The groundbreaking Metron3D in-line probe metrology system from Infinitesima has shipped to its first customer, offering superior process control for the production of next-generation semiconductors.
The Metron3D metrology system by Infinitesima, a ground-breaking sub-nanometer, high-speed 3D imaging system that runs at in-line production throughputs, has just shipped to its first customer.
The system is being supplied to an unnamed, reputable semiconductor company after passing all internal qualification testing for image quality and throughput. The technology will overcome metrology issues for manufacturing next-generation logic, DRAM, and 3D NAND devices because imaging time will be measured in seconds rather than minutes.
By using a unique photo-thermal actuation of the probe tip, the Metron3D has proven throughput and imaging rates up to 100 times quicker than standard atomic force microscopy (AFM) technology. The system has a broad field of view optical global align system, a high-speed wafer stage, and a probe library with a fully automated probe exchange. It is fully automated for high throughput in-line operation. The system has been built to endure acoustic noise and vibration in a manufacturing fab environment to assure imaging quality. This has been done by resonance modeling and multi-layer acoustic isolation.
To maximize yield and, hence, the cost-effectiveness of semiconductor production, metrology is crucial. High NA EUV technology inflections, hybrid wafer bonding, and complicated 3D device structures are already pushing the limits of current e-beam and optical approaches and preventing future advancement.
The impending switch to High-NA EUV is a prime example, wherein thinner resists diminish picture contrast and are more susceptible to damage when utilizing e-beam methods, but smaller features necessitate greater resolution metrology. Although it possesses the resolution and 3D imaging capabilities to address these issues, probe metrology has historically been too slow for in-line integration. By offering probe metrology at the high throughput required for in-line process management, the Metron3D challenges this paradigm.
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