Innovation through Collaboration: CoolLED and Camtek advance semiconductor wafer inspection
From first development work to in-fab qualification in just nine months, CoolLED and Camtek have established a close technical partnership centred on the demanding illumination requirements of next-generation semiconductor inspection.
Camtek, a leading semiconductor OEM, has qualified CoolLED multi-wavelength LED illumination technology for advanced wafer inspection, with systems now operating in production across multiple customer sites.
A partnership built around a demanding inspection challenge
Semiconductor advanced packaging is pushing automated optical inspection to new limits. Multi-layer redistribution layers, fan-out wafer-level packaging, 2.5D architectures, smaller micro-bumps, hybrid bonding and high-density CMOS image sensors all place increasing demands on inspection systems.
Detecting sub-micron defects at production speed depends heavily on the quality and consistency of the illumination entering the imaging system. For Camtek, improving illumination was therefore a key part of supporting the next generation of its inspection architecture.
CoolLED was selected following a structured technical evaluation covering brightness, wavelength stability and illumination homogeneity, alongside practical requirements such as recipe-lock behaviour, system integration, long-term support and the ability to maintain consistent performance across multiple tools.
“9 months from starting development to being in market with the Eagle G5 is remarkable. Our collaboration has established CoolLED as our preferred illumination partner. As inspection architectures evolve, we continue to develop next-generation tools that meet increasingly exacting optical requirements and keep our tool roadmap ahead of industry demand.”
Benzion Sender, EVP R&D, CamtekFrom technical evaluation to production qualification
This was more than the supply of an illumination component. CoolLED scientists and engineers worked directly with Camtek throughout development to integrate the illumination system into the wider inspection architecture and qualify it against real production requirements.
Moving from a laboratory setup into a production inspection tool meant addressing practical engineering factors including brightness and homogeneity, mechanical interfaces, thermal management, system control and serviceability.
By working through those requirements together during development, the teams moved from feasibility to production readiness quickly. Within nine months of starting development, the resulting system had progressed to equipment operating in-fab.
- High LED brightness
- Stable wavelength performance
- Consistent field homogeneity
- Reliable recipe-lock behaviour
- Practical system integration
- Long-term technical support
Proven in production, not only in the lab
The most important stage of the programme came after qualification. Camtek was able to assess the illumination platform under sustained production conditions and across a growing population of inspection tools.
Recipe-lock stability
CoolLED illumination maintained wavelength and intensity consistency through continued production use and thermal cycling. Once an inspection recipe was established, process engineers could rely on it remaining stable.
Copy Exact! performance
Consistent manufacture from one illumination unit to another supported Camtek's Copy Exact! requirements, reducing the need for tool-by-tool recalibration when systems were deployed across an installed base.
Higher throughput
Production deployment showed higher inspection throughput while maintaining sub-micron resolution across multi-layer RDL inspection at full production speed.
Illumination that supports defect detection
For automated inspection, image quality directly affects the ability of software to identify genuine defects. Poor contrast or changes in illumination intensity can introduce false positives, slow inspection and reduce confidence in the process.
The qualified CoolLED platform provides the bright, stable and consistent illumination needed to improve defect detection consistency while maintaining production speed. Field deployment has since provided Camtek with evidence from tools operating across multiple customer sites.
What the Camtek partnership means for CoolLED OEM Illumination
The programme represents an important step in CoolLED's work with semiconductor equipment manufacturers. It shows how specialist illumination knowledge can become part of a production-ready inspection platform rather than remaining a standalone optical component.
Camtek's qualification process tested the areas that matter when semiconductor equipment moves from development into volume deployment, including optical stability, unit-to-unit consistency, integration, reliability and long-term support.
With CoolLED now established as Camtek's preferred illumination partner, the relationship continues as inspection architectures develop and optical requirements become increasingly demanding.
Innovation through collaboration
The project reflects the approach behind CoolLED OEM Illumination: working directly with engineering teams from the earliest stages of development, understanding the optical and practical requirements of the system, and developing illumination that can be qualified as part of the finished instrument.
For Camtek, that approach resulted in a multi-wavelength LED illumination platform that could move from development to market rapidly while meeting the demands of high-volume semiconductor inspection.
Read the full Camtek and CoolLED case study
Discover how the teams progressed from initial evaluation to in-fab qualification in nine months, including the technical requirements behind the project, production validation, recipe-lock performance, Copy Exact! deployment and the results seen in the field.
