System and method for searching for patterns of semiconductor wafer features in semiconductor wafer data
First Claim
1. A system for searching for patterns of semiconductor wafer features for use in silicon manufacturing and device fabrication processes, comprising:
- a communications path;
a data acquisition system capable of acquiring scan data from differing types of semiconductor wafer scanning tools such as wafer dimensional tools, wafer inspection tools, and wafer nanotopography tools, the data acquisition system being capable of communicating over the communications path;
a buffer system for providing temporary storage for scan data transmitted over the communications path from the data acquisition system and for providing fault tolerance;
a server system for providing storage for the scan data transmitted from the buffer system over the communications path, the server system converting the scan data into a format used by and stored in a database management system;
an analysis system client station including a display and communicating with the server system over the communications path, the analysis system and the server system providing scan data structuring and query operations and data transfer operations.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for searching for patterns of semiconductor wafer features for use in silicon manufacturing and device fabrication processes, the system including: a data acquisition system 00 for acquiring scan data from differing types of semiconductor wafer scanning tools such as wafer dimensional tools 10, wafer inspection tools 12, and wafer nanotopography tools 14; a buffer system 02 for providing temporary storage for scan data transmitted and for providing fault tolerance; a server system 04 for providing storage for the scan data transmitted from the buffer system 02 and converting the scan data into a format used by and stored in a database 08 management system; an analysis system 06 client station including a display and communicating with the server system 04, the analysis system 06 and the server system 04 providing scan data structuring and query operations and data transfer operations.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A system for searching for patterns of semiconductor wafer features for use in silicon manufacturing and device fabrication processes, comprising:
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a communications path;
a data acquisition system capable of acquiring scan data from differing types of semiconductor wafer scanning tools such as wafer dimensional tools, wafer inspection tools, and wafer nanotopography tools, the data acquisition system being capable of communicating over the communications path;
a buffer system for providing temporary storage for scan data transmitted over the communications path from the data acquisition system and for providing fault tolerance;
a server system for providing storage for the scan data transmitted from the buffer system over the communications path, the server system converting the scan data into a format used by and stored in a database management system;
an analysis system client station including a display and communicating with the server system over the communications path, the analysis system and the server system providing scan data structuring and query operations and data transfer operations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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16. A method for searching for patterns of semiconductor wafer features for use in silicon manufacturing and device fabrication processes, comprising the steps of:
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communicating over a communications path;
acquiring scan data from differing types of semiconductor wafer scanning tools such as wafer dimensional tools, wafer inspection tools, and wafer nanotopography tools using a data acquisition system, the data acquisition system being capable of communicating over the communications path;
providing temporary storage and fault tolerance for scan data transmitted over the communications path from the data acquisition system by using a buffer system;
providing storage for the scan data transmitted from the buffer system over the communications path using a server system, the server system converting the scan data into a format used by and stored in a database management system;
analyzing scan data using an analysis system client station including a display and communicating with the server system over the communications path, the analysis system and the server system providing scan data structuring and query operations and scan data transfer operations. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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31. A software program product implemented on a processor readable medium including instructions performed on a data processor for searching for patterns of semiconductor wafer features for use in silicon manufacturing and device fabrication processes, the instructions comprising:
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instructions for communicating over a communications path;
instructions for acquiring scan data from differing types of semiconductor wafer scanning tools such as wafer dimensional tools, wafer inspection tools, and wafer nanotopography tools using a data acquisition system, the data acquisition system being capable of communicating over the communications path;
instructions for providing temporary storage and fault tolerance for scan data transmitted over the communications path from the data acquisition system by using a buffer system;
instructions for providing storage for the scan data transmitted from the buffer system over the communications path using a server system, the server system converting the scan data into a format used by and stored in a database management system;
instructions for analyzing scan data using an analysis system client station including a display and communicating with the server system over the communications path, the analysis system and the server system providing scan data structuring and query operations and scan data transfer operations.
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Specification