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Nikon Corporation announced the upcoming release of the Litho Booster 1000 alignment station in January 2027, designed to enhance overlay correction in wafer-to-wafer bonding processes. The system measures entire wafer surfaces before exposure, providing precise correction data to lithography systems to improve alignment accuracy. This addresses growing demand for detailed characterization of wafer deformation and misalignment in complex 3D semiconductor structures, including CMOS image sensors, NAND flash memory, and logic devices.

The Litho Booster 1000 incorporates a redesigned wafer holder structure that reduces errors during wafer chucking, improving alignment measurement accuracy by approximately 35% compared to its predecessor. It also features an enhanced light source for better detection of alignment and overlay marks, supporting a wider range of process conditions. These improvements enable more stable and accurate measurements, contributing to higher manufacturing yields in multilayer lithography and bonding processes.

Productivity gains of about 10% are achieved through an enhanced wafer transfer mechanism that increases robot transport speed. The system can also accommodate wafers with greater warp, a common issue caused by non-uniform stress during lithography and bonding. By performing multi-point measurements across the entire wafer surface, the Litho Booster 1000 maintains high productivity while ensuring precise alignment correction.

The Litho Booster 1000 measures wafer distortion before exposure and feeds correction values forward to the lithography system, reducing overlay errors caused by wafer distortion during bonding. Development of the system was supported in part by research from Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The technology is compatible with Nikon and third-party lithography systems, offering a scalable solution for advanced semiconductor manufacturing.