SoftJin’s NxDAT Mask Defect Analysis Software Combines Mask Inspection and Design Automation Worlds

SoftJin has announced NxDAT, software for efficient Analysis of Defects identified by Mask Inspection Systems. The software includes features for easy and fast defect navigation, visual display, defect selection and filtering, defect classification, clustering, sophisticated CD analysis, analysis over multiple Inspections, Repeatability and Trend Analysis. These features along with automatic generation of reports, charts, graphs, image mosaics and paretos significantly improve the productivity of the mask inspection operators. The software supports several types of defect analyses including Die-to-Die and Die-to-Database thereby making it applicable at both Mask Shops and Wafer Fabs. The features such as automatic grid detection, comparison of actual detection line against the expected detection line and repeatability analysis on test masks allow NxDAT to be used also for calibrating the Mask Inspections Systems to check their defect detection capabilities.

NxDAT’s “open architecture” makes it easily extensible to support multiple Mask Inspection tools from different vendors. A unique Plug-In interface to NxDAT enables Users to add their own proprietary defect analysis and image processing algorithms as well. Based on SoftJin’s Nirmaan Post Layout Software Development Toolkit Platform, NxDAT combines Mask Inspection and Design Automation worlds by supporting correlation of defect data on reticles with Design layout data in any major industry standard Layout and Mask Data formats.

While NxDAT’s open architecture makes it easily extensible to support Mask Inspection Systems from different vendors, SoftJin is launching NxDAT initially with support for Applied Materials’ new Aera2 Mask Inspection System. “Offline defect analysis is a key component of mask inspection system productivity. We use NxDAT for the Aera2 mask inspection system and find it to be user-friendly and feature-rich software. We are also very pleased with the product customization and support that SoftJin has provided in order to make NxDAT highly usable for our mask inspection system” says, Mark Wagner, General Manager, Mask Inspection Division from Applied Materials.

SoftJin