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The 2005 Metrology Roadmap was
released in December along with the entire
International Technology Roadmap for
Semiconductors. Once again, measurement
specialists from all the semiconductor-producing
regions provided key assessments of the
status of existing measurement technology and
projected future requirements and potential
solutions. The ITRS projects the year of volume
production for the first two companies manufacturing
qualified chips. A qualified chip is one
approved by its customer. One of the frequently
forgotten needs is for early versions of a
process or production worthy measurement
system for the next technology generation three
years beforehand. Process tool development
occurs a number of years before the Alpha tool
is sent to an IC manufacturer. Some form of
metrology must be ready to support the development
of new materials, structures and
process tools. The moral of this story is that
alpha, beta and production tools are needed
long before the date associated with a technology
node. Therefore, research and development
for the 45/32nm node metrology needs should
be well underway in 2006. Research into measurement methods for the 22nm node should be
(or has already been) initiated. As has been frequently
stated, the biggest inhibition for metrology
research is the availability of materials and
structures for future technology generations.
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