[Editor's Note] Last August, Zeiss Korea opened an innovation center with a portfolio of advanced industry specialized equipment, including optics, electronics, X-rays, microscopes, and 3D measuring instruments. Zeiss Korea is contributing to the development of domestic industries by supplying essential equipment for advanced industries such as semiconductors, automobiles, and batteries. I participated in a tour of the Zeiss Innovation Center and learned about Zeiss Korea's technological prowess and future business strategies.

The ZEISS Group, headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany, is famous for supplying optical components for exposure equipment such as ASML DUV and EUV. With a corporate history spanning over 176 years, ZEISS has established itself as a pioneer in the field of optics and is currently expanding its scope through various optical solutions such as △industrial metrology and measurement △microscopes △medical technology solutions △lithography optical modules △optical consumer products.

The ZEISS Innovation Center brings together the entire ZEISS portfolio of solutions and provides customers with local demo samples for testing. It also plays a role in discovering new applications, providing education and services, and showcasing interconnected workflow solutions.

■ Zeiss metrology and measurement equipment, covering semiconductors, medical, batteries, and automobiles

The Zeiss Metrotom 1500 is the latest third-generation CT equipment and is used in various inspection applications such as △ cracks in inspection products, △ copper hairpin weld inspection of electric motors, △ LED weld verification, △ identification of device defects and operation, and △ foreign substances and bonding of cathode and anode materials in batteries through 3D X-ray measurement.

In particular, it can rotate 360 degrees on a rotary table and can take approximately 3,000 shots, satisfying customer requirements and precision. The resolution is explained to be 3.5 to 6 micrometers (μm) per pixel, which means it can implement a resolution of 3,000 pixels in width and height, with a total capacity of 9 megabytes (MB).

A Zeiss Korea official said, “We can take pictures of automobile parts and check the error between the actual object and the CAD drawing, and the internal space is wide at 600 millimeters (mm) in diameter and 800 millimeters (mm) in height, so we can check the tire wheel connection, etc.”

Another 3D X-Ray lineup, Zeiss Xraida, is a widely used inspection solution in the semiconductor industry because it can perform non-destructive inspection. In particular, it solves the resolution problem in internal structure inspection due to semiconductor miniaturization, and can support inspections such as semiconductor interconnections by processing images down to the nanoscale with 50 nanometers (nm) and 16 nanometer pixel sizes in the Ultra System.

The product that makes Zeiss Zeiss is, above all else, the microscope. This is because Zeiss created the world's first modular microscope in 1857. Since then, Zeiss has not only developed optical technologies such as 'lenses', but has also advanced its microscope products to the point where it is even developing scanning electron microscopes (SEMs).

Zeiss' FE-SEM uses electron beams to observe smaller and finer details that cannot be seen with optical instruments, achieving resolutions of 0.5 to 1 nanometer or less. The official boasted, “It is difficult to observe thin films several nanometers thick in semiconductors under high pressure, but Zeiss FE-SEM can capture even thin films without missing them by using 20 volts.”

The official emphasized that “under good conditions, particles smaller than 1 nanometer can be captured,” and that Zeiss FE-SEM can observe particles in the range of 1 to 10 nanometers. The problem of particles, which causes yield reduction in advanced semiconductor processes below 3 nanometers due to semiconductor miniaturization, is a long-standing challenge for the industry. In order to solve this, such innovative FE-SEM technology must be accompanied.

In addition, by equipping the FE-SEM platform with a focused ion beam (FIB), the ion beam can be focused to minimize damage at the nanoscale during destructive inspections such as cross-section inspection of semiconductor wafers or modules, and the inspection product can be processed into a form that is good for observation. An official explained, “Zeiss has a unique workflow that can analyze structures through Xraida and go down to the nanoscale through FIB-SEM.”

Zeiss also has a diverse and powerful lineup in its 3D measuring instrument portfolio. The Zeiss ACCURA introduced today is a device that uses various sensors to create geometric elements and measure dimensions. Contact sensors have high precision and are used for dimensional measurement in precision-machined products. Additionally, it has the advantage of being able to measure microscopic shapes by replacing the surface with a non-contact sensor.

“These measurement solutions are widely used in quality departments and are widely used in various fields such as engine blocks, electric vehicle motors, internal combustion engines, semiconductor equipment, and aircraft engines,” the official added, adding that they are used a lot in twist shapes in particular.

■ “Korea is a Key Market” Zeiss Strengthens Partnership in Korea

In addition to supplying optical components to ASML, ZEISS, which has outstanding solution capabilities for photomasks, is involved in 80% of the world's semiconductor production. This is because semiconductor companies around the world use ASML lithography solutions, and ZEISS optical components are incorporated into these lithography solutions.

ZEISS is showing outstanding market growth, recording sales of 8.7 billion euros (approximately 12 trillion won) in the fiscal year ending in September. Zeiss Korea, a domestic branch, has over 330 employees and conducts business in the following areas: semiconductor business, medical device business, microscope and quality solution business, and consumer products.

“We currently estimate that the healthcare and industrial sectors are at a 50:50 ratio, but we expect the semiconductor and microscope quality divisions to grow rapidly in the future, so we believe their share will increase further,” said Jeong Hyeon-seok, CEO of Zeiss Korea. “Zeiss will continue to invest in the Korean market and grow,” he added. In addition to the battery sector, Zeiss is also showing remarkable activity in the bio sector, and has recently demonstrated results in the medical equipment sector, including SMILE LASIK.

Zeiss, which has already invested 5 billion won in Korea over the past three years, announced that it plans to invest 48 billion won in the Korean market by 2026. It is currently in the process of establishing specific plans, and plans to build the world’s first electron microscope research and development facility (RMS) and Asia’s first semiconductor research and development facility (PCS) outside of its headquarters in Germany. This is a move to develop equipment that can observe the precise quality of products such as wafers and batteries together with customers.

Park Sung-jin, managing director of Zeiss Korea’s Quality Solutions Division, said, “As customers’ quality control standards are improving, Zeiss inspection equipment is increasingly being used in production sites,” adding, “Automation is essential for such inspection equipment to be used in the field.” He stated that the automotive sector is currently in the highest demand, and that the company is supplying measuring equipment related to renewable energy in line with the activation of the ESG keynote, and is expanding its presence in aviation, energy, and electronics.

He revealed Zeiss Korea's vision to provide solutions that are in line with the four megatrends of new mobility, digital transformation, manufacturing automation, and research and development and technological advancement, as well as metaverse solutions that can be measured in a virtual environment.

Zeiss Korea stated that it is not involved in the SMO (Semiconductor Manufacturing Optics) division that is equipped with ASML EUV. It stated that this is a structure in which Zeiss headquarters conducts research and supplies directly, and that the three companies, Zeiss and ASML, the customer company, are conducting next-generation EUV research.

Matthew Wilson, Managing Director of Zeiss Korea, said, “Korea has large semiconductor manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and has strong capabilities in various semiconductor fields such as DRAM, NAND, and foundry.” He added, “Korea is a key market, and Zeiss will focus on the Korean market and strengthen its partnership.”