Atonarp announces innovative new metrology platform Aston, aimed at increasing yield, throughput, and efficiency in semiconductor manufacturing processes

PR90628

TOKYO, July 15, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Atonarp (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3227146-1&h=602828902&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atonarp.com%2F&a=Atonarp

), a leading manufacturer of molecular sensing and diagnostics products for the

semiconductor, healthcare, and pharma industries, today announced Aston (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3227146-1&h=3094007229&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.atonarp.com%2Fproducts%2Faston&a=Aston

), an innovative in-situ semiconductor metrology platform with an integrated

plasma ionization source.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1573281/Aston_01.jpg

Logo -

https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1573283/Antonarp_Logotype_Black_Logo.jpg

Aston is a major evolution in metrology for semiconductor production processes,

enabling in-situ molecular process control and allowing existing fabs to run

more efficiently, driving higher output. Built from the ground up for

semiconductor production, Aston is a robust platform that can replace multiple

legacy tools and provide unprecedented levels of control across a comprehensive

set of applications, including lithography, dielectric and conductive etch and

deposition, chamber clean, chamber matching, and abatement.

"With Aston, we've seen unit process throughput increases exceeding 40% in

certain applications -- that's a big improvement. Even a 1% improvement in

overall fab throughput can add up to tens of millions of dollars a year in

production for a typical fab," said Prakash Murthy, CEO, CTO, and founder of

Atonarp.

"Retrofitting Aston to an existing production process tool can deliver greater

throughput within just six to eight weeks, compared to up to a year when

installing new production equipment," said Murthy. "This will materially help

manufacturers increase their production levels and help to address the current

shortage of semiconductor fab capacity."

Rapid, actionable endpoint detection (EPD) is the most efficient way to run a

semiconductor tool and fab. Until now, EPD could not be deployed in many

process steps because the required in-situ sensor would not survive the harsh

process or chamber cleaning chemicals, or would alternatively suffer clogging

from condensate deposits. Historically, fabs were forced to use a fixed time in

order to ensure that a process was complete. Conversely, Aston optimizes

production by detecting exactly when a process has finished, including chamber

cleaning, which can reduce the required clean-time by up to 80%.

Aston is resistant to corrosive gases and gaseous contaminant condensates. It

is more robust than existing solutions, featuring independent dual ionization

sources -- a classic electron impact ionization source and a filament-less

plasma ionizer -- that work reliably in the harsh conditions encountered in

semiconductor production. This enables Aston to be used in-situ, in demanding

environments where traditional electron ionizers would corrode and fail very

rapidly.

Aston offers an interval between service events that is up to 100 times longer

compared to legacy mass analyzers. It includes self-cleaning capability that

eliminates the build-up resulting from the deposition of condensates present in

certain processes.

Since Aston generates its own plasma, it works with or without process plasma

present. This provides a clear advantage over optical emission spectroscopy

metrology techniques, which require a plasma source to operate, making Aston

ideal for ALD and certain metal deposition processes that may use a weak,

pulsed, or no plasma for processing.

Aston also delivers improved process consistency by offering quantified,

actionable, real-time data, facilitating powerful machine learning via

artificial intelligence (AI) for the most demanding process applications. This

is in addition to enhanced line and product yields, thanks to high accuracy,

sensitivity, and repeatability for statistical analysis of real-time data and

process chamber management.

Aston is primarily aimed at use with chemical vapour deposition (CVD) and

etching applications, both of which are registering annual growth rates in

their usage exceeding 13%. The spectrometer can either be installed within new

process chambers during their assembly, or retrofitted into existing chambers

already in operation.

Aston can also be used with Psi, an intelligent pressure controller developed

by ATI Korea. After undergoing a comprehensive, multi-month technical

feasibility evaluation, this combined solution was recently purchased by

Samsung (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3227146-1&h=890312416&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.atonarp.com%2Fatonarp-news%2Fati-korea-and-atonarp-announce-combined-solution-for-advanced-lithography-samsung-evaluation&a=purchased+by+Samsung

) for an advanced process control application.

Aston is now available for evaluation and ordering, through either direct

purchase or Atonarp's global partner network (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3227146-1&h=1205612015&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.atonarp.com%2Fcompany%2Fpartners&a=global+partner+network

).

About Atonarp

Atonarp is leading the digital transformation of molecular sensing and

diagnostics for life sciences, pharmaceutical, and semiconductor markets.

Powered by a unifying software platform and breakthrough innovations in optical

and mass spectrometer technology, Atonarp products deliver real-time,

actionable, comprehensive molecular profiling data. Led by a world-class team

of experts in the development and commercialization of semiconductor, life

sciences, and health diagnostic instruments, Atonarp has operations in Japan,

the United States, and India. Learn more at https://atonarp.com.  

SOURCE: Atonarp Inc.

CONTACT: Cynthia Hoye, embedded PR, Phone:  +1 408-858-2602 / E-mail:

ch@embedded-pr.com