Metrology market heads for $4B

An economic recovery in the semiconductor industry will spur double-digit sales growth for metrology and inspection equipment, asserts a market research firm. The Information Network of New Tripoli, PA, forecasts an annual growth rate of 12% by 2005 for the market segment. The firm foresees a 7.3% growth rate for the overall front-end equipment market in 2003.

Global revenues for metrology and inspection gear will reach approximately $4 billion in 2005, the firm says. The market segment was $2.5 billion in 2002 and is forecast to reach $2.8 billion in 2003. Robert Castellano, president of the research company, says chipmakers must add the analytical equipment in order to maintain production at their leading-edge fabs. In addition, construction of 300-mm fabs will fuel inspection tool sales of approximately 40% of the category, he notes.

The largest increase will occur in wafer defect review and inspection tools where equipment revenues will grow 14% to $1.4 billion in 2003. KLA-Tencor had 56% of that market segment in 2002. The thin-film metrology segment will see 16% growth in 2003 to approximately $400 million. High mask costs and prolonged use of 193-nm lithography systems will keep the lithography segment to a relatively modest growth rate of 5.9% in 2003.

The information is contained in a new report, titled Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control in VLSI Manufacturing.

Chamillard elected SEMI head

George Chamillard, chairman and CEO of Teradyne, has been elected chairman of SEMI. He succeeds Arthur Zafiropoulo, Ultratech's chairman and CEO. Chamillard has been a member of SEMI's 20-person board of directors since 1998.

The new SEMI chairman received his BS and MBA degrees from Northeastern University. Starting at Teradyne as a production engineer in 1969, Chamillard was elected president, COO, and Teradyne board member in 1996. The following year, he was chosen CEO, followed by his election to chairman in June 2000.

Members of the trade association also elected the following to the board of directors: Douglas Neugold, president of ATMI; Mary Puma, president and CEO of Axcelis Technologies; Stephen Schwartz, chairman, president, and CEO of Asyst Technologies; and Akira Yamamura, president of Ferrotec.

Immersion tools see progress

No technical roadblocks exist to the successful use of 193-nm immersion lithography, participants in a workshop on the technique heard at the recent Semicon West. More than 200 attendees were told that concerns over resists, microscopic bubbles, and fluid properties have been addressed, according to International Sematech, which sponsored the event. Process control, materials standards, and production costs remain as challenges to be overcome.

The consortium's Immersion Steering Committee issued a newly revised list of the consortium's Top 10 list of critical issues affecting the technology's usability. The challenges include the need for a precise definition of immersion fluid, defect characterization, and control.

Three separate task forces and four suppliers are studying the use of immersion lithography, which places a liquid between the projection lens and the wafer. At the 193-nm exposure wavelength, the most effective liquid seems to be ultrapure water. Because the lens can be designed with numerical apertures higher than one, immersion technology may be able to print smaller images than traditional projection lithography, Sematech says.

The tool suppliers involved in the effort are TOK, Nikon, Canon, and ASML. Representatives from the suppliers say their feasibility studies indicate there are no showstoppers, according to Sematech, adding that the vendors will determine by the end of this year or early next year whether to start making tools.

In other news, Sematech and Exitech have signed an agreement to develop the first 13.5-nm-wavelength aerial image monitor tool. The system will be used for pattern and defect inspection of EUV reticles. Exitech of Oxford, UK, will build an alpha tool for inspection of EUV mask blanks and defects. Set for delivery in the third quarter of 2005, the reticle inspection system will be installed at International Sematech North's NanoFab 1 EUV mask blank in Albany, NY.

Aerial image monitors emulate the optics seen by the reticle in stepper/scanner lithography systems. The monitors obtain at wavelength magnified electronic images of reticle patterns, according to Sematech. The discharge source of the Exitech tool will produce radiation at a wavelength of 13.5 nm, and the monitor will be able to resolve features ≤120 nm on EUV reflection reticles, the consortium says.

Gloves, cots RP published

The Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST) has published a revised and expanded recommended practice (RP) for cleanroom gloves and finger cots. IEST-RP-CC005.3, Gloves and Finger Cots Used in Cleanrooms and Other Controlled Environments, covers procedures for testing and evaluating the disposables. The RP is written to help users determine cleanliness, physical integrity, chemical integrity, and related properties for best selection of gloves and finger cots.

IEST Working Group WG-CC005, chaired by Liz Hill of Research Triangle Institute, developed and wrote the revised RP. The document is available from IEST at www.iest.org or from publicationsales@iest.org.