Date: 19/08/2011

e-beam semiconductor wafer defect inspection system for 20nm nodes and below

KLA-Tencor Corporation has announced eDR-7000 electron-beam (e-beam) wafer defect review system, a critical enabling tool for chip manufacturing at the 20nm device nodes and below.

KLA-Tencor explains featuring technology that produce industry-leading sensitivity and throughput, the eDR-7000 addresses defect imaging and classification challenges at leading edge-where yield-killing defects can be as small as 10nm, or located at the bottom of a deep trench or hole. The eDR-7000 is the only tool in its class to reliably identify defects down to the sensitivity thresholds of wafer defect inspection systems designed for the 20nm node says KLA-Tencor.

New features and improvements of eDR-7000 as per KLA-Tencor include:
Third-generation, field-tested e-beam immersion column, for higher resolution and improved topographic imaging;
Advanced stage and vibration-isolation system, for a three-fold improvement in coordinate accuracy and up to a four-fold increase in defect review speed;
Dramatically improved sensitivity to defects on bare wafers, including enhancements to energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX) composition analysis;
Unique reticle defect review mode, for rapid investigation of sites on the wafer where reticle defects may have printed;
Process window characterization at significantly greater throughput;
Voltage-contrast imaging mode for review of e-beam wafer inspection data; and
Offline defect classification capability to increase the tool's availability for imaging work.

"The eDR-7000 offers the opportunity to thoroughly understand the defect population on the wafer," said Cecelia Campochiaro, Ph.D., vice president and general manager of KLA-Tencor's e-Beam Technology division. "This new tool is able to re-locate and image 10nm defects and defect types that are typically missed by currently available review systems. It can review multiple defects per second -primarily because it can drive directly to the site of the defect at high resolution, without having to take the intermediate, time-consuming step of locating the defect at lower magnification, and then zooming in for a clear image. With the outstanding quality and quantity of data afforded by the eDR-7000, engineers are equipped to take appropriate corrective action based on an accurate representation of the defect population."

For more info visit: www.kla-tencor.com