Metryx Ltd., a supplier of mass metrology equipment to the semiconductor manufacturing industry, has announced that it has entered into a joint development program with Interuniversity MicroElectronics Center (IMEC ) of Belgium, a leading research institute. The program is designed to evaluate and develop mass metrology at both the application and tool level for sub-32nm process manufacturing. The signed collaboration follows the installation at IMEC of Metryx’s Mentor SF3 300 mm tool and a Mentor OC23 200mm tool, announced earlier this year.

“The measurement of mass change at the atomic level from one process step to another has gained, and continues to gain, rapid market acceptance for a variety of manufacturing applications in integrated circuit fabrication facilities around the world,” says Adrian Kiermasz, Ph.D., president and CEO of Metryx Ltd. “As we continue to scale down line widths to the sub-32nm level, observing the mass characteristics and the changes of a wafer’s mass becomes even more critical. Collaborating with IMEC provides us with an excellent platform to demonstrate the effectiveness and versatility of the technology across a number of process applications.” 

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