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Metryx teams with IMEC on mass metrology capabilities for sub-32nm processes |
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Jan 07, 2008 at 02:06 PM |
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 Non-destructive mass metrology tool supplier Metryx Limited has signed up to a joint development program with IMEC to evaluate and develop mass metrology at both the application and tool level for sub-32nm process manufacturing. IMEC has already purchased and has been using Metryx’s Mentor SF3 300mm tool since last year.
“Mass metrology gives us extremely good insight into both process development and process stability,” said Serge Vanhaelemeersch, Director of Advanced Materials and Process Steps at IMEC. “At the sub-32nm level, any slight variation in a deposition or etch process can be highlighted immediately and with a great deal of accuracy. With such precision, we know whether we are right or wrong at a very early stage, which could significantly reduce development time and scrap.”
“The measurement of mass change at the atomic level, from one process step to another, has gained, and continues to gain, rapid market acceptance for a variety of manufacturing applications in IC fabs around the world,” said Dr. Adrian Kiermasz, President and CEO of Metryx Ltd. “As we continue to scale down line widths to the sub-32nm level, observing the mass characteristics and the changes of a wafer’s mass becomes even more critical. Collaborating with IMEC provides us with an excellent platform to demonstrate the effectiveness and versatility of the technology across a number of process applications.”
Metryx’s Mentor metrology tool monitors the mass of a wafer following a process step to determine process correctness without wafer destruction.
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