The National Semiconductor Metrology Program, Project Portfolio, FY 1999

Published

May 1, 1999

Author(s)

Stephen Knight, A D. Settle-Raskin

Abstract

Established in 1994, the National Semiconductor Metrology Program (NSMP) narrows the ever-present gap between the kind of metrology the semiconductor industry needs and what it is able to do. Meeting this challenge is a real feat because the industry tends to outstrip its metrology at every turn. For years, the industry has improved its productivity by a factor of four every eighteen months and it will probably continue to do so. What makes it possible? Continuous improvements in semiconductor processing - such as using ever shorter optical wavelengths to achieve higher circuit densities, increasing the ways that sensors are used to monitor and control chemical and physical processes, or by introducing new process materials into the mix. The industry counts on the NSMP to support its rate of growth by addressing critical issues and providing timely solutions to show-stoppers, and the NSMP delivers. Projects funded by the NSMP in the last few years have helped industry tightedn its controls and increase process yield. In the industry's infancy, the yields at start-up was typically processeses that might range from a few percent and would rise to 50 percent at peak production. Today, yields are as high as 80 percent and they can move up to the high 90s when everything's on target. NIST's relationships with the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), SEMATECH, and the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) are also managed through the Office of Microelectronics Programs (OMP). Staff from OMP represent NIST on the SIA committees that develop the National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors as well as on numerous SRC technical management committees. OMP staff also act on behalf of NIST in the semiconductor standards development work of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the Deutsches Institut fur Normung (DIN), the Electronic Industries Association (EIA), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Citation

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 5851 99 ED

Report Number

5851 99 ED

NIST Pub Series

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Keywords

ASTM, CMOS, ISO, Metrology, National Semiconductor Metrology Program, National Technology Roadmap for Semicond, NIST, semiconductors, SEMATECH

Citation

Knight, S. and Settle-Raskin, A. (1999), The National Semiconductor Metrology Program, Project Portfolio, FY 1999, NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (Accessed December 14, 2024)