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Product Briefing Outline: KLA-Tencor Corporation has claimed that its new resolution surface topography profiling system, the ‘HRP-350,' is the most advanced in the industry and can extend critical measurement capability to the 45nm semiconductor device generation. The HRP-350 system offers chipmakers the ability to monitor significantly smaller lateral and vertical dimensions. These breakthroughs are matched by higher scan speeds that elevate the system's production worthiness across a wide range of critical transistor and interconnect applications. The company claimed an installed base of over 500 HRP-series systems as well as more than 4,000 desktop tools, which are extensively used by fabs, universities, and research facilities, according to the company.

Problem: With profile control requirements for critical etch and CMP processes becoming much tighter with every device generation, engineers require a single-system solution that can support yield critical nanoscale applications as well as control macro-scale topography on the wafer.

Solution: The HRP-350 system's high-resolution mode enables the control of nanoscale features for applications that directly impact device performance, such as Shallow Trench Isolation, CMP in the interconnect, metal film roughness and tungsten plug recess. For larger scale features, the system's long-scan mode operates at high throughput to measure copper CMP dishing and erosion, copper plating, die planarity, and C4 bump height in packaging.  The system's broad portfolio of styli, including a new, proprietary 20nm ‘UltraSharp' stylus, are based on diamond materials to offer the longest operating lifetimes, typically up to 100 times longer than AFM tips, the company claims. New stylus developments further advance the technology by not only shrinking the stylus dimensions, but also enhancing their robustness to enable scanning up to five times faster than the previous HRP-340 system. Other system productivity enhancements contribute up to 40% higher system throughput while profiling critical structures in advanced 65nm and 45nm devices.

Applications: Provides long scan profilometry and high resolution imaging for both CMP and etch and certain bump packaging applications.

Platform: HRP-350 platform includes multiple enhancements that reduce noise, enabling much higher profile measurement precision, sensitivity and repeatability. A new isolation table, advanced acoustic barrier and damping materials, and a new probe sensor assembly all contribute to improved noise floor performance compared to the previous HRP-340 system. In addition to 300mm capability on the HRP-350 system, an HRP-250 is also available with similar feature characteristics for 200mm and smaller wafers for IC manufacturing, as well as for disk drive manufacturing applications.

Availability: July 2007 onwards.