FSI has recently qualified a new Surfscan SP2 in its class 1 applications laboratory, extending particle detection capability down to 30 nm. The new system will allow FSI to continue to support its customers and its own product and application development programs through the 45nm technology node and beyond. The addition of the SP2 is part of a company wide effort to recharacterize all tools and processes at smaller particle sizes, ultimately providing direction for a coordinated program of reoptimization and product development.
“Clearly, as device geometries continue to shrink, smaller and smaller particles become significant,” said Jeff Butterbaugh, FSI chief technologist, “An important requirement of FSI products is to remove these particles from the wafer surface. If we can’t see them, we can’t know how well our equipment is performing. The addition of the new Surfscan SP2 allows us to continue to optimize current processes and develop new processes to meet our customers’ needs, at least through the next generation.”
“The ITRS roadmap anticipates a number of developments that will challenge cleaning processes,” continues Butterbaugh. “Shallower junctions will emphasize the need for resist stripping and cleaning processes that minimize surface damage, material loss and dopant loss. Porous low k dielectrics need cleaning and rinsing processes that do not degrade film properties. Increased integration of greater functionality on the chip, such as passive electronic components and lens or filters for optoelectronic devices, may not be compatible with current cleaning methods. To meet these and other challenges we need to maintain state-of-the-art capabilities in our applications laboratory.”
The Surfscan SP2 provides the increased sensitivity and throughput needed to monitor tool and process performance down to 30nm. Incorporating a new ultraviolet (UV) laser, new darkfield optics and advanced data processing algorithms, the Surfscan SP2 finds defects as small as 30nm, at throughputs up to five times better than the prior-generation tool. It can separate pits from particles and is designed to accommodate engineered substrates, such as silicon-on-insulator (SOI), strained silicon and strained SOI.
Figure 1: The new Surfscan SP2 can detect particles as small as 30nm.
The Surfscan is only the latest addition to the impressive list of capabilities already found in FSI’s class 1 laboratory. Of course, the lab features FSI’s 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 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. The lab also has the ability to create challenge wafers, containing contaminant particles of known type and size, used to test particle removal performance.
“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. “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. Faster implementation means our customer's achieve faster revenue and return on their investment with our products.”
To learn more about how the FSI Advanced Process Lab can benefit your lab, please contact your local account manager or click here to complete an experiment request form.