KLA Tencor

KLA Tencor

KLA-Tencor Corporation is a supplier of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. These technologies serve the semiconductor, data storage, LED, and other related nanoelectronics industries. The company's portfolio of products, software, analysis, services and expertise is designed to help IC manufacturers manage yield throughout the entire wafer fabrication process-from R & D to final yield analysis.

KLA-Tencor offers a broad spectrum of products and services that include in-line wafer defect monitoring; reticle and photomask defect inspection; wafer overlay; film and surface measurement; and overall yield- and fab-wide data analysis.

In the semiconductor industry, the fabrication of an integrated circuit (IC), or chip, is accomplished by depositing a series of film layers upon a silicon wafer, which forms the foundation of the chip. A single wafer may hold hundreds of chips, each of which will go on to power electronic devices such as MP3 players, cell phones, personal computers and more.

The chip is built layer by layer from patterned films of conducting, semiconducting or insulating materials. The role of KLA-Tencor’s products in this process is to monitor the defectivity and physical characteristics of each step, allowing the manufacturer to better control each process and maximize chip yield.