26 August 2015

Rohm adopts latest model of Lasertec's SiC wafer inspection and review system

Metrology and inspection equipment maker Lasertec Corp of Yokohama, Japan says that Japan-based power semiconductor device manufacturer Rohm Co Ltd has selected the latest model of its SICA silicon carbide (SiC) wafer inspection and review system as part of efforts to further enhance its SiC device quality and production infrastructure.

Silicon carbide's properties are suitable for power semiconductors and hence it is viewed as a vitally important option for power device manufacturing. For mass production of SiC wafers and devices, further quality enhancement is expected. Among various challenges, a key factor in the mass production of high-quality SiC devices is to reduce defects that are commonly generated during grinding and epitaxial processes. In this respect, it is extremely important to be able to accurately and quickly detect and categorize defects that affect device performance. Defects of interest (DOI) include not only scratches and epi-defects on the wafer surface but also crystal-related defects such as basal plane dislocations (BPD) and stacking faults (SF) inside epilayers. Eliminating these killer defects early in the process ensures high device yield in mass production, says Lasertec. 

The latest model of SICA incorporates a photoluminescence (PL)-based technology that enables the simultaneous detection of both surface defects and crystal defects at significantly higher throughput. Lasertec says that it will continue to pursue the development of defect inspection technologies in order to facilitate the further enhancement of power device quality and productivity.

See related items:

Showa Denko adopts Lasertec's SICA wafer inspection/review tool in SiC epiwafer mass production

Tags: Showa Denko SiC epitaxy Rohm SiC Schottky barrier diodes SiC power MOSFET

Visit: www.lasertec.co.jp

Visit: www.rohm.com