August 4, 2011 — Light emitting diodes (LEDs), silicon germanium (SiGe) semiconductors, and wafer-level packaging (WLP) bumps each present their own challenges to metrology systems, says Alon Kapel, Jordan Valley Semiconductor. He speaks with Debra Vogler at SEMICON West 2011.

LEDs are growing very fast, and the metal-organic MOCVD tool is the heart of the process, says Kapel. For about every 10 MOCVD tools, users need 1 metrology tool. Every MOCVD batch takes 12 hours, so measurement needs to be very fast, allowing the next substrate to begin processing.

Other areas where metrology is helping advance semiconductor technology include the move to triple-layer SiGe on the front-end, and wafer-level packaging on the back-end. Metrology tools must keep up with the pace of production and still offer the highest level of accuracy possible. (Last year Jordan Valley debuted the JVX7200 HRXRD/XRR for in-line SiGe process monitoring.) In wafer-level packaging, silver/tin bumps must be measured on-wafer and on-line.

Jordan Valley is collaborating on 450mm projects and participates in consortia, but Kapel noted that 450mm is a burden on vendors and the question still being asked is, "where