Back to results
US 8,321,048 B1Granted
Associating data with workpieces and correlating the data with yield data
AssigneeAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc.
InventorsElfido Coss, Jr., Anastasia O. Peterson, Christopher A. Bode
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and apparatus is provided for associating operational data with workpieces and correlating the operational data with yield data. The method comprises processing a workpiece using a processing tool, associating the operational data with the workpiece during the processing of the workpiece and measuring the yield data associated with the processed workpiece. The method further comprises correlating the operational data with the yield data to make one or more determinations.
Claims21
A method, comprising:
- processing a work piece using a processing tool, wherein the processing comprises actively performing at least one of implanting, photolithography stepping, etching, deposition, polishing, rapid thermal processing, or doping;
- associating, using a control unit, operational data and work piece metrology data with the work piece during the processing of the work piece, wherein the operational data comprises data relating to at least one of a chamber of the processing tool and a chamber zone of the processing tool that processes the work piece, wherein associating the operational data comprises associating data related to an orientation of the work piece inside the processing tool;
- storing the associated operational data and work piece metrology data in a storage unit;
- measuring, using a measuring tool, yield data associated with the work piece processed by the processing tool;
- and
- correlating the stored operational data and work piece metrology data with the yield data to make one or more determinations, wherein at least one of said one or more determinations is at least one of:
- identifying which portions of the work piece were exposed to which chambers of the processing tool during processing;
- and
- identifying which portions of the work piece were exposed to which chamber zones of the processing tool during processing.
6 more elements
A method, comprising:
- processing a work piece using a processing tool, wherein the processing comprises actively performing at least one of implanting, photolithography stepping, etching, deposition, polishing, rapid thermal processing, or doping;
- associating, using a control unit, operational data and work piece metrology data with the work piece during the processing of the work piece, wherein associating the operational data comprises associating data related to an orientation of the work piece inside the processing tool;
- measuring, using a measuring tool, yield data associated with the work piece processed by the processing tool;
- correlating the operational data and work piece metrology data with the yield data to make one or more determinations, wherein at least one of said one or more determinations is at least one of:
- identifying which portions of the work piece were exposed to one or more chambers of the processing tool during processing;
- and
- identifying which portions of the work piece were exposed to one or more chamber zones of the processing tool during processing, and
- wherein processing the work piece comprises processing a plurality of wafers and wherein associating the operational data and work piece metrology data with the work piece comprises associating the operational data and work piece metrology data on a wafer by wafer basis for each of the plurality of the wafers.
5 more elements
An apparatus, comprising:
- an interface adapted to:
- receive operational data and work piece metrology data associated with a work piece, wherein the work piece is processed by a processing tool, wherein processing comprises actively performing at least one of implanting, photolithography stepping, etching, deposition, polishing, rapid thermal processing, or doping, wherein the operational data comprises data relating to at least one of a chamber of the processing tool and a chamber zone of the processing tool that processes the work piece, and wherein the associated operational data comprises data related to an orientation of the work piece inside the processing tool;
- receive yield data associated with the processed work piece;
- a control unit communicatively coupled to the interface, the control unit adapted to store the associated operational data and work piece metrology data in a storage unit;
- and
- correlate the operational data and work piece metrology data with the yield data to make one or more determinations, wherein at least one of said one or more determinations is at least one of:
- identifying which portions of the work piece were exposed to which chambers of the processing tool during processing;
- and
- identifying which portions of the work piece were exposed to which chamber zones of the processing tool during processing.
6 more elements
An article comprising one or more machine-readable storage media containing instructions that when executed enable a processor to:
- process a wafer using a processing tool, wherein the act of processing comprises actively performing at least one of implanting, photolithography stepping, etching, deposition, polishing, rapid thermal processing, or doping;
- associate operational data and work piece metrology data with the wafer during the processing of the wafer, wherein the operational data comprises data relating to at least one of a chamber of the processing tool and a chamber zone of the processing tool that processes the wafer, wherein the associating comprises associating data related to an orientation of the wafer inside the processing tool;
- store the associated operational data and work piece metrology data in a storage unit;
- measure, using a measuring tool, yield data associated with the wafer processed by the processing tool;
- and
- correlate the operational data and work piece metrology data with the yield data to determine yield impact on the processed wafer, wherein determining the yield impact comprises at least one of:
- identifying which portions of the wafer were exposed to which chambers of the processing tool during processing;
- and
- identifying which portions of the wafer were exposed to which chamber zones of the processing tool during processing.
6 more elements
A system, comprising:
- a processing tool adapted to:
- process a wafer, wherein the act of processing comprises actively performing at least one of implanting, photolithography stepping, etching, deposition, polishing, rapid thermal processing, or doping;
- associate operational data and work piece metrology data with the wafer during the processing of the wafer, wherein the operational data comprises data relating to at least one of a chamber of the processing tool and a chamber zone of the processing tool that processes the wafer, and wherein associating the operational data comprises associating data related to an orientation of the wafer inside the processing tool;
- and
- provide the operational data and work piece metrology data;
- a measurement tool, communicatively coupled to the processing tool, the processor-based system adapted to measure yield data associated with the wafer processed by the processing tool and provide the yield data;
- and
- a processor-based system communicatively coupled to the processing tool, the processor-based system adapted to:
- receive the operation operational data, the work piece metrology data and the yield data;
- detect a process deviation in the processed wafer;
- correlate the operational data and work piece metrology data with the yield data to determine yield impact on the processed wafer;
- and
- identify a source of the process deviation based on at least one of the received operational data or work piece metrology data, wherein said identification comprises at least one of:
- identifying which portions of the wafer were exposed to which chambers of the processing tool during processing;
- and
- identifying which portions of the wafer were exposed to which chamber zones of the processing tool during processing.
13 more elements
An apparatus, comprising:
- means for processing a work piece using a processing tool, wherein processing comprises actively performing at least one of implanting, photolithography stepping, etching, deposition, polishing, rapid thermal processing, and doping;
- means for associating operational data and work piece metrology data with the work piece during the processing of the work piece, wherein the operational data comprises data relating to at least one of a chamber of the processing tool and a chamber zone of the processing tool that processes the work piece, wherein associating the operational data comprises associating data related to an orientation of the work piece inside the processing tool;
- means for storing the associated operational data and work piece metrology data in a storage unit;
- means for measuring yield data associated with the processed work piece;
- and
- means for correlating the stored operational data and work piece metrology data with the yield data to make one or more determinations relating to the effect of at least one process parameter upon a yield, wherein at least one of said one or more determinations is at least one of:
- identifying which portions of the work piece were exposed to which chambers of the processing tool during processing;
- and
- identifying which portions of the work piece were exposed to which chamber zones of the processing tool during processing.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.