Seeing more, smaller, and faster
By Ann R. Thryft, Contributing Technical Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 12/1/2008 2:00:00 AM
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Much of the demand for higher resolution machine-vision tools is coming from the need to see more at a time, more clearly, and at much smaller dimensions than ever before. The semiconductor industry's shift to shrinking process design rules of 55 nm, 45 nm, and below is putting pressure on tool, camera, and microscope makers to improve both resolution and throughput speed.
Several new technologies have been harnessed to address these challenges. One is Carl Zeiss SMT's helium ion source for advanced microscopy that can see greater detail with a smaller focus spot and very little blurring at subnanometer resolutions (see “Helium ion beams illuminate tiny particles”). Another innovation is Nikon Instruments' advanced optics that use scattered light and diffracted light for whole-wafer surface inspection, combined with polarized light for pattern detection (see “Polarized optics illuminate wafer defects”).
At the same time, manufacturers need to inspect larger surface areas, including flat-panel displays, whole wafers, and photovoltaic cells. This means much larger images, and thus more memory, which affects machine-vision software. Many third-party packages now support 64-bit processors with a wider addressable memory (see “Machine-vision software goes independent”).
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