Photonics Solutions for Semiconductor Manufacturing

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Rising Demand for Electronics Fuels Semiconductor Equipment Growth

Ever since the first solid state devices were invented, there has been a fast-growing demand for electronics in all aspects of our lives. We don’t think this is going to stop any time soon. Some of the areas that are driving the current and future demand for electronics: personal electronic devices, artificial intelligence, higher-tech automobiles, the rollout of 5G networks, more and larger data centers, and the Internet of Things. What this means for the semiconductor wafer fab equipment market is that within a few years its worldwide revenues could surpass $100 billion.

One of the challenges with electronic devices from the beginning was to make them not only smaller but also more powerful. There was a time when a simple computer took up much of an entire room, but today that little smart watch on your wrist is far more powerful and useful than much larger sized computers of 40 and 50 years ago. Exponential growth in the number of transistors per processor has enabled this to occur. To keep up with the increasing technological demand, new designs and manufacturing processes for semiconductors are going to be needed.

MKS Solutions and Products

MKS is more than just a provider of great products for semiconductor manufacturing. We are your partner who can provide the solutions you need to help meet the current and future semiconductor manufacturing challenges.

Challenges in Semiconductor Manufacturing MKS Solutions
Maximizing throughput High speed, high acceleration motorized positioners
High power lasers with programmable pulse shapes
High power/high fluence optics
Maximizing yield High accuracy, high repeatability motorized positioners
Optics for manipulation of DUV and EUV light
Reducing size / increasing transistor density DUV and EUV optical components and/or assemblies
Building the Optimal System Applications engineering expertise & full range of products

The first challenge that often comes to mind is maximizing throughput. We’re talking hundreds of billions to a trillion or so of integrated circuits produced every year, so manufacturing has to be both fast and plentiful. MKS’ motorized positioners, specifically our air-bearing, linear motor platforms, provide the high speed needed for applications such as inspection and lithography. And as electronic devices become smaller and smaller, we believe that more of the semiconductor manufacturing processes will need to become laser-based, and MKS offers lasers, including high power lasers with pulse control, that can be used for inspection, dicing, marking, low-k grooving and package cutting and drilling. And to work with high power lasers for optimal results, MKS can also provide high power/high fluence optics.

Along with maximizing throughput, another challenge is maximizing yield. Once again, our motorized positioners offer very high accuracy and repeatability to ensure the best results over and over again.

A trend we’re seeing with the desire to increase transistor density while continually reducing the size of electronic devices is more use of DUV and EUV light throughout the semiconductor manufacturing process. MKS can provide the optics and components necessary to manipulate and manage these wavelengths, which will also lead to higher yield.

Finally, the optimal system has to be built. This means choosing the appropriate components based on performance, form factor, cost and other considerations, and making sure everything works well together. Not only does MKS offer a full range of products in all product categories, but we also have a dedicated team of applications engineers that can help select the appropriate products and also integrate and optimize the system for your needs. They’ll provide a crucial link between your technical staff and MKS’ engineers.

Positioners - Wafers & Reticles

MKS has the knowledge and expertise needed to address the most complex and demanding motion control applications. From traditional motorized linear stages to evolutionary air bearing systems, we have a solution to meet your needs.

MKS DynamYX® Series Air Bearing Positioners are designed specifically for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The positioners provide highest level of commercially available positioning performance and deliver high accuracy and high throughput. We have field-proven success with more than 1,000 DynamYX systems installed worldwide over the last 20 years.

The DynamYX system is composed of 3 monolithic elements: a base, a guide and a carriage. The base serves as a reference surface for the moving elements. It’s made of precision-lapped granite, which offers the best flatness. Next is an L-shaped guide. This L-shape moves left and right along the rear of the reference surface base, for X-axis motion. The carriage then moves along with but perpendicularly to the L-shape for Y-axis motion – this is how XY movement is achieved. The L-shaped guide and carriage are made from silicon carbide ceramic. Advantages of this material include geometric stability, stiffness, and lower mass.

DynamYX employs air bearings for the smoothest, fastest, and most precise movements. The air bearings are created by the integration of pressure and vacuum into the L-shaped guide. The pressure areas and the vacuum areas are directly machined into the ceramic guide. Another benefit of this design is a very low profile. Ironless linear motors are used to generate the motion. Linear motors also provide the fastest, smoothest, and most precise motion, and they are also highly efficient in terms of heat dissipation and cooling. For X-axis movement, 1 or 2 motors are placed along the edge of the reference surface base. For Y-axis movement, the linear motor is built into the guide for the carriage to move along.

Similar to the DynamYX Series, MKS HybrYX® Series also has a granite base as the reference surface. But instead of the L-shaped guide and carriage of the DynamYX, the HybrYX utilizes a rigid, lightweight ceramic beam for X-axis motion and a ceramic carriage that slides along this beam for Y-axis motion. The beam is supported and guided at each end of the base by recirculating ball bearings for X-axis motion, while the carriage is pressure-vacuum preloaded to and guided along the beam for Y-axis motion. This blends the cost-effectiveness of mechanical bearings with the precision of a single plane air bearing carriage, which is an excellent combination of throughput, precision and value. The carriage is propelled by an ironless linear motor in the Y-axis, which is also similar to the DynamYX. The X-axis motor is also a linear motor, but iron core for the HybrYX.

DynamYX_Datum
DynamYX Datum
CMS-DYNAMYX_GT-sb
DynamYX GT
DynamYX_300
DynamYX 300
DynamYX_RS
DynamYX RS
CMS-DynamYX-Hybrid-WHT
HybrYX Hybrid
Travel Range Up to 520 x 350 mm Up to 520 x 350 mm Up to 520 x 340 mm Up to 290 x 155 mm Up to 650 x 350 mm
Speed 1 m/s X: 800 mm/s, Y: 500 mm/s 400 mm/s 250 mm/s X: 300 mm/s, Y: 600 mm/s
Peak Acceleration X: 2 G, Y: 3 G X: 1.2 G, Y: 2 G X: 0.75 G, Y: 1.5 G 0.25 G X: 0.3 G, Y: 0.6 G
Accuracy
(linear encoders)
0.2 µm 0.3 µm 0.4 µm 0.5 µm 1.0 µm
Repeatability
(long term)
±25 nm ±50 nm ±50 nm ±25 nm
Straightness & Flatness
(300-mm circle)
0.3 µm 0.4 µm 0.6 µm 0.6 µm
Speed Stability 0.05% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1%
Max Load Capacity 30 kg 30 kg 15 kg 20 kg
Other Features O-shaped ceramic guide
Interferometer feedback option
Z-Tip-Tilt-θ option for wafer chuck
Z-Tip-Tilt-θ option for wafer chuck Z-Tip-Tilt-θ option for wafer chuck Extremely rigid ceramic reticle holder
Cantilevered substrate located away from all moving elements
Z-Tip-Tilt-θ option for wafer chuck
  • ZT3 Z-Tip-Tilt-Theta Multi-Axis Positioner: active vertical, pitch, roll and yaw alignment of a wafer/chuck for challenging lithography and inspection applications.
ZT3 Z-Axis Tip-Tilt Θ-Axis
Travel Range 5 mm ±2 mrad ±3° DynamYX_Unity
Sensitivity ±25 nm 0.1 to 3 µrad
Step & Settle 5 µm displacement in 40 ms settled to ±20 nm
Other Features Optional piezo-driven Θ for 0.1 µrad sensitivity
Lift-pin mechanism for easy wafer loading & unloading
Air bearing Θ off-set stage, clamped after motion for ultimate stability
IDL_with_wafer
IDL-LM
MC-XML350___GTS150
XM-S
Travel Range 100 to 1,200 mm 50 to 350 mm
Speed 2 m/s 300 mm/s
Accuracy ±2 to ±5 µm ±0.2 to ±0.5 µm
Repeatability ±0.25 to ±0.5 µm ±0.03 to ±0.035 µm
Pitch ±15 to ±65 µrad ±25 to ±50 µrad
Yaw ±15 to ±40 µrad ±25 to ±40 µrad
Straightness & Flatness ±0.75 to ±1.50 µm
Max Load Capacity 450 to 2,000 N 100 to 300 N
Other Features Ironless Linear Motor
Recirculating ball bearings
Industrial grade hard covers
1-nm minimum incremental motion
Ironless Linear Motor
Crossed-roller bearings

Wafer and Reticle Positioners Selection Guide

We summarize the recommended platforms for various applications below. Please use this as a reference guide and always contact us to discuss your application and requirement in detail so we can provide the best solution for you.

DynamYX Datum DynamYX GT DynamYX 300 DynamYX RS HybrYX IDL-LM XM-S
Wafer Inspection ★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★★
Optical Lithography ★★★ ★★★
Nano Imprint Lithography ★★★
Memory Repair ★★★ ★★
Wafer Dicing ★★ ★★★ ★★
Reticle Inspection & Repair ★★★
Mask Writing ★★★ ★★
Wafer Bump Inspection ★★ ★★★ ★★

Positioners - Optical Path

For applications such as Inspection and Lithography where the substrate is being moved, an optical path needs to be constructed to deliver the laser beam to targeted spots. MKS provides a variety of positioners that are ideal for building such an optical path, many of which are standard catalog products.

MC-AG-LS25_XZ
Agilis
MC-MFA_XYZ-S
MFA
OM-SDS_Assem-S
SDS
Travel Range 12 and 27 mm 25 mm 10 and 25 mm
Minimum Incremental Motion 50 or 100 nm 100 nm
Angular Deviation <200 µrad Pitch: ±25 µrad, Yaw: ±30 µrad Pitch: <200 µrad, Yaw: <150 µrad
Speed 0.5 mm/s DC: 2.5 mm/s, Stepper: 1 mm/s
Accuracy DC: ±0.7 µm, Stepper: ±0.9 µm
Repeatability ±0.15 µm (w/ Conex controller) DC: ±0.15 µm, Stepper: ±0.2 µm
Bearings Ball Ball Ball
Material Stainless Steel Stainless Steel Stainless Steel
Drive Type Piezo Motor DC Motor, Stepper Motor Manual Micrometer
Other Features Holding force locks position when idle
Closed-loop version
Side-mounted actuators
Low profile, minimum footprint
Non-influencing locking mechanism
Picomotors_8300_series-S
Picomotor
MC-TRA6__TRA12___TRA25
TRA
MC-LTA_Series_4
LTA
Travel Range 12.7, 25.4 or 50.8 mm 6, 12 or 25 mm 25 or 50 mm
Minimum Incremental Motion <30 nm 100 or 200 nm 50 or 100 nm
Axial Load Capacity 22 or 13 N 60 N 120 or 50 N
Speed 1.2 or 1 mm/m 0.4 mm/s 1 or 5 mm/s
Accuracy ±1.5 to ±2.5 µm ±1.2 or ±2.2 µm
Repeatability ±1.25 µm ±0.3 µm
Other Features No movement when power is off
Manual adjustment knob
Agilis
Optic Diameters 0.5 and 1 in. OM-AG-M050N
Angular Range ±2° in 2 axes
Adjustment Sensitivity 1 or 2 µrad
Speed 0.5 or 0.75 °/sec
Other Features Limit switch version for repeatability
True set-and-forget stability

Complex Optics & Optical Assemblies

MKS has a very experienced team of lens designers, opto-mechanical engineers and physicists that specialize in optical design and development. We are more than just a supplier of optical components – MKS can be your partner to deliver optical solutions for your needs. We can provide high precision optical assemblies – for example, lens assemblies for lithography. We can also build complete integrated solutions of optics, opto-mechanics and electronics, such as an optical path system for an inspection scanning application.



SCAN_LENS_CUTOUT

We specialize in the design of thin film coatings for laser optics whether it be reflective, anti-reflective, partially reflective, high power and other types. The trend with semiconductor manufacturing is going towards DUV and EUV as electronic devices become smaller and smaller, and we have much experience with coatings down to 193 nanometers. If you think you might need to go lower than that, please talk to us to see how we might be able to help you. In addition to providing traditional optical shapes and coatings, MKS can also produce complex optical shapes, such as freeform optics, highly convex or concave optics, truncated optics and lightweight optics. We also have the capability of placing multiple coating types on a single optical component.

MKS will design a custom solution to meet your application's requirements, and we can handle build-to-print or build-to-specs. With our world class manufacturing capabilities, we are able to scale quantities as needed and also provide cost-effective high volume production.

State-of-the-Art Optics Manufacturing Technologies

Materials Fabrication Coatings
  • Standard glass
  • Crystals
  • Low CTE
  • High stiffness
  • MCG
  • Light-weighted structures
  • Diamond-turned metals
  • λ/50 sphere
  • Large flats (450 mm)
  • Aspheres 4 to 300 mm
  • Optimized cylinders
  • Super smoothing
  • Low order correction
  • Advanced coating technologies
  • Fluoride coatings (including 193 & 248 nm)
  • Oxide coatings (including 249 nm)
  • Low absorption coating materials
  • Process and controls to mitigate photo-contamination

Advanced Metrology and Testing

Coated Optics Testing Alignment Turning HALT/HASS
  • 193 & 266 nm laser setup
  • 266 & 532 nm absorption
  • Spectral measurements to 120 nm
  • Interferometry, spectrophotometry, ellipsometry
  • Spheres & aspheres up to 300 mm
  • High volume objectives, scan lenses
  • Optical axis centration, tilt, and mechanical accuracies up to ±1 µm
  • Allows more materials to be used in cell design
  • Highly Accelerated Life Testing – for failure modes and mechanisms
  • Highly Accelerated Stress Screening – quickly identify product weaknesses

Catalog Optics

Precision-Aspheric-Lenses
Aspheric
OP-spxlens-S
Spherical
OP-uvfsprecyl-S
Cylindrical
AR Coating Wavelengths 430-700 nm
650-1000 nm
245-440 nm
430-700
650-1000
1000-1550
245-440 nm
430-700
650-1000
1000-1550
Avg. Reflectivity per Coated Surface <0.5% <0.5% <0.5%
Diameters 15 to 50 mm 0.25 to 3 in. ¼ x 1 in. to 2 x 2 in. rectangular
12.5 to 25 mm round
Effective Focal Lengths 11.3 to 50 mm 0.4 mm/s 1 or 5 mm/s
Shapes Plano-Convex
Bi-Convex
Plano-Convex
Bi-Convex
Plano-Concave
Bi-Concave
Plano-Convex
Plano-Concave
Substrate Materials L-BAL35 Glass N-BK7, UV Fused Silica N-BK7, UV Fused Silica
Other Features Reduced Spherical Aberration
Computer-optimized for diffraction limited performance
Wavelengths 250-600 nm* 450-700 nm 480-20000 nm 650-20000 nm
Coatings UV Aluminum Aluminum Silver Gold OP-pinholefreemirrors-S
CW Damage Threshold 100 W/cm2 100 W/cm2 1000 W/cm2 200 W/cm2
Reflectivity >90%* >93% >96% >96%
Diameters 0.5 to 8 in.
Other Shapes Square, Elliptical, D-shaped, Concave
Substrate Materials Borofloat 33, Zerodur
Other Features Insensitive to polarization and AOI
* Can perform at 193 nm with lower reflectivity

Diffraction Gratings

  • Diffraction Gratings: separates polychromatic light into various wavelengths at slightly different angles.
Diffraction Gratings
Master Types Ruled, Holographic, Echelle 1st_product_shot-path
Grating Types Reflection, Transmission, Grism (grating prisms)
Shapes Plano, Concave
Grooves per millimeter 30 to 5,880
Spectral Regions Various, including 193 and 248 nm and other multiple high-orders within UV
Sizes 2 x 2 mm to 320 x 420 mm
Other Features High efficiency
Very low Rowland ghost
High resolving power

Isolation - Vibration Control

MKS sets the industry standard for vibration control with the very first steel-clad, honeycomb core table that was designed a few decades ago to isolate laser experiments from vibration. Over the years we’ve built a comprehensive offering of optical tables, workstations, isolators, breadboards, and everything vibration control. MKS also has extensive capabilities to design and build custom solutions, such as non-standard geometries, less magnetic or non-magnetic table tops and cleanroom- or vacuum-compatible structures. We can also provide some services like testing and analysis.

NewDamp
Minimum Load per Isolator 6 to 45 kg VC-nd30-S
Load Capacity per Isolator 8 to 200 kg
Loss Factor 0.5 to 0.8 in 10-100 Hz range
Height 1.32 to 3.28 in.
Base Size 2.4 x 2.4 to 4.5 x 4.5 in.
Constant natural frequency design Fast settling times
Cleanroom compatible
Breadboard, Microlock and X95 compatible

Custom Isolation Solutions

  • Elastomer dampers
    • Tuned solution specific to machinery characteristics such as load, shock response and resonance modes
    • Similar technology as NewDamp™
    • Can be built into equipment isolation supports and custom machinery feet
  • Pneumatic isolators
    • Custom-designed isolation platform, available individually or in sets
    • Cleanroom version available
  • Scalable quantities
VC-nd01_series-S
VC-I_GROUP_shdw-S

Custom Honeycomb Structure Solutions

  • Design assistance on construction or use of special tables, systems or structures
  • Custom lengths, widths and hole patterns
  • Laminar airflow and vacuum pull designs
  • Cleanroom or vacuum compatible
  • Special materials available, including nonmagnetic
VC-cust_hnycmb_struct_1-S

Lasers

As electronic devices become smaller and smaller and transistor density increases, lasers will play an increasingly important role in semiconductor manufacturing. MKS offers a variety of lasers to meet your application requirements.

Nanosecond Lasers

Explorer-One-HP
Explorer One
Talon
Talon
Quasar_UV
Quasar
SPFL_532
SPFL-532
Wavelengths UV or Green UV or Green UV or Green Green
Power UV: Up to 120 mW or >6 W
Green: Up to 5 W
UV: Up to >45 W
Green: Up to >40 W
UV: Up to >80 W
Green: Up to >95 W
Up to >40 W
Pulse Width UV: <5 ns or <10 to <15 ns
Green: <10 to <15 ns
UV: <25 or 40 ns
Green: <25 ns
<2 to >100 ns 3-6 or 9-50 ns
Repetition Rates UV: Single shot to 5 kHz or 500 kHz
Green: Single shot to 500 kHz
0 to 500 kHz 0 to 3.5 MHz Single Shot to 2 MHz
Max Pulse Energy UV: Up to 120 µJ or >200 µJ
Green: Up to 200 µJ
UV: Up to >500 µJ
Green: Up to 1000 µJ
UV: Up to >400 µJ
Green: Up to >475 µJ
Up to 100 or 180 µJ
Other Features Very compact, lightweight air-cooled designs Laser/controller in single, compact package
24/7 industrial reliability
E-Pulse™ technology for superb stability
24/7 industrial reliability
TimeShift™ technology for pulse control
24/7 industrial reliability
TimeShift™ technology for pulse control
Use ✓ Inspection and Metrology
✓ Marking
✓ Low-K Grooving
✓ Dicing
✓ Marking
✓ Package Cutting and Drilling
✓ Low-K Grooving
✓ Dicing
✓ Package Cutting and Drilling
✓ Marking

Picosecond Lasers

  • IceFyre® Picosecond and Femtosecond Lasers: exceptional performance and unprecedented versatility at industry-leading cost-performance.
Picosecond Femtosecond
Wavelengths UV Green IR UV IceFyre_1064-50
Power Up to >50 W
Pulse Width <12 ps <15 ps <500 fs
Repetition Rates Single Shot to 10 MHz Single Shot to 3 MHz
Max Pulse Energy Up to >40 µJ Up to >60 µJ Up to >200 µJ Up to >50 µJ
Other Shapes 24/7 industrial reliability
TimeShift™ technology for pulse control
Laser/controller in single, compact package
Use ✓ Low-K Grooving
✓ Dicing
✓ Package Cutting and Drilling

Femtosecond Lasers

Wavelengths Green IR
Power >50 W Up to >30 W or >140 W Spirit_1030-100
Pulse Width <400 fs <400 fs or <500 fs
Repetition Rates Single shot to 30 MHz Single shot to 1 MHz or 30 MHz
Max Pulse Energy >50 µJ Up to >600 µJ or >120 µJ
Stability <2%
Other Shapes User-configurable burst mode
Use ✓ Dicing

Laser Power Sensors

MKS offers a comprehensive portfolio of power sensors, and the ones shown here are examples of sensors designed to measure optical output power of short pulsed lasers such as Talon and IceFyre that operate in nano-second and pico-second pulse widths. These sensors have a very high damage threshold to withstand the high optical peak power delivered by each pulse in the UV and IR wavelength range.

  • Laser Thermal Power Thermal Sensors: very high damage thresholds for hundreds of watts power measurement.
F150(200)A-CM-16 30(150)A-SV-17 F80(120)A-CM-17
Spectral Range 0.248-9.4 µm 0.19-11 µm 0.248-9.4 µm laser-power-energy-meters
Power Range 300 mW - 200 W 100 mW - 150 W 100 mW - 120 W
Energy Range 50 mJ – 200 J 50 mJ – 300 J 50 mJ – 200 J
Max Avg Power Density 35 kW/cm2 60 kW/cm2 35 kW/cm2
Max Energy Density (2 msec) 45 J/cm2 50 J/cm2 45 J/cm2
Aperture Ø16 mm Ø17 mm Ø17.5 mm
Response Time 3 sec 1.7 sec 2 sec
Use Not water-cooled

The recommended products above are the most popular models for semiconductor manufacturing. We have a lot more than these and you can use our online tools to find the ones that best fit your requirements.


MKS Semiconductor Handbook Cover

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