April 8, 2002 – Billerica, MA – PRI Automation Inc. has unveiled its latest advanced process control application. WaferState APC for CMP, is a run-to-run control application for controlling film-thickness variability, and according to PRI, it can provide semiconductor manufacturers with quality improvements of 20% or more on average as well as throughput improvements of up to 25%.
The software contains algorithms that can automatically adjust polish times based on variables such as pad wear. As a result, film-thickness variability can be significantly reduced, leading to better quality, less re-work and higher throughput, the company said.
WaferState APC is based on PRI’s patent-pending control approaches using the FabRunner library of algorithms for advanced control.
All versions of WaferState APC feature graphical configuration, built-in control algorithms and pre-configured graphics for data visualization, PRI said. They can be implemented in as little as two to three months.