SAN JOSE, Calif., June 29, 2000--KLA-Tencor Corp. (Nasdaq: KLAC) today introduced a new generation of in-line critical dimension scanning electron microscopes (CD SEMs) that address the advanced monitoring challenges for lithography and etch applications that chipmakers face as they transition to the 0.13-micron node and 300-mm manufacturing.

KLA-Tencor's 8200 Series (for 200-mm wafers) and 8400 Series (for 300-mm wafers) CD SEM tools combine high throughput, advanced imaging, superior measurement precision and enhanced productivity capabilities in a new Windows NT-based platform. This new platform enables easier system setup, as well as extendibility to future generation KLA-Tencor CD SEM systems.

According to Brian Trafas, general manager of KLA-Tencor's E-Beam Metrology Division, precise control of the lithography and etch process becomes much more important as chipmakers migrate to the 0.13-micron node. "Shrinking lithography process windows, dual damascene structures and low-k dielectrics all introduce new process integration challenges to semiconductor manufacturing," noted Trafas. "Our customers' time-to-market constraints mandate better and faster CD measurements during pilot line and full-scale production. In addition to significantly increased production throughput, our new CD SEM systems enable easier and faster system setup, reducing the overall engineering resources required to program and operate the tool."

To further enhance system productivity and reduce engineering setup burden, the new CD SEM systems have options for a high-precision laser stage interferometer and automated recipe creation (ARC) software. The high precision laser stage improves the total time between measurements from 6 - 9 seconds down to 3 - 5 seconds for most production uses. It also eliminates the need for extrapattern recognition steps that are complicated and time consuming for engineers to set up. The ARC software allows foundry or ASIC fabs to easily create and automatically modify recipes remotely, and facilitates "copy exact" process duplication across multiple customer sites -- further reducing tool setup time by up to 50 percent.

"After measurement precision, our customers' biggest challenge is the amount of engineering resources required to program, run and maintain an automated CD SEM," noted Trafas. "At the rate advanced fabs are ramping up, it is unrealistic to expect our customers to have a large staff of highly trained engineers available to dedicate to programming automated CD SEMs. The advanced productivity and automation features available on our new systems will significantly reduce the engineering burden of our tools and allow customers to dedicate engineering resources toward other, critical ramp-up issues."

To meet the metrology needs for new advanced semiconductor processes such as dual damascene interconnects, the 8200/8400 Series CD SEM systems incorporate KLA-Tencor's new Charge Equalization (CEq) capability. CEq enables precise, automated metrology on charge-sensitive materials that are difficult to measure with traditional CD SEM tools. These materials include highly insulating oxide layers, nitride layers and low-k dielectric films. Precision improvements of up to 40 percent can be obtained with the new systems, positioning the 8200/8400 Series among the highest precision CD SEMs now available.

The 8200/8400 Series tools also feature KLA-Tencor's automated pattern quality confirmation (pQC) capability, which enable the tools to go beyond traditional CD measurement data to provide feature shape and multi-dimensional profile information. This additional data is critical to process optimization, monitoring and control of sub-0.13-micron processes. When combined with KLA-Tencor's Klarity ProDATA software, lithographers now have the ability to simultaneously optimize processes based on both traditional linewidth measurements and feature shape. The pQC data also provides another degree of process control when used with new advanced process control (APC) software available from KLA-Tencor.

"These new tools also come with KLA-Tencor's new iSupport on-line customer support offering," added Trafas. "With iSupport, our technical support staff can remotely access data from the tools to rapidly diagnose and resolve problems before they occur via a secure on-line connection that is controlled by our customers at all times. This further lowers their cost of ownership and improves their overall equipment efficiency."

Production shipments of the 8200/8400 Series CD SEM tools are scheduled for October 2000.

Windows NT is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. iSupport is a trademark of KLA-Tencor.

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