DOC NIST - Nanometer-Scale Planar Films and Measurements - MRAS

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), on behalf of the Department of Commerce (DOC), is conducting market research to identify potential vendors capable of providing advanced metrology solutions for the CHIPS Metrology program. This initiative, spearheaded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), aims to advance metrology capabilities within the U.S. semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. By collaborating with device manufacturers, tool vendors, and materials suppliers, the program seeks to address critical metrology gaps that can spur innovation across seven grand challenge areas in semiconductor technology.

The specific work requested involves the provision of high-quality thin oxide, nitride, and epitaxial germinide films on silicon wafers. NIST requires these specialized wafers to conduct precise measurements using both X-ray characterization techniques and optical characterization techniques such as spectroscopic ellipsometry. Vendors are expected to supply four sets of approximately fifteen wafers each from either 300 mm or 200 mm processing lines. These wafers will be deposited with thin films ranging from 5 nm to 30 nm in thickness using materials such as HfO2, TiN, ZrO2, SiN, or SiGe at specified germanium concentrations.

This procurement supports NIST's nanometer-scale planar reference materials project within the Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Group. The project is integral to CHIPS R&D: Metrology Program's Grand Challenge 6 Standardizing New Materials, Processes, and Equipment for Microelectronics. By acquiring these research-grade test materials with known thicknesses and compositions, NIST aims to enhance measurement reproducibility and comparability across the semiconductor industry. This effort will ultimately contribute to improved product development costs and performance repeatability.