Challenge

Dielectric CMP is devised to planarize the wafer following deposition of thick dielectric layers to a target thickness and uniformity. Tight CMP control is essential to achieving the specified electrical properties of the device and maintaining high yield. As device geometries continue to shrink, the error budget correspondingly gets smaller. Thus, maintaining uniformity becomes more difficult and process control requirements more critical.


 

Solution

Nova is the industry leader in CMP process control. With high accuracy and throughput of up to 200 WPH, Nova’s Integrated Metrology (IM) metrology enables Closed Loop Control (CLC) of the CMP process to provide thickness uniformity - within wafer (between zones) and wafer-to-wafer. The implementation of CLC reduces the number of reworks and increases yield, while reducing CMP cycle times and increasing overall throughput. When lot-to-lot control is required, Nova’s Standalone metrology provides a cost effective solution with throughput of up to 150 WPH and industry-leading fleet (tool-to-tool) matching.

With the smaller geometries of next generation designs, Nova’s metrology measurements are not restricted to solid pads, but can also be made on 2D and 3D test structures as well as in-die.