Thermo Scientific Metrios AX machine learning S/TEM

The Thermo Scientific Metrios AX is a scanning transmission electron microscope (S/TEM) that uses machine learning to automate high-quality data collection. Designed for the semiconductor industry, the product allows lab operators to quickly generate precise data, while minimising the need for operator training.

The device enables semiconductor labs to automatically acquire and measure critical dimensions on semiconductor devices during development or in support of manufacturing. Incorporating machine learning into the instrument helps minimise the time needed to develop automated recipes, allowing more productive utilisation of the microscope.

Built on Thermo Fisher’s ultrahigh-resolution Spectra platform, the Metrios AX incorporates advancements that make it easy to automate repetitive jobs, obtain sub-angstrom resolution images with high contrast and keep the microscope automatically aligned for peak performance. It was designed to improve failure analysis, process qualification and metrology by helping semiconductor labs easily create automated workflows that improve productivity.

Machine-learning technology is at the core of the Smart Automation included in the Metrios AX. This technology simplifies automation by coordinating all the necessary instructions to identify, align and image regions of interest in a sample. Smart Automation reduces the time required to create and maintain automated workflow scripts, or ‘recipes’, while efficiently handling process variability. The automation enables semiconductor labs to acquire data on sample jobs in less than 4 h. The product also features Smart Alignment software that automatically adjusts the column alignments, ensuring that the data collected meets stringent metrology accuracy specifications.

The product features high-sensitivity Panther S/TEM detector infrastructure and enhanced (SCORR) corrector technology, which together provide low-dose, high-contrast, damage-free imaging at sub-angstrom resolution.