tag: KLA

Challenges Grow For Finding Chip Defects
By Mark LaPedus - 19 Sep, 2019 - Comments: 5

Several equipment makers are developing or ramping up a new class of wafer inspection systems that address the challenges in finding defects in advanced chips. At each node, the feature sizes of the chips are becoming smaller, while the defects are harder to find. Defects are unwanted deviations in chips, which impact yield and performance. The new inspection systems promise to address the c... » read more

Using Machine Learning In Fabs
By Mark LaPedus - 19 Sep, 2019 - Comments: 1

Amid the shift towards more complex chips at advanced nodes, many chipmakers are exploring or turning to advanced forms of machine learning to help solve some big challenges in IC production. A subset of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, uses advanced algorithms in systems to recognize patterns in data as well as to learn and make predictions about the information. In the fab, ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test
By Mark LaPedus - 13 Sep, 2019 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers and OEMs Delphi Technologies is in volume production with a 800 volt silicon carbide (SiC) inverter for next-generation electric and hybrid vehicles. The inverter extends electric vehicle (EV) ranges. It also halves the charging times compared with today's 400 volt systems. In a separate announcement, Delphi Technologies and Cree have announce a partnership to utilize SiC semicon... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test
By Mark LaPedus - 30 Aug, 2019 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers GlobalFoundries has filed suits in the U.S. and Germany, alleging that semiconductor manufacturing technologies used by TSMC infringe upon 16 of GF's patents. The suits were filed in the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), the U.S. Federal District Courts in the Districts of Delaware and the Western District of Texas, and the Regional Courts of Dusseldorf and Mannheim in Germ... » read more

The Next New Memories
By Mark LaPedus - 15 Aug, 2019 - Comments: 2

Several next-generation memory types are ramping up after years of R&D, but there are still more new memories in the research pipeline. Today, several next-generation memories, such as MRAM, phase-change memory (PCM) and ReRAM, are shipping to one degree or another. Some of the next new memories are extensions of these technologies. Others are based on entirely new technologies or involve ar... » read more

Wanted: More Fab Tool Part Standards
By Mark LaPedus - 15 Aug, 2019 - Comments: 0

As chipmakers ramp up the next wave of processes and grapple with how to reduce defect levels, they are encountering problems from an unlikely source—components inside of the fab equipment. Defects are unwanted deviations in chips, which impact yields and device performance. Typically, they are caused by an unforeseen glitch during the process flow. But a lesser-known problem involves defe... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test
By Mark LaPedus - 09 Aug, 2019 - Comments: 0

Fab tools Lam Research has rolled out two new tools for use in the production of 3D NAND. The first tool, called the VECTOR DT, is geared for backside deposition. The second system, the EOS GS, is a wet etch tool for film removal on backside and bevel. Designed to control the wafer bow in 3D NAND manufacturing, the VECTOR DT system is the latest addition to Lam’s plasma-enhanced chemical ... » read more

Yield Impact For Wafer Shape Misregistration-Based Binning For Overlay APC Diagnostic Enhancement
By KLA - 05 Aug, 2019 - Comments: 0

By David Jayez, Kevin Jock, Yue Zhou and Venugopal Govindarajulu of GlobalFoundries, and Zhen Zhang, Fatima Anis, Felipe Tijiwa-Birk and Shivam Agarwal of KLA. 1. ABSTRACT The importance of traditionally acceptable sources of variation has started to become more critical as semiconductor technologies continue to push into smaller technology nodes. New metrology techniques are needed to pur... » read more

Cloudy Outlook Seen For IC Biz
By Mark LaPedus - 29 Jul, 2019 - Comments: 0

After a slowdown in the first half of 2019, chipmakers and equipment vendors face a cloudy outlook for the second half of this year, with a possible recovery in 2020. Generally, the semiconductor industry began to see a slowdown starting in mid- to late-2018, which extended into the first half of 2019. During the first half of this year, memory and non-memory vendors were negatively impacted... » read more

Node Within A Node
By Ed Sperling - 24 Jul, 2019 - Comments: 0

Enough margin exists in manufacturing processes to carve out the equivalent of a full node of scaling, but shrinking that margin will require a collective push across the entire semiconductor manufacturing supply chain. Margin is built into manufacturing at various stages to ensure that chips are manufacturable and yield sufficiently. It can include everything from variation in how lines are... » read more

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