AccuFilm helps the SpectraFx 100 eliminate contaminants
US-based KLA-Tencor has introduced AccuFilm, a new capability for its SpectraFx 100 optical thin-film measurement system which it claims eliminates the effects of airborne molecular contamination on ultra-thin-film measurements.
The company says such contamination is a "key roadblock" to achieving control of advanced gate processes below the 100nm node as it grows rapidly on film surfaces and degrades the accuracy and repeatability of gate dielectric metrology. AccuFilm is claimed to enable the SpectraFx 100 to remove these contaminants from product wafers in seconds before taking film measurements at each measuring site, without placing product at risk. "With its novel approach to remove absorbed contamination on the wafer surface, KLA-Tencor's new AccuFilm option enables us to accurately measure the true thickness and non-uniformity of very thin gate dielectrics," said Eric Trumbauer, yield enhancement section manager at Texas Instruments' DMOS6 fab in Dallas, Texas. KLA-Tencor says maintaining film thickness and uniformity during gate production is critical to maximising device performance and overall functional yield. Once the dielectric has been deposited onto the wafer, airborne molecular contamination can build up on the wafer surface during the time the wafer is in transit to the metrology tool.