Electronics Weekly: Wafers Created, Inspected and Connected

Wafer manufacturing and inspection, imaging made easy, and USB-C still hasn’t caught on.

Novati Technologies Selects Applied Materials to Create Advanced 200mm Line

Novati’s facility is capable of supporting 200mm and 300mm wafers with critical dimensions from tens of microns to 65nm and below, and either aluminum or copper back-end of line interconnects. This flexibility allows the company to integrate MEMS, Microfluidic and Photonic elements with advanced high-density circuits and electrical routing.

Novati has teamed with Applied Materials, Inc., a supplier of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, to install a suite of 200mm process equipment into the facility, including:

  • Applied Mira Mesa CMP with Contour 8-zone pressure control heads for uniformity control over challenging topographies and complex materials
  • Applied Endura 5500 with SIP TI, EnCoRe Cu, and TA for high aspect ratio step coverage
  • Applied Raider 8-Module 200mm/300mm plating tool including Raptor-M for TSV fill and CDF-III for advanced damascene plating demands 

Find out more at Novati’s website.

EV Group Rolls Out Automated Metrology System for Advanced Packaging, MEMS and Photonics Manufacturing

The EVG50. (Image courtesy of EVG.)

The EVG50. (Image courtesy of EVG.)

EV Group (EVG), a supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, today introduced the EVG50 automated metrology system. Designed to support the increasingly stringent manufacturing requirements for advanced packaging, MEMS and photonics applications, the EVG50 performs high-resolution non-destructive multi-layer thickness and topography measurement, as well as void detection, in bonded wafer stacks and in photoresists used in optical lithography.

The system measures layers down to two microns in thickness, can inspect up to one million points, and achieves throughputs of up to 55 300-mm wafers per hour. This combination of high resolution and high throughput is designed to provide cost-efficient full-wafer inspection that enables device manufacturers to improve their wafer bonding and lithography processes as well as achieve higher yields.

The EVG50’s versatility allows it to measure coating thickness for lithography as well as wafer bow and warpage, and make void inspections for a bonded wafer stack on the same system, while its low-contact edge handling enables particle-free, full-area wafer inspection. Leveraging a multi-sensor measurement mount, the system can be customized for different thickness ranges and substrates to address a wide variety of customer requirements.

More information and photos on EVG’s suite of metrology solutions, including the EVG50, can also be found at the company’s product website.

KLA-Tencor Introduces Comprehensive Wafer Inspection and Review Portfolio for Leading IC Technologies

KLA-Tencor Corporation recently introduced six advanced wafer defect inspection and review systems for IC device manufacturing: the 3900 Series and 2930 Series broadband plasma optical inspectors, the Puma 9980 laser scanning inspector, the CIRCL5 all-surface inspection cluster, the Surfscan SP5 unpatterned wafer inspector and the eDR7280 e-beam review and classification tool. These systems form a comprehensive wafer inspection solution that enables discovery and control of yield-critical defects at all stages of IC manufacturing— from early process characterization to production process monitoring.

The 3900 Series, 2930 Series and eDR7280 merge inspection, design and review information to form a defect discovery solution that drives process and yield improvements through the detection and characterization of critical defects. This solution helps IC manufacturers address advanced design node challenges such as process window discovery and yield loss associated with the proliferation of pattern and process systematic defects.

The Puma 9980, CIRCL5 and Surfscan SP5XP provide early identification of yield excursions across a broad range of line, process and tool monitoring applications, helping chipmakers accelerate the production ramp and maximize the yield of device technologies.

The 2930 Series, Puma 9980, CIRCL5, Surfscan SP5XP and eDR7280 are field-upgradeable from their predecessors, providing extendibility that protects a fab’s capital investment. To maintain the high performance and productivity demanded by IC manufacturing, all six systems are backed by KLA-Tencor’s global comprehensive service network.

More information can be found on the Advanced Wafer Inspection Portfolio web page

Microsemi Announces Imaging/Video Solution Providing a Secure, Reliable, Low Power Device for Imaging Applications

Imaging and Video FMC. (Image courtesy Microsemi.)

Imaging and Video FMC. (Image courtesy Microsemi.)

Microsemi Corporation, a provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by power, security, reliability and performance, recently announced the availability of a new imaging/video solution for the development of low power and reliable video processing applications. The new platform is comprised of a field programmable gate array (FPGA) mezzanine card (FMC), a comprehensive intellectual property (IP) suite and graphical user interface (GUI).

The FMC plugged into the SmartFusion 2 Advanced Development Kit demonstrates Microsemi’s IGLOO 2 FPGA and SmartFusion2 system-on-chip (SoC) FPGA capabilities to support configurable and scalable camera, imaging and video designs.   

In addition to its modular IP suite and hardware kit, the new imaging/video solution includes a flexible image sensor interface connector as well as graphical user interface (GUI)-based software, enabling users to configure sensor display demonstrations in real time. Designs can be reused across multiple platforms using Libero SoC Design Suite, a development toolset for designing with Microsemi’s FPGAs and SoC FPGAs. 

The company’s new kit features an FMC-based imaging/video card with flexible image sensor interface, a display interface for 7:1 low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS), HDMI connections and an audio processor. The initial image sensor board offers an AR0330-based image sensor module with a parallel bus interface.

Future image sensor boards will offer other interfaces such as Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) camera serial interface (CSI-2), and high-speed serial pixel (HiSPi). In addition, because the hardware is FMC-based, the kit, which plugs into the M2S150-ADV-DEV-KIT, could also be used with future Microsemi FPGAs and SoCs.

Microsemi’s imaging/video kit is available now. For more information, visit the Microsemi website.

Synopsys’ New USB 2.0 Type-C IP Cuts Power and Area for IoT Edge Applications

(Image courtesy of Synopsys.)

(Image courtesy of Synopsys.)

Synopsys, Inc. recently announced that it has reduced the power and area of its DesignWare USB 2.0 Type-C Controller and PHY IP for cost-sensitive and energy-efficient Internet of Things (IoT) edge applications targeting 40-nanometer (nm) and 55-nm ultra-low power processes. The IP cuts silicon area by up to 50 percent compared to competitive offerings, saving on average $0.03 per die.

To extend battery life, the USB IP uses 30 percent lower active power compared to competing solutions and near 0 W of standby power. The DesignWare USB 2.0 Type-C IP supports the IEEE 1801 standard Unified Power Format (UPF) to speed implementation and testing of power domains. In addition, Synopsys has simplified configuration options in the IP to reduce integration and verification effort by weeks or months.

The new DesignWare USB solution supports the USB Battery Charging v1.2 specification, delivering up to 1.5 A of current to IoT devices connected to a wall charger. In addition, the DesignWare USB 2.0 Type-C IP supports advanced power management features, such as power supply gating and support for near 0 W standby current, to help designers reduce leakage for IoT devices.

Highlights:

  • DesignWare USB 2.0 Type-C solution, including controllers and PHYs, reduces USB silicon area by up to 50 percent on ultra-low power 40-nm and 55-nm processes
  • Extends battery life with near 0 W standby power consumption and up to 30 percent lower active power
  • Saves implementation and verification effort with simplified configuration options

Availability and Resources:

The DesignWare USB 2.0 Type-C IP for IoT is available now in ultra-low power 40-nm and 55-nm processes. DesignWare USB IP prototyping kits, IP software development kits and verification IP are also available now.

For more information, visit the Snyopsys website.


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