This new product dramatically expands the capabilities of QDI microspectrophotometers by adding the ability to measure the thickness of transparent, coloured and opaque films
Craic Technologies has introduced the QDI FilmPro software package for its QDI series microspectrophotometers.
Where traditional film thickness tools only measures by reflectometry, a QDI microspectrophotometer can calculate film thicknesses by both reflectance and transmission microspectroscopy.
This means that QDI FilmPro-equipped microspectrophotometers are useful for more than just quality control in the semiconductor industry.
QDI FilmPro can also be used for such applications as research and quality control of flat panel displays, optical components such as lenses, and even photomasks.
Traditional film thickness microspectrophotometers are quite limited in their application. For the most part they are simply used to monitor film thicknesses on silicon wafers using only reflectometry and are required only to be repeatable.
"However, we did not create a software package to merely monitor film thickness", states Jumi Lee, vice president of Craic Technologies.
"We wanted a multi-functioned package that takes advantage of the versatility of the QDI microspectrophotometers in both the development laboratory and on the fab floor".
The QDI FilmPro software is not only able to measure most of the common films but can also add libraries of spectral data as new materials are developed and incorporated into a process.
The synergy between QDI microspectrophotometers and QDI FilmPro is further strengthened because the instruments can measure transmission spectra in addition to reflectance.
This means that their data can be used to determine the film thickness of materials with transparent substrates with a much greater accuracy than if they could only measure the reflectance.
The flat panel display, photomask and optical components manufacturers can now accurately determine the thickness of their coatings with ease.
And because the QDI microspectrophotometers can be equipped to measure fluorescence, these tools can also be used for contaminant analysis.
This last is especially important to determine contaminant sources in a process and usually requires a dedicated tool.
The QDI FilmPro software is a powerful addition to the capabilities of the QDI series microspectrophotometers.
With this new software, the versatile QDI microspectrophotometers can be used to determine thin film thickness in either reflectance or transmission. Because they can determine film thicknesses from both reflectance and transmission spectra, these instruments can be used not only for the semiconductor industry, but also for development and quality control of the next generations of flat panel displays, photomasks and optical devices.
And with the addition of a fluorescence package, these tools can be used for micro-contaminant analysis, making for a very versatile and powerful instrument in a single package.
