SAN JOSE, Calif., June 28, 2001 - KLA-Tencor Corp. (Nasdaq: KLAC) today introduced SpectraCD™, a new non-destructive critical dimension (CD) metrology system that has the precision, throughput and sensitivity to meet the requirements for sub-0.10-micron device production and 193 nanometer (nm) lithography. SpectraCD provides simultaneous and extensive CD, feature shape, and film thickness data from a single tool, making it one of the industry's lowest cost-of-ownership, production-worthy CD metrology systems. Using SpectraCD, chipmakers can achieve better control of critical lithography and etch processes, thereby significantly reducing wafer rework and scrap, improving process capability and bin yield, and lowering manufacturing costs.

"Today's deep sub-wavelength lithography cell is the most critical component of the semiconductor manufacturing process, as well as its most expensive," stated Chris Mack, vice president of lithography technology at KLA-Tencor. "Our goal is to minimize the total cost of CD control for our customers. Monitoring of performance critical CDs, such as gate etch, although time-consuming and requiring extensive sampling, is absolutely essential for successful pattern transfer. Leveraging our extensive knowledge of CD metrology, we can now offer our customers a complete CD control solution that encompasses optical and CD SEM metrology, as well as lithography data analysis and advanced process control. This comprehensive solution lowers the metrology tool cost of ownership for our volume-manufacturing customers by up to 30 percent compared to CD SEM metrology alone, while providing more information and greater precision. SpectraCD is a key component of this solution, and complements our 8200/8400-Series CD SEMs in both integrated circuit development and production to provide the additional cross-sectional profile information required for the process engineer's control portfolio."

Shrinking design rules and tightening process windows are driving the need for more precise control of lithography and etch processes. New materials used in the production of leading-edge devices, such as photoresists for 193 nm lithography and low-k dielectric films, are difficult to control during these processes and can significantly affect pattern transfer. As a result, chipmakers need more comprehensive data on device features and linewidths to identify and correct process variations in order to remain within their process windows. Traditional CD SEM tools provide critical top-down two-dimensional information, but cannot obtain feature profile information, which is needed to meet today's advanced metrology requirements. Until now, this additional data could only be gathered by cross-sectional SEMs, which destroy product wafers to obtain the data. With advanced lithography consuming a growing proportion of the overall economic budget, chipmakers can no longer afford to risk product wafers by destroying them to obtain the required metrology data, or by relying on insufficient CD measurements.

SpectraCD enables control of advanced 193 nm resist processes by collecting cross-section feature profile data on product wafers, including CD information at the top, middle and bottom of the profile, as well as height, depth and sidewall angle, thus reducing or even eliminating costly wafer cross sections. SpectraCD is based on KLA-Tencor's industry-leading ASET-F5x thin-film measurement platform. It utilizes a combination of non-destructive spectroscopic scatterometry and spectroscopic ellipsometry techniques to obtain simultaneous and comprehensive feature shape and thin-film measurements on product wafers in line and in real time. It accomplishes this by measuring scribe line grating targets, which mimic specific device feature profile information. Its ability to measure targets as small as 50 x 50 micron makes SpectraCD the first production-worthy implementation of spectroscopic scatterometry technology. SpectraCD is more than twice as sensitive as single wavelength, angle-resolved scatterometry tools, and provides sub-nanometer three sigma precision at speeds of more than 70 wafers per hour (200 mm) and 60 wafers per hour (300 mm).

SpectraCD also allows users to make spectroscopic CD measurements and thin-film measurements within the same recipe. This reduces the turnaround time for such information and improves the feedback needed during root cause analysis and advanced process control. Additionally, SpectraCD is supported by iRecipe™, which allows sharing and management of recipe, film libraries, and recipe components across multiple SpectraCD tools within a fab. KLA-Tencor's SpectraLG library generation system can be purchased separately as an option for SpectraCD. With the ability to support multiple SpectraCD tools, SpectraLG offers unlimited library generation in a user-friendly environment and enables confidential process information to remain in house.

KLA-Tencor is developing additional capabilities that provide greater correlation between SpectraCD and the 8200/8400-Series CD SEMs through shared common recipe components, software analysis and advanced process control systems. SpectraCD will be available for volume shipment beginning in the fourth quarter of CY 2001.

Visit KLA-Tencor's booth, #426, at SEMICON West 2001 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, July 16-18, to learn more about this new product.


About KLA-Tencor: KLA-Tencor is the world leader in yield management and process control solutions for semiconductor manufacturing and related industries. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., the company has sales and service offices around the world. An S&P 500 company, KLA-Tencor is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol KLAC.

Contact:
Meggan Powers
Director Corporate Communications