The SENTRY HCM is the latest addition to Metara's portfolio
of in-line chemical metrology tools that already includes the SENTRY CCM,
which monitors copper electroplating and cobalt bath chemistries, and the
SENTRY TCM, which monitors benign chemistries for trace contaminants. When
combined, this broad tool family offers semiconductor manufacturers a powerful
technology solution that enables the safe and rapid detection of process
contamination at the earliest possible time. Shipment of the first system
has already occurred.
Today's complex semiconductor manufacturing process has imposed rigorous new purity standards on the harsh chemistries that are used in processing tools. These chemistries include concentrated hydrofluoric, hydrochloric, sulfuric and phosphoric acids that are deployed in full strength or mixed with other chemicals for various etch and wafer-cleaning steps. Until recently, fab personnel relied on dispatching sporadic "grab samples" to analytical labs to test for purity. This manual, off-line approach dilutes the sample with ultra-pure water (UPW), which reduces the concentration of the potential contaminant, thereby making it much less sensitive to discovery. This approach is not only labor-intensive and subject to human error, but it is also slow and highly unreliable. Furthermore, it is inherently hazardous and often fails to detect serious contaminants in time to avoid a disastrous yield excursion.
Metara's automated HCM tool overcomes these yield-threatening challenges while simultaneously slashing the turnaround time from days to minutes. Built on the proven SENTRY platform, the system features a breakthrough combination of proprietary hardware and software that neutralizes the harsh chemistries without diluting the sample with UPW, thereby allowing all metallic contaminants to flow through and facilitating easy, accurate and timely detection.
At the heart of the system is Metara's proprietary In-line Mass Spectrometry (ILMS) technology, featuring an innovative electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometer. This core engine has the ability to perform the sensitive, high-resolution measurement of anions and cations required for accurate process control and contamination detection. It is a proactive method that speedily determines the root cause and severity of a problem and allows for prompt corrective action before yield is threatened. Finally, to facilitate the speedy and simple interpretation of data, the system is also equipped with an advanced spectral data analysis engine which automatically applies peak fitting algorithms to the spectral to generate easily understood graphical results.
