Qnity Electronics has installed a Surfscan SP7XP unpatterned wafer defect inspection system from KLA, part of its ongoing investment in advanced semiconductor materials innovation. An unpatterned wafer inspection system checks blank silicon wafers for tiny defects before any circuit patterns are added, helping catch quality issues early in the manufacturing process. The new system strengthens Qnity's ability to develop and manufacture cutting-edge materials, giving the company deeper insight into its processes to support customers' technology roadmaps.
Julia Woertink, vice president of technology for semiconductor technologies at Qnity, said developing breakthrough materials for advanced semiconductor technology requires deep insight into performance and quality at every stage of development and manufacturing. She said strengthening how the company understands and controls quality helps customers move into more advanced manufacturing nodes with greater confidence and speed.
The Surfscan SP7XP system has been installed at Qnity's New England Manufacturing & Technology Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts, as part of the company's broader investment strategy supporting advanced semiconductor innovation across its global operations. It adds to Qnity's existing set of characterization and process control tools, helping engineering teams identify sources of variation earlier in the materials development and integration process.
At advanced manufacturing nodes, where even minor defects can affect how well a finished chip performs, having better visibility into product and process variation supports faster process learning and helps Qnity and its customers scale up production more efficiently. This latest investment specifically supports the development and reliable manufacturing of advanced lithography materials, including Qnity's Epic photoresist family used in ArF (argon fluoride) lithography, its Eon photoresist family used in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, and various underlayer materials that support those processes.
James Seale, general manager at KLA, said Qnity's investment in the Surfscan SP7XP system reflects a growing industry-wide emphasis on characterization and process control across the semiconductor value chain, noting that process qualification, monitoring, and defect characterization are key enablers of the quality and reliability required for advanced
