日本語 
Hitachi High-Tech and ZEISS Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology will enhance their cooperation in order to develop next-generation multi-beam electron beam inspection systems used for semiconductor production.
The companies are working on equipment designed to detect increasingly smaller defects at speeds tens of times faster than conventional single-beam inspection. The development targets challenges emerging from semiconductor miniaturization and the adoption of High-NA EUV.
Hitachi High-Tech brings expertise in electron beam and optical technologies, along with experience supporting semiconductor manufacturers with 300mm wafer measurement and inspection equipment. ZEISS SMT contributes its 91-beam multi-beam column technology. Together, the companies are developing an in-line inspection system designed to combine high sensitivity with high inspection speed.
The need for this technology is becoming more pressing as leading semiconductor manufacturers move toward mass production of 2nm nodes and High-NA EUV. Conventional optical inspection systems can struggle to reliably detect defects around 10nm after circuit patterns are formed. At the same time, single-beam electron beam inspection is limited by inspection speed as device structures become more complex and stochastic defects increase.
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Multi-beam systems are expected to address both requirements by combining inspection sensitivity and speed. They can also support in-film defect inspection and voltage contrast inspection, areas that are difficult for optical systems to handle.
The companies have already started on-site evaluations using a prototype. The system has demonstrated the ability to inspect minute defects that are difficult for existing optical equipment to detect, at tens of times the speed of single-beam equipment.
The strengthened development system will focus on AI-powered inspection algorithms, faster product development and customer co-creation. Hitachi High-Tech also plans to use its customer network and mass-produced wafers for inspection demonstrations and POR certification, supporting the development of digitalized door sets under its HMAX Industry for Semiconductors initiative.
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