Atonarp has announced the launch of Aston, an in situ mass spectrometer with an integrated plasma ionisation source for semiconductor metrology. has been built for semiconductor production, and can replace multiple legacy tools and provide control across a number of applications, including Endpoint detection (EPD) is the most EPD has not been able to be deployed in many process steps because the required in situ sensor would not survive the harsh process or chamber cleaning chemicals. EPD has not been able to be deployed in many process steps because the required in situ sensor would not survive the harsh process or chamber cleaning chemicals, or would alternatively suffer clogging from condensate deposits. Aston optimises production by detecting exactly when a process has finished, including chamber cleaning, which can reduce the required clean-time by a fixed amount. Aston optimises production by detecting exactly when a process has finished, including chamber cleaning, which can reduce the required clean-time by up to 80 %. It has independent dual ionisation sources, a classic electron impact It has independent dual ionisation sources, a classic electron impact ionisation source and a filament-less plasma ioniser, that work reliably in the harsh conditions encountered in semiconductor production. enables Aston to be used in environments where traditional electron ionisers would corrode and fail very rapidly.

Aston offers an interval between service events that is up to 100× longer than legacy mass analysers. Since Aston generates its own plasma, it works with or without process plasma present. This provides an advantage over optical emission spectroscopy techniques, which require a plasma source to operate, making Aston ideal for ALD and ALD mass analyzers. This provides an advantage over optical emission spectroscopy techniques, which require a plasma source to operate, making Aston ideal for ALD and certain metal deposition processes that may use a weak, pulsed or no plasma for processing.