Wafers
At the heart of almost every electronic product are wafers, thin slices of semiconductor materials on which microcircuits are constructed through the diffusion and deposition of various substances. Representing one of the most challenging areas of modern technology, the wafer industry has existed under the historical tenets that each generation of chip must be made thinner, more efficient and less costly.
Today wafer manufacturers are also facing increased pressure from consumers to get their latest products to market faster. Whereas previous generations of microchips were released every two or four years, today's turnover times are counted in months, with many customers expecting new products each year. Although the move to nanoscale devices can help reduce the cost per function of each device, the design requirements of these high performance chips also present new technical challenges for the metrology used in their manufacture and inspection.
In this demanding environment, even the smallest deviation can have significant downstream impacts that can lead to millions of dollars in lost resources and market revenues. Manufacturers in this industry must always keep a close eye on production-related issues at the wafer's edge as well as possible defects in the sub-micron range such as contaminating particles, open lines and shorts between lines. To achieve this, wafer inspection teams rely on transmitted and reflected light images (using white light or lasers) to identify surface defects early in the production process so that swift corrective measures can be taken.
Associated Products
-
Optistation-3200
300mm wafer inspection system featuring Nikon's renowned CFI60 optics and newly designed DUV microscope.
-
Optistation-3100
Compact, cost-effective solution for 300mm wafer inspection in diverse applications.
-
Optistation-3000
An inspection system and analysis tool for R&D defect analysis delivering high-speed transfer and system stability.
-
Optistation-7
300mm inspection station delivering high precision, throughput, accuracy and ease of use.
-
Optistation-V
Compact wafer inspection solution featuring exceptional accuracy and high throughput at a modest price.
-
AMI-3000
Automatic macro inspection system with high throughput and exceptional sensitivity.
-
NRM-3100
Overlay inspection measurement system delivering sub-naometer precision and throughput of more than 150 wafers per hour.
-
NWL-860
IC inspection wafer loader capable of handling 8- and 6-inch (200 and 150 mm) wafers.
-
NWL-641
IC inspection wafer loader for 6- to 4- inch (150 and 100 mm) wafers.
-
NWL200
Advanced IC inspection wafer loader capable of loading 100µm thin wafers.
-
P3
Designed for automated pattern profile management and line width roughness monitoring of 300mm wafers.
-
NEXIV FOUP
Non-contact, fully automated wafer carrier measuring system.
-
Eclipse LV150 Series
Modular reflected light microscope systems for wafer inspection and materials science applications.
Metal Manufacturing, MEMS, Wafers, Automotive Manufacturing, Medical Devices…
-
Eclipse L300 Series
300mm wafer and mask inspection microscope systems for reflected light defect identification.
-
Eclipse L200N Series
200mm wafer and mask inspection microscope systems for reflected light defect identification.
-
DART Software
Semiconductor wafer inspection software offering features such as image archiving, defect review, post probe review and online communications.
