Method and apparatus for semiconductor device fabrication diagnosis and prognosis
Patent 5270222 Issued on December 14, 1993. Estimated Expiration Date: 
December 31, 2010. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.
December 31, 2010. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.Patent ReferencesMethod for optical monitoring in materials fabrication Ellipsometric control of material growth Patent #: 5091320 InventorAssigneeApplicationNo. 638468 filed on 12/31/1990US Classes:438/7, Optical characteristic sensed257/E21.525, Procedures, i.e., sequence of activities consisting of plurality of measurement and correction, marking or sorting steps (EPO)257/E21.528, Acting in response to ongoing measurement without interruption of processing, e.g., endpoint detection, in-situ thickness measurement (EPO)257/E21.53, For structural parameters, e.g., thickness, line width, refractive index, temperature, warp, bond strength, defects, optical inspection, electrical measurement of structural dimensions, metallurgic measurement of diffusions (EPO)356/433, By comparison382/145Inspection of semiconductor device or printed circuit boardExaminersPrimary: Chaudhuri, OlikAssistant: Ojan, Ourmazd S. Attorney, Agent or FirmForeign Patent References
International ClassesG01J 001/16H01L 021/268 AbstractA sensor (210) for diagnosis and prognosis of semiconductor device fabrication processes measures specular, scattered, and total surface reflectances and transmittances of semiconductor wafers (124). The sensor (210) comprises a sensor arm (212) and an opto-electronic control box (214), for directing coherent electromagnetic or optical energy in the direction of semiconductor wafer (124). Opto-electronic control box (214) includes circuitry for measuring the amounts of laser powers coherently reflected from and transmitted through the semiconductor wafer (124) surface and the amounts of electromagnetic powers scatter reflected from and transmitted through the semiconductor wafer (124) surface. The present invention determines specular, scattered, and total reflectance and transmittance as well as surface roughness values for semiconductor wafer (124) based on measurements of coherent and scatter reflected and transmitted laser powers. The sensor (210) of the present invention can also provide a go/no-go test of semiconductor fabrication process quality. A process control computer associates with the sensor (210) to respond to spectral reflectance and transmittance measurements yielding surface roughness and thickness measurements as well as diagnosis/prognosis analysis results and control signals.Other References
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