Company Bolsters SENTRY Product Line with New Harsh Chemistry Metrology
(HCM) System
SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Metara Inc., a leader in the
semiconductor industry's in-line chemical metrology space, today launched
the SENTRY Harsh Chemistry Metrology (HCM) system-the first and only
automated, real-time, proactive analysis solution for harsh chemistries
used in today's manufacturing processes. The new tool is built to detect
metallic and, eventually, organic species, providing chipmakers with a
breakthrough pre-emptive technology to detect contaminants in harsh process
chemistries long before they become a yield threat.
The SENTRY HCM is the latest addition to Metara's portfolio of in-line
chemical metrology tools that already includes the SENTRY CCM, which
monitors copper electroplating and cobalt bath chemistries, and the SENTRY
TCM, which monitors benign chemistries for trace contaminants. When
combined, this broad tool family offers semiconductor manufacturers a
powerful technology solution that enables the safe and rapid detection of
process contamination at the earliest possible time. Shipment of the first
system has already occurred.
Today's complex semiconductor manufacturing process has imposed
rigorous new purity standards on the harsh chemistries that are used in
processing tools. These chemistries include concentrated hydrofluoric,
hydrochloric, sulfuric and phosphoric acids that are deployed in full
strength or mixed with other chemicals for various etch and wafer-cleaning
steps. Until recently, fab personnel relied on dispatching sporadic "grab
samples" to analytical labs to test for purity. This manual, off-line
approach dilutes the sample with ultra-pure water (UPW), which reduces the
concentration of the potential contaminant, thereby making it much less
sensitive to discovery. This approach is not only labor-intensive and
subject to human error, but it is also slow and highly unreliable.
Furthermore, it is inherently hazardous and often fails to detect serious
contaminants in time to avoid a disastrous yield excursion.
Metara's automated HCM tool overcomes these yield-threatening
challenges while simultaneously slashing the turnaround time from days to
minutes. Built on the proven SENTRY platform, the system features a
breakthrough combination of proprietary hardware and software that
neutralizes the harsh chemistries without diluting the sample with UPW,
thereby allowing all metallic contaminants to flow through and facilitating
easy, accurate and timely detection.
At the heart of the system is Metara's proprietary In-line Mass
Spectrometry (ILMS) technology, featuring an innovative electrospray
time-of-flight mass spectrometer. This core engine has the ability to
perform the sensitive, high-resolution measurement of anions and cations
required for accurate process control and contamination detection. It is a
proactive method that speedily determines the root cause and severity of a
problem and allows for prompt corrective action before yield is threatened.
Finally, to facilitate the speedy and simple interpretation of data, the
system is also equipped with an advanced spectral data analysis engine,
which automatically applies peak fitting algorithms to the spectral to
generate easily understood graphical results.
Calling the SENTRY HCM the ultimate "pre-emptive" chemical metrology
technology, Metara's vice president of sales and marketing, Randy Clegg,
said, "The use of complex harsh chemistries in today's manufacturing
environment presents great potential for yield and safety disasters. With
its breakthrough analysis capabilities, Metara's HCM has demonstrated
exceptional results in pre-emptively detecting yield-killing excursions,
allowing customers to avoid catastrophic yield busts well before they
become a threat. Moreover, like the other tools in the SENTRY family, the
HCM removes the manual component of this critical chemistry analysis step,
greatly improving the reliability of the process and removing the potential
for environmental health and safety errors."
To learn more about Metara's technology, please visit the company at
SEMICON West, July 11-13, 2006 at the Great Room 1 in the W Hotel, San
Francisco, Calif.
About Metara Inc.
Metara Inc. -- a pioneer and technology leader in the in-line chemical
metrology arena -- is focused on helping the global semiconductor industry
monitor and control chemical processes. The company's breakthrough
technology enables chipmakers to continuously monitor the composition of
their critical process chemistries in real time, so that they can a)
optimize process results in critical steps, such as copper plating; and b)
detect and prevent contamination that can result in process defects and
yield loss. More information about the company is available on the Internet
at http://www.metarainc.com.
SOURCE Metara Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.metarainc.com
CONTACT:
Randy Clegg, VP, Sales & Marketing of Metara
Inc., +1-408-523-0950, or rclegg@metarainc.com; or Jane
Evans-Ryan, Director, Emerging Technologies of MCA Public
Relations, +1-650-968-8900, or jryan@mcapr.com
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