With the convergence of global connectivity, portable devices, and the explosion of digital content, consumer applications will take on greater importance in fueling semiconductor industry’s growth. For IC manufacturers, these advances translate directly to the need in producing semiconductor chips in increasingly small dimensions, while maintaining high yield and the ability to reach volume production fast.

The ability to scale down feature sizes is critical to making smaller chips. Immersion lithography, a patterning process that uses liquid to increase resolution, is one of the key technologies driving the transition to 45nm and even 32nm design rules. As leading chipmakers starting to implement immersion lithography in production, there is an increased need for comprehensive characterization of the process.

The Applied UVision SP Inspection system provides breakthrough performance in resolving inspection challenges related to immersion lithography. Using an innovative DUV laser 3D Brightfield inspection technology, UVision has always delivered superior detection results when it comes to finding defects on the low-reflectivity resist layers. Now adding variable laser polarization to its array of technologies, UVision SP becomes the first system to capture all critical immersion lithography defects in a single scan. It not only detects typical immersion process related defects such as air bubbles and watermarks, but also the critical small defects no other systems have been able to find – yield killers such as 30nm micro-bridges between dense structures.

UVision propelled Brightfield inspection into the DUV era. With the new capabilities introduced in the SP, UVision continues to set the agenda for Brightfield inspection with technology innovations focused on advancing inspection sensitivity.

UVision is part of Applied Materials’ Resolution strategy to lead the metrology and inspection market with continuous advances in absolute resolution, root cause, process response and cost per resolution.