Rudolph Technologies Joins Sematech Metrology Program
Staff -- Semiconductor International, 2/20/2008
Rudolph Technologies Inc. (Flanders, N.J.) has joined the Sematech (Austin, Texas) metrology program, based at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) at the University at Albany (Albany, N.Y.).
Under the membership agreement, Rudolph and Sematech will jointly establish an International Process Characterization (IPC) program, which aims to bring together technologists, tools and software for the development of process, analysis and characterization technology for the 32 nm generation and beyond.
Rudolph, which provides process characterization equipment and software for thin-film measurement and macro defect inspection, becomes the first equipment vendor to join the metrology program as an associate member. It will join with the Sematech member companies to “accelerate the development and application of measurement methods for advanced semiconductor technologies,” the company said.
The initial IPC program addresses a range of issues, including the metrology of thin films and metal gate stacks; wafer front, back and edge macro defect inspection; inspection and metrology for through-silicon vias (TSVs) and 3-D ICs; immersion lithography process characterization; process modeling and optimization for yield enhancement; and automatic defect classification (ADC).
Alex Oscilowski, COO at Rudolph, said the semiconductor industry faces increasing difficulty in discerning actionable information within the torrent of raw data. “The integration of advanced hardware and intelligent analytical software will be the key to meeting these challenges. We are looking forward to contributing our experience, front end to back end throughout the manufacturing process, and our broad expertise in metrology, inspection and data analysis technologies to this important joint effort,” Oscilowski said.
The IPC program is open to participation by equipment vendors, and will bring together researchers from participating companies, the CNSE and the members of Sematech and the International Sematech Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI, Austin, Texas).
Sematech CEO Michael Polcari said the IPC program “will give our researchers access to advanced, integrated hardware and software platforms that will enable them to drive the development of process, materials, analysis and characterization technologies that are critical for continued progress and leadership in nanoscale manufacturing. And ultimately, we believe the IPC program can serve as both a foundation and a model for expanded programs in this critical area of metrology and process characterization.”
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