Press release
KLA Introduces Two New Systems that Take On Semiconductor Manufacturing's Toughest Problems
PWG5™ attacks 3D NAND process issues while Surfscan® SP7XP tackles 3nm logic defectivity MILPITAS, Calif., Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today KLA Corporation
About this update from Kla Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"PWG5™ attacks 3D NAND process issues while Surfscan® SP7XP tackles 3nm logic defectivity\n\n\nMILPITAS, Calif., Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) announced two new products: the PWG5™ wafer geometry system and the Surfscan® SP7XP wafer defect inspection system. The new systems are designed to address exceedingly difficult issues in the manufacture of leading-edge memory and logic integrated circuits.\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \nStacked ever higher, like molecular skyscrapers, the most capable flash memory is built in an architecture called 3D NAND. Today's 96-layer top-of-the line memory chips, already on the market in the most advanced mobile devices, will soon be superseded by 3D NAND structures with 128 or more layers in the ongoing quest for increased space-efficiency and cost-effectiveness. To manufacture these complex structures requires depositing hundreds of thin films of multiple materials, and then creating memory cells by etching and filling holes several microns deep and one-hundredth of a micron across. As these film stacks grow higher, they induce stress on the wafer, ultimately distorting the surface planarity of the wafer. These warped wafers impact the uniformity of downstream processes and patterning integrity, ultimately affecting final device performance and yield. The PWG5 metrology system can measure minute distortions of wafer geometry with unprecedented resolution to identify and correct patterned wafer distortion at the source. Moreover, these critical wafer geometry measurements can now be accomplished for large warp ranges at inline speeds. \n\"The complex multilayer construction of 3D NAND has moved wafer geometry measurements to the forefront,\" said Jijen Vazhaeparambil, general manager of the Surfscan and ADE division at KLA. \"Our new patterned wafer geometry system, the PWG5, has the sensitivity to measure any deviations from planarity on the front side and back side of the wafer simultaneously. Its first-of-a-kind inline speed and exceptional resolution support not only 3D NAND, but also advanced DRAM and logic applications. Coupled with KLA's 5D Analyzer® data analytics system, the PWG5 helps our customers drive decisions, such as wafer re-work, process tool re-calibration, or alerting the lithography system so that best possible patterning corrections can be appl...