Detection method and apparatus metal particulates on semiconductors
Granted: September 15, 2009
Patent Number:
7589834
A method of detecting surface particulate defects, and especially metal particulates, in semiconductors such as silicon, to characterise defects likely to have an effect on the electrical activity of such semiconductor materials, comprises exposing the surface of the semiconductor structure in the vicinity of a surface particulate to at least one high-intensity beam of light and collecting and processing the photoluminescence response; and using the result to identify unacceptable…
Sealing ring assembly and mounting method
Granted: July 7, 2009
Patent Number:
7556725
A sealing ring assembly and an improved method for mounting a sealing ring into an electrochemical cell used for Electrochemical Capacitance Voltage (ECV) profiling measurements. The ring is located in a holder having at least one secondary bore providing fluid communication between a forward face of the holder and the central bore of the ring, directed parallel to but tangentially offset relative to the inner wall of the central bore so as to impart a degree of rotational flow to…
Scatterometry method with characteristic signatures matching
Granted: May 12, 2009
Patent Number:
7532317
A system and method for efficiently and accurately determining grating profiles uses characteristic signature matching in a discrepancy enhanced library generation process. Using light scattering theory, a series of scattering signatures vs. scattering angles or wavelengths are generated based on the designed grating parameters, for example. CD, thickness and Line:Space ratio. This method selects characteristic portions of the signatures wherever their discrepancy exceeds the preset…
Line profile asymmetry measurement
Granted: April 7, 2009
Patent Number:
7515279
This disclosure provides methods for measuring asymmetry of features, such as lines of a diffraction grating. On implementation provides a method of measuring asymmetries in microelectronic devices by directing light at an array of microelectronic features of a microelectronic device. The light illuminates a portion of the array that encompasses the entire length and width of a plurality of the microelectronic features. Light scattered back from the array is detected. One or more…
Scatterometer having a computer system that reads data from selected pixels of the sensor array
Granted: March 31, 2009
Patent Number:
7511293
Scatterometers and methods of using scatterometry to determine several parameters of periodic microstructures, pseudo-periodic structures, and other very small structures having features sizes as small as 100 nm or less. Several specific embodiments of the present invention are particularly useful in the semiconductor industry to determine the width, depth, line edge roughness, wall angle, film thickness, and many other parameters of the features formed in microprocessors, memory…
Photoluminescence imaging with preferential detection of photoluminescence signals emitted from a specified material layer of a wafer or other workpiece
Granted: March 17, 2009
Patent Number:
7504642
A method and apparatus uses photoluminescence to identify defects in one or more specified material layers of a sample. One or more filtering elements are used to filter out predetermined wavelengths of return light emitted from a sample. The predetermined wavelengths are selected such that only return light emitted from one or more specified material layers of the sample is detected. Additionally or alternatively, the wavelength of incident light directed into the sample may be selected…
Apparatus and method for enhanced critical dimension scatterometry
Granted: March 10, 2009
Patent Number:
7502101
Scatterometers and methods of using scatterometry to determine several parameters of periodic microstructures, pseudo-periodic structures, and other very small structures having features sizes as small as 100 nm or less. Several specific embodiments of the present invention are particularly useful in the semiconductor industry to determine the width, depth, line edge roughness, wall angle, film thickness, and many other parameters of the features formed in microprocessors, memory…
Method and apparatus for measuring thickness and optical properties of a thin-film on a substrate
Granted: February 17, 2009
Patent Number:
7492467
Various embodiments include a metrology tool comprising an emitter configured to emit an incident light beam at a production substrate including an ARL, a receiver configured to receive a reflected light beam from the production substrate, a spectrometer configured to determine a digital signal representing an intensity of a wavelength within the reflected light beam, and a processor configured to determine a spectrum of the reflected light beam from the digital signal, select a…
Methods and systems for determining overlay error based on target image symmetry
Granted: January 13, 2009
Patent Number:
7477396
In systems and methods measure overlay error in semiconductor device manufacturing based on target image asymmetry. As a result, the advantages of using very small in-chip targets can be achieved, while their disadvantages are reduced or eliminated. Methods for determining overlay error based on measured asymmetry can be used with existing measurement tools and systems. These methods allow for improved manufacturing of semiconductor devices and similar devices formed from layers.
Imaging tool calibration artifact and method
Granted: January 6, 2009
Patent Number:
7473502
A method of determining and correcting for distortions introduced by an imaging tool. The method includes providing an imaging tool having a field of view (FOV), and creating a target pattern containing a regular array of symmetric sub-patterns having locations spanning the FOV. Using the imaging tool, the method then includes measuring relative position of the sub-pattern images at one or more target orientations, determining tool-induced sub-pattern position deviations from designed…
Method and apparatus for process control with in-die metrology
Granted: December 23, 2008
Patent Number:
7469164
Various embodiments include a method for providing instructions to a process tool. The method includes emitting an incident light beam at a substrate, receiving a reflected light beam from the substrate and determining a spectrum of the reflected light beam. The method further includes determining a first property of a first layer of the substrate and a second property of a second layer of the substrate, based on the spectrum determination. The method further includes comparing the first…
Measurement of a sample using multiple models
Granted: December 16, 2008
Patent Number:
7465590
A sample that is processed to remove a top layer, e.g., using chemical mechanical polishing or etching, is accurately measured using multiple models of the sample. The multiple models may be constrained based on a pre-processing measurement of the sample. By way of example, the multiple models of the sample may be linked in pairs, where one pair includes a model simulating the pre-processed sample and another model simulating the post-processed sample with a portion of the top layer…
Correction of optical metrology for focus offset
Granted: November 11, 2008
Patent Number:
7450225
A metrology system performs optical metrology while holding a sample with an unknown focus offset. The measurements are corrected by fitting for the focus offset in a model regression analysis. Focus calibration is used to determine the optical response of the metrology device to the focus offset. The modeled data is adjusted based on the optical response to the focus offset and the model regression analysis fits for the focus offset as a variable parameter along with the sample…
Differential wavelength photoluminescence for non-contact measuring of contaminants and defects located below the surface of a wafer or other workpiece
Granted: November 4, 2008
Patent Number:
7446321
A method for using photoluminescence to identify defects in a sub-surface region of a sample includes performing a first probe of the sample. A first data set, based on the first probe, is produced indicating defects located primarily in a surface layer of the sample. A second data set, based on a second probe, is produced indicating defects located in both the surface layer and a sub-surface region of the sample. The first data set is subtracted from the second data set to produce a…
Micro defects in semi-conductors
Granted: November 4, 2008
Patent Number:
7446868
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for detecting defects in a semiconductor or silicon structure at room temperature, and in an efficient time, using photoluminescence. The invention employs the use of a high intensity beam of light preferably having a spot size between 0.1 mm 0.5 microns and a peak or average power density of 104-109 w/cm2 with a view to generating a high concentration of charge carriers, which charge characters detect defects in a semiconductor by…
Darkfield defect inspection with spectral contents
Granted: October 7, 2008
Patent Number:
7433034
A metrology device produces broadband illumination, e.g., an illumination line, that is incident on a substrate at an oblique angle of incidence and which is scanned across the substrate. A first detector collects a darkfield image, while a second detector collects the spectrally reflected light. The angle of incidence of the illumination is variable so that the darkfield image is received by the first detector without interference from diffracting structures on the substrate.…
Method for automatic de-skewing of multiple layer wafer for improved pattern recognition
Granted: October 7, 2008
Patent Number:
7433509
A method for processing wafers includes learning a first pattern at a de-skew site on a first wafer layer, saving the first patterns in a recipe for de-skewing wafers, learning a second pattern at the de-skew site a second wafer layer, and saving the second pattern in the same recipe for de-skewing wafers. Learning the first pattern may include determining a score of uniqueness for the first pattern. The method further includes finding the de-skew site on the second wafer layer using the…
Apparatus and method for non-contact assessment of a constituent in semiconductor substrates
Granted: August 12, 2008
Patent Number:
7410815
Methods and apparatus for assessing a constituent in a semiconductor substrate. Several embodiments of the invention are directed toward non-contact methods and systems for identifying an atom specie of a dopant implanted into the semiconductor substrate using techniques that do not mechanically contact the substrate with electrical leads or other types of mechanical measuring instruments. For example, one embodiment of a non-contact method of assessing a constituent in a semiconductor…
Mass positioning apparatus for a seismic sensor
Granted: June 17, 2008
Patent Number:
7388806
A mass positioning apparatus for use with seismic sensors is described. The seismic sensor includes axis mechanics including a pivotable boom with a defined null point. The mass positioning apparatus comprising: adjustment means for positioning the boom at the null point; actuator means for moving the adjustment means; and means for determining a position of the adjustment means relative to an operational range of travel.
Mass positioning adjustment mechanism for a seismic sensor
Granted: June 10, 2008
Patent Number:
7385873
A mass position adjustment apparatus for use in a seismic sensor having axis mechanics including a pivotable boom with a defined null point is described. The apparatus comprising: (a) adjustment means for positioning the boom at the null point; (b) actuator means for moving the adjustment assembly; and (c) interface means having hard mineral members for interfacing the actuator means with the adjustment means for reducing occurrences of micro-mechanical movement when the mass position…
