New JV System Lowers Cost of Ownership, Improves Throughput Utilization

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Migdal Ha’Emek, Israel

December 11, 2007

Semiconductor X-ray metrology manufacturer introduces JVX6200i platform at SEMICON Japan in Chiba, Japan

Jordan Valley Semiconductors, Inc. has introduced its next generation x-ray metrology platform to select customers during Semicon Japan. The 3-channel 6200 platform, based on novel, rapid, non-contacting, and non-destructive x-ray technology, has been in use for various thin film measurement applications in high volume semiconductor fabs worldwide for several years. The evolutionary JVX6200i model offers improved cost of ownership and throughput utilization through its three metrology channels:

  • Fast X-ray Reflectance (XRR), capable of first principle independent thickness, density and roughness measurements;
  • Micro-spot X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), providing the smallest spot size available and multi-channel detectors for fast data acquisition;
  • Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) for measurement of pore size and distribution down to 7 angstroms.

Significant Throughput Improvement

The JVX6200i produces significant throughput improvements in all three metrology channels (XRR, XRF and SAXS) with much shorter acquisition times and provides improved reliability and diagnostics capability.

"High volume semiconductor production fabs have shown great acceptance of our x-ray platform in recent years," commented Sean Jameson, Jordan Valley’s vice president. "Keeping with our customers’ requests to continuously improve CoO and utilization, we focused almost exclusively on these themes throughout the design of this new system. We released an evolutionary product that enables us to make significant gains in throughput on all metrology channels while maintaining the base JVX6200 platform. This allowed us to also introduce key features which enable higher reliability while at the same time avoiding the risks associated with a new platform rollout."

The newest model in Jordan Valley’s line of metrology tools was demonstrated to select customers during SEMI’s Japan trade show held in Chiba, Japan, the week of December 3. The first production-ready models will be delivered during Q1 2008.

Jordan Valley Semiconductors, Inc. provides semiconductor metrology solutions for thin films based on novel, rapid, non-contacting, and non-destructive x-ray technology. They offer a comprehensive family of solutions based on advanced X-Ray Reflectivity (XRR), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), and Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS) technologies. These tools are fully automated, production ready, and ideal for both blanket and patterned wafers. Jordan Valley’s x-ray technology enables accurate and precise characterization of all film types—including single layers and multilayer stacks, high k and low k materials, metals and dielectrics, amorphous, poly-crystal and single crystal films.

Jordan Valley Semiconductors is the parent company of Jordan Valley Applied Radiation, Inc., which designs and manufactures bench top analyzers and advanced laboratory spectrometers for R&D;, QC, process control, and other applications. Jordan Valley’s primary shareholders are Elron Electronic Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: ELRN) and Clal Industries and Investments Ltd. (TASE: CII). Research, development, and manufacturing are based in Migdal Ha’Emek, Israel. Applications engineering, customer support services, sales and marketing are located in Austin, Texas. http://www.jvsemi.com.

Company Contact: Sean Jameson, Jordan Valley Semiconductors Inc, 512.832.8470 or seanj@jvsemi.com. Agency Contact: Bruce Kirkpatrick, Kirkpatrick Communications, 925.244.9100 or brucekirk@kirk-com.com.