Quick process troubleshooting by using advanced SEM ADC system

With shrinking design rules, the latest bare wafer surface inspection tools are driving sensitivity to less than 20nm. Fabs have also improved particle control—sometimes the biggest particle size is only ∼30–50nm. KLA-Tencor's SEM Review tool uses an improved alignment system and high sensitivity optical microscope (OM) to identify ∼30nm particle. The review system also provides a real-time automatic defect classification system (RT-ADC) that is designed for in-line applications, offering real-time classification of defect types. Using RT-ADC, we can do fully automated bare wafer review and EDX, improving troubleshooting cycle time by 3.4X.