Mercury RACE systems power new generation Schlumberger Odyssey

 Chelmsford 07 Mar 00 Mercury Computer Systems has shipped multiple RACE systems to Schlumberger Technologies for integration into its new Odyssey 300 silicon wafer inspection system.Semiconductor manufacturing processes have driven geometries below the 0.15-micron level, moving the market to a point at which traditional optical inspection systems cannot detect critical electrical defects.Mercury's cutting-edge multicomputers for signal and image processing, the Odyssey 300 improves manufacturing efficiency by identifying problems earlier in the fab process.

The Schlumberger Odyssey 300 system identifies optically undetectable yield-killing defects in the manufacture of leading-edge integrated circuits, increasing the yield and providing significant savings. Using innovative e-beam based Voltage Contrast Defect Detection (VCDD) technology, wafer defects are identified, processed and analyzed in real time as part of the on- the-fly image capture and storage capabilities. The real-time background defect review with simultaneous inspection eliminates the need for additional specialized off-line review equipment.

"The wafer inspection market is growing at approximately 29 percent per year, and is expected to reach $948 million by the end of 2000," stated Risto Puhakka, vice president of operations, VLSI Research Inc. "With the advent of 0.15-micron processing, e-beam based wafer inspection is expected to replace optical wafer inspection over the next five years as a mainstream inspection solution. Critical wafer inspection process steps have moved beyond the physical limits of optical systems, and innovative solutions and technologies are being developed to meet chip manufacturers' needs."

Mercury's digital signal processing systems provide extremely high-performance processing of the data provided by the electron beam in the Odyssey 300 system. The e-beam generates an analog signal which is digitized and distributed at very high-bandwidth speeds to the RACE processors, which run Schlumberger proprietary defect identification algorithms in real time. Mercury's software manages the distribution of the data to the processors and optimizes the image processing functions.

"Schlumberger's advanced inspection process provides substantial economic and operational benefits to the semiconductor manufacturing industry," said Jay Bertelli, president and CEO, Mercury Computer Systems. "It is rewarding to see progress in this high-growth new market and we are exceptionally upbeat about coupling Schlumberger's long history of innovation in e-beam technology with Mercury's lead in delivering embedded signal and image processing systems."

 

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