- 11 April 2006 -

New strained silicon process control system

Bede X-ray Metrology launched BedeMetrix™-F with ScribeView™, a new
strained silicon process control system for semiconductor
manufacturing.

ScribeView™, a combination of the latest in X-ray optics and the Bede
Microsource(r) X-ray generator, gives a very small spot which enables
in-line measurements in the scribe line or on pads on patterned
wafers. The BedeMetrix™-F with ScribeView™ uses High Resolution X-ray
Diffraction (HRXRD) to measure parameters including epilayer strain,
composition, thickness and relaxation which are crucial for strained
silicon process control at the 90nm technology nodes and below.

Keith Bowen, Chief Scientist, commented, "With the introduction of
more advanced materials and thinner layers into the process at 90nm
and below, additional metrology is now required to measure additional
parameters other than thickness. For strain-engineered systems, such
as SiGe structures used in HBT and raised source/drain devices, where
the atomic structure becomes critical, High Resolution X-ray
Diffraction (HRXRD) is a key metrology. HRXRD enables the strain,
relaxation, composition and thickness of SiGe to be measured
independently, thus allowing the strain in the strained Si channel of
raised source and drain devices, and hence the mobility of the
channel, to be determined non-destructively on product wafers".

The BedeMetrix™-F has been adopted in volume production by a large
customer base around the globe. Other applications for the
BedeMetrix™-F system include ultra thin barrier metal process control
and metal stack process control. The ScribeView™ capability is also
available on the BedeMetrix™-L system for process control in
semiconductor research and development.

Web: http://www.bede.com