FAILURE DETECTING METHOD, FAILURE DETECTING APPARATUS, AND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE MANUFACTURING METHOD

• US 20090117673A1
• Filed: 10/22/2008
• Published: 05/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kioxia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kadota, Kenichi, Aritake, Toshiyuki, MATSUSHITA, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,170,707 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 438/14
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41875 characterised by quality surveillance of production
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/1112 Bit addressing, handling
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32222 Fault, defect detection of origin of fault, defect of product
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45031 Manufacturing semiconductor wafers
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2223/02 Indirect monitoring, e.g. monitoring production to detect faults of a system
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0229 knowledge based, e.g. expert systems; genetic algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A failure detecting method has inputting a foreign substance inspection map created by foreign substance inspection for a wafer surface after each processing process in a wafer processing process, inputting a die sort map created by a die sort test after the wafer processing process, setting a plurality of region segments in the wafer, setting a region number for each of the region segments, calculating foreign substance density in each of the region segments, based on the foreign substance inspection map, and plotting the foreign substance density, using the region numbers, to calculate a foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount, calculating failure density in each of the region segments, based on the die sort map, and plotting the failure density, using the region numbers, to calculate a die sort map waveform characteristic amount, calculating similarity between the foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount and the die sort map waveform characteristic amount, and identifying a processing process that is a cause of failure occurrence, based on the similarity.

Claims

1. A failure detecting method comprising:

inputting a foreign substance inspection map created by foreign substance inspection for a wafer surface after each processing process in a wafer processing process;

inputting a die sort map created by a die sort test after the wafer processing process;

setting a plurality of region segments in the wafer;

setting a region number for each of the region segments;

calculating foreign substance density in each of the region segments, based on the foreign substance inspection map, and plotting the foreign substance density, using the region numbers, to calculate a foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount;

calculating failure density in each of the region segments, based on the die sort map, and plotting the failure density, using the region numbers, to calculate a die sort map waveform characteristic amount;

calculating similarity between the foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount and the die sort map waveform characteristic amount; and

identifying a processing process that is a cause of failure occurrence, based on the similarity.

2. The failure detecting method according to claim 1, wherein the similarity is a correlation coefficient between the foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount and the die sort map waveform characteristic amount.

3. The failure detecting method according to claim 1, wherein in calculation of the foreign substance density, the foreign substance density is calculated after each of the plurality of region segments are divided into a plurality of regions and a number of foreign substances in the region, where a plurality of foreign substances are present, is converted to one.

4. The failure detecting method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of first regions, into which the wafer is divided in a radial direction, and a plurality of fan-shaped second regions, into which the wafer is divided in a central angle direction, are combined to set the plurality of region segments.

5. A failure detecting apparatus comprising:

a foreign substance inspection map inputting part provided with a foreign substance inspection map created by foreign substance inspection for a wafer surface after each processing process in a wafer processing process;

a die sort map inputting part provided with a die sort map created by a die sort test after the wafer processing process;

a foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount calculating part which sets a plurality of region segments in the wafer, sets a region number for each of the region segments, calculates foreign substance density in each of the region segments, based on the foreign substance inspection map, and plots the foreign substance density, using the region numbers, to calculate a foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount;

a die sort map waveform characteristic amount calculating part which sets in the wafer the same region segments and region numbers as the region segments and the region numbers set by the foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount calculating part, calculates failure density in each of the region segments, based on the die sort map, and plots the failure density, using the region numbers, to calculate a die sort map waveform characteristic amount;

a waveform characteristic amount comparing part which calculates similarity between the foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount and the die sort map waveform characteristic amount; and

a similar map retrieving part which detects the foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount similar to the die sort map waveform characteristic amount, based on the similarity.

6. The failure detecting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the waveform characteristic amount comparing part calculates a correlation coefficient between the foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount and the die sort map waveform characteristic amount as the similarity, and wherein

the similar map retrieving part detects, as the foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount similar to the die sort map waveform characteristic amount, the foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount such that the correlation coefficient is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold.

7. The failure detecting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount calculating part divides each of the plurality of region segments into a plurality of regions and converts a number of foreign substances in the region, where a plurality of foreign substances are present, to one.

8. The failure detecting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount calculating part combines a plurality of first regions, into which the wafer is divided in a radial direction, and a plurality of fan-shaped second regions, into which the wafer is divided in a central angle direction, to set the plurality of region segments.

9. A semiconductor device manufacturing method comprising:

performing foreign substance inspection for a surface of a wafer after each processing process in a wafer processing process to create a foreign substance inspection map;

performing a die sort test after the wafer processing process to create a die sort map;

setting a plurality of region segments in the wafer;

setting a region number for each of the region segments;

calculating foreign substance density in each of the region segments, based on the foreign substance inspection map, and plotting the foreign substance density, using the region numbers, to calculate a foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount;

calculating failure density in each of the region segments, based on the die sort map, and plotting the failure density, using the region numbers, to calculate a die sort map waveform characteristic amount;

calculating similarity between the foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount and the die sort map waveform characteristic amount; and

identifying a processing process that is a cause of failure occurrence, based on the similarity.

10. The semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 9, wherein the similarity is a correlation coefficient between the foreign substance inspection map waveform characteristic amount and the die sort map waveform characteristic amount.

11. The semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 9, wherein in calculation of the foreign substance density, the foreign substance density is calculated after each of the plurality of region segments are divided into a plurality of regions and a number of foreign substances in the region, where a plurality of foreign substances are present, is converted to one.

12. The semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 9, wherein a plurality of first regions, into which the wafer is divided in a radial direction, and a plurality of fan-shaped second regions, into which the wafer is divided in a central angle direction, are combined to set the plurality of region segments.