Metrosol Teams With SemiTorr to Provide Technical Sales Support For Its VUV Metrology Tools

Austin, TX - 20 February, 2008

Metrosol, Inc. today announced it has chosen SemiTorr, Inc. as its United States representative for its VUV wavelength optical metrology systems in the data storage market.  Metrosol’s unique VUV-7000 Series system architecture makes it possible to use the same powerful VUV technology—that is being implemented in volume production for high-k gates and capacitors—to improve process yields for media DLC and slider DLC applications, as well as nanoimprint lithography metrology (for bit patterned media (BPM) and discrete track recording (DTR)). SemiTorr, Inc., with established distribution channels in the data storage market, will help facilitate the introduction of Metrosol’s VUV technology in data storage manufacturing.

“Metrosol’s recent collaboration with SEMATECH demonstrates the effectiveness of its technology for advanced semiconductor applications. It is now bringing its technology to the data storage market.  You need to be on the leading edge in manufacturing to remain profitable,” said Dave Opoien, SemiTorr’s President. “We believe Metrosol’s VUV technology will provide data storage manufacturers with improved visibility into their manufacturing practices, which will result in better yields, which in turn means higher profitability. Data storage manufacturers that are early adopters of VUV technology are likely to end up with a significant competitive advantage.”

The VUV technology from Metrosol brings several unique and highly needed capabilities to TFH (thin film head) wafer, slider, and magnetic media applications critical to data storage. These include:  the unique ability to measure and discriminate layers in complex stacks of materials unique to data storage manufacturing; a higher throughput than is available with currently used methodologies, resulting in lower overall manufacturing cost of ownership (CoO); and faster cycle times; a high measurement sensitivity in the VUV range, which enables tight process specifications, resulting in less scrap and reduced costs.

“The complex data storage requirements are a great match for VUV technology,” said Cary Chee, manager of SemiTorr’s Metrology Division. “When compared to other technologies, VUV technology offers a compelling, cost-effective and technological advantage in production environments..”

SemiTorr, Inc. has nearly twenty years experience as a manufacturer’s representative in high technology, including the semiconductor, data storage, compound semiconductor, wafer manufacturing, opto-electronics, MEMS, solar and research industries. It offers a complete suite of technical sales, service and distribution services, including a 24 x 7 warehousing and distribution center for customer critical components and consignment parts. In 2006, the company established its Metrology Products Division.  The division focuses on the sale and support of complementary metrology technologies, including substrate characterization; ion implant dose measurements; thin film uniformity; characterization of oxides, resists, coatings and silicon; metal thin film characterizations and contamination inspection; linewidth, sidewall and trench profiles; step heights and depth measurements; 3D tomographic imaging; 3D atom probing; and gauging precision flatness.

“Semitorr has proven expertise in bringing advanced technologies into high volume production in data storage factories, such as media fabs, slider fabs, and TFH wafer fabs,” said Kevin Fahey, Metrosol’s CEO. “We believe its depth of experience in the data storage industry, its seasoned sales team and its particular focus on complementary metrology technologies will help expedite matching our solutions to the customer’s needs.”

Metrosol’s VUV-7000 Series automated in-line metrology system provides fab engineers with a non-destructive spectral reflectometry tool operating in the vacuum ultraviolet (down to 120 nm) wavelength for use on product wafers. The VUV-7000 Series is the ideal system for in-fab measurement of high-k gate structures, multilayered dielectrics, and other advanced materials.  It delivers up to 100 wph throughput, depending on the application and fab requirements. Optimized for semiconductor metrology applications such as measuring the thickness or composition of thin films used to build gate structures, the VUV-7000 platform is the only production-worthy tool capable of measuring both film thickness and composition simultaneously, and does so with best-of-breed COO.

SEMATECH, the global consortium of leading chipmakers, and Metrosol recently verified, on wafers manufactured with SEMATECH’s HfSiOx transistor gate technology, the VUV-7000 platform’s capability to perform inline optical metrology for high-k gate dielectric composition, thickness, and most importantly, ultra-thin interfacial layer thickness. This demonstrated metrology capability will enable semiconductor manufacturers to perform more design turns during ramp, and to monitor and rapidly suppress excursions in dielectric stack thickness and composition for transistors that utilize emerging advanced high-k dielectric stacks like hafnia and hafnia-silica gates. 

For more information, please contact:

Press Contact
Christopher Castillo
Castle Communications
Phone: +1.408.244.0657

Sales Contact
Sean Jameson
VP of Sales
Phone: +1.512.833.8750