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US 10,707,107 B2Granted
Adaptive alignment methods and systems
AssigneeKLA-Tencor Corporation
InventorsBrent A. Riggs, William Pierson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Adaptive alignment methods and systems are disclosed. An adaptive alignment system may include a scanner configured to align a wafer and an analyzer in communication with the scanner. The analyzer may be configured to: recognize at least one defined analysis area; determine whether any perturbations exist within the analysis area; and in response to at least one perturbation determined to be within the analysis area, invoke a fall back alignment strategy or report the at least one perturbation to the scanner.
Claims14
A system, comprising:
- a scanner configured to align a wafer based on a first plurality of alignment fields of the wafer;
- and
- an analyzer in communication with the scanner, wherein the analyzer is configured to:
- recognize at least one analysis area around at least one alignment mark provided on the wafer within at least one alignment field of the first plurality of alignment fields, wherein the at least one analysis area is defined by an area of a selected size centered around the at least one alignment mark;
- detect at least one perturbation in the at least one analysis area within the at least one alignment field of the first plurality of alignment fields, wherein the at least one perturbation is proximate to the at least one alignment mark;
- and
- report the at least one perturbation to the scanner,
- wherein the scanner is adjusted based on a fall back alignment strategy in response to the at least one perturbation detected in the at least one analysis area, wherein the fall back alignment strategy configures the scanner to realign the wafer based on a second plurality of alignment fields to bypass the at least one perturbation, wherein the second plurality of alignment fields includes at least one different alignment field than the first plurality of alignment fields.
5 more elements
A method, comprising:
- aligning a wafer via a scanner based on a first plurality of alignment fields of the wafer;
- recognizing at least one analysis area defined for the wafer around at least one alignment mark provided on the wafer within at least one alignment field of the first plurality of alignment fields, wherein the at least one analysis area is defined by an area of a selected size centered around the at least one alignment mark;
- detecting at least one perturbation in the at least one analysis area within the at least one alignment field of the first plurality of alignment fields, wherein the at least one perturbation is proximate to the at least one alignment mark;
- and
- adjusting the scanner based on a fall back alignment strategy in response to the at least one perturbation detected in the at least one analysis area, wherein the fall back alignment strategy configures the scanner to realign the wafer based on a second plurality of alignment fields to bypass the at least one perturbation, wherein the second plurality of alignment fields includes at least one different alignment field than the first plurality of alignment fields.
2 more elements
A method, comprising:
- aligning a wafer via a scanner based on a first plurality of alignment fields of the wafer;
- recognizing at least one analysis area defined for the wafer around at least one alignment mark provided on the wafer within at least one alignment field of the first plurality of alignment fields, wherein the at least one analysis area is defined by an area of a selected size centered around the at least one alignment mark;
- detecting at least one perturbation in the at least one analysis area within the at least one alignment field of the first plurality of alignment fields, wherein the at least one perturbation is proximate to the at least one alignment mark;
- reporting the at least one perturbation to the scanner;
- and
- adjusting the scanner based on a fall back alignment strategy in response to the at least one perturbation detected in the at least one analysis area, wherein the fall back alignment strategy configures the scanner to realign the wafer based on a second plurality of alignment fields to bypass the at least one perturbation, wherein the second plurality of alignment fields includes at least one different alignment field than the first plurality of alignment fields.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.