Nearfield Instruments' in-line, non-destructive subsurface metrology system, AUDIRA
Process control metrology solutions provider Nearfield Instruments has unveiled its in-line, non-destructive subsurface metrology system. AUDIRA is designed to be used in advanced semiconductor manufacturing and aims to provide highly accurate and reproducible nanometer-level measurements.
Key information:
- Nearfield Instruments has launched its new in-line, non-destructive subsurface metrology system.
- AUDIRA will aim to provide accurate and reproducible nanometer-level measurements of buried defects and features.
- Additionally, the process control metrology solution provider hopes the new system will complement transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and critical dimension-scanning electron microscopy (CD-SEM).
Using AUDIRA, Nearfield Instruments combines an acoustic microscopy technique and its proprietary atomic force microscopy (AFM) technology. The AFM probe aims to listen to the sound waves through the wafer layers, with the wave interacting with the transitions and surfaces within the device and then reflecting the information. AUDIRA scans across the die, with each step as small as several tenths of a nanometer.
Also using the AFM probe, AUDIRA can also measure shallow features through the surface. According to the developers, surface elasticity variations can be quickly measured, with details from below the structure easily revealed. The system uses an acoustic approach, is non-destructive, in-line and aims to have improved precision and turn-around time.
“AUDIRA is a game-changer for advanced semiconductor manufacturing. It provides measurement data that was previously not available without having to remove the wafer from the line,” said Hamed Sadeghian, CEO of Nearfield Instruments. “Most importantly, the AUDIRA gives process engineers insight into the wafer’s innermost layers – details they never were able to measure before non-destructively and sometimes would never have even known to look for. AUDIRA, like our first product QUADRA, turns in-line metrology and inspection into an added value in the semiconductor manufacturing process.”
Nearfield Instruments hopes that AUDIRA will compliment existing metrology techniques including transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and critical dimensional-scanning microscopy (CD-SEM) for subsurface process control measurements.
The process control metrology solutions provider has a variety of products within its portfolio. Another notable addition is its QUADRA surface metrology solution which features a multi-miniaturised AFM head architecture which is combined with feedforward trajectory planner (FFTP) imaging technology. This enables on-device, non-destructive measurements for in-line process monitoring of high-aspect-ratio structures, hybrid bonding, and EUV resist critical dimension metrology. Nearfield Instruments claim QUADRA shows over 100x improvement in imaging acquisition time when benchmarked against existing AFM systems.