News: Suppliers
7 December 2021
Infinitesima launches Metron3D in-line metrology platform
Semiconductor equipment developer Infinitesima Ltd of Abingdon, UK has launched the Metron3D, an in-line metrology platform designed for high-volume semiconductor manufacturing applications.
The Metron3D combines the well-established benefits of atomic force microscopy (AFM) with several fundamentally new inventions that increase throughput at least 100-fold, and probe lifetime 10-fold. The ability of the Metron3D to operate at such high speed while maintaining very high accuracy will permit chipmakers to benefit from process-insensitive profilometry for in-line metrology and inspection applications for the first time, says the firm.
The measurement module of the Metron3D, dubbed the RPM (for rapid probe metrology), is integrated into a platform that has been developed using existing solutions from well-established suppliers in order to ensure a reliable, fab-ready tool.
The Metron3D platform enables critical metrology and inspection capabilities that are required to advance semiconductor process control for maximizing yield and lowering wafer costs, says Infinitesima. As dimensions shrink and device architecture becomes more complex, the Metron3D offers measurement advantages in areas such as chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) performance (both local and long range), EUV resist characterization and logic FEOL (front end of line) analysis.
With an on-board probe library containing dozens of probes and a dedicated probe loading robot and with software for probe lifetime prediction, continuous operation is guaranteed, even in large-area measurement tasks such as CMP, says the firm. An image recognition-based global alignment system, combined with a highly accurate wafer stage, ensures reliable and reproducible capture and measurement of structures of interest, it adds.
“Moore’s Law is undergoing an inflection as it transitions to 3D process integration,” says CEO Pete Jenkins. “Infinitesima seeks to revolutionize probe metrology with this highly innovative product to enable in-line 3D process control with Angstrom-level resolution and accuracy,” he adds. “Metron3D is the first in a new line of measurement tools that will help solve the process control challenges in coming inflections such as high-NA [numerical aperture] EUV, new materials, and 3D device architecture.”
