KLA-Tencor’s front-end defect inspection tools cover the full range of yield applications within the IC manufacturing environment, including incoming wafer qualification, reticle qualification, research and development, and tool, process and line monitoring. Patterned and unpatterned wafer inspectors find particles, pattern defects and electrical issues on the front surface, back surface and edge of the wafer, allowing engineers to detect and monitor critical yield excursions. Fabs rely on our high sensitivity reticle inspection systems to ensure that reticles are defect-free thereby preventing reticle defects from printing on production wafers. The defect data generated by our inspectors is compiled and reduced to relevant root-cause and yield-analysis information with our suite of data management tools. By implementing our front-end defect inspection and analysis systems, chipmakers are able to take quick corrective action, resulting in faster yield improvement and better time to market.

Patterned Wafer Inspection Tools

• 2xxx: Broadband brightfield optical defect inspection systems
• Puma: Laser-based darkfield optical defect inspection systems
• eS3x: Electron-beam defect inspection systems

Macro and Edge

• VisEdge Family:  Wafer edge defect inspection, metrology and review systems
• LDS: Macro defect inspection systems
• IRIS: Infrared defect inspection and review station

Unpatterned Wafer / Surface

• Surfscan SPx: Wafer defect inspection systems for process tool qualification and monitoring using blanket films and bare wafers
• SURFmonitor: Surfscan module for capture of low-contrast defects

Reticle

• TeraFab: Photomask inspection systems allowing IC fabs to qualify incoming reticles and inspect production reticles for contaminants

Data Management

• Klarity Defect: Defect data analysis and management module
• Klarity ACE: Yield analysis module
• Klarity SSA: Spatial Signature Analysis module
• Klarity Bitmap: Bitmap analysis module to help assign yield relevance to defects