Highlights

SEMICAPS, a supplier of semiconductor failure-analysis systems, reports that NanoLab Technologies has purchased its SOM 4000 for advanced optical fault location. The SOM 4000 is an inverted scanning optical microscope system that can be used in a stand-alone analytical configuration or docked to an automated tester. It is designed for design debug, product engineering, yield enhancement, and failure-analysis applications.

NanoLab Technologies will use the system in its analytical services for semiconductor manufacturers. NanoLab recently entered into an agreement with Presto Engineering to provide turnkey test and design-analysis services to minimize the cost of bringing products to market.

“During product engineering, fault isolation is a major bottleneck in analyzing defects from designs below 130 nm. Near-infrared technologies are now the only efficient way to physically localize these defects by imaging through the device substrate,” said Michel Villemain, CEO of Presto Engineering. “I am very happy that our partnership with NanoLab Technologies brings a capability like the SOM 4000 to our mutual customers.” www.semicaps.com.

The new In-Sight 1820 vision-based wafer pre-aligner from Cognex uses NotchMax alignment technology to perform noncontact measurement of wafer position and orientation. The In-Sight 1820 determines wafer position and orientation in less than half a second, compared to mechanical pre-aligners that often spin wafers for several seconds. NotchMax, part of the Cognex PatMax family of pattern-finding technologies, aligns wafers with a center position accuracy of ±15 μm and an orientation accuracy of ±0.05°.

Marilyn Matz, Cognex senior VP, vision software, commented, “In addition to throughput and accuracy gains, capital equipment manufacturers will appreciate the system’s ability to handle changing wafer sizes and types with simple parameter changes, while semiconductor fabs will like the noncontact design that minimizes wafer handling and potential damage to the wafer.” www.cognex.com.

At the 4th International Vision Night during Vision 2007, European Machine Vision Association (EMVA) president Gabriele Jansen announced that NeuroCheck and Pleora Technologies had become the 100th and 101st EMVA members, respectively.

NeuroCheck of Remseck, Germany, offers turnkey solutions for all fields of automated visual inspection based on flexible, configurable software developed in-house. Pleora, which is based in Kanata, ON, Canada, provides Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) connectivity solutions for high-performance machine-vision, broadcast video, and security and surveillance applications.

The EMVA’s members represent 18 countries worldwide. Founded in 2003, the EMVA now represents 92 vision companies, six national associations, and three scientific organizations. The organization supports standardization, gathers statistics, organizes the annual EMVA Machine Vision Business Conference and other networking events, and conducts public relations and marketing. www.emva.org.