The Measure of All Things
Alexander E. Braun focuses on current metrology issues and developments in the rapidly advancing fields of inspection, measurement and test, and evaluates their relevance and impact on the global semiconductor industry. Occasionally, he will growl, grumble and comment on other matters and subjects that may innocently and foolishly meander too close to his gunsights.
Scatterometry on Steroids
It‘s always pleasant to report on ways that our industry often manages to pour old wine into new technology bottles. In this case, I am referring to a product-driven materials characterization package that could very well revolutionize one of the most critical elements of optical CD measurement. Several optical CD technologies need material optical properties (spectral n&k) to interpret ...... Read More
Comments (0)Everybody Dance!
While I can’t really call myself a big fan of Jay Leno, I confess to the occasional guilty pleasure of enjoying the “Jaywalking” segment in his “Tonight” show, when he would go out on the street and ask people he ran into questions like “Where was the Vietnam War fought?” Answer: “Korea?” Or “What is this a picture of?” ...... Read More
Comments (16)A Jaunt Through Nanotechnopolis
I’ve just returned from Albany, New York, where I attended the 2009 International Conference on Frontiers of Characterization and Metrology for Nanoelectronics. I confess to having a soft spot in my heart for that event, because metrology is a field that has always fascinated me—overwhelmingly, there are so many things that we could not do and build if we weren’t able to measu ...... Read More
Comments (8)EUV Litho Needs Metrology Support
Without doubt, metrology is becoming increasingly more important as the industry works its way down to the smaller nodes. Some of the main challenges lie in the lithography area. Right now, we’re essentially facing two options: 193-mm immersion lithography with double patterning, or EUV litho. At the recent SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference held in San Jose, I spent some time with Dr. Ku ...... Read More
Comments (12)A Trillion Here, a Trillion There: A Study in Perspective
Regardless of what you might think about the idea of a stimulus package to get moving the currently disastrous U.S. economy, seen from a purely mathematical perspective a million (much less a trillion!) of anything is a rather difficult concept for the human mind to grasp—the magnitude is meaningless. One of my most favorite people, Sherlock Holmes, once complained to his friend and biogra ...... Read More
Comments (18)Of Sand and Power
No one will argue against the necessity of applying every known (and developing) source of renewable energy to meet our planet’s exponentially increasing need for electricity. However, it behooves us to look at where it is we’re going to jump before we actually implement on a fuller scale things like photovoltaics, wind, hydroelectric, and other so-called “green” energ ...... Read More
Comments (16)Hurray for the Do-Gooders!
We all know that technology has changed our lives, and as the innovators who produce it, you are used to its wonders. If you are like me, you are often blinded by the camouflage of familiarity and dismiss what has been accomplished when the next node comes along with its new array of small and big miracles. Old (or as it is often euphemistically referred to, “mature”) technolo ...... Read More
Comments (1)Metrology Conference Preparations Are Underway
The second call for papers has gone out for Frontiers of Characterization and Metrology for Nanoelectronics, a conference that I consider as the top metrology event of its kind. Held every other year, this time the conference will take place in Albany at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) at the University of Albany, New York, from May 11 to 14, 2009. As before, those presen ...... Read More
Comments (0)The Nanotech Mirage--A Differing View
I received the comments below from Dr. Adolfo Gutierrez, director of uBricks Research (Troy, New York), after we posted September’s “Movers & Shakers” podcast interview of Robert Geer, the chief academic officer and professor of nanoscale science at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at theUniversity of Albany, New York. Geer’s views about nanotech ...... Read More
Comments (12)He Saw It All First
A few days ago, while emptying an old filing cabinet my wife came across a thick folder of photographs. “Look,” she said, handing me one. “Remember him?” The photo depicted a younger version of me, laughing with a remarkable man. Chesley Bonestell and yours truly enjoying a good laugh. Source: Cedric R. Braun. It reminded me how, as a boy, I spent hours in my fathe ...... Read More
Comments (13)Considering Beyond-CMOS Metrology
Metrology has become one of the main pillars upon which the semiconductor industry bases its progress. Uncertainty rarely transmutes science into technological progress for the simple reason that if something can’t be measured and quantified, it becomes very difficult to direct or control it. The ITRS has done much to define what the needs will be for each node, alerting academia, industry, ...... Read More
Comments (0)Of Silicon Streets, Typewriters, and Horses' Rumps
Spanish philosopher and poet, Jorge Santayana’s aphorism that “Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it,” is widely quoted but generally ignored. I got direct proof of its truth at the recent SEMICON West. While resting my unhappy throbbing feet and downing a double shot of much-needed caffeine, I spoke with the representative of a well-known test company. The co ...... Read More
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