Delft-based Delmic is introducing Aurora, a system that automatically detects crystal defects in semiconductor materials. It’s designed for materials including silicon carbide and gallium nitride, both increasingly used in power chips. Crystal defects are often difficult to spot with existing inspection methods.
Aurora uses cathodoluminescence: An electron beam makes a material emit light, much as it does in an old-fashioned picture tube. At a crystal defect, the light can become dimmer or change color. A mirror collects the light, allowing the system to map defects, stresses in the material and other variations at the nanoscale.
The system runs automatically and is intended primarily for research and development. Depending on the configuration, Aurora can inspect much of a 300 mm wafer. Its software counts and analyzes the defects it detects, helping researchers trace them back to the stage of production where they were formed.
