Chip Manufacturing

Front-End Defect Inspection

Puma 9500 Series
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Darkfield Patterned Wafer Inspection Systems

PUMA 9550 SeriesProduct Description

The Puma 9500 Series darkfield inspection systems with innovative opto-electronic technology provide twice the resolution and twice the speed of previous-generation Puma laser imaging darkfield inspectors, enabling high performance excursion monitoring for the 32nm and below design nodes. Part of a portfolio of advanced wafer defect inspection tools that accelerate the development and production ramp of leading-edge devices, the Puma 9500 Series darkfield inspectors provide the sensitivity-at-throughput required to control critical yield excursions for a broad range of applications.

  • High-NA collection optics provide 3X the collection area and 2X the resolution of the Puma 91xx inspectors for higher capture of defects of interest (DOI), improved detection of small defects, and detection of new DOI
  • A new image computer, sensor and laser provide 2X the data rate of previous-generation Puma darkfield inspectors, enabling higher sampling for tighter process control or higher sensitivity operation in production
  • Significant increase in sensitivity-at-throughput supports design rule shrinks by allowing more sensitive inspections without a loss in productivity
  • Unique apertures provide selective spatial filtering for improved noise suppression, resulting in fewer nuisance and higher DOI capture
  • Architectural advances allow nuisance event filtering during inspection for higher sensitivity operation
  • Extendible platform architecture protects a fab’s capital investment
Applications


CMP: The Puma 9500 Series darkfield inspectors capture micro-scratches, slurry residue, corrosion and other CMP defects at high throughput, helping engineers to quickly identify process issues in the CMP process module.

Etch: The resolution provided by the Puma 9500 Series’ high-NA collection optics enables the capture of yield-limiting etch defects such as micro-bridges, nano-bridges, protrusions, toppling, and other critical pattern defects. By capturing etch DOI at production throughputs, the Puma 9500 Series serves as a high productivity solution for identifying and monitoring etch process excursions.

Lithography: The Puma 9500 Series inspectors complement higher sensitivity broadband brightfield inspections by providing a high productivity option for some photo applications, including after-develop inspection (ADI), photo-cell monitoring (PCM) and process wafer qualification (PWQ). Surface selectivity is achieved with unique optical modes and an innovative product architecture, enabling the Puma 9500 Series to capture critical photo DOI at high throughput.

Films: High production throughputs make the Puma 9500 Series a cost-effective solution for films monitoring applications. High-NA collection optics provide the resolution required for detection of very small particles, while flexible polarization options and unique apertures provide the nuisance suppression and surface selectivity required for defect capture on all films layers.

 

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