RAMANdrive for Wafer Analysis

The Nanophoton RAMANdrive is designed to save time and improve the efficiency. Simply upload your data from your regular inspection tool and RAMANdrive identifies your areas of interest and moves the wafer automatically to the requested positions for a detailed analysis. 

The Stage Navigation System enhances the efficiency of the RAMANdrive software, enabling streamlined, time-saving workflows. Upload data directly from your inspection tool, and RAMANdrive will automatically guide the wafer precisely to specified positions for detailed analysis. The stage moves the wafer with high accuracy and ensures safe, reliable access to all areas of interest. This capability can be adapted for other sample types as well.

Key Features of the 300 mm Wafer Stage:

• Compatibility with Large Wafers: Supports wafers up to 300 mm, securely held in place by vacuum lines connected to small channels.
• Full Wafer Accessibility: Allows the laser to access the entire wafer surface.
• Tall Sample Accommodation: A deep channel in the stage permits analysis of taller samples.

The Stage Navigation System is an essential part of the RAMANdrive software, designed to save time and improve the efficiency. Large wafers of up to 300 mm can be placed on the stage. For analysis, simply upload your data from your regular inspection tool and RAMANdrive identifies your areas of interest and moves the wafer automatically to the requested positions for a detailed analysis. This technology works even with other samples if requested

Nanophoton’s advanced laser line illumination technology enables rapid data acquisition, capturing 400 spectra in a single laser shot. This technique scans your sample without moving it, gathering hundreds of thousands of data points in minutes to generate a comprehensive Raman image of the targeted area. The system maintains peak speed without compromising spatial and spectral resolution, which is essential for detecting particles smaller than 100 nm and for stress or polytype analysis.

For large-area, low-resolution Raman imaging applications, such as wafer analysis, the laser spot sizes used are typically much smaller than the step size between measurement points. As a result, conventional point-by-point mapping methods are insufficient, as they fail to provide a comprehensive and representative overview of the analyzed area. To overcome this limitation, the AreaFlash technique enlarges the laser spot, ensuring that the excitation effectively covers the entire measurement region, thus delivering a complete and representative Raman image.

An illustrative example is the analysis of SiC polytype distribution. Here, the AreaFlash preview function quickly highlights variations in crystal structure. By employing a reduced resolution during the initial assessment, significant savings in time and labor are achieved. The resulting overview provides clear starting points for subsequent, more detailed investigations. Overall, this approach offers an efficient balance between rapid preliminary evaluation and comprehensive, in-depth analysis.

Auto calibration can be performed either before the measurement or during a pause in measurement. The RAMANtouch system features an internal reference option, which uses a motorized quartz sample inserted into the beam path under software control. With this sample in the beam path, the quartz reference peak at 464 cm⁻¹ appears in all measurements. By calculating the difference between this quartz peak and the target peak (e.g., the silicon peak at 520 cm⁻¹), all systematic errors—including typical calibration deviations of about 0.1 cm⁻¹—can be eliminated in real time.