KLA-Tencor Extends the Aleris(TM) Film Metrology Family With Two New Systems

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ:KLAC) today introduced two additions to its Aleris(TM) family of films metrology systems - the Aleris 8310 and Aleris 8350. These systems utilize KLA-Tencor's new generation of Broadband Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (BBSE(TM)) optics which allow chipmakers to measure multi-layer film thickness, refractive index, and stress, meeting advanced films metrology requirements.

The Aleris 8310 and 8350 join the Aleris 8500 system, announced in December 2007, which was the industry's first production-worthy system to enable compositional and multi-layer film thickness metrology in a single tool. The Aleris family of systems offers customers the ability to choose from a range of application-specific system configurations tailored to their exact technical requirements and economic conditions.

"The new Aleris product line now offers chipmakers a highly configurable set of advanced film metrology tools that cover both high-volume production fabs and future node development with a single platform architecture," noted Ahmad Khan, vice president and general manager of KLA-Tencor's Films and Scatterometry Technologies division. "By standardizing on this unique technology portfolio, our customers can move beyond their mix of unmatched and layer-dedicated metrology tools to a comprehensive metrology solution with the flexibility to meet fab-wide performance and cost of ownership (CoO) requirements for 45nm and beyond."

The Aleris Portfolio
The Aleris portfolio builds on the company's industry-leading
 SpectraFx 200 technology, with different models aimed at different
 fab applications. The highly configurable and modular Aleris design
 enables flexibility in metrology capacity, sampling and extension to
 future nodes via upgradeability. The Aleris systems' new BBSE
 technology provides lower spectral distortion, higher signal-to-noise
 ratio and higher photon flux leading to significantly improved
 matching, precision and throughput than previous generations. The
 Aleris platform also offers higher reliability over the previous
 generation due to improved hardware components as well as leading
 edge software architecture and database.

     The Aleris 8500, launched in December 2007, features the unique
      150nm BBSE technology, which enables the industry's first
      production product wafer monitoring of gate composition and
      thickness on a single tool.

     The Aleris 8350 is the best of breed advanced film thickness and
      refractive index metrology tool, enabling customers to meet
      tighter process tolerances. The 8350 covers the broadest range
      of 45nm applications, including diffusion, CVD, etch and other
      areas. The latest BBSE technology delivers up to 2x better
      thickness precision and 4x better refractive index matching than
      its predecessor due to improved spectral fidelity, optical
      sensitivity and stability. The system's 20% reduction in
      measurement box size also allows for measurements in smaller
      scribelines. The new StressMapper technology enables full wafer
      stress uniformity monitoring on critical films in the BEOL such
      as ultra-low k dielectrics, and high-stress liners in the FEOL,
      at higher sensitivity and throughput than previous generation
      tools.

     The Aleris 8310 is a cost-effective and reliable production
      solution for simple, thick film applications, with industry
      leading throughput. The Aleris family's modular design allows
      extendibility to meet the growing needs of customers through
      multiple device nodes. Increased throughput of 30% (SE) to 60%
      (Reflectometer), compared to the previous generation, provides
      for lower operating cost. High throughput allows for high
      sampling rates, which are especially critical for SOI substrate
      manufacturers who are required to do 100% sampling to meet their
      customer's tight requirements.

A matched Aleris metrology tool set can be shared across many fab applications, improving capacity flexibility and utilization, while significantly reducing metrology cost of ownership. The Aleris family also utilizes common recipes, training, software, and spare parts to boost fab ramp and efficiency.

Aleris systems have been shipped to key customers in all fab segments (memory, logic, and foundry) worldwide where they are being used for production and advanced development.

About KLA-Tencor: KLA-Tencor is the world leader in yield management and process control solutions for semiconductor manufacturing and related industries. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the Company has sales and service offices around the world. An S&P 500 company, KLA-Tencor is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol KLAC. Additional information about the Company is available at http://www.kla-tencor.com.

Source: KLA-Tencor, Inc.

Released January 29, 2008