FOUP TYPE EUV WAFER METER

EUV lithography is a critical enabling technology for semiconductor manufacturing at the 7 nm technology node and below. Key parameters, including exposure dose, dose uniformity and inter-tool variation, must be established through clearly defined measurements with demonstrable metrological traceability. In the absence of appropriate measurement standards, process optimisation is often based on empirical experience or trial-and-error procedures, which are both time-consuming and insufficient to ensure consistent, reliable and comparable results.

Radiometric dose calibration provides a representative example. In conventional semiconductor-fabrication practice, photoresist coating, exposure, development and subsequent pattern inspection are required before the appropriate exposure dose and associated tool settings can be inferred. By deploying traceable reference artefacts together with real-time measurement techniques, the radiant exposure at the wafer exposure plane can be measured directly, in units of J/m². This approach can reduce the calibration cycle to a few minutes while providing real-time exposure information without interrupting production operations.

Furthermore, a FOUP-based, multi-wafer EUV sensor system can be designed for compatibility with a fab’s Automatic Material Handling System (AMHS), thereby enabling automated transport, measurement and calibration of wafer-based sensors. Such a system can enhance the efficiency of both process development and mass-production. Relevant users include semiconductor foundries, EUV optical-component suppliers, photoresist and advanced-material developers, equipment manufacturers, and inspection and metrology providers.