Semiconductor substrate minority carrier lifetime measurements
First Claim
1. An apparatus for semiconductor substrate minority carrier lifetime measurements of a wafer, comprising:
- a signal source for generating electromagnetic waves;
a microwave emitter spaced a selected distance from said substrate for emitting said electromagnetic waves toward said substrate and a microwave detector spaced from said substrate for detecting a portion of said electromagnetic waves that reflect from said substrate;
a generator for generating a first set of signals in response to said emitted electromagnetic waves and for generating a second set of signals proportional to said detected electromagnetic waves;
an energy source for emitting photon energy toward the substrate; and
measuring circuitry for measuring said first and second sets of signals into substrate characteristics measurements and for measuring the associated substrate response to said phonton energy.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A sensor system (50) for measurements of semiconductor wafer minority carrier lifetime. The sensor (50) includes a microwave source (78) for generating a plurality of microwave signals and a waveguide (52) for emitting the microwave signals in the direction of the semiconductor wafer (20) in a processsing chamber (18). A collector waveguide (84) detects the reflected microwave signals from the semiconductor wafer (20) and directs the microwave signals to and from the emitter waveguide (52) so as to generate a plurality of electrical signals relating to semiconductor wafer (20) physical properties. A photon energy source (102) intermittently emits photon energy in the direction of the semiconductor wafer (20). Based on the differing microwave reflectance measurements following the injection and removal of photon energy, process control computer (76) calculates semiconductor substrate physical characteristics. These physical characteristics include semiconductor minority-carrier lifetime, electrical conductivity, doping level, and temperature.
65 Citations
47 Claims
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1. An apparatus for semiconductor substrate minority carrier lifetime measurements of a wafer, comprising:
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a signal source for generating electromagnetic waves; a microwave emitter spaced a selected distance from said substrate for emitting said electromagnetic waves toward said substrate and a microwave detector spaced from said substrate for detecting a portion of said electromagnetic waves that reflect from said substrate; a generator for generating a first set of signals in response to said emitted electromagnetic waves and for generating a second set of signals proportional to said detected electromagnetic waves; an energy source for emitting photon energy toward the substrate; and measuring circuitry for measuring said first and second sets of signals into substrate characteristics measurements and for measuring the associated substrate response to said phonton energy. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 40, 41)
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7. An apparatus for semiconductor substrate carrier lifetime measurements, comprising:
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an electromagnetic signal source for generating electromagnetic waves; at least one waveguide terminating a selected distance from said substrate in communication with said electromagnetic signal source for emitting said electromagnetic waves toward the wafer and for detecting a portion of electromagnetic waves returning from the wafer, at least one coupler in communication with said at least one waveguide for generating a plurality of signals, said plurality of signals comprising an emitted set of signals proportional to the power of said electromagnetic waves and for generating a set of signals proportional to the power of said portion of said electromagnetic waves reflected from said substrate; a photon energy source for intermittently emitting phonton energy in the direction of the said substrate; and measuring circuitry in communication with said coupler for receiving said plurality of signals and converting said signals into wafer electromagnetic wave reflectance measurements and in communication with said photon energy source for relating said intermittent photon energy to said electromagnetic wave reflectance measurements. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 38, 42, 43)
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32. An apparatus for wafer substrate carrier lifetime measurements, comprising:
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an electromagnetic wave source for generating electromagnetic waves and comprising a low-power microwave signal source capable of frequency scanning and a microwave signal chopper for chopping said electromagnetic waves; a waveguide in communication with said electromagnetic wave source and terminating a selected distance from the substrate, said waveguide comprising a microwave transmitter for transmitting said electromagnetic waves toward the wafer and a microwave detector for detecting a predetermined aspect of said electromagnetic waves reflected from the wafer, said electromagnetic waves having a frequency range bounded by a lower frequency and an upper frequency, said lower frequency bounded by a lower frequency and an upper frequency, said lower frequency producing a signal wavelength that is small relative to the dimensions of the wafer and said upper frequency providing for optimal measurement sensitivity to electromagnetic wafer interaction with the substrate; a dual directional coupler for communicating among said electromagnetic wave source and said electromagnetic wave source and said emitter waveguide, said dual directional coupler comprising measuring circuitry for generating a plurality of signals, said plurality of signals comprising an emitted set of signals proportional to the power of said electromagnetic waves and a reflected set of signals proportional to the power of said portion of said reflected electromagnetic waves, said plurality of signals from said at least one coupler being directly related to measurements of the wafer substrate; a photon energy source for intermittently emitting photon energy in the direction of the wafer, said photon energy source comprising a light source capable of dispersing a photon energy level at least equal in level to the band gap energy of the wafer substrate and having a wavelength not greater than one micron; a process control computer in communication with said dual directional coupler and said photon energy source for calculating said electromagnetic wave reflectance measurements as a function of said emitted and reflected electromagnetic waves in conjunction with said photon energy level dispersing; and a plurality of look-up tables set within said process control computer for converting wafer electromagnetic wave reflectance measurements into substrate conductivity measurements. - View Dependent Claims (33, 44, 45)
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34. A method for performing substrate carrier lifetime measurements, comprising:
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spacing a source of electromagnetic waves and a substrate to be measured at a selected distance from each other; emitting said electromagnetic waves toward said substrate; intermittently emitting photon energy toward said substrate; detecting a portion of said electromagnetic waves reflected from said substrate within a deposition chamber; generating a plurality of signals to form an emitter set of signals proportional to said electromagnetic waves and a reflected set of signals proportional to said portion of said reflected electromagnetic waves, said plurality of signals being directly related to the wafer conductive layer measurements; and converting said plurality of signals into wafer conductive layer measurements. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 39, 46, 47)
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Specification