Inspection, Measurement & Test

• Photomasks Adapt to Shrinks, Require New Metrology

  Alexander E. Braun, Senior Editor, December 21, 2009
  With photomasks becoming an optical element in lithography, and defect detection and repair becoming more difficult to do, techniques such as aerial image verification and new forms of metrology are critical if the ITRS is to be met.  More

• Diffractive Optics Enable Improved Illumination, Resolution

  James Carriere and Todd Hudson, Tessera Inc., Charlotte, N.C., December 1, 2009
  Diffractive optical elements are becoming increasingly important for use in lithography and inspection equipment, especially as illumination demands call for more complex DOE designs.  More

• Quantum Dot Mapping Points to Unthought of Applications

  Alexander E. Braun, Senior Editor, November 5, 2009
  University of Michigan physicists have mapped quantum dots, crystals with wide-ranging applications in electronics and photovoltaics. The step may lead toward "designer dots" that can be tailored for specific applications, and demonstrates the usefulness of X-ray phasing techniques.  More

• In-Die vs. Scribe-Line Copper CMP Monitoring

  H.S. Lee, C. Kim, H. Yoo, T.K. Kim, C.H. Lee and S. Son, Hynix Semiconductor Inc., Kyunggi-do, Korea, www.hynix.com; K. Park, P. Mukundhan and C. Kim, Rudolph Technologies, Flanders, N.J., www.rudolphtech.com, October 1, 2009
  For copper electroplating and post-CMP, in-die copper thickness measurements prove to better reflect the actual data on memory devices.  More

• Testing Image Sensors: Lab to Fab

  Staff, September 30, 2009
  The trend to smaller, cheaper and more flexible test equipment is hitting the image sensor market. "Customers don't want three different platforms for testing image sensors — one for early design, one for R&D characterization and another for high-volume production," said Martin Vasey, co-founder of Jova Solutions.  More

• KLA-Tencor Introduces Teron 600 Mask Inspection System

  Staff, September 15, 2009
  Coinciding with the SPIE Photomask conference, KLA-Tencor introduced a mask defect inspection tool that can deal with emerging computational lithography techniques, including inverse lithography technology (ILT) and source mask optimization (SMO).  More

• Encoders Provide Path to High-Resolution Positioning

  Wolfgang Holzapfel, Dr. Johannes Heidenhain GmbH, Traunrent, Germany, September 1, 2009
  High-resolution interferential encoders, when chosen, calibrated and used appropriately, are instrumental to the positioning performance of steppers, inspection tools and dicing machines.  More

• Vibration Control for Nanolithography

  Wes Wigglesworth, Technical Manufacturing Corp., Peabody, Mass.; Scott Jordan, PI (Physik Instrumente) LP, Karlsruhe, Germany, September 1, 2009
  Sub-45 nm lithography, SEM and optical metrology require nanometer-level vibration control. An approach using active control via piezoelectric ceramics improves the reliability of vibration control in fabs.  More

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