MICRO:Product Technology News (Jan '99)

The adjustable fluid flow control and end-of-cycle snuffback features of the Model 725DA-SS valve eliminate drips in spin coating applications. A stainless-steel fluid chamber, an inert polymer diaphragm, and sealing head isolate the actuator from wetted components to ensure trouble-free cycles. Compact and light, the valve is suitable for installation in automated assembly machines and robotic equipment. Deposit volume is accurate to ensure consistent film thickness on each wafer. Rapid, clean coating cutoff is designed to eliminate streaks. Dispense tips are available in different styles and sizes. Suitable for use with 300-mm wafers, the automated PW2830 x-ray fluorescence analyzer determines layer composition, contamination, stoichiometry, thickness, dopant levels, and surface uniformity for a wide range of process films. The automatic instrument processes up to 15 wafers per hour using a 4-kW Super-Sharp tube and specially designed high-performance channels. These features permit rapid measurement of critical light elements such as boron and nitrogen. The instrument checks process steps such as BPSG, metals, silicides, salicides, nitrides, and dielectrics. The ceramic x-ray tube has a stainless-steel outer plate for extended operating life. Oil-free pumps ensure a clean subpascal vacuum in the measuring chamber, minimizing the risk of carbon contamination on reference samples. Uptime is >98% and MTBF is >1000 hours with a transfer rate of >50,000 wafers without failure. After alignment, the wafer remains oriented constantly for spot measurements at all points on its surface. In addition to FOUP, loading options include cassette and manual operation. The system's 20 fixed measuring channels can be customer specified, and