Method and apparatus for real time monitoring of wafer attributes in a plasma etch process
First Claim
1. A method of monitoring in real time, the state of an attribute of a product during the manufacturing process of said product, comprising the steps of:
- selecting one or more process signatures which characterize said manufacturing process and which have an indirect relationship to the state of said attribute;
selecting one or more product-state signatures which characterize said attribute;
collecting said process signatures in situ, over a period of time;
inputting said previously collected process signatures to an intelligent system which has been trained in the relationship between said process signatures over a period of time and said product attribute as a function of time, said intelligent system having an output representing said attribute as a function of time; and
using said output of said intelligent system to determine when a desired state of said attribute is found and to alter said manufacturing process.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for monitoring the state of an attribute of a product during the manufacturing process. The invention employs an intelligent system trained in the relationship between the signatures of the manufacturing process and the product attribute as a function of time. In one embodiment the intelligent system comprises two intelligent systems: the first, trained in the relationship between the signatures of the manufacturing process and one or more signatures of the state of the attribute as a function of time; and the second, trained in the relationship between the product-state signatures as a function of time and the product attribute as a function of time. The disclosed apparatus can be an integral part of the manufacturing machinery allowing the process to continue until the exact moment when the desired state is achieved.
136 Citations
25 Claims
-
1. A method of monitoring in real time, the state of an attribute of a product during the manufacturing process of said product, comprising the steps of:
-
selecting one or more process signatures which characterize said manufacturing process and which have an indirect relationship to the state of said attribute; selecting one or more product-state signatures which characterize said attribute; collecting said process signatures in situ, over a period of time; inputting said previously collected process signatures to an intelligent system which has been trained in the relationship between said process signatures over a period of time and said product attribute as a function of time, said intelligent system having an output representing said attribute as a function of time; and using said output of said intelligent system to determine when a desired state of said attribute is found and to alter said manufacturing process. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A method of monitoring in real time, the state of an attribute of a semiconductor wafer during plasma etch processing, comprising the steps of:
-
selecting one or more process signatures which characterize said plasma etch process and which have a cause and effect relationship to the state of said attribute; selecting one or more wafer-state signatures which characterize said attribute; collecting said process signatures in situ, over a period of time; inputting said process signatures to an intelligent system which has been trained in the relationship between said process signatures and said attribute as a function of time, said intelligent system having an output representing said attribute as a function of time; and using the output of said intelligent system to determine when a desired state of said attribute is found and to alter said plasma etch process. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. Apparatus for monitoring in real time, the state of an attribute of a product during the manufacturing process, comprising:
-
means for collecting one or more process signatures which characterize said manufacturing process and which have an indirect relationship to the state of said attribute; an intelligent system which has been trained in the relationship between said process signatures and said attribute as a function of time; input means for inputting said process signatures to said intelligent system over a period of time; and means for creating an output signal from said intelligent system, said output signal containing information for determining when a desired state of the attribute is obtained and to stop said manufacturing process. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
Specification