SC-MDD™ Macro Defect Scanner

Rapid In-line Detection of Macro Defects

The complexity of integrated circuits (ICs) continues to increase with shrinking device geometries. There is an associated increase in the number of processing steps to manufacture IC’s and consequently, an increase in the likelihood that defects will occur during one of those steps. Defects can occur during any of several steps such as etch, lithography, deposition, etc.  Defects can be generated as a result of  particle contamination, incomplete process, process variations, dislocations, scratches, cracks, etc. While many of these defects are merely “nuisance defects”, some eventually become “killer defects” that result in the die failing final electrical tests,  reducing the yield of the semiconductor manufacturing process.

SC-MDD™ Macro Defect Scanner

There is a critical need in the semiconductor manufacturing industry for relatively inexpensive, in-line whole-wafer defect detection tools that detect macro defects in real-time at the point where the defects are generated, yet maintain a high throughput. Macro defects are those that are visible to the naked eye, approximately 10 micron or larger. The challenge is to rapidly detect a large fraction of the macro defects in-line at each process step by automatically inspecting each and every wafer.

To meet the needs of the industry described above, SC Solutions has developed a Macro Defect Detection product, SC-MDD™, which detects and classifies macro defects rapidly and inexpensively for every wafer, and furthermore can be integrated into existing wafer fabrication equipment. Apart from being expensive, conventional macro defect equipment is slow, affects throughput, and is not able to scan each wafer every process step. SC Solutions’ product differentiates itself from conventional defect detection equipment because of its fast scanning of high resolution images (~1350dpi in the order of seconds), its fast image processing (in the order of 10’s of seconds), and its modular design that can be integrated into existing equipment.

SC-MDD™ is currently available as a stand-alone defect detection scanner that includes a table-top hardware unit and accompanying software. Please click here to download a PDF copy of the SC-MDD™ brochure.

Please contact us here for any further information.

Our exclusive Asia Sales Representative is OEchips. Their contact information is:

Ted Chang, President
OEchips Co. Ltd.
3F, No. 12, Lane 65
Zhong Zheng 1st Rd, Yingge District
New Taipei City 23942, Taiwan
Email: ted@oechips.com
Website: www.oechips.com
TEL: +886-2-2678-9204

Performance Specifications

Max. Wafer Diameter 300mm
Max. Carrier Size 450mm
Max. Optical Resolution 1365dpi
Min. Image Pixel 18.6μm
Min. Pixel Depth 8bit X 1
Max. Scan Time 4 to 8 sec
Max. Process Time 25sec
False Positive Defect 0
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