Macro Defect Inspection For Mission-Critical Defense, Aerospace, And Advanced R&D Fabs


Some fabs build consumer chips that sit inside phones and laptops. Others build chips that must survive in orbit, under the Arctic ice, or deep beneath the Earth’s surface. Fabs serving defense, aerospace, national laboratories, and other advanced R&D programs operate under some of the most stringent requirements in the industry. For these facilities, yield is not the only concern. Sec... » read more

Operator Shortage? Intelligent Machine Vision Can Give More And Better Wafer Inspection


Right now, wafer manufacturers are having serious problems in finding and retaining operators. And they're desperately looking for ways to keep their fabs running effectively. Fortunately, machine vision can offer a smart solution. To see how it works, let’s first look at the basic fab workflow and check out some opportunities for improvement… How to improve ADI In a typical fab, after... » read more

Stop The Drip-Drip-Drip Of Intermittent In-Line Wafer Defects And Increase Your Yields


Full-blown process excursions that affect every wafer are comparatively easy for fabs to detect and fix. However, “onesie-twosie,” lower-volume excursions can go unresolved for months or even years. Some process engineers call them "slow moving excursions.” And over time, those low-volume defects can add up to significant yield losses. Ignoring a problem Some intermittent process excurs... » read more

Increasing Semiconductor Device Reliability Requires Adding More Wafer Inspection


Some industry sectors such as automotive and medical continue to push for higher and higher reliability levels; however, many fabs are having difficulties achieving them. Current inspection regimes still allow too many defects to pass through and escape to the field – primarily because of time and expense issues. Too much wafer is still left uninspected One fundamental problem is the amount... » read more

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