KLA Unveils Atomic Force Line Monitoring Tool

Online Staff -- Electronic News, 6/24/2004

Metrology and inspection tool vendor KLA-Tencor Corp. today unveiled the AF-LM 300, a tool incorporating an atomic force microscope (AFM) and designed for trench depth and surface planarity process control.

The AF-LM 300 is a high reliability, low-risk alternative to traditional AFMs for front-end process monitoring based on KLA-Tencor's Archer 10 overlay metrology platform, according to the company. The tool incorporates an AFM head developed jointly with SII NanoTechnology Inc., a subsidiary of Seiko Instruments.

The AF-LM 300's stage, optics and scanners work together to achieve a move-and-measure data acquisition time of less than 30 seconds, which is more than twice as fast as that of traditional AFMs, KLA claims.

In addition, the Linnik interferometer from the AF-LM 300's pattern-recognition system feeds forward the wafer surface position to the AFM head, enabling rapid tip-to-surface approach, according to the company. Algorithms enable the minimum number of line scans to locate and measure the feature in question, KLA-Tencor said.

The company also says it has automated the typically manual process of replacing the nanometer-scale tips that trace the device surface within AFMs. With the AF-LM 300, pre-qualified and pre-aligned self-sensing cantilevers are supplied in cartridges.

AF-LM 300 operators are thus handling self-aligning cassettes the size of a cell phone; each system contains a reservoir of six cassettes of 10 tips each. Automatic tip exchange is typically accomplished in less than six minutes, including tip characterization and calibration, the company said.

Infineon Technologies has installed the AF-LM 300 and said the tool has become an indispensable technology for monitoring trench depths and chemical mechanical planarization processes at the 90nm node and below.

KLA-Tencor anticipates volume shipments of the tool to begin in the second half of this year.