Optical Inspection and Metrology in Semiconductor Manufacturing

Central to the phenomenal success of the semiconductor industry to achieve the large scale integration predicted by Moore's law is the ability to innovate on every aspect of the manufacturing process. Economic considerations necessitate the achievement of very high yields, which is only possible through a methodical approach to detection, classification, and eventual elimination of the defects that plague the complex processes. Thus, wafer inspection tools play a vital role in the development of new processes to achieve a particular deign rule.