1998 Editors' Choice Best Product Awards
John Baliga, Associate Editor -- Semiconductor International, 12/1/1998
For the 10th year, Semiconductor International recognizes 20 products used in the semiconductor and related manufacturing industries for their excellence. The Editors' Choice Best Product Awards Program was established in 1989 to recognize superior performance of equipment, materials, software and other products that have advanced wafer processing, chip assembly or packaging or process testing capabilities; enhanced semiconductor or related manufacturing results; improved employee productivity or working conditions or aided a manufacturer's efforts to provide a safer workplace or be more environmentally responsible.All 20 products presented on the following pages have been nominated to receive this honor by one or more knowledgeable users. Although the editors of Semiconductor International chose the winners, extensive comments from users of the products were used in the evaluation process.
The Editors' Choice Best Product Program at Semiconductor International differs from other product award programs in that the candidate products must be nominated by their users, not the companies that make or sell them. In addition to validating the products as legitimate candidates, nominations from users also substantiate that the products are proven.
Semiconductor International recognizes that competitive advantages are associated with the use of products like these, and we treat all information from users as strictly confidential. Though it is necessary to confirm that the products are being used by valid users, the information obtained is not construed as an endorsement. Confidentiality is scrupulously maintained to allow users to nominate deserving products and give honest opinions.
| The developers of KLA-Tencor's Surfscan AIT celebrate the winning of 1998's Grand Award. |
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The awards were presented to company representatives at a ceremony at the Renaissance Austin Hotel (Fig. 1) in Austin, Texas, the evening of Oct. 20, the first day of exhibits at Semicon Southwest. In addition to recognizing the 20 products, one was chosen from among them to be the Grand Award winner. The 1998 Grand Award winner was KLA-Tencor's Surfscan AIT.
The editorial staff of Semiconductor International congratulates
all the winners of the 1998 Best Product Award. Readers are urged to have their
products nominated in next year's competition, or to nominate a deserving product
they may be using. Finding a group of deserving candidate products is a year-round
effort. If you have or use equipment, materials, software or related products
used in the manufacture of semiconductors, MEMS devices, flat panel displays
or related products that you feel merit consideration for the 1999 Editors'
Choice Best Products competition, contact the SI editors for further
information about next year's program and deadline for entries. 
 Ablestik Laboratories' THERMAXX 2600K |
Ablestik Laboratories The THERMAXX 2600K die bonding adhesive from Ablestik Laboratories
is a combination of silver, thermoplastic and thermoset resins designed
to have a cured silver content of 90% or more. This allows it to be handled
like an epoxy material, yet provide thermal conductivity approaching that
of eutectic solder. |
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 Applied Materials' Endura Integrated PVD/CVD Liner/Barrier System |
Applied Materials Applied Materials has two winning products this year. The
Endura Integrated PVD/CVD Liner/Barrier System performs physical vapor
deposition (PVD) of titanium and chemical vapor deposition of titanium
nitride to form liner/barrier films for contact and vias. The system can
deposit robust liner/barrier films as thin as 100-300 Å. The Silicon
Etch DPS Centura etches silicon features for gate formation, shallow trench
isolation and advanced capacitor structures. With critical dimension control
to less than 10 nm, its technology is extendible down to the 130 nm technology
generation. |
Applied Materials' Silicon Etch DPS Centura |
 ASM Pacific's AB339 Automatic Gold Wire Ball Bonder |
ASM Pacific ASM Pacific's AB339 Automatic Gold Wire Ball Bonder provides
50 µm pitch bonding capability in production environments. With
its high-frequency, low-temperature technology, it has also achieved production
bonding speeds equivalent to more than seven bonds per second. It can
also perform copper wire bonding with a simple conversion. |
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 ESEC's 2007 HS Die Bonder |
ESEC ESEC's 2007 HS Die Bonder performs highly consistent die
bonding for die sizes ranging from 0.5 mm to 1 in. Its open communication
architecture, compliance with SECS and GEM protocols and wide range of
programmable parameters make it suitable for a wide range of die bonding
applications. It also boasts a throughput over 6500 units per hour for
2 mm dice. |
 FSI International's P4400 Slurry Blending and Distribution System |
FSI International The P4400 Slurry Blending and Distribution System from
FSI International allows CMP tool operators to custom blend slurries with
their own UPW systems and distribute those slurries in a cost- effective
manner. Its vacuum-pressure technology provides highly reliable distribution
while preserving the quality of the slurry. |
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 Fluoroware's Voyager Wafer Shipping System |
Fluoroware Fluoroware's Voyager Wafer Shipping System is used to protect
wafers from damage and contamination in transit from a wafer grower to
a fab. Its compact 690 cubic in. size, lightweight 2.2 lb construction
and simple, reusable design give it shipping, storage and ownership cost
advantages. |
 GW Associates' SECSIM Pro |
GW Associates SECSIM Pro from GW Associates is software for testing and
developing equipment communication interfaces. It tests compliance with
SEMI standards and Y2K concerns and debugs equipment interface and host
computer problems. It can also be used to develop host operations without
having to take production equipment off line. |
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 Keithley Instruments' S600 Automatic Parametric Tester |
Keithley Instruments The S600 Automatic Parametric Tester from Keithley Instruments
helps monitor processes using electrical characterization of wafer test
structures. It quickly measures femtoamp level gate currents and other
parameters, and it provides powerful and customizable data handling capabilities.
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 Manugistics' Manufacturing Planning and Scheduling |
Manugistics Manugistics' Manufacturing Planning and Scheduling, previously
known as the TS/X Planner, provides demand-driven production plans for
both fabless and back-end companies. This software application helps companies
with the increasingly difficult task of managing work in process (WIP)
and stock levels as the industry moves toward a make-to-order environment.
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 Nova Measuring Instruments' NovaScan 420 |
Nova Measuring Instruments The NovaScan 420 integrated thickness monitoring system
from Nova Measuring Instruments monitors the post-CMP thickness of each
production wafer while the wafer is still in the machine. No cleaning
or drying of the wafer is required for the non-contact measurement, and
it provides valuable run-to-run control data for the CMP process in real
time. |
|
 KLA-Tencor's High Resolution Profiler Series |
KLA-Tencor KLA-Tencor has two winning products this year, including
the Grand Award winner, the Surfscan AIT patterned wafer inspection system.
Designed for high-volume, in-line monitoring of both logic and memory
devices, the Surfscan AIT provides detailed defect data in real time for
critical yield analysis and projection. High Resolution Profiler Series
tools have submicron resolution capability and a 130 µm vertical
range to measure wafer surfaces on both macroscopic and microscopic scales.
They provide metrology data for applications such as shallow trench isolation
and CMP in a production environment. |
 KLA-Tencor's Surfscan AIT |
 Promis Systems' PROMIS v5.4 |
Promis Systems Promis Systems' PROMIS v5.4 manufacturing execution system
(MES) is a tightly integrated suite of software applications for controlling
fab operations. Its open, component-based architecture allows it to be
customized and upgraded easily while allowing process plans and workflows
to be changed dynamically to meet fab needs. |
 Rudolph Technologies' VANGUARD Series Metrology Tools |
Rudolph Technologies The VANGUARD Series Metrology Tools from Rudolph Technologies
provide measurements for all process films. The MetaPULSE tool uses picosecond
ultrasonic laser sonar (PULSE) to characterize metal films with sub-angstrom
repeatability, and the SpectraLASER tool uses multi-domain ellipsometry
to measure transparent films with angstrom-level accuracy. Both tools
have production-worthy throughput and work on a common platform. |
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 Quad Systems' APS-1 Advanced Packaging System |
Quad Systems The APS-1 Advanced Packaging System from Quad Systems is
capable of performing many advanced chip assembly processes with little
or no machine changeover. Applications as varied as flip chip on flex,
chip on ceramic, MCM-L and SMT placement can all be performed on this
one platform. |
 SELA's MC-200 Microcleaving System |
SELA SELA's MC-200 Microcleaving System prepares SEM cross-section
samples for failure analysis, process monitoring and research and development.
Its high cutting accuracy, short process time, automatic operation and
lack of an artifact introducing mechanism make it a valuable tool for
analyzing semiconductor devices. |
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 Semy Engineering's Mypro MBTC Diffusion Furnace Controller |
Semy Engineering The Mypro MBTC Diffusion Furnace Controller from Semy Engineering
provides model based temperature control (MBTC) for diffusion furnaces.
Its advanced multivariate control technology can provide 0.1°C steady-state
temperature control while virtually eliminating overshoot after temperature
changes. This provides exceptional process uniformity and furnace reliability
improvements while eliminating the need for offline profiling. |
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 Tokyo Electron's UW-8000 Series Wet Bench |
Tokyo Electron Tokyo Electron's UW-8000 Series Wet Bench performs wafer
surface preparation tasks such as wafer cleaning, oxide and nitride etching
and polymer removal. Its cassetteless transfer design reduces cross contamination,
leading to almost undetectable added defect levels. |
 Trebor International's MAXIM 50 Chemical Pump |
Trebor InternationalTrebor International's MAXIM 50 Chemical Pump is an air operated double diaphragm that uses an all PTFE/PFA flow path and floating check valves to provide contamination-free, ultra high purity chemical flow. It can operate at temperatures up to 180°C and pressures up to 80 psi, delivering 50 |
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