PRODUCTS

Certified Used Equipment

New Optical CD Metrology Tool From KLA-Tencor Provides Inline Transistor Control For 90-nm And 65-nm Gate Patterning Processes
Share
SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 23, 2004--KLA-Tencor today introduced SpectraCD™100--its next-generation inline optical CD metrology system for advanced patterning process control at the 90-nm and 65-nm nodes.Based on KLA-Tencor's widely adopted spectroscopic CD (SCD) technology, SpectraCD 100 provides customers with the critical information required to accurately predict yield and transistor performance inline. This allows fabs to detect process-drift excursions early in the process flow and minimize the cost per good die. SpectraCD 100 utilizes a new hardware platform and advanced 3-D modeling capabilities to conduct complete profile measurements of yield-critical structures with a two-fold improvement in precision and tool-to-tool matching over KLA-Tencor's previous-generation SpectraCD system. Several leading logic and memory manufacturers are already utilizing SpectraCD 100 as a line monitor for critical gate patterning steps. In addition, leading lithography equipment vendors are using it to characterize their advanced steppers and scanners prior to shipping to customers.

"Given the extremely small error budgets associated with today's advanced lithography processes, every nanometer of process variation could potentially trigger yield loss within the fab", stated Kaoru Kikuchi, engineering department manager at Nikon Corp., which is currently evaluating the SpectraCD 100. "As the most important fab tools, lithography scanners must be put through rigorous qualification and characterization tests prior to shipment to our customers to ensure they do not contribute to any process variations during operation. To meet our exacting standards, we need to take countless CD measurements on test wafers after patterning in a very short period of time. This requires high-speed metrology tools with pinpoint accuracy for lines as well as contact holes. SpectraCD 100 has the potential for achieving the precision, throughput and matching necessary to enable us to qualify our advanced lithography systems with confidence."

At the 90-nm node and below, controlling the cross-sectional profile of critical layer structures is key to maximizing yield and transistor performance. Poor transistor control could make the difference between having a high-performance device and having a low-binning, low-yielding product. Traditional CD linewidth measurements, while still critical, are no longer sufficient by themselves for providing all the information that chipmakers need to accurately predict yield and transistor performance. Today, complete feature profile information is needed, including CD, sidewall angle, height and depth. Contact hole profile measurements are also critical, since contact hole sizes that are significantly reduced or closed at the bottom of the structure can result in significant yield loss.

Existing profile measurement technologies are destructive and do not offer the throughput required for production. SpectraCD 100's long-term precision, ability to non-destructively measure features down to 30 nm, production throughput, and accurate 3-D profile metrology capabilities provide chipmakers with an effective inline process control and product dispositioning tool for critical patterning steps at the 90-nm and 65-nm nodes.

SpectraCD 100 utilizes the latest-generation broadband spectroscopic ellipsometry technology with reflective optics across a continuous wavelength spectrum from 190 nm to 800 nm to provide up to a 10-fold improvement in sensitivity to detecting certain process issues, such as resist footers in gate structures. These improvements also enable highly accurate measurements of extremely small and isolated features and profiles--a critical capability for leading-edge device manufacturers. SpectraCD 100's new 3-D modeling capability enables measurement of contact holes, and provides more accurate information on sidewall angle and height for tighter process control and better prediction of electrical performance. In addition to monitoring all layers served by the previous-generation SpectraCD system, such as resist lines, shallow trench isolation (STI) etch, gate etch and trench etch, SpectraCD 100 can monitor a wide variety of new front-end layers that require higher sensitivity. These include DRAM gate, spacer, bi-layer resist, step height, deep trench and chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) layers with liners.

"The ability to accurately predict electrical performance early in the IC manufacturing process is critical in today's high-volume production fabs, where tens of thousands of wafers are processed per week. This is especially true during transistor formation, where the maximum performance and speed potential of devices is established," stated David Fisher, vice president of marketing for KLA-Tencor's Optical CD Metrology Division. "optical CD metrology has played an increasingly critical role in the IC fab in ensuring that patterning processes are kept in check during production, and KLA-Tencor is committed to bringing this technology to our customers so that they can continue to meet their roadmap requirements. SpectraCD 100 is the result of more than seven years of development and refinement of our optical CD metrology technology, which has been adopted for both R&D and production by nearly every major IC manufacturer worldwide."

SpectraCD 100 offers two modes of operation for improved modeling flexibility and ease of use: a library generation mode, which allows customers to set up models in advance to achieve fast results during operation; and a regression mode, which leverages KLA-Tencor's CDExpress technology to provide high-speed calculations of profile parameters in real-time while reducing modeling setup time. SpectraCD 100 is also iSupport™-ready at no additional charge. iSupport is KLA-Tencor's highly secure network, which includes expert onsite tool support, 7x24 online support and e-diagnostics built into the tool, enabling it to perform at maximum efficiency.

KLA-Tencor will showcase SpectraCD 100 at the SPIE Microlithography 2004 conference, February 24-25, at booth #320 in the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, Calif. Several papers on the application of SpectraCD technology for advanced semiconductor fabrication will also be presented during SPIE.

About KLA-Tencor: KLA-Tencor is the world leader in yield management and process control solutions for semiconductor manufacturing and related industries. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with operations around the world, KLA-Tencor ranked #6 on S&P's 2002 index of the top 500 companies in the U.S. KLA-Tencor is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol KLAC. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at http://www.kla-tencor.com

SpectraCD and iSupport are trademarks of KLA-Tencor.

Contact:
Meggan Powers
Director Corporate Communications

 

 

Related Products