Samsung and Nova Publish Joint Research at SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference

Demonstrating In-Line capabilities of Spectral interferometry and Raman Spectroscopy for advanced memory applications

REHOVOT, Israel, Feb. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Nova (Nasdaq: NVMI) today announced that it will publish two co-authored papers with Samsung R&D Center research at SPIE Advanced Lithography 2024. The papers will be presented at the SPIE by Nova and Samsung, at the Metrology, Inspection and Process Control conference.

The papers are a result of the continuous collaboration between the companies that is driving numerous innovative joint development programs to enhance advanced chip manufacturing. The papers demonstrate multiple novel technologies Nova avails for advanced process control by developing unique solutions to measure critical parameters of interest on complex structures inside memory arrays.  

The first paper "Unique Spectral Interferometry Solutions for Complex High Aspect Ratio 3D NAND Structures" demonstrates the capabilities of spectral interferometry (SI) with vertical traveling scatterometry algorithms (VTS) and AI capabilities to solve challenges in complex high-aspect-ratio structures, such as 3D NAND.  This is achieved by measuring complex layer thicknesses of the multideck 3D structures directly from the VTS signals, without modeling, while filtering information from the underlayers. In addition, VTS and AI enable direct profiling of the deep through-type cell metal contacts in the areas with nonperiodic staircases and significant lateral variations.

The second paper, "On-Cell Thickness Monitoring of Chalcogenide Alloy Layer using Spectral Interferometry, Raman Spectroscopy, and Hybrid Machine Learning",  introduces in addition to VTS modeling, the use of inline Raman Spectroscopy. The Raman signals corresponding to specific material bonds are converted to in-line on-cell thickness and composition measurement of critical chalcogenide material. It is demonstrated that Raman Spectroscopy results enable modeless AI solutions with VTS spectra, as a derivative of the solution's ability to measure material properties.

"We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Samsung R&D Center in introducing Nova's innovative technologies," said Dr. Shay Wolfling, Chief Technology Officer of Nova. "This collaboration enables us to evaluate, enhance and expand the use cases of our inline Spectral Interferometry and Raman technologies at critical process steps in the most advanced and challenging memory architectures. This joint work has demonstrated that through R&D collaboration with our customers, we can introduce groundbreaking solutions that will enable fast transition to high-volume manufacturing."

About Nova

Nova is a leading innovator and key provider of material, optical and chemical metrology solutions for advanced process control in semiconductor manufacturing. Nova delivers continuous innovation by providing state-of-the-art, high-performance metrology solutions for effective process control throughout the semiconductor fabrication lifecycle. Nova's product portfolio, which combines high-precision hardware and cutting-edge software, provides its customers with deep insight into developing and producing the most advanced semiconductor devices. Nova's unique capability to deliver innovative solutions enables its customers to improve performance, enhance product yields and accelerate time to market. Nova acts as a partner to semiconductor manufacturers from its offices worldwide. Additional information may be found on Nova's website link - https://www.novami.com/. 

Nova is traded on the Nasdaq and TASE, Nasdaq ticker symbol NVMI.

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Company Contact:

Dror David, Chief Financial Officer
Tel: +972-73-229-5760
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Nova website link - https://www.novami.com/

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SOURCE Nova