Vision product introductions focus on higher resolution, faster processing

Ann R. Thryft, Contributing Technical Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 7/23/2008 3:03:00 PM

Machine vision and optical inspection product introductions at Semicon West included compact and high-resolution microscopes, as well as systems that combine multiple capabilities to speed inspection.

FEI Company debuted a new class of scanning electron microscopes (SEMs), and extreme high-resolution (XHR) SEMs, which provide sub-nanometer resolutions. The Magellan 400L model, optimized for semiconductor labs, can view critical detail on complex 3-D structures.

Qioptic Imaging Solutions showed the latest addition to its A-Zoom line of probing microscopes, the compact A-Zoom Micro, which streamlines PCB, semiconductor, and flat-panel display probing.

Viscom exhibited its MX100IR desktop system, which uses transmitted and reflected infrared to inspect wafers. Surface Imaging Systems introduced its NanoStation 300, which augments atomic force microscopy (AFM) with optical inspection capability to rapidly identify regions of interest, thereby speeding up the normally slow AFM process.

Nikon Instruments introduced two new systems. The WES-3000 inspection tool makes it easier to inspect wafer edges, where defects have proliferated and become more complex along with the increased use of immersion lithography. The APM-3000 series leverages a form of birefringence in a Fourier space to detect critical dimension and pattern edge roughness variations in wafers.

The new surface-mount device and chip-on-board versions of high brightness LED light line products from Schott Fiber Optics offer high luminosity beams for better contrast in applications such as surface inspection. Schott’s new LLS LED Light Source for machine vision devices runs on less than 15 watts and has a 50,000-hour lifetime.