Molecular Vista presents its latest innovation in advanced semiconductor process monitoring and defect analysis

“Vista 300 is a perfect hybrid topography and chemical metrology tool for characterising High NA EUV lithography, selective atomic layer deposition, Cu-Cu hybrid bonding processes, and sub-100 nm defects.”

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Molecular Vista Inc (MVI) unveils its latest nano IR instrument, the Vista 300, which can be used in advanced semiconductor process monitoring and defect analysis. Vista 300 combines an atomic force microscope (AFM) with infrared spectroscopy to provide Photo-induced Force Microscopy (PiFM). PiFM performs chemical mapping with a spatial resolution of <5 nm, better than TOF-SIMS or XPS methods.

“With more advanced semiconductor processes dependent on atomically thin organic and dielectric layers with increasingly smaller feature sizes,” said Dr Sung Park, CEO of Molecular Vista, “Vista 300 is a perfect hybrid topography and chemical metrology tool for characterising High NA EUV lithography, selective atomic layer deposition, Cu-Cu hybrid bonding processes, and sub-100 nm defects.”

What is PiFM?

The technique works by mapping and identifying molecules, whether they are organic or polymeric contaminants, inorganic particles or nanostructures, or EUV-resistant films and residues. PiFM is particularly useful in applications like analysing surface functionalisation or identifying nanoscale defects and particles.

The power of PiFM can be seen in the accompanying images (above) as it can map the chemical differences between exposed and unexposed 16 nm half-pitch patterns in EUV resist before said resist is developed. PiFM can then detect any chemical changes caused by EUV exposure.

The Vista 300 can handle full 300 mm wafers with its minimal footprint of 1.1 x 1.1 m2 and is developed and ready for immediate orders.