Dynamic metrology schemes and sampling schemes for advanced process control in semiconductor processing

• US 20020193899A1
• Filed: 05/01/2002
• Published: 12/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Inventors: Schwarm, Alexander T., Shanmugasundram, Arulkumar P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,698,012 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/108
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 37/013 Devices or means for detecting lapping completion
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 37/042 operating processes therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 49/03 according to the final size of the previously ground workpiece
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 49/18 taking regard of the presence of dressing tools
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 53/017 Devices or means for dressing, cleaning or otherwise conditioning lapping tools
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/00 Programme-control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/19 characterised by positioning or contouring control systems, e.g. to control position from one programmed point to another or to control movement along a programmed continuous path
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41865 characterised by job scheduling, process planning, material flow
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32053 Adjust work parameter as function of other cell
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32065 Synchronise set points of processes
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45031 Manufacturing semiconductor wafers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/31053 involving a dielectric removal step
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67253 Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67276 Production flow monitoring, e.g. for increasing throughput program-control systems per se G05B19/00, e.g. total factory control G05B19/418
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/20 Sequence of activities consisting of a plurality of measurements, corrections, marking or sorting steps
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning

Abstract

Systems, methods and mediums are provided for dynamic adjustment of sampling plans in connection with a wafer (or other device) to be measured. A sampling plan provides information on specific measure points within a die, a die being the section on the wafer that will eventually become a single chip after processing. There are specified points within the die that are candidates for measuring. The stored die map information may be retrieved and translated to determine the available points for measurement on the wafer.

The invention adjusts the frequency and/or spatial resolution of measurements when one or more events occur that are likely to indicate an internal or external change affecting the manufacturing process or results. The increase in measurements and possible corresponding decrease in processing occur on an as-needed basis. The dynamic metrology plan adjusts the spatial resolution of sampling within-wafer by adding, subtracting or replacing candidate points from the sampling plan, in response to certain events which suggest that additional or different measurements of the wafer may be desirable. Where there are provided a number of candidate points in the die map in the area to which points are to be added, subtracted, or replaced, the system can select among the points. Further, the invention may be used in connection with adjusting the frequency of wafer-to-wafer measurements.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of measuring at least one manufacturing characteristic for at least one product manufactured by a manufacturing process, comprising the steps of:

(A) providing information representative of a set of candidate points to be measured by the manufacturing process on the at least one product;

(B) executing, by the manufacturing process, a plan for performing measurements on the at least one product to measure the at least one manufacturing characteristic, the plan defining the measurements to be made responsive to said set of candidate points;

(C) detecting a change in the manufacturing process, the change including at least one of;

receiving new material in the manufacturing process, detecting a fault in the manufacturing process, detecting a change in a control parameter in the manufacturing process, and detecting a variation in a measurement of the at least one product; and

(D) adjusting the plan for performing measurements based on the detected change.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of performing at least one additional measurement, responsive to the detected change.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of adjusting further includes adjusting the measurements of the plan wafer-to-wafer and/or adjusting the measurements of the plan within-wafer.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the product is a semi-conductor wafer and the manufacturing process is an automated semi-conductor manufacturing process.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plan further includes information representative of a metrology recipe.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the candidate points are included in a map corresponding to the at least one product.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plan is a pre-determined sampling plan.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the plan defines at least one region on the product, each of the candidate points corresponding to the at least one region.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of adjusting includes determining the at least one region corresponding to the detected change, selecting at least one additional measurement responsive to the candidate points corresponding to the determined region, assigning the selected at least one additional measurement to be performed under the plan, and revising at least one of the measurements, the additional measurement and the plan.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of adjusting includes determining whether the detected change may affect a series of products, and if so, determining whether to measure at least one of the products in the series of products.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein there is provided a plurality of products including the at least one product, being provided in a group, and wherein the plan further includes first information representative of the products in the group that are available to be measured, and second information representative of the products in the group that are to be measured under the plan.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of discarding information representative of measurement results on the at least one product when the measurements results indicate a variation in measurement of the at least one product and/or when a fault is detected in the manufacturing process.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the sampling plan includes a plurality of splines radiating from a center of the at least one product, and/or wherein the candidate points are distributed along the splines.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein a distribution of the candidate points along the splines is weighted according to a surface area of the at least one product.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein the sampling plan includes a plurality of radially distributed candidate points.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the processor further performs at least one additional measurement responsive to the detected change.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the processor further adjusts the measurements of the plan wafer-to-wafer and/or within-wafer.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the product to be measured is a semi-conductor wafer and the manufacturing process is an automated semi-conductor manufacturing process, further comprising at least one metrology tool for performing measurements on said semi-conductor wafer, operatively connected to the processor.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the plan further includes information representative of a metrology recipe.

22. The system of claim 17, wherein the candidate points are included in a map corresponding to the at least one product.

23. The system of claim 17, wherein the plan is a pre-determined sampling plan.

24. The system of claim 17, wherein the plan defines at least one region on the product, each of the candidate points corresponding to the at least one region.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the measurements are adjusted by determining, in the processor, the at least one region corresponding to the detected change, selecting at least one additional measurement responsive to the candidate points corresponding to the determined region, assigning the selected at least one additional measurement to be performed under the plan, and revising at least one of the measurements, the additional measurement and the plan.

26. The system of claim 17, wherein the measurements are adjusted by determining, in the processor, whether the detected change may affect a series of products, and if so, determining whether to measure at least one of the products in the series of products.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein there is provided a plurality of products including the at least one product, being provided in a group, and wherein the plan further includes first information representative of the products in the group that are available to be measured, and second information representative of the products in the group that are to be measured under the plan.

28. The system of claim 17, further comprising storage of information representative of measurement results on the at least one product, except when the measurements results indicate a variation in measurement of the at least one product and/or when a fault is detected in the manufacturing process.

29. The system of claim 23, wherein the sampling plan includes a plurality of splines radiating from a center of the at least one product, and wherein the candidate points are distributed along the splines

30. The system of claim 29, wherein a distribution of the candidate points along the splines is weighted according to a surface area of the at least one product.

31. The system of claim 17, wherein the sampling plan includes a plurality of radially distributed candidate points.

16. A computer-implemented method of measuring at least one manufacturing characteristic for at least one semi-conductor wafer manufactured by an automated semi-conductor manufacturing process, comprising the steps of:

(A) providing information representative of a set of candidate points to be measured by the manufacturing process on the at least one wafer, the set of candidate points being included in a map corresponding to the at least one wafer;

(B) executing, by the manufacturing process, a pre-determined sampling plan for performing measurements on the at least one wafer to measure the at least one manufacturing characteristic, the plan defining the measurements to be made responsive to said set of candidate points, and the plan defining at least one region on the at least one wafer, each of the candidate points corresponding to the at least one region;

(C) detecting a change in the manufacturing process responsive thereto, the change including at least one of;

receiving new material in the manufacturing process, detecting a fault in the manufacturing process, detecting a change in a control parameter in the manufacturing process, and detecting a variation in a measurement of the least one wafer; and

(D) adjusting the plan for performing measurements based on the detected change and performing at least one additionally measurement responsive thereto;

(E) wherein the step of adjusting includes determining the at least one region corresponding to the detected change, selecting the at least one additional measurement responsive to the candidate points corresponding to the determined region, assigning the selected at least one additional measurement, and revising at least one of the measurements, the additional measurement and the plan;

(F) wherein the step of adjusting includes determining whether the detected change may affect a series of wafers, and if so, determining whether to measure at least one of the wafers in the series of wafers;

(G) wherein, there is provided a plurality of wafers including the at least one wafer, being provided in a group, and wherein the plan further includes first information representative of the wafers in the group that are available to be measured, and second information representative of the wafers in the group that are to be measured under the plan;

(H) discarding information representative of measurement results on the at least one wafer when the measurements results indicate a variation in measurement of the at least one wafer and when a fault is detected in the manufacturing process; and

(I) the sampling plan includes a plurality of splines radiating from a center of the at least one wafer, the candidate points being distributed along the splines; and

a distribution of the candidate points along the splines is weighted according to a surface area of the at least one wafer.

17. A computer-implemented system of measuring at least one manufacturing characteristic for at least one manufactured by a manufacturing process, comprising:

(A) stored information representative of a set of candidate points to be measured by the manufacturing process on the at least one product;

(B) stored information representative of a plan for performing measurements on the at least one product to measure the at least one manufacturing characteristic, the plan defining the measurements to be made responsive to said set of candidate points;

(C) a processor, detecting a change in the manufacturing process, the change including at least one of;

receiving new material in the manufacturing process, detecting a fault in the manufacturing process, detecting a change in a control parameter in the manufacturing process, and detecting a variation in a measurement of the at least one product; and

adjusting, responsive to a detected change, the plan for performing measurements based on the detected change.

32. A computer-implemented system of measuring at least one manufacturing characteristic for at least one semi-conductor wafer manufactured by an automated semi-conductor manufacturing process, comprising:

(A) stored information representative of a set of candidate points to be measured by the manufacturing process on the at least one wafer, the set of candidate points being included in a map corresponding to the at least one wafer;

(B) information representative of a pre-determined sampling plan for performing measurements on the at least one wafer to measure the at least one manufacturing characteristic, the plan defining the measurements to be made responsive to said set of candidate points, and the plan defining at least one region on the at least one wafer, each of the candidate points corresponding to the at least one region;

(C) a processor, detecting a change in the manufacturing process responsive thereto, the change including at least one of;

receiving new material in the manufacturing process, detecting a fault in the manufacturing process, detecting a change in a control parameter in the manufacturing process, and detecting a variation in a measurement of the at least one wafer; and

adjusting, responsive to the detected change, the plan for performing measurements based on the detected change and performing at least one additional measurement responsive thereto;

(D) wherein the measurements are adjusted by determining, in the processor, the at least one region corresponding to the detected change, selecting the at least one additional measurement responsive to the candidate points corresponding to the determined region, and assigning the selected at least one additional measurement and revising at least one of the measurements, the additional measurement and the plan;

(E) wherein the measurements are adjusted by determining, in the processor, whether the detected change may affect a series of wafers, and if so, determining whether to measure at least one of the wafers in the series of wafers;

(F) wherein there is provided a plurality of wafers including the at least one wafer, being provided in a group, and wherein the plan further includes first information representative of the wafers in the group that are available to be measured, and second information representative of the wafers in the group that are to be measured under the plan;

(G) storage of information representative of measurement results on the at least one wafer, except when the measurements results indicate a variation in measurement of the at least one wafer and when a fault is detected in the manufacturing process; and

(H) wherein the sampling plan includes a plurality of splines radiating from a center of the at least one wafer, the candidate points being distributed along the splines; and

a distribution of the candidate points along the splines being weighted according to a surface area of the at least one wafer.

33. A computer program for measuring at least one manufacturing characteristic for at least one product manufactured by a manufacturing process, the computer program stored on a computer-readable medium, comprising:

(A) instructions for providing information representative of a set of candidate points to be measured by the manufacturing process on the at least one product;

(B) instructions for executing, by the manufacturing process, a plan for performing measurements on the at least one product to measure the at least one manufacturing characteristic, the plan defining the measurements to be made responsive to said set of candidate points;

(C) instructions for detecting a change in the manufacturing process, the change including at least one of;

receiving new material in the manufacturing process, detecting a fault in the manufacturing process, detecting a change in a control parameter in the manufacturing process, and detecting a variation in a measurement of the at least one product; and

(D) instructions for adjusting the plan for performing measurements based on the detected change.

34. The program of claim 33, further comprising instructions, responsive to the detected change, for performing at least one additional measurement.

35. The program of claim 33, further comprising instructions for adjusting measurements of the plan wafer-to-wafer and/or within-wafer.

36. The program of claim 33, wherein the product is a semi-conductor wafer and the manufacturing process is an automated semi-conductor manufacturing process.

37. The program of claim 33, wherein the plan further includes information representative of a metrology recipe.

38. The program of claim 33, wherein the candidate points are included in a map corresponding to the at least one product.

39. The program of claim 33, wherein the plan is a pre-determined sampling plan.

40. The program of claim 33, wherein the plan defines at least one region on the product, each of the candidate points corresponding to the at least one region.

41. The program of claim 40, wherein adjusting includes determining the at least one region corresponding to the detected change, selecting at least one additional measurement responsive to the candidate points corresponding to the determined region, assigning the selected at least one additional measurement to be performed under the plan, and revising at least one of the measurements, the additional measurement and the plan.

42. The program of claim 33, wherein adjusting includes determining whether the detected change may affect a series of products, and if so, determining whether to measure at least one of the products in the series of products.

43. The program of claim 42, wherein there is provided a plurality of products including the at least one product, being provided in a group, and wherein the plan further includes first information representative of the products in the group that are available to be measured, and second information representative of the products in the group that are to be measured under the plan.

44. The program of claim 33, further comprising instructions for discarding information representative of measurement results on the at least one product when the measurements results indicate a variation in measurement of the at least one product and/or when a fault is detected in the manufacturing process.

45. The program of claim 39, wherein the sampling plan includes a plurality of splines radiating from a center of the at least one product, and wherein the candidate points are distributed along the splines.

46. The program of claim 45, wherein a distribution of the candidate points along the splines is weighted according to a surface area of the at least one product.

47. The program of claim 39, wherein the sampling plan includes a plurality of radially distributed candidate points.

50. The system of claim 49, further comprising means for causing at least one additional measurement responsive to the detected change.

51. The system of claim 49, wherein the detecting means further includes adjusting the measurements of the plan wafer-to-wafer and/or within-wafer.

52. The system of claim 49, wherein the product to be measured is a semi-conductor wafer and the manufacturing process is an automated semi-conductor manufacturing process, further comprising at least means for performing measurements on said semi-conductor wafer.

53. The system of claim 49, wherein the plan further includes information representative of a metrology recipe.

54. The system of claim 49, wherein the candidate points are included in a map corresponding to the at least one product.

55. The system of claim 49, wherein the plan is a pre-determined sampling plan.

56. The system of claim 49, wherein the plan defines at least one region on the product, each of the candidate points corresponding to the at least one region.

57. The system of claim 56, wherein adjusting means adjust the measurements by determining, in the processor, the at least one region corresponding to the detected change, selecting at least one additional measurement responsive to the candidate points corresponding to the determined region, assigning the selected at least one additional measurement to be performed under the plan, and revising at least one of the measurements, the additional measurement and the plan.

58. The system of claim 49, wherein the adjusting means includes adjusting measurements by determining whether the detected change may affect a series of products, and if so, determining whether to measure at least one of the products in the series of products.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein there is provided a plurality of products including the at least one product, being provided in a group, and wherein the plan further includes first information representative of the products in the group that are available to be measured, and second information representative of the products in the group that are to be measured under the plan.

60. The system of claim 49, further comprising means for representing measurement results on the at least one product, except when the measurements results indicate a variation in measurement of the at least one product and/or when a fault is detected in the manufacturing process.

61. The system of claim 55, wherein the sampling plan includes a plurality of splines radiating from a center of the at least one product, and wherein the candidate points are distributed along the splines

62. The system of claim 61, wherein a distribution of the candidate points along the splines is weighted according to a surface area of the at least one product.

63. The system of claim 49, wherein the sampling plan includes a plurality of radially distributed candidate points.

48. A computer-implemented program of measuring at least one manufacturing characteristic for at least one semi-conductor wafer manufactured by an automated semi-conductor manufacturing process, the computer program stored on a computer-readable medium, comprising:

(A) instructions for providing information representative of a set of candidate points to be measured by the manufacturing process on the at least one wafer, the set of candidate points being included in a map corresponding to the at least one wafer;

(B) instructions for executing, by the manufacturing process, a pre-determined sampling plan for performing measurements on the at least one wafer to measure the at least one manufacturing characteristic, the plan defining the measurements to be made responsive to said set of candidate points, and the plan defining at least one region on the at least one wafer, each of the candidate points corresponding to the at least one region;

(C) instructions for detecting a change in the manufacturing process responsive thereto, the change including at least one of;

receiving new material in the manufacturing process, detecting a fault in the manufacturing process, detecting a change in a control parameter in the manufacturing process, and detecting a variation in a measurement of the at least one wafer;

(D) instructions for adjusting the plan for performing measurements based on the detected change;

(E) wherein adjusting includes determining the at least one region corresponding to the detected change, selecting the at least one additional measurement responsive to the candidate points corresponding to the determined region, assigning the selected at least one additional measurement, and revising at least one of the measurements, the additional measurement, and the plan;

(F) wherein adjusting includes determining whether the detected change may affect a series of wafers, and if so, determining whether to measure at least one of the wafers in the series of wafers;

(G) wherein there is provided a plurality of wafers, including the at least one wafer, being provided in a group, and wherein the plan further includes first information representative of the wafers in the group that are available to be measured, and second information representative of the wafers in the group that are to be measured under the plan;

(H) instructions for discarding information representative of measurement results on the at least one wafer when the measurements results indicate a variation in measurement of the at least wafer and when a fault is detected in the manufacturing process; and

(I) wherein the sampling plan includes a plurality of splines radiating from a center of at least one wafer, the candidate points being distributed along the splines; and

a distribution of the candidate points along the splines is weighted according to a surface area of the at least one wafer.

49. A computer-implemented system of measuring at least one manufacturing characteristic for at least one manufactured by a manufacturing process, comprising:

means for representing a set of candidate points to be measured by the manufacturing process on the at least one product;

means for providing a plan for performing measurements on the at least one product to measure the at least one manufacturing characteristic, the plan defining the measurements to be made responsive to said set of candidate points;

means for detecting a change in the manufacturing process, the change including at least one of;

receiving new material in the manufacturing process, detecting a fault in the manufacturing process, detecting a change in a control parameter in the manufacturing process, and detecting a variation in a measurement of the at least one product; and

means for adjusting, responsive to a detected change, the plan for performing measurements based on the detected change.