What’s Next With AI In Fabs?


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the issues and challenges with machine learning in semiconductor manufacturing with Kurt Ronse, director of the advanced lithography program at Imec; Yudong Hao, senior director of marketing at Onto Innovation; Romain Roux, data scientist at Mycronic; and Aki Fujimura, chief executive of D2S. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. Part one ... » read more

Metrology Challenges For Gate-All-Around


Metrology is proving to be a major challenge for those foundries working on processes for gate-all-around FETs at 3nm and beyond. Metrology is the art of measuring and characterizing structures in devices. Measuring and characterizing structures in devices has become more difficult and expensive at each new node, and the introduction of new types of transistors is making this even harder. Ev... » read more

Making Chips At 3nm And Beyond


Select foundries are beginning to ramp up their new 5nm processes with 3nm in R&D. The big question is what comes after that. Work is well underway for the 2nm node and beyond, but there are numerous challenges as well as some uncertainty on the horizon. There already are signs that the foundries have pushed out their 3nm production schedules by a few months due to various technical issu... » read more

The Convergence Of Advanced Packaging And SMT


One statement is almost always true in the electronics industry: smaller is better. The relentless demand for electronic systems that pack more computing power and functionality into less space has driven the development of new processes and designs since the invention of the integrated circuit. In recent years that drive has taken a new direction, literally, as manufacturers have discovered th... » read more

Case Study – Semiconductor Auto Multi Sensor


CyberOptics’ WaferSense sensor, Auto Multi Sensor (AMS), combines an Auto Leveling Sensor (ALS), Auto Vibration Sensor (AVS), and a humidity sensor in a thin, light, all-in-one multi sensor. The ALS and AVS have well-established records of success for their ease-of-use, robust performance and convenient form factor. The addition of the humidity sensing (to tilt and vibration) in the AMS lets ... » read more

How And Where ML Is Being Used In IC Manufacturing


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the issues and challenges with machine learning in semiconductor manufacturing with Kurt Ronse, director of the advanced lithography program at Imec; Yudong Hao, senior director of marketing at Onto Innovation; Romain Roux, data scientist at Mycronic; and Aki Fujimura, chief executive of D2S. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. Part one ... » read more

Inspection And Metrology Of Micro LED Technology


Micro LEDs developed using Rohinni’s technology can be deployed in consumer electronics devices, automotive applications and outdoor signage, among other applications. The disruptive technology enables products that are brighter, thinner, lighter and more dynamic that those currently on the market, with lower power consumption than LCD or OLED. Rohinni needed an inspection and metrology so... » read more

Weighing Wafers Simplifies Metrology


Building semiconductors is an incredibly exacting process, with critical dimensions posing significant equipment challenges – and with the possibility that small process excursions can cause the yield to decrease. For this reason, it has always been important to measure and monitor the most critical process steps to ensure that no further processing is done on a faulty lot and so that equipme... » read more

Process Control For Next-Generation Memories


The Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are driving the need for higher speeds and more power-efficient computing. The industry is responding by bringing new memory technologies to the marketplace. Three new types of memory in particular—MRAM (magnetic random access memory), PCRAM (phase change RAM) and ReRAM (resistive RAM)—are emerging as leading candidat... » read more

Smart Manufacturing Solutions: Build or Buy?


Enterprise smart manufacturing platforms have become an important part of the manufacturing ecosystem, especially in domains such as semiconductors and electronics. McKinsey & Company estimates, for example, that the quantity of process, product, and machine data collected on a daily basis in a typical fab quickly exceeds terabytes. If you add to this in-line and end-of-line inspection as w... » read more

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