spectral Optical CD is deployed in fabs, significantly reducing application development time and cost while at the same time increasing the measurement accuracy.

New Product: SOKUDO DUO track system boost throughput to 250-300 wafers per hour

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:06:56 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Sokudo Co., Ltd. has recently launched the SOKUDO DUO platform, a new concept in photoresist coat/develop track systems that provides customers with the ultra-high productivity needed to optimize leading-edge lithography processing. Incorporating an innovative dual track design, the system simultaneously processes wafers in two lines, claimed to boost throughput to 250-300 wafers per hour (wph), depending on system configuration, while also improving uptime and substantially reducing system footprint.

New Product: Peter Wolters double-sided silicon wafer polishing handles 22nm node

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:38:05 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Peter Wolters GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Novellus Systems has developed an advanced polishing technology for its MicroLine AC 1500-P³ and AC 2000-P³ double-sided silicon wafer polishing (DSP) systems that will meet the lithography requirements for semiconductor device manufacturing at 22nm and beyond.

New Product: Crossing Automation’s ‘ExpressSolutions’ offers OEM’s wafer-level automation

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:50:29 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: ExpressSolutions starts by identifying and understanding a customer’s requirements for a specific process and ends with the implementation of an optimized wafer transfer system. By using Crossing’s modular ‘ExpressConnect’ automation solutions, ExpressSolutions delivers custom configurations that reduce overall cost and time-to-market while maintaining OEM differentiation at the process level. As part of the offering, ExpressSolutions facilitates the design, system integration and documentation of a complete wafer automation platform and its ongoing support. This allows customers to leverage internal engineering resources and achieve reduced acquisition costs, reduced inventory build-up and benefit from low platform support costs.

New Product: Applied Materials upgrades Endura CuBS PVD system for 32-22nm deposition

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:54:08 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Applied Materials, has launched its Applied ‘Endura CuBS RFX’ PVD system, designed for copper barrier/seed deposition and qualified for 32 and 22nm production by logic and flash memory manufacturers. The system sequentially deposits the Ta(N)/Ta barrier followed by the Cu seed layer under high-vacuum conditions. Integration of the complete sequence, including the Applied’s Aktiv Preclean [chamber or process], on the Endura platform is said to improve film adhesion and oxide-free interfaces, while preserving k-value integrity for low via resistance and high device reliability.

New Product: KLA-Tencor and TEL’s new modeling software tackles CD control at the 32nm node

Thu, 14 May 2009 15:08:27 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: KLA-Tencor and Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) have introduced the ‘AcuShape,’ a new modeling and library-generation package to meet optical critical dimension metrology requirements for the 32nm node and below. The new software package enables metrology engineers in IC fabs to measure the dimensions of 3D logic and memory structures, such as FinFETs, bulb RCATs, and structures created by the advanced patterning technique called spacer pitch splitting. It is designed to operate on KLA-Tencor’s stand-alone optical critical dimension platform, ‘SpectraCD’, and Timbre Integrated Metrology (IM) CD systems. AcuShape has been shipped to several memory, logic and foundry fabs in the United States, Europe, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, where it is being used to measure production wafers and provide early learning on advanced R&D structures.

New Product: Rudolph’s MetaPULSE-G offers 22nm copper metrology capability

Mon, 11 May 2009 13:32:07 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Rudolph Technologies is launching its ‘MetaPULSE’-G thin-film measurement tool optimized specifically for copper damascene processes at 45nm through 22nm technology nodes and copper via fill in new 3D IC applications.