An Independent Journal Dedicated to the Advancement of Chip - Scale Electronics January - February 2000 Email the editor

Next-Generation Metrology Tools Will Evolve into Multi-Parameter Instruments

The metrology systems of the future will be driven by the same force that motivates the electronics markets of today: the need for smaller, faster and less expensive devices.

Manufacturers will pack an ever-increasing number of sensors, integrated circuits, and actuators into single packages, with increasing pin counts, smaller connections and shrinking dimensions.

The proliferation of non-traditional products, such as micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and micro-machined devices, will present new constraints for IC packaging. In response to pricing, known-good die and testability issues, the adoption of wafer-scale packaging will continue to blur the boundaries between traditional front-end and back-end processes.

In each of these cases, metrology tools will need to be developed to measure a wide range of dimensions and parameters, demanding innovative solutions and partnerships between chip makers and metrology equipment suppliers.

While it may be difficult to imagine, the future will bring even shorter development cycles and faster technological advances.

Tomorrow's 400 mm wafers may represent one month's production for a particular device. Metrology manufacturers, too, will have to respond by developing flexible interfaces and testing plans. I expect to see metrology tools that can effortlessly shift between different packaging technologies and sampling plans, automatically configuring themselves to accommodate each device type.

Next-generation metrology tools will evolve from today's "one-dimensional" systems to multi-parameter instruments employing a combination of measurement techniques. We will see physical dimension (X,Y,Z) measurements integrated with material composition and/or electrical properties measurements to improve the robustness and reliability of tomorrow's interconnects.

Metrology tools will also be affected by the globalization of the packaging industry. The drive to shorten time-to-market will blur the distinction between R&D and production.

Accordingly, the same metrology tool will have to function as a sophisticated analysis instrument in a development lab, then provide high volume production inspection in a fab halfway around the world.

Moore's law stipulates that the cost per measurement must continually decrease; yet increasing measurement speeds alone will not meet future demands.

Metrology tools will need to move in-line and then in-situ to provide immediate process control feedback. A close coupling between process equipment and measurement tools will be essential to driving yields up and cost-per-part down.-Lloyd LaComb, Vice President and General Manager, Veeco Metrology Group,Tucson Operations

Veeco Instruments Inc., headquartered in Plainview, N.Y., is a worldwide leader in metrology tools for the data storage and semiconductor industries and process equipment etch and deposition tools for the data storage industry. Veeco Metrology Group manufactures measurement systems, including optical profilers and defect review systems, atomic force microscopes, stylus profilers and X-ray fluorescence systems. [veeco.com]