Applied Materials, a global leader in materials engineering solutions, has revolutionized electron beam imaging technology with the commercialization of cold field emission (CFE) technology, accelerating the development of the world's most advanced semiconductors.

Applied Materials announced at a press conference on the 13th that it has commercialized 'Cold Field Emission (CFE)' technology, an innovation in electron beam (eBeam) imaging.

In addition, the company launched two types of electron beam systems based on its first CFE technology, the 'SEMVision® G10' and 'PrimeVision® 10'.

CFE technology enables customers to improve inspection and imaging of nanometer-scale subsurface defects.

Existing optical systems have the advantage of being fast and can examine the entire wafer, but detailed measurements below 100 nm are impossible.

To this end, we conducted a semi-conductor defect detectionConductor manufacturers have been using electron beam (eBeam) equipment.

Electron beam equipment has been essential for ultra-fine semiconductor inspection as it can measure and inspect up to 1.2 nm, although it cannot inspect the entire wafer.

However, the existing high-temperature thermal field emission (TFE) electron beam system operates at over 1,500℃, and there was a problem that the beam width narrowed and the number of electrons increased when the temperature was lowered.

On the other hand, the electron beam with the newly released CFE technology by Applied Materials operates at 26℃ and can achieve an image resolution of less than 1㎚ and an imaging speed 10 times faster.

Commercialization of this technology is expected to significantly accelerate the development and production of next-generation GAA (Gate-All-Around) logic chips, as well as high-density DRAM and 3D NAND memory. The Applied SEMVision G10 Defect Review System, which was launched today, uses CFE technology to achieve sub-nanometer image resolution and imaging operations up to three times faster than Applied’s previous top-performing products.

All Logic GAA customers have chosen the SEMVision G10 system as their process development tool, and the system has already generated over $400 million in sales.

Additionally, leading memory customers are deploying the SEMVision G10 system to develop new DRAM and NAND process nodes and to expand mass production capabilities of existing memory nodes.
The PrimeVision 10 defect detection system is a new addition to the Applied electron-beam portfolio.

The system features nanometer-level resolution for inspecting wafer surface micro-defects as well as 3D inspection technology for inspecting critical defects that affect the yield of 3D GAA structured logic devices and high aspect ratio memory devices. Do it.

The PrimeVision 10 system can produce high-resolution images up to 10 times faster than TFE-based electron beam metrology systems due to its high electron beam density.

Meanwhile, Applied Materials emerged as the largest supplier of electron beam systems in the process control industry in 2021, recording revenue of more than $1 billion and a market share of more than 50% for electron beam systems.