McBain's new near-infrared inspection system is improving chip yields in Malaysia

SIMI VALLEY, USA: McBain Systems of Simi Valley announced the first sale of its new DDR300 NIR (near infrared) Inspection System to one of the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturers.

Installed in a fab in Kulim, Malaysia, the new defect detection and review (DDR) station is being used to check for subsurface cracks and other defects that are hidden beneath layers of silicon and other semiconductor materials.

"The objective is to increase yields in our customer's flip-chip devices," stated McBain president and CEO, Michael Crump in making the announcement. "By all accounts the DDR300 NIR has the highest resolution of all instruments in its class, which is why it's able to deliver a sharper, clearer view of hard-to-detect subsurface defects."

The new McBain system operates in the near-infrared spectral range between 900nm and 1700nm and can "see" through a range of silicon and other semiconductor materials, including those with rough surfaces. The DDR300 NIR may be used for both micro- and macro-inspection, to view features from 1 micrometer to over 200 micrometers in size.

In addition, an image-stitching capability enables wide-field imaging in high resolution. Two models of the DDR system are available, for inspecting 200mm and 300mm wafers.