Dark Field Imaging

Nanometrics’ dark field inspection technology is used to detect and accurately locate particles and defects on the front and back sides of wafer surfaces, which could potentially lead to device failures and critical yield loss during the semiconductor manufacturing process. The technology combines a high efficiency, broadband light source with a high-resolution detection system and proprietary digital image processing for defect and contamination detection on a wide variety of films and surfaces. This technology can also be readily extended to other manufacturing processes.