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ALIS describes helium-ion microscopy tool
July 26, 2005
Although not exhibiting at Semicon West, officials from ALIS (whose name stands for atomic level imaging system) were on hand in San Francisco during the show to describe their next-generation microscopy tool. The ALIS approach, said Bill Ward, ALIS president, represents an important milestone in electron microscopy, a field that he says has seen few significant advancements since the mid-1960s.
Ward explained that with the ALIS approach, a scanning ion microscope uses a beam of helium ions as the imaging particles. "Since ions can be focused into a smaller probe size and have less sample interaction, we can generate higher resolution images with more material contrast so more detail can be seen," he said, adding, "We expect to be able to see things much smaller than we’ve ever been able to see with even the most sophisticated scanning electron microscope," achieving magnifications over one million times.
Initially, he said, the company will focus on the microscopy needs of the semiconductor industry, with a tool specifically designed to meet the needs of failure analysis engineers and scientists.
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Posted by Rick Nelson on July 26, 2005 | Comments (0)
