Semiconductors

• Future Transistors
• New Interconnects
• Patterning
• Metrology

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Metrology

Like the master carpenter who measures twice and cuts once, chip-makers also must measure frequently to ensure that no significant errors occur in the manufacturing of their products. The creation of an advanced semiconductor involves hundreds of process steps, and metrology - using high-resolution microscopes sensitive enough to create a 3-D image that allows the atomic structures to be "seen" - is a critical part of chip manufacturing. In fact, about one-third of the “wafer moves” within a semiconductor factory involve metrology.

However, metrology scientists struggle continuously to keep pace with lithography, interconnect, and the other aspects of chip-making. And as the semiconductor industry drives toward new horizons in innovative processing and nanoelectronics, it is essential to keep metrology updated and coordinated. New microscopy tools must be brought quickly from developmental phases, or even invented, to cope with the challenges ahead.

In response, AMRC technologists are focused on solutions that include:

• Development of updated forms of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for nanostructures
• Stress measurement for advanced transistor development and fabrication
• Scanning tunneling microscopy for future transistors and interconnects
• Understanding of optical metrology requirements for future, ultra-thin processing films and electrical interfaces
• Microscopy measurements for future transistor and interconnect technology.

The next few years will be critical for the development of metrology tools, and AMRC is dedicated to helping keep this important technology in step with the rest of the industry.