Atonarp announces the launch of Aston, an innovative metrology platform

Atonarp announces Aston, an innovative metrology platform designed to improve yield, throughput and efficiency of semiconductor manufacturing processes

Beijing – July 16, 2021 – Atonarp, a leading manufacturer of molecular sensing and diagnostic products for the semiconductor, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, today announced the launch of Aston, an innovative in-situ semiconductor metrology platform with an integrated plasma ionization source.

Aston is a major evolution in semiconductor production metrology, enabling in-situ molecular process control, making existing factories more efficient and driving higher yields. Designed specifically for semiconductor production, Aston is a powerful platform that can replace multiple traditional tools and provide unprecedented levels of control across a full range of applications, including lithography, dielectric and conductive etch and deposition, chamber cleaning, chamber matching and digestion.

"With Aston, unit process throughput in some applications can be increased by more than 40%, which is a big improvement. "For a typical fab, even a 1% increase in overall capacity can increase output by tens of millions of dollars per year," said Prakash Murthy, CEO, CTO and founder of Atonarp. ​​"Adding Aston to existing production process tools can achieve higher output in just 6 to 8 weeks, while installing new production equipment can take up to a year. This will essentially help manufacturers increase their production levels and help solve the current problem of insufficient capacity in semiconductor fabs."

Fast, actionable endpoint detection (EPD) is the most efficient way to run semiconductor tools and fabs. Until now, EPD has not been possible for many process steps because the required in-situ sensors could not withstand harsh process or chamber cleaning chemicals, or would become clogged due to condensation deposits. As a result, fabs have had to set specific times to ensure that processes are fully executed. In contrast, Aston optimizes production by accurately detecting when a process ends, including chamber cleaning, which can reduce the required cleaning time by 80%.

Aston is resistant to corrosive gases and condensates of gaseous pollutants. It is more robust than existing solutions and has independent dual ionization sources (a classic electron impact ionization source, and a filamentless plasma ionizer), so it can operate reliably in the harsh conditions found in semiconductor production. This enables Aston to be used in situ, i.e. in demanding environments where conventional electron ionizers would quickly corrode and fail.

Aston offers up to 100 times longer service intervals than conventional mass analysers and has a self-cleaning capability to remove condensate deposits generated by certain processes.

As Aston can generate its own plasma, it can operate regardless of the presence of a process plasma. This is a distinct advantage over optical emission spectroscopy measurement techniques, which require a plasma source to operate, making Aston ideal for ALD and certain metal deposition processes that may require the use of weaker, pulsed plasmas, or no plasma at all.

Aston also improves process consistency by providing quantitative, actionable real-time data, and can advance high-performance machine learning through artificial intelligence to meet the most demanding process applications. In addition, production line and product yields are also improved due to the high accuracy, sensitivity and repeatability of real-time data statistical analysis and chamber management.

Aston targets chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and etch applications, both of which are growing at more than 13% per year. The spectrometer can be installed in new chambers during assembly or retrofitted into existing chambers already in operation.

Aston can also be combined with the intelligent pressure controller Psi developed by South Korea's ATI. After a comprehensive technical feasibility assessment lasting several months, this combined solution was recently sold to Samsung for an advanced process control application.

Aston is available for evaluation and ordering now directly from Atonarp or through Atonarp's global partner network.

About Atonarp

Atonarp continues to lead the digital transformation of molecular sensing and diagnostics in the life science, pharmaceutical and semiconductor markets. Supported by a unified software platform and breakthrough innovations in optical and mass spectrometry technologies, Atonarp products provide real-time, actionable, and comprehensive molecular signature analysis data. Led by a team of world-class experts in the development and commercialization of semiconductor, life science and health diagnostic instruments, Atonarp has established branches in Japan, the United States, and India.