Fly-Height Tester is suited for HDD manufacturers.
Press Release Summary:
Designed for data storage industry, D6 fly-height metrology system uses laser-based phase interferometer to test down to contact with precision within 0.15 nm and matching within 0.64 nm. Multiple signals are used to directly discern differential phase of light reflected off recording head surface without need for calibrating intensity envelope of interference fringes. Measurement principle enables repeatable measurements down to sub-3 nm fly-heights.
Original Press Release:
KLA-Tencor Sets New Metrology Standard for Hard Disk Drive Manufacturing with the D6 Fly-Height Tester
Breakthrough Measurement Technique Enables Testing Down to Contact with Significant Increase in Ease of Use and Throughput
SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 19 /-- KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ:KLAC) today unveiled its sixth-generation fly-height tester for the data storage industry, the D6, to help enable hard disk drive (HDD) manufacturers meet the increasingly stringent manufacturing requirements for leading-edge storage devices. Incorporating a breakthrough phase interferometry technology that represents a departure from all previous fly-height metrology tools, the D6 provides a quantum leap in performance, with industry-leading precision (to within 0.15 nm) and matching (to within 0.64 nm). The D6 also offers dramatic improvements in ease of use and throughput, with set-up time reduced from hours to just minutes and total test time cut in half compared to previous fly-height systems.
"By 2010, an estimated 40 percent of all shipped HDDs will be used in consumer applications-up from about 14 percent in 2004," stated Tom Coughlin, president of Coughlin Associates, a data storage consulting firm. "This trend places greater demand on HDD manufacturers to not only produce affordable products with ever-increasing performance and storage capacity, but also to speed their ramp-up to volume production due to the shorter product lifecycles brought about by new consumer HDD applications. Significant investments in production capital spending must include spending on advanced metrology equipment to ensure that those production investments pay off in faster design, production yield improvement, and production ramps. With the ability to measure critical production parameters, a drive company will be able to get new products out early and reap the greatest profit."
As the data storage industry pushes toward higher storage capacities, the fly-height (the distance between the magnetic recording head and the disk) must shrink in order for the HDD to function properly. With the target for fly-height distance on the order of only a few nanometers for today's leading-edge HDDs, continuous fly-height production monitoring is critical to ensuring optimal performance and reliability of the disk drive.
Intensity-based interferometry tools have traditionally been used to make fly-height measurements, but have the inherent disadvantage that each recording head must be calibrated by retracting the head from the disk. At shorter fly-height distances, this process becomes increasingly difficult to perform without introducing measurement error. In addition, as fly-heights approach zero, the sensitivity of intensity-based interferometers diminishes. At fly-height distances of 10 nm or less (required for HDDs with areal densities of greater than 80 gigabytes per square inch), these systems cannot meet the accuracy and robustness requirements for product design or production-line monitoring.
The D6 fly-height metrology system introduces a fundamentally different measurement principle that enables accurate and repeatable measurements down to sub-3-nm fly-heights. It uses a unique, laser-based phase interferometer that eliminates the need for the mechanical retract that plagues previous-generation tools. In this technique, multiple signals are used to directly discern the differential phase of light reflected off the recording head surface without the need for calibrating the intensity envelope of the interference fringes -- thereby removing the need for retract calibration. As a result, all errors associated with the retract calibration process are eliminated, which improves measurement accuracy, repeatability and robustness. Additionally, with its improved ease of use over conventional fly-height testers, any technician with basic training can set up and operate the system.
"Hard disk drives are enabling many of today's most exciting consumer applications. As HDD manufacturers continue to raise the bar on the quality and reliability of their products to meet ever-growing consumer requirements, they want the confidence of knowing that the equipment they use to monitor their production processes is accurate, precise and backed by a world-class global support infrastructure," stated Jeff Donnelly, vice president and general manager of KLA-Tencor's Growth and Emerging Markets (GEM) Division. "We've invested significant resources to ensure our sixth-generation fly-height tester has the new capabilities our customers need to meet their advanced manufacturing requirements."
The D6 has undergone an extensive beta evaluation and KLA-Tencor is currently accepting product orders. Shipping will begin in October 2005. An upgrade path is available for customers with existing D5 and D5xp fly-height systems.
KLA-Tencor will showcase the D6 fly-height tester and other yield management solutions for the data storage industry at the DISKCON USA 2005 Trade Show and Conference, September 20-21, at booth #119 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, Calif.
About KLA-Tencor: KLA-Tencor is the world leader in yield management and process control solutions for semiconductor manufacturing and related industries. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., the company has sales and service offices around the world. An S&P 500 company, KLA-Tencor was named one of the Best Managed Companies in America for 2005 by Forbes Magazine and is the only company in the semiconductor industry to receive the accolade for this year. KLA-Tencor is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol KLAC. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at www.kla-tencor.com/ .
CONTACT: Lisa Garcia, Marketing Communications Manager, of KLA-Tencor, +1-408-875-6033, or lisa.garcia@kla-tencor.com.
