SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 7, 2004 – ReVera, Inc. announces a new capacitor
dielectric application for its RVX 1000 metrology system that simultaneously
measures atomic-scale thickness and provides composition analysis of ultra-thin
High K films, such as hafnium oxide and other films being developed for the most
advanced capacitor designs. Ultra-thin material analysis and measurement has
emerged as a critical requirement to guarantee speed and yield in ALD-based
65nm-generation and beyond designs.
This new application joins ReVera’s popular gate dielectric
metrology/analysis process in the company’s fast-expanding application
portfolio. ReVera will be describing its advanced compositional metrology
technology at a SEMICON/West press conference Monday, July 12, at 2:00 P.M. at
Moscone Center in San Francisco.
“Transistors are in a revolution, where scaling new materials to atomic-level
thickness makes traditional processes low-yielding and uncontrollable. ReVera is
pushing atomic-scale metrology’s merger with material analysis because
chipmakers critically need to know thickness, composition and purity levels to
assure process quality in the fab, not the lab,” noted Dave Ring, President and
CEO of ReVera. “Starting with 65nm devices, the purity and thickness uniformity
of even one atomic layer can make a huge difference in transistor and capacitor
performance and yield. Our RVX 1000 uniquely combines rapid dimensional
measurement and composition analysis of a wide range of emerging high k films as
thin as 5Å, equating to only one or two molecular layers.”
ReVera’s fully automated RVX 1000 uses a technique that simultaneously
determines thickness and film composition of an ultra-thin material with the
throughput, extreme accuracy and precision required for production process
control. The company’s proprietary algorithms quantify elemental concentration
and layer thickness with high precision. Unlike traditional optical methods, the
RVX 1000 counts only the atoms of interest (Si, O, N, Hf, Al, etc.), making it
exceptionally useful for process control. Surface contaminants, such as
hydrocarbons and airborne molecular contaminants do not influence the
measurement results, contributing to the excellent measurement repeatability of
the tool.
Ring continued, “Major fabs in the U.S., Europe and Asia are already using
the RVX 1000 for critical gate metrology and the system is also being
intensively used by some of the largest chip equipment makers to characterize
their latest ALD and advanced material processes. We are working closely with
customers on many new applications and we anticipate having a number of
additional critical applications available over the next year.”
Formerly an
operating division of Physical Electronics (PHI), a worldwide leading
supplier of surface analytical instrumentation, ReVera, Inc. was formed in order
to focus its proprietary technology on the critical emerging need for ultra-thin
film and compositional metrology in nanometer-generation chip manufacturing and
process development.
