Over 25 years ago, FSI realized the importance of advanced applications development and established one of the industry's first equipment supplier-based laboratories. Today FSI International operates a state-of-the-art process lab in a Class 1 clean room at its Chaska, Minnesota, USA headquarters. Customers often comment that its leading-edge capabilities are a testimony to FSI's technology leadership and customer partnering philosophy. This proven facility can offer IC makers distinct advantages:
- Reduced development time
- Improved production readiness by pre-qualifying processes
- Facilitate optimizing in-field implementation
“Ultimately, our lab enables us to deliver what's important to our customers – development and verification of technology-enabling and cost-efficient processes that are production-ready to meet leading-edge device demands,” said Tom Wagener, FSI Applications Engineering Director. “FSI tools and supporting analytical equipment enable rapid process development in our lab.”
To support this leading-edge process development, the FSI lab features its flagship 300mm surface conditioning products: MAGELLAN® Immersion Cleaning System, ANTARES® CryoKinetic Cleaning System and ZETA® Spray Cleaning System. To ensure state-of-the-art process results, these process tools are facilitized with high purity gas and chemical delivery systems. In addition, these tools are supported by advanced 300mm analytical tools, including a Surfscan SP1/TBI, a soon-to-arrive Surfscan SP2 capable of 37nm particle detection, a thin-film ellipsometer, a XRF spectrometer, an FT-IR spectrometer, an automated 4-point conductivity probe, a full-wafer SEMVision SEM tool (200mm), and other miscellaneous support equipment such as microscopes.
“Using the resources of the FSI lab, we partner with customers throughout the world to develop new processes to solve their problems and advance to the next technology nodes – often implemented on their existing equipment. A good example of this type of joint development work is our PlatNiStrip™ process,” stated Wagener.
The FSI process application team worked with key customers to develop a solution for salicide formation at 65nm on the ZETA® Spray Cleaning System. This nickel-platinum process was then transferred to the customers' fab and implemented into manufacturing. The process was initially demonstrated on 65nm pilot lines, resulting in a shorter cycle time between development and implementation. (Click here to view the recent PlatNiStrip™ press release)
Customers have also used the FSI process lab to pre-qualify recipes, reducing the time spent in their own fabs making a process production-ready. (Click here for the Micro article that describes a “virtual fab” process development that occurred a few years ago with a key customer.) Tests show that device wafers can be handled in our Class 1 clean room without affecting baseline results, making it an excellent “virtual lab.” Customers sent actual wafers from their production floors to FSI Chaska for split-lot processing and the returned wafers showed yield-improving results without handling degradation.
“Shorter implementation time means the customer's investment produces revenue sooner,” Wagener added. “The FSI process lab operates in the same manner as leading advanced IC manufacturing fabs. Our protocol and procedures reflect the industry's best-known methods.” The FSI advanced process lab also supports the network of global in-field application engineers to facilitate faster return on IC maker tool investments.
“We release recipes for specific customer manufacturing processes,” explained Wagener. “The FSI global applications group then optimizes these processes in the field, working best-known methods into the process flow at the customer's fab. Our customers can ramp new processes quickly, which reduces time from receipt of tool to acceptance.”
To learn more about how the FSI Advanced Process Lab can benefit your fab, please contact your local account manager or click here to complete the request form.