Metrology tool wins fab space

LONDON — Metrology equipment specialist, Metryx, has won orders worth up to $4million for its Mentor high-throughput, non-destructive metrology tool that offers atomic layer measurement accuracy.

Metryx (Bristol, U.K.) have shipped three Mentor SF3 systems capable of handling up to 60 wafers per hour to two different wafer fab sites in Germany and the U.S.. A further three Mentor DF3 systems capable of handling up to 70 wafers per hour have been shipped to two different sites in Taiwan.

All the Mentor systems are being used as metrology systems for process control applications during DRAM manufacture.

Dr Adrian Kiermasz, vice president, business development of Metryx, said, "The Metryx Mentor technology has now been endorsed by a number of major 200mm and 300mm wafer fabs worldwide. Leading semiconductor device manufacturers have utilized Mentor’s ‘nanotechnology weight measurement’ technique by installing multiple units, running critical applications in fully automated production environments. Weight metrology has proven to be both reliable and cost effective, providing yield improvements and reduced scrap."

Following on from the success of the Metryx Mentor system, the company has also recently introduced the Metryx Monitor metrology tool, which has been developed specifically for low volume R&D work in MEMS devices and semiconductors.

The Metryx Monitor system allows substrates to be manually loaded, removing the sophistication of automatic loading, offering considerable cost reduction, while retaining the accuracy and measurement capability to atomic layer differentiation.

 

By Colin Holland

27 September 2005 (6:41 p.m. GMT)