KLA-Tencor Extends Lithography Overlay Control Beyond the 65-nm Node With Archer AIM+
15 June 2005
KLA-Tencor (Nasdaq: KLAC - News) today introduced Archer AIM+, its latest overlay metrology solution, which is designed to address chipmakers' lithography overlay control needs beyond the 65-nm node. Based on the industry benchmark Archer tool platform, Archer AIM+ reduces total measurement uncertainty (TMU) -- a key metric of overlay metrology performance -- by 50 percent, and increases tool throughput by up to 20 percent compared to KLA-Tencor's previous-generation Archer AIM system. Archer AIM+ is currently being evaluated by leading memory and logic device manufacturers for advanced applications, and has already been chosen as the tool of record at several leading-edge fabs.
"KLA-Tencor's Archer AIM+ demonstrates a substantial improvement in performance over the previous platform, extending its capabilities to two or three generations of production viability," stated Chris Bishop, development metrology section manager at Micron's Fab 4 located in Boise, Idaho.
Like its predecessor, the Archer AIM+ leverages KLA-Tencor's unique grating-style targets, which are more robust to chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) processing than box-in-box targets because they have less open area within which CMP processing can cause target degradation. AIM targets are also denser than traditional box-in-box targets, resulting in the collection of more process information for improved correlation to in-device overlay performance. For customers that wish to leverage traditional box- style targets, KLA-Tencor also offers the Archer XT+, which includes the same core performance enhancements as the Archer AIM+ but is compatible with box- in-box target measurements.
Aggressive resolution enhancement techniques (RETs) and shrinking design rules are contributing to the collapse of overlay process windows, which can result in significant yield losses. Tighter process tolerances are driving the need for overlay metrology tools with improved levels of TMU performance -- a metric combining precision, tool-induced-shift variability and matching. The number of critical layers per device is also expected to more than double with each new node. As a result, increased overlay sampling will be needed to maintain tight process control at these smaller design rules, driving the need for metrology tools with higher throughput and improved stability and reliability to minimize the impact of increased sampling on a fab's production flow.
Archer AIM+ incorporates a new optic system design and improved illumination system, which reduce TMU to within 2.1 nm-exceeding the 45-nm node overlay control requirements outlined in the 2004 edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors. New software algorithms have also been added to enable high-precision measurements on low contrast and post-CMP layers, which are particularly difficult to measure with traditional overlay control techniques. Additional improvements, including a faster and more advanced computer that operates on Windows XP, a new wafer handler and optimized algorithms, enable 20 percent higher throughput (up to 180 wafers per hour) with a 20-percent reduction in move-acquired-measure (MAM) time compared to the Archer AIM. These product enhancements enable the industry's lowest cost-of-ownership (CoO) overlay metrology solution for advanced semiconductor production applications.
"With our customers under increasing cost and time-to-market pressures, it's critical that they have manufacturing solutions that not only meet their current production needs, but can also address their future technology requirements," stated Ofer Greenberger, general manager of KLA-Tencor's Optical Metrology Division. "We place an emphasis on building extendibility into our process control solutions, like our Archer overlay metrology platform, so that our customers can continue to meet the twin production demands of high performance and low CoO over multiple device generations."
Archer AIM+ and Archer XT+ are based on the mature and field-proven Archer platform, which has an installed base of more than 200 systems at leading logic and memory fabs worldwide. Both models are compatible with Archer Analyzer, KLA-Tencor's fully-automated, real-time, on-tool stepper analysis software, which provides mission-critical feedback, including analysis results for wafer lot dispositioning, stepper correction and problem troubleshooting. Customers can upgrade their current Archer AIM systems to the new Archer AIM+ platform, as well as upgrade their Archer XT systems to the new Archer XT+ platform.
About KLA-Tencor: KLA-Tencor is the world leader in yield management and process control solutions for semiconductor manufacturing and related industries. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., the company has sales and service offices around the world. An S&P 500 company, KLA-Tencor was named one of the Best Managed Companies in America for 2005 by Forbes Magazine and is the only company in the semiconductor industry to receive the accolade for this year. KLA-Tencor is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol KLAC. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at http://www.kla-tencor.com .
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Source: KLA-Tencor
Source: PR Newswire
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