HKMG Cost of Ownership
VeraFlex II – Lowest Cost of Ownership
VeraFlex II provides superior cost of ownership for HKMG production applications, as compared to traditional production metrology approaches which are becoming increasingly ineffective, too costly and too complicated to implement. Ellipsometers for example, can cost as much as 40% more to use for HKMG applications than non-HKMG applications once the hidden costs are accounted for – including the engineering time to keep them stable, the time consuming effort to interpret the indirect results and the constant need for reference tools to validate the results.
For HKMG applications, VeraFlex II cost of ownership advantages over traditional ellipsometers are significant:
Capital Costs
- System price comparable to ellipsometer system price, while offering superior precision and performance
- No additional capital expense for a reference tool as required by ellipsometers to make up for measurement limitations
Productivity
- Designed to maximize availability for the demands of HKMG production
- Not impacted by availability reduction due to increased monitoring and adjustment for High-K as required by ellipsometers
- No delays and process tool impact for extraneous reference tool analysis or complex interpretation of results as required by ellipsometers
Low Support Costs
- Engineered for reliability to minimize cost to maintain
- Does not require additional HKMG engineering support as required by ellipsometers to interpret results and maintain system stability
- Does not require additional support costs for HKMG reference tools as required by ellipsometers