Semiconductor FTIR epitaxial film thickness measurement equipment achieves new breakthrough!

Latest update time：2024-09-18

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On September 14, GEZE HuaSi Semiconductor Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as GEZE Semiconductor) officially delivered two independently developed FTIR film thickness measurement equipment GS-M08X to two customers. It is rare in the industry to deliver epitaxial film thickness measurement equipment to two leading semiconductor customers on the same day .

Figure 1: Two GS-M08X devices unveiled

Figure 2: Two GS-M08X devices output

As a mass production equipment, this model is based on FTIR infrared spectroscopy technology, which can accurately measure the thickness of multiple epitaxial layers in the wafer and provide high-precision measurement results. The equipment is equipped with a double-arm clean robot and a newly designed Stage platform, as well as a self-developed optical path system and algorithm, which can be more compatible with customer application scenarios and greatly improve measurement efficiency. Online technology has been added, following the SEMI standard protocol, and can seamlessly connect to customer OHT/MES and other systems. At the same time, the equipment realizes measurement automation control and automatic operation functions, reducing labor costs and improving production efficiency.

Figure 3: GS-M08X film thickness measurement equipment

To the GEZE workers who have gone through so much hardship over the past few years

The tiny chip can be called the "national heavy equipment" of the 21st century. For 20 years, the GEZE R&D team has been engaged in semiconductor research and is determined to become a "pioneer" in domestic semiconductor measurement equipment. They come from Zhejiang University, Fudan University and major overseas universities. For their own ideals, they have devoted themselves to semiconductor research. However, China is still blank in the field of semiconductor film thickness measurement. This is a future-oriented work.

The GENE Semiconductor team experienced challenges under the epidemic context in the early stages of research and development.

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global supply chain has been severely impacted, and problems such as parts shortages and logistics obstructions have followed one after another. As a company focusing on the research and development of semiconductor front-end measurement equipment, GEZE Technology's team is facing tremendous pressure. Faced with challenges, GEZE Technology's team conducted a comprehensive risk assessment of each link and formulated detailed response measures. In the case of parts shortages, the R&D team actively sought alternative products to ensure a stable supply of key parts. At the same time, they also optimized the production process, improved the utilization rate of components, and reduced production costs.

However, the challenges brought by the epidemic are far more than that. As the epidemic continues to spread, some areas have implemented quarantine and risk control. This is undoubtedly a huge blow to the R&D team, because semiconductor R&D requires a high degree of coordination and close cooperation. In the face of the continued spread of the epidemic, the company's senior management made a difficult and brave decision after careful consideration-implementing closed management of the R&D factory to ensure the safety and health of employees while maintaining the stability of R&D. This decision quickly received a positive response from all employees, and everyone expressed their willingness to overcome the difficulties and work together to get through this special period. At this moment, this is not just a R&D team, but also a big family full of dreams, unity and tenacity.

Looking back on the ups and downs of the past few years, the GEZE technology team has deeply realized the importance of unity, cooperation and unyielding spirit.

Research and development, trapped between many dangerous peaks

The semiconductor industry is a typical capital-intensive industry with heavy asset attributes. The R&D stage before the product is put into production often requires a long period of performance and yield improvement, which can even take several years. In recent years, my country's semiconductor industry has developed from scratch, from zero market share to a gap, and from a technology gap of many years to a gradual narrowing of the gap.

The structural design of the GEZE team is like building a sophisticated building, which requires planning every beam and column from scratch; algorithm optimization is like finding the only exit in a complex maze, which requires constantly trying various paths. Especially in the key indicator of measuring film thickness accuracy, the requirements for epitaxial film thickness are almost harsh. It is an extremely small numerical range, and any slight error may lead to the failure of subsequent wafer preparation. The R&D process is like opening a road in a thorny bush, full of difficulties, and entering a circle of thousands of mountains, one mountain is released and another mountain is blocked.

Fight for Industrial China

In early 1949, China's manufacturing encountered many "bottleneck" problems. At this time, Chairman Mao proposed the concept of "struggling for industrial China", inspiring our young people to work hard and seize every minute for industrial China! This is also GEZE's mission. It is not only a slogan, but also regarded as the responsibility of GEZE people. The GEZE team regards every failure as a necessary path to success and every technical bottleneck as a ladder for growth. Today, GEZE's two FTIR epitaxial film thickness measurement equipment were delivered to two customers at the same time . This is not only a delivery, but also a victory for domestic substitution! In the semiconductor industry, it is not easy to complete the delivery of two devices at the same time. It symbolizes the multi-faceted recognition of domestic equipment in terms of quality, efficiency and market demand.

Since the beginning of this year, the demand for the expansion of new applications such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing has driven a new round of semiconductor growth curve, and the overall global semiconductor demand has improved. Against the backdrop of global supply chain restructuring and strong local supply and demand, local semiconductor measurement equipment manufacturers have ushered in unprecedented opportunities. However, the full realization of domestic substitution is still a long and arduous process.

In the future, we expect GEZE Semiconductor to achieve more achievements in technological breakthroughs and market applications, and make greater contributions to narrowing the gap with international advanced levels and promoting the overall progress of China's semiconductor industry and enhancing its global competitiveness.

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