Nikon Releases Automatic Wafer Measurement System

November 14, 2023

Nikon Industrial Metrology has introduced the NEXIV VMZ-NWL 200, an automatic wafer measurement system designed to address the challenges of wafer metrology in the semiconductor back-end process. The system is primarily aimed at measurements within semiconductor manufacturing processes in the back-end, where traditionally more manual work is conducted compared to front-end process control.

The NEXIV VMZ-NWL 200 system is designed to mitigate the shortage of skilled technicians for manual measurement. As the semiconductor industry has evolved towards miniaturization, the skill level required for measurement has increased, while the number of available engineers has decreased. Despite this, the semiconductor market continues to grow, leading to an increase in metrology opportunities. Consequently, manual measurements using conventional optical microscopes have reached their limits.

The NEXIV VMZ-NWL 200 system automatically measures 6-inch or 8-inch wafers held in a carrier according to a measurement program. The system ensures high repeatability of measurement through the reliability of the NEXIV and stable wafer loading using the NWL. The system also allows intuitive selection of the chip to be measured using dedicated software, enabling anyone to achieve the chip measurement results they need with a high degree of reliability. Additionally, it is possible to trace when the measurement was performed and by which program, improving traceability.

The system is designed with safety in mind, including a protective cover to prevent potential damage due to operator error. The operation meets SEMI international standards S2, S8, and F47.

Source – Nikon