An optical inspection system installed in a cleanroom at Fraunhofer IPMS has the potential to cut metrology waste, save CO₂, and improve yield in semiconductor manufacturing
Jul. 18, 2025 –
The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS, based in Dresden, Germany, has partnered with DIVE imaging systems to install an optical measurement system.
The new system is aimed at streamlining semiconductor manufacturing and reducing environmental impact.
DIVE imaging systems, a German-based inspection equipment manufacturer, develops advanced optical tools for semiconductor applications.
Installed at the Fraunhofer IPMS cleanroom, the new system from DIVE significantly reduces the effort required for quality control during wafer production.
The collaboration forms part of the "NEST" project (New Screening Tool for Efficient Semiconductor Manufacturing), which seeks to improve resource efficiency in a process that can involve up to 1,500 production steps.
Semiconductor wafers must be virtually defect-free due to the complexity of integrated structures.
As a result, nearly half of all process steps in semiconductor manufacturing are related to metrology, including the use of thousands of additional control wafers each month.
This intensive quality assurance process consumes considerable energy, time, and raw materials.
To address this challenge, DIVE and Fraunhofer IPMS, alongside Fraunhofer IZM, conducted a joint environmental potential analysis over 18 months.