Resistivity Measurement Tool

KLA-Tencor Corp. has expanded its resistivity technology to support 300mm wafer production with the introduction of the OmniMap RS-100. The OmniMap RS-100 is the industry's first 300mm resistivity measurement system ready for use on the production floor. It is the only such tool able to correct for the temperature variations that can affect long-term repeatability, accuracy, and system-to-system matching. The OmniMap RS-100 is currently in beta test at Semiconductor300 in Dresden, Germany, the first 300mm development line in Europe.

The OmniMap RS-100 is based on the industry-standard, four-point probe technology pioneered by KLA-Tencor. The system provides precise sheet resistance measurements at throughputs as high as 100 wafers per hour, which speeds the identification of process problems and improves process cycle time, especially in areas dependent on frequent, high-resolution testing. It is ideal for wafer characterization and critical production monitoring in a wide variety of process applications such as metallization, ion implantation, epitaxy, diffusion, and the measurement of materials such as polysilicon and bulk silicon substrates, processes where film thickness and sheet resistance are critical.

Another feature of the OmniMap RS-100 is its ability to determine the film-specific temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) values of a given semiconductor material, then correct the sheet resistance measurements for variations in temperature by as much as 1% per °C, significantly affecting the long-term control of process parameters and system to system matching. KLA-Tencor's new system offers several features that reduce cost of ownership. Its integrated probe conditioning plate conditions the probe heads without halting operations, increasing system uptime. The OmniMap RS-1000's proprietary on-stage wafer orientation feature eliminates positional errors that can arise when transporting the wafer from a flat alignment station to the measurement stage. Offering considerable hardware flexibility in a single platform, the OmniMap RS-100 comes in four optional pod configurations. These include: a 13 wafer 300mm front open unified pod (FOUP); a 25 wafer 300mm FOUP; a 200-300mm open cassette; and a 25 wafer SMIF (standard mechanical interface) configuration.

KLA-Tencor Corp., 160 Rio Robles, San Jose, CA 95134. Contact: Holly Nielsen, 408-875-4200.