Aston

THE MOLECULAR SENSOR FOR ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL METROLOGY

A Major Evolution in Process Control and Optimization

Atonarp Aston™ is a robust compact mass spectrometer, designed from the ground up to be the workhorse metrology tool for gas monitoring and control for semiconductor manufacturing and industrial process control applications. High quantitative accuracy and real-time performance are combined with production-ready robustness and dependability, supporting increased throughput and maximized yields within a wide range of complex, high-precision processes in production and monitoring environments.

Key Features

01

Real-time In-Situ Metrology

Aston’s In-situ data is rich, quantified, specific and actionable molecular data in real time, unlike in-line data taken after processing. In-Situ data allows tighter process control in-the-moment to provide greater (SPC) margin and yield.

02

Autonomous and Connected

Connect from anywhere in the Enterprise to securely control Aston and access molecular data through our AtonLab cloud based software or via the high speed API for your own or third party applications.

03

Actionable Data

One of the fundamental changes needed to enable advanced process control is the switch from in-line to in-situ metrology solutions. Data has to be immediately actionable to provide tight control loops on process equipment.  It’s less about ‘big data’ and more about ‘useful data’ - that’s where Aston delivers.

04

One Tool, Many Solutions

Aston is a single tool ready to support the broadest class of metrology needs, including the increasingly precise in-situ process management required in today’s industry.

Best-in-Class Features

• Stability 
• Repeatability 
• Sensor Lifetime 
• Mass Range 
• Resolution 
• Min Detectable Partial Pressure 
• Sensitivity (ppb) 
• Sample Rate 

Aston Advantages

• Corrosive Gas Resistant 
• Condensate Resistant 
• Real-Time, Actionable Data 
• Cloud Connectivity-Ready 
• No Plasma Required

Application Supported

• Dielectric Etch 
• Metal Etch EPD 
• CVD Monitoring and EPD 
• Chamber Clean EPD 
• Chamber Fingerprinting 
• Chamber Matching 
• High Aspect Ratio Etch 
• Small Open Area <0.3% Etch
• Atomic Level Deposition & Etch 

Aston Interior Components

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What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

Applications

Purpose-built for industrial process control applications, Aston offers an industry-leading breadth of solutions to support the increasing complexity of advanced metrology.

In-Situ Tin Halide Quantification for Extreme Ultraviolet Light Sources

EUV lithography is increasingly being deployed to support critical dimension patterning for <10nm process technologies. Managing up-time and throughput of these >$200M lithography tools is critically important.

Aston enables optimal reflector plate tin deposit cleaning with fast, actionable, high-sensitivity molecular diagnostic data and Aston’s real time H2 monitoring also reduces the hydrogen consumption per EUV tool.

Small Open Area and HAR Etch

Aston delivers metrology requirements for HAR etch, small OA%, and selective processing for gate all around and 3D memory structures.  

With OA% sensitivity demonstrated to <0.25%, Aston delivers a limit of detection up to an order of magnitude higher than OES (LOD of ~2.5%). Additionally, Aston’s internally generated plasma-based ionization source allows it to work in the presence of corrosive etch gases and with or without a plasma source present in the processing chamber.

Maximizing Throughput in Low-K Dielectric Deposition

Low-K dielectric deposition requires frequent process chamber cleans to remove the build-up of deposition condensates. Minimizing the chamber clean cycle time, using end point detection, is required to maximize the overall process throughput.

Aston offers precision end-point detection-based chamber clean results both in faster processing time as well as avoidance of over-cleaning.

Equipment & Process Co-Optimization

Machine learning in semiconductor FABs is a multi $B efficiency opportunity.

Tighter process control gives higher line and product yield, higher throughput, and optimized maintenance schedules, powering an evolution from the CopyExactly! era to one of CopySmartly!

Aston’s measured in-situ real-time data at the molecular level gives true insight and is quantified, actionable data to help inform powerful ML models.

Protecting CVD Processes from Dry Pump Failure

Vacuum dry pumps can face unexpected failures when pumping in harsh semiconductor manufacturing processes, causing yield loss and significant downtime.

Aston supports data-driven pump failure predictive modeling, powering measurement of the gases entering and leaving the dry pump to enable predictive modeling of destructive corrosion or deposit build-up.

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What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

Aston is offered in two configurations to offer flexibility in supporting customer needs. 

  • Integrated Plasma Ionization Source for Corrosive Gases
  • Electron Ionization Source
  • High Performance Hyperbolic Quadrupole
  • Integrated Diaphragm and Turbomolecular Pumps
  • Integrated Control Electronics, Including Analog and Digital IO
  • Electron Ionization Source
  • High Performance Hyperbolic Quadrupole
  • Integrated Diaphragm and Turbomolecular Pumps
  • Integrated Control Electronics, Including Analog and Digital IO
There are many different ways a business can display customer testimonials — And when determining the best approach...

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There are many different ways a business can display customer testimonials — And when determining the best approach...

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