Fabtech - Product Briefings

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

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:54:08 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 16:08:27 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 14:32:07 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.

New Product: 32nm dielectric films from Novellus reduces UV transmission

Thu, 07 May 2009 16:19:06 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Novellus has developed a suite of 32nm dielectric films which are claimed to significantly reduce the transmission of UV radiation to the critical copper-dielectric interface, maintaining a compressive stress in this region and hence device reliability.

New Product: EtchTemp SensorWafer from KLA-Tencor can characterize high-power, high-frequency etch

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:26:32 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: KLA-Tencor has introduced the next-generation in-situ plasma etch wafer temperature measurement product, the ‘EtchTemp SensorWafer.’ The newest SensorWafer from KLA-Tencor’s SensArray division captures the effect of the process environment on production wafers and offers new capabilities to robustly characterize the high-power, high-frequency etch recipes proliferating at 65nm nodes and below. The EtchTemp SensorWafer enables etch engineers to further visualize, diagnose, and control their processes and process tools, through the significantly increased process measurement capabilities.

New Product: Novellus’ Suppression-Enhanced Fill technology enables void-free fill of Cu

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:09:25 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Novellus has developed an innovative copper electrochemical process called ‘Suppression-Enhanced Fill’ (SEF) that eliminates defects when scaling to the 32nm technology node. The SEF process utilizes the capabilities of the company's ‘SABRE Extreme’ platform to simultaneously enhance current suppression on the wafer field and within the upper sidewalls of contacts and trenches while permitting copper deposition to initiate rapidly from the bottom of these features.

New Product: Synopsys’s Yield Explorer identifies and eliminates systematic yield limiters

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:02:00 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Synopsys has introduced Yield Explorer, a new yield management product that expedites the discovery and mitigation of yield limiters in leading-edge integrated circuits. When compared with traditional methods, Yield Explorer can accelerate the first-silicon debug time by an order of magnitude.

New Product: New analytical method from Entegris extends lithography optics lifetime

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:45:10 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Entegris has introduced a new solution for accurately measuring and controlling volatile organic compounds that cause contamination in advanced semiconductor lithography processes. If left uncontrolled, these low molecular weight, silicon-containing organic compounds such as Trimethysilanol (TMS) have been shown to impact 248nm and 193nm exposure tools, and can lead to permanent damage of sensitive and costly optical components.

New Product: Crossing Automation takes vacuum wafer handling to next level of standardization

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:15:19 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Crossing Automation’s ‘ExpressConnect’ family of wafer-level automation components is designed to provide the industry with a standardized platform that delivers both high-reliability and high-throughput to vacuum wafer handling systems for semiconductor manufacturing. It uses a unique modular solution to wafer-level automation for semiconductor manufacturing that delivers a 20 to 70% smaller footprint; greater flexibility; lower cost; higher productivity; and throughput up to 250 wafers per hour.

New Product: Brion generates co-optimization of source and mask in Tachyon SMO

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:53:08 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Brion Technologies, a division of ASML, has introduced Tachyon SMO, a new source mask optimization (SMO) product. For the first time, full co-optimization of source and mask is achievable with Tachyon SMO. This product provides the industry with manufacturable low k1 imaging solutions.

New Product: Rudolph Technologies offers ‘WaferWoRx’ probing analysis on ‘NSX’ platform

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:05:18 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Rudolph Technologies has updated its ‘NSX’ Series wafer inspection system, which now includes ‘WaferWoRx’ probing process analysis. The NSX Series can now identify the root cause of probe test failure mechanisms, providing faster problem resolution and improved yield performance. WaferWoRx technology came from the acquisition of Applied Precision’s Semiconductor Division in 2007.

New Product: Veeco cuts cost and complexity of AFM adoption

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:51:57 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Veeco Instruments has its new ‘Dimension Icon’ AFM, which the company claims delivers the highest resolution, best ease-of-use, and fastest time-to-results of any large-sample AFM on the market today. The Dimension Icon is said to brings new levels of performance, ease and productivity to researchers using AFM that meets the needs of both the research lab and industrial applications. The tool is designed to perform analysis ranging from quantitative automated characterization to atomic scale imaging across material science, semiconductor, data storage, and energy research.

New Product: Ultra-thin SOI and ultra-thin BOX wafers from Soitec support sub-45 nm roadmap

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:17:46 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Soitec has introduced a new generation of advanced substrates that support all the applications and architectures on the industry’s sub-45 nm roadmap. New solutions such as ultra-thin top silicon and ultra-thin Buried OXide (BOX) give device architects and designers complete flexibility in their choice of substrates for partially depleted (PD) and fully-depleted (FD) devices, including multi-gate transistor architectures (FinFET, Trigate).

New Product: ASML’s new TWINSCAN NXT platform has a new planar wafer stage design

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:13:00 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: ASML has improved its TWINSCANTM lithography platform that offers significant improvements in overlay and productivity, enabling the semiconductor industry to continue its roadmap for more advanced and affordable chips. The TWINSCAN NXT platform is suited for emerging double patterning techniques (DPT) which manufacturers need to shrink the smallest chip features by up to 42 percent.

New Product: ‘Marathon 2 Nano’ platform from Brooks offers OEM tool size reductions

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:31:50 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Brooks Automation has introduced the vacuum process tool automation platform ‘Marathon 2 Nano,’ which is designed to enable smaller footprints for 300mm semiconductor processing equipment. Brooks has included many new features developed from interrelated components that are designed to offer improved process module architecture. Brooks Automation’s Marathon 2 Nano vacuum transfer platform with MagnaTran 9 vacuum robotics and Fusion controls enables a combination of layout flexibility, process module density and overall productivity improvement.

New Product: Pfeiffer Vacuum’s ‘HiPace’ turbopump line expanded

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:48:57 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Pfeiffer Vacuum has broadened its line of ‘HiPace’ turbopumps to include four new sizes. They are characterized by their high pumping speeds for both light (H2, He) and heavy gases (Ar, CF4), achieving high throughputs for heavy gases.

New Product: Tiger Optics’ gas phase AMC analyzer measures parts per trillion trace levels

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:43:09 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Tiger Optics has introduced the ‘Tiger-i’ cleanroom analyzer for gas phase airborne molecular contaminants (AMCs). The Tiger-i line employs Tiger Optics’ patented Continuous Wave Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CW-CRDS) technology that is claimed to provide accurate and immediate, calibration-free analysis.

New Product: Reticle Labs targets MaskShop DFM software at reticle repair

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:59:09 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Reticle Labs has announced the release of MaskShop, a first in a series of design-for-manufacturing software tools currently under development. MaskShop is custom image processing software for quantifying post and pre-repaired defect patterns found on reticles (masks), eliminating guess work while simultaneously streamlining and expediting the repair process. MaskShop is compatible with the most commonly used imaging systems found in a semiconductor mask fabrication facility.

New Product: Bosch Rexroth’s wafer lift subassembly simplifies integration

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:36:40 GMT

Product Briefing Outline: Bosch Rexroth has developed a semiconductor wafer lift subassembly ready to install as a single component, helping tool builders lower costs, streamline their supply chain, and reduce engineering expenses. The lift subassembly has a stroke of 2.25 inches and a duty cycle time of one cycle per second. It carries a load of 12 pounds and is also exposed to a vacuum load of 108 pounds.

Top 5 new products for 2008

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 07:00:50 GMT

One of the equipment suppliers that consistently brings out new products is KLA-Tencor. However, the metrology supplier rarely figures in the most popular rankings in any given year. That has changed in 2008 with its TeraFab tool. Although only released recently, the fifth most popular product was from TEL and Novellus for copper interconnects.