E-beam inspection system offers faster electrical line monitoring

To help chipmakers overcome one of the biggest stumbling blocks to sub-130nm production success, KLA-Tencor has unveiled the eS30, claimed to be the industry's first e-beam inspection tool that's specifically designed for high-volume production line monitoring of electrical defects.
According to the company, while e-beam inspection continues to escalate in importance in chipmakers' development lines, it is becoming equally vital to detect the new genre of recurring electrical defects in production that can hinder yields and dramatically reduce fab return on investment (ROI). This is especially true for leading memory and logic manufacturers, given the unprecedented incidence of electrical defects in both filled and unfilled high aspect ratio structures, and the high value of every processed 300mm wafer.
KLA-Tencor is said to be the first to allow chip-makers to isolate the electrical defects that negatively impact device reliability. This new-generation tool, which follows the company's eS20XP series, delivers more than a two-fold increase in throughput, sensitivity and image resolution capability while allowing users to classify defects in real-time and trend by defect type. KLA-Tenor claims that these capabilities, coupled with its significant cost-of-ownership advances, make the eS30 the first inspection platform optimized for all phases of the IC technology life cycle.
Chipmakers will now be able to adopt and proliferate cost-effective electrical defect monitoring strategies in their high-volume production environments to reap gains in both production yields and ROI.
KLA-Tencor
Fax 1-408-875-4144
www.kla-tencor.com
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