Wafer Inspection & Metrology

Efficient wafer inspection and metrology are key success factors in semiconductor manufacturing. In addition, they are becoming more demanding, challenging, and costly as feature sizes shrink and design complexity increases. Metrology processes are therefore highly dependent on precise wafer positioning to enable the fast and reliable analysis of defects or particles at each step of the manufacturing process to prevent yield loss. PI offers proven wafer scanning subsystems that take advantage of piezo technology to meet demanding process requirements where conventional electromagnetic solutions reach their limits.

With the development of an innovative hybrid kinematics configuration, PI expands the system options for wafer platforms with four independent degrees of freedom: Tip, Tilt, Z and rotation around Z. Loading and unloading is performed by an integrated wafer lift. The hybrid kinematics configuration features unique piezo actuators for high-precision Z-axis motion. These provide fast step-and-settle over long travel ranges as well as real-time dynamic motion over small areas. Adopters of the new technology are streamlining their design processes and achieving greater precision and reliability. At the same time, they are able to minimize equipment complexity and integration efforts, thereby reducing costs and risks.