METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR UTILIZING DESIGN DATA IN COMBINATION WITH INSPECTION DATA
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for determining a defect criticality index for a defect detected on a wafer, comprising:
- determining a probability that the defect will alter one or more electrical attributes of a device being fabricated on the wafer based on one or more attributes of design data, for the device, proximate the position of the defect in design data space;
determining the defect criticality index for the defect based on the probability that the defect will alter the one or more electrical attributes; and
storing the defect criticality index in a storage medium.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Various methods and systems for utilizing design data in combination with inspection data are provided. One computer-implemented method for binning defects detected on a wafer includes comparing portions of design data proximate positions of the defects in design data space. The method also includes determining if the design data in the portions is at least similar based on results of the comparing step. In addition, the method includes binning the defects in groups such that the portions of the design data proximate the positions of the defects in each of the groups are at least similar. The method further includes storing results of the binning step in a storage medium.
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Citations
121 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for determining a defect criticality index for a defect detected on a wafer, comprising:
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determining a probability that the defect will alter one or more electrical attributes of a device being fabricated on the wafer based on one or more attributes of design data, for the device, proximate the position of the defect in design data space; determining the defect criticality index for the defect based on the probability that the defect will alter the one or more electrical attributes; and storing the defect criticality index in a storage medium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A computer-implemented method for determining a memory repair index for a memory bank formed on a wafer, comprising:
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determining a number of redundant rows and a number of redundant columns required to repair the memory bank based on defects located in an array block area of the memory bank; comparing the number of the redundant rows required to repair the memory bank to an amount of available redundant rows for the memory bank; comparing the number of the redundant columns required to repair the memory bank to an amount of available redundant columns for the memory bank; determining the memory repair index for the memory bank based on results of said comparing the number of the redundant rows and said comparing the number of the redundant columns, wherein the memory repair index indicates if the memory bank is repairable; and storing the memory repair index in a storage medium. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. A computer-implemented method for assigning classifications to defects detected on a wafer, comprising:
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comparing portions of design data proximate positions of the defects in design data space with design data corresponding to different design based classifications, wherein the design data corresponding to the different design based classifications and the different design based classifications are stored in a data structure; determining if the design data in the portions is at least similar to the design data corresponding to the different design based classifications based on results of said comparing; assigning to the defects the design based classifications corresponding to the design data that is at least similar to the design data in the portions; and storing results of said assigning in a storage medium. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102)
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103. A method for altering an inspection process for wafers, comprising:
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reviewing locations on the wafer at which one or more patterns of interest in the design data are printed; determining based on results of said reviewing if defects should have been detected at the locations of the one or more patterns of interest; and altering the inspection process to improve one or more defect capture rates for defects located in at least some of the one or more patterns of interest. - View Dependent Claims (104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109)
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110. A system configured to display and analyze design and defect data, comprising:
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a user interface configured for displaying a design layout for a semiconductor device, inline inspection data acquired for a wafer on which at least a portion of the semiconductor device is formed, and electrical test data acquired for the wafer; and a processor configured for analyzing one or more of the design layout, the inline inspection data, and the electrical test data upon receiving an instruction to perform said analyzing from a user via the user interface. - View Dependent Claims (111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116)
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117. A computer-implemented method for determining a root cause of electrical defects detected on a wafer, comprising:
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determining positions of the electrical defects in design data space; determining if the positions of a portion of the electrical defects define a spatial signature corresponding to one or more process conditions; if the positions of the portion of the electrical defects define a spatial signature that corresponds to the one or more process conditions, identifying the root cause of the portion of the electrical defects as the one or more process conditions; and storing results of said identifying in a storage medium.
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118. A computer-implemented method for selecting defects detected on a wafer for review, comprising:
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identifying one or more zones on the wafer, wherein the one or more zones are associated with positions of one or more defect types on the wafer; selecting defects detected in only the one or more zones for review; and storing results of said selecting in a storage medium.
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119. A computer-implemented method for evaluating one or more yield related processes for design data, comprising:
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identifying potential failures in the design data using rule checking; determining one or more attributes of the potential failures; determining if the potential failures are detectable based on the one or more attributes; determining which of a plurality of different inspection systems is most suitable for detecting the potential failures based on the one or more attributes; and storing results of said determining which of the plurality of different inspection systems is most suitable for said detecting in a storage medium. - View Dependent Claims (120, 121)
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Specification