PROCESS CONDITION SENSING WAFER AND DATA ANALYSIS SYSTEM

• US 20080228419A1
• Filed: 04/21/2008
• Published: 09/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SensArray Corp. (KLA Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SensArray Corp. (KLA Corporation)
• Inventors: Renken, Wayne G.
• Granted Patent: US 7,819,033 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/81
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/34 Circuits for electrically characterising or monitoring manufacturing processes, e. g. whole test die, wafers filled with test structures, on-board-devices incorporated on each die, process control monitors or pad structures thereof, devices in scribe line switching, multiplexing, gating devices G01R19/25; process control with lithography, e.g. dose control, G03F7/20; structures for alignment control by optical means G03F7/70633
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00

Abstract

A measuring device incorporating a substrate with sensors that measure the processing conditions that a wafer may undergo during manufacturing. The substrate can be inserted into a processing chamber by a robot head and the measuring device can transmit the conditions in real time or store the conditions for subsequent analysis. Sensitive electronic components of the device can be distanced or isolated from the most deleterious processing conditions in order increase the accuracy, operating range, and reliability of the device.

Claims

1. A device for monitoring processing conditions to be inserted by a robot hand into a sealed chamber, the device comprising:

a first member comprising sensors;

a second member comprising electronics;

a conductive cable or conductors connecting the first and second members, wherein the first and second members fit into or onto a robot hand or hands, and wherein the device can be extended to a second position by the robot hand such that the first member is inside the sealed chamber and the second circular member is outside the chamber, thereby not subjecting the electronics of the second member to the conditions within the chamber.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein in the second position the cable of the device is sealed at a door of the chamber.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the electronics comprise a power supply, and an amplifier.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein the electronics further comprise a transceiver for communicating to a data processing device.

5. The device of claim 3 wherein the electronics further comprise an analog-to-digital converter.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the device further comprises a data processing computer coupled to the second circular member.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the first and second members are circular or rectangular.

8. A process condition sensing wafer and data analysis system, comprising:

an instrumented substrate having sensors that output sensor signal data;

a data processing system that processes the sensor signal data that is output by the sensor;

an electronics module that moves independently of the data processing system, the electronics module receiving the sensor signal data from the instrumented substrate, the electronics module subsequently passing the sensor signal data to the data processing system; and

a physically continuous flexible connection between the electronics module and the instrumented substrate, the connection allowing relative movement of the electronics module with respect to the instrumented substrate.

9. The process condition sensing wafer and data analysis system of claim 8 wherein the electronics module has a memory unit and the sensor signal data ate stored in the memory unit prior to the electronics module passing the sensor signal data to the data processing system.

10. The process condition sensing wafer and data analysis system of claim 8 wherein the sensor signal data pass from the electronics module to the data processing module over a wireless connection.

11. The process sensing wafer and data analysis system of claim 8 wherein the instrumented substrate has a physical dimension that is equal to the physical dimension of a semiconductor wafer, printed circuit board or flat panel display substrate and the electronics module has a physical dimension that is equal to or less than the physical dimension of the instrumented substrate.

12. The process condition sensing wafer and data analysis system of claim 8 wherein the instrumented substrate is placed in a process environment and the electronics module is placed outside the process environment.

13. A method of sensing and analyzing process conditions in a process environment, comprising:

generating sensor signal data using one or more sensors attached to a substrate within the process environment;

sending the sensor signal data from the sensors to an electronics module to be displaced from the substrate; and

sensing the sensor signal data from the electronics modules to a data processing system, the electronics module moving separately from the data processing system.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein sensor signal data is generated by the one or more sensors that are in the process environment while the electronics module and the data processing system are not in the process environment.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein sensor signal data is generated by the one or more sensors while the electronics module transmits the sensor signal data to the data processing system, the data processing system displaced from the electronics module.