How To Catch “Disappearing” Latent Defects


Automotive is demanding more emphasis on chip reliability. By 2020, electronic devices will account for over 35% of the manufacturing cost of an automobile, and by 2030, that number is expected to rise to 50%. Tens of thousands of cars are manufactured each day, with each car using thousands of chips — and if even one of those chips fails in the field it may have disastrous consequences: los... » read more

Hunting For Macro Defects: The Importance Of Bare Wafer Inspection


As logic and memory semiconductor devices approach the limits of Moore’s Law, the requirements for accuracy in layer transfer become increasingly stringent. One leading silicon wafer manufacturer estimates that 50% of epitaxial wafer supply for logic will be on nodes equal to or less than 7nm. This is up approximately 30% from earlier in the decade. To meet the demands of extreme ultraviol... » read more