KLA-Tencor Develops Wafer Plane Inspection Technology
KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ:KLAC) introduced its latest mask inspection technology, called Wafer Plane Inspection (WPI), a unique mask inspection technology that, for the first time in the industry, provides the versatility in a single system to find all defects on a mask and also shows the defects that will print on the wafer. Besides overcoming yield-critical 32nm mask defect challenges, WPI also operates up to 40% faster than previous inspection systems, potentially reducing the percentage of total mask manufacturing time devoted to inspection.
Ricor Cryogenic Acquires InnerSense, Smart Wafer Technology
Ricor Cryogenic & Vacuum Systems, a manufacturer of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, announced the acquisition of InnerSense Ltd. Ricor thus expands its activities from cryogenic equipment and purging solutions to diagnostic systems. InnerSense has developed the "Smart Wafer" technology that provides engineers the means to record the forces acting on a wafer as it is handled by wafer fabrication equipment. This approach delivers a significant yield boost as it provides a statistical monitoring method for abnormal mechanical events in IC manufacturing and can be used as a cornerstone of an intelligent maintenance program (High Precision Maintenance) by routinely measuring equipment wear in a non invasive approach.
InnoMax Launches ESE-Thin Next Generation Spin Etcher
After years of success with their first generation Enhanced Spin Etcher (ESE(tm)), InnoMax, a leading Korean single-wafer spin etch systems, recently launched their next generation product, ESE(tm)-Thin, to meet the emerging thin wafer processing market. Innomax has filled their first order at one of the major semiconductor manufacturers in Korea.
Rudolph Technologies Announces AXi 940 Macro Defect Inspection Module
Rudolph Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: RTEC), a worldwide leader in process characterization solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry, announced the availability of the AXi 940 macro defect inspection module. The new AXi 940 module will perform wafer frontside inspection as part of the all-surface Explorer(tm) Inspection Cluster—a multi-surface inspection system designed to deliver fast, accurate and reliable macro inspection at a low cost-of-ownership. The new module is featured at this week's semiconductor manufacturing industry trade show, SEMICON® Korea, in Seoul.
Ronetix JTAG/BDM Emulator, Flash Programmer Supports ARM11 Processors
Ronetix announced the availability of the new firmware of its high speed, low cost JTAG/BDM Emulator and Flash Programmer. The new firmware adds support of debugging and FLASH programming of ARM11 Processors. This includes all ARM11 CPUs with an ARM1136, ARM1156 or ARM1176 core like Freescale i.MX31. Now PEEDI can be used for high speed GNU gdb debugging and Flash Programming of all ARM7, ARM9, ARM11 and XScale based MCUs, Freescale Nexus enabled PowerPC, ColdFire and Blackfin based CPUs.
Applied Materials Announces FullVision 45nm CMP Process Control System
Applied Materials, Inc. announced its new Applied FullVision(TM) system that enables real-time control of dielectric CMP1 processes to the 45 nanometer (nm) device node and beyond. The FullVision system couples Applied's patented window-in-pad technology with multiple-wavelength spectroscopy to deliver advanced in situ endpoint capability for a variety of dielectric materials, including oxide, STI2, and poly CMP applications. The system demonstrates high repeatability across all applications with less than 150 angstrom, 3-sigma endpoint accuracy on patterned wafers. A major advance over single wavelength endpoint technologies, the FullVision system offers improved measurement accuracy with 50% higher reliability for dielectric applications.
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