Canon Inc. has begun offering the Lithography Plus, a solution platform for semiconductor lithography systems. The system incorporates Canon’s more than 50 years of expertise in semiconductor lithography system support. It also includes the company’s vast wealth of data collected to maximize support efficiency as well as propose and implement optimized system processes.

Canon offers expansive lineups of KrF semiconductor lithography systems, as well as i-line steppers that support a wide range of devices. It has a long history of providing user support for these systems. Lithography Plus leverages this accumulated know-how and data as a solution platform that both improves the efficiency of support operations and operational efficiency of lithography systems, thereby contributing to increased productivity for system users.

Functions of Lithography Plus

Canon’s Lithography Plus system includes functions that analyze the status of lithography systems, results of regular maintenance, causes of system downtime, and other valuable information. System users can utilize these data to more easily create system operation plans during maintenance or parts replacement, thereby enabling appropriate maintenance.

Moreover, the Dash Board function helps to further increase the efficiency of user maintenance work by providing a holistic view of all semiconductor lithography systems in operation at their worksite.

The Anomaly Detection function supervises system operational status. It detects abnormalities and signs of potential trouble to prevent unexpected system shutdowns. In addition, an Automatic Restore function helps restart system operations. When automatic restoration is not possible, system restoration instructions are presented to operators in an easy-to-understand manner, thereby facilitating smoother recovery. What’s more, through a remote concierge service, system status can be shared with Canon’s expert engineers, helping them better understand the situation at hand and provide detailed assistance during customer support calls.

The Process Solution function provides a comprehensive collection of successful lithography system optimization recipes that Canon has accumulated over its long history in the business. It provides automated and optimized “recipes” for configuring such settings as precise alignment accuracy and control of line width. As a result, it enables even newly implemented semiconductor lithography processes to realize high yield rates, thus supporting increased system productivity. Lithography Plus also has the ability to interface with advanced process control (APC) and other process equipment, making possible greater coordination with manufacturing management systems.

¹For detailed specifications, please visit: https://global.canon/en/product/indtech/semicon/lithography-plus.html

²Manufacturing conditions that vary depending on the device and type of manufacturing process.

³The ratio of properly formed products to defective products in a manufacturing process.

⁴Advanced Process Control. Refers to the use of optimized processing parameters for individual lots. Results of past processes are applied and used for such purposes as predicting values in front-end processes, advanced statistical and analytical techniques to manipulate process control parameters and inputs on process tools to improve output quality.