KLA-Tencor rolls out trio of wafer inspection systems

Front-end systems enable chipmakers to improve yield.

-- Test & Measurement World, 2/6/2012 7:00:00 AM

KLA-Tencor announced a flagship suite of wafer-defect inspection systems—the 2900, Puma 9650, and eS800—to address the wide range of defect issues that new materials, structures, and design rules have imposed on manufacturers of advanced chips. Each of the front-end inspection systems offers seamless connectivity to the eDR-7000 e-beam wafer-defect review and classification system, which completes the process of identifying the defect types found by inspectors.

The 2900 series broadband optical wafer-defect inspection platform offers increased capture of small defects of interest on early process layers and backend layers, with sensitivity approaching that of e-beam inspection in some cases. The tool's improved ADI (after-develop inspection) performance means that the fab can identify killer defects earlier in the process.

The Puma 9650 narrowband optical wafer-defect inspection system performs defect capture in yield-critical areas, such as the edges of SRAM arrays, memory transition regions, and page breaks. Upgradeable from the Puma 9550 platform, the Puma 9650 provides overall higher sensitivity to particles and pattern defects, including bridges, residue, and extra pattern on front-end etch layers.

The eS800 electron-beam inspection system performs physical and electrical defect capture on a wide range of layers and structures, the most challenging of which include defects inside deep trenches and vias or at the very edges of DRAM and SRAM arrays. In addition, the eS800 delivers the throughput needed to scan large areas of the die to find electrical defect signatures, such as under-etch, shorts, and opens.

All three platforms share an intuitive graphical user interface that eases operator training and allows flexible work routing.

2900 series—www.kla-tencor.com/front-end-defect-inspection/29xx-series.html

Puma 9650 series—www.kla-tencor.com/front-end-defect-inspection/puma-family.html

eS800 series—www.kla-tencor.com/front-end-defect-inspection/es800-series.html

KLA-Tencor, www.kla-tencor.com