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US 6,191,036 B1Granted
Use of photoresist focus exposure matrix array as via etch monitor
AssigneeAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc.
InventorsAllen S. Yu, Paul J. Steffan, Bharath Rangarajan
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Abstract
A method of predicting etch efficacy of vias in a semiconductor manufacturing process wherein a photo focus exposure matrix (FEM) array is used as a via etch monitor. The FEM is an array of matrices wherein each array has a different size set of vias. The matrices in the array start with a size approximately double the minimum dimension of vias in the wafer and decrement in size to a size approximately half the minimum dimension.
Claims4
A method of predicting etch efficacy of vias in a semiconductor manufacturing process, the method comprising:
- inspecting an FEM array on the surface of a semiconductor wafer after an etch process, wherein the FEM array comprises a series of matrices, wherein each matrix is a set of via dots and the size of the via dots in the array decreases in size from a matrix to a next matrix;
- determining a matrix in the FEM array that has incomplete via dots in the set of via dots in that matrix;
- selecting an efficacious via dimension by selecting a matrix having via dots two sizes larger than the matrix in the FEM array that has incomplete via dots.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.