Method and system for automated die yield prediction in semiconductor manufacturing

A method for analyzing data associated with defects on a substrate, the substrate including multiple layers and multiple die, comprising the steps of:

• reading files containing defect data for selected layers of said substrate, said defect data including defect type and defect size information;
• stacking said defect data to identify a layer of first occurrence of each defect and a count of layers upon which each defectis redetected, said defect data pertaining to occurrences on layers other than said layer of first occurrence being discarded;
• assigning a kill factor to each defect that remains after stacking, according to a set of rules, each said rule specifying defect parameters that include layer of first occurrence, redetect count, defect size, and defect type;
• and
• determining failure probabilities of the die according to kill factors assigned to said defects.

A computer program for analyzing data associated with defects on a substrate, the substrate including multiple layers and multiple die, the computer program stored on a computer-readable medium, comprising:

• instructions for reading files containing defect data for selected layers of said substrate, said defect data including defect type and defect size information;
• instructions for estimating, from said defect data, defect type codes for unclassified ones of said defects on said substrate, extrapolated from classified ones of said defects on said substrate;
• instructions for stacking said defect data to identify a layer of first occurrence of each defect and a count of layers upon which each defect is redetected, said defect data pertaining to occurrences on layers other than said layer of first occurrence being discarded;
• instructions for assigning a kill factor to each that remains after stacking, according to a set of rules, each said rule specifying defect parameters that include layer of first occurrence, redetect count, defect size, and defect type;
• instructions for determining failure probabilities of the die according to kill factors assigned to said defects;
• and
• instructions for determining from said failure probabilities the estimated die loss for said substrate.