"Although we've had the microscope a while, new image analysis software has made a tremendous difference to our quality control"
Trikon Technologies, a supplier to the semiconductor industry, has recently added a camera and image analysis software to its Leica MZ12 stereomicroscope - with impressive results.
A materials workstation and additional software for particle sizing has proved invaluable for inspecting the consistency of the gas distribution showerheads used in the processes for chemical vapour deposition (CVD).
Mark Jones, CVD equipment manager at Trikon, explained: "Although we've had the microscope a while, new image analysis software has made a tremendous difference to our quality control.
The showerheads have a very large number of small holes - from 15 microns in diameter upwards - and we needed to be sure that they were being manufactured with high precision.
The image analysis software looks at the roundness of the holes, precisely measures a whole sequence and inspects the surfaces, which is important because the reactions are surface dependent." "After only a month, this system has allowed us to conclusively prove that the drill making the holes does not wear at all and assess how much bigger the holes become after etching, which is very significant." "Overall, we now have more efficient quality control for our fabrication processes and a very consistent method of manufacture producing virtually identical showerheads.
The system is very quick and intuitive to use and has turned out even better than we expected.
The general consensus is that it is money well spent and, now that word has got around the company, people are coming out of the woodwork to use it for other applications."
