The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS) and NextIn Inc. of South Korea have entered into a collaborative relationship for the evaluation of a defect inspection system. The user interface of the Aegis I Defect Inspection Tool. Courtesy of Fraunhofer IPMS. As part of the one-year effort, the NextIn Aegis I Wafer Inspection System will be evaluated in the cleanroom at Fraunhofer’s Center Nanoelectronic Technologies (CNT). The Aegis I combines bright-field and dark-field imaging for the visual detection, automatic classification and characterization of defect types on structured wafers ranging from 200 to 300 mm. This type of equipment is important for the research and development of front-end- middle- and back-end-of-the-line processes, said Dr. Benjamin Uhlig, head of the Interconnects group at IPMS-CNT. For more information, visit www.fraunhofer.de.