Used Canon FPA-5550iZ2 i-line stepper lithography machine

The Canon FPA-5550iZ2 is an i-line stepper designed for the manufacturing of logic devices, memory chips, and CMOS image sensors (CIS). Released in December 2016 as the successor to the FPA-5550iZ, it is engineered to deliver high productivity and superior overlay accuracy for mature process nodes, supporting both 200mm and 300mm wafer production lines.

Core Specifications: The system utilizes a 365nm i-line light source with a variable numerical aperture (NA) ranging from 0.45 to 0.57. It offers a resolution of ≤350nm and an exposure field size of 26mm × 33mm per shot. In terms of overlay accuracy, it achieves ≤18nm for single-machine overlay (SMO) and ≤25nm for matched-machine overlay (MMO, with optional configuration).

Key Technologies: The system incorporates Canon’s proprietary Shot Shape Compensation (SSC) unit, which corrects for magnification differences (aspect ratio scaling) and skew distortion within each exposure field, thereby improving overlay alignment with underlying patterns. By optimizing the timing for alignment, exposure, and wafer transport, the system’s throughput is approximately 20% higher than that of its predecessor, the FPA-5550iZ. With the 200mm wafer option, the system can achieve a throughput of 230 wafers per hour.

Market Positioning: Emphasizing a low cost of ownership (CoO), this model is well-suited for high-volume production using mature process nodes—such as those for IoT and automotive electronics—and offers the flexibility to adapt to diverse process requirements through ongoing upgrade options.