Inspection data analyzing system

• US 5,841,893 A
• Filed: 06/30/1992
• Issued: 11/24/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Renesas Electronics Corporation
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Sakata, Masao, Matsuoka, Kazuhiko, Ishikawa, Seiji, Hashimoto, Taizo, Okabe, Tsutomu, Nakazato, Jun, Ohyama, Yuichi, Satou, Osamu, Miyazaki, Isao, Taniguchi, Yuzo, Shimoyashiro, Sadao, Sakamoto, Yuzaburo, Hanashima, Shuichi, Ebara, Yutaka, Nagatomo, Hiroto, Muramatsu, Kimio
• Primary Examiner(s): Boudreau, Leo
• Assistant Examiner(s): MEHTA, BHAVESH M
• Application Number:
  US07/908,550
• Time in Patent Office: 2,338 Days
• Field of Search: 382/8, 382/16.1, 382/145, 382/149, 358/101, 358/106, 358/107, 356/237, 348/91, 348/92, 348/126, 348/125
• US Class Current: 382/145
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/88 Investigating the presence of flaws or contamination
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/956 Inspecting patterns on the surface of objects contactless testing of electronic circuits G01R31/308; testing currency G07D; manufacturing processes per se of semiconductor devices implementing a measuring step H01L22/10
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/20 Sequence of activities consisting of a plurality of measurements, corrections, marking or sorting steps
• 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

The present invention provides data analysis stations respectively for a probing tester and an automatic particle inspection machine. And, in the data analysis station, the coordinates on which the disposition of the chips are described on a product basis are equal to those on which the locations of the defects are described. Further, the station provides a function of determining which of the chips each defect belongs to. These data analysis stations are connected through a communication line. The present invention is capable of analyzing the data on a chip basis, resulting in being able to grasp the relation between how the defects are caused on each chip and the product character of the chip.

Claims

1. In an inspection data analysis system in a semiconductor device manufacturing line, including a foreign particle inspection machine for inspecting at least a size, a number, and coordinates of foreign particles on a wafer after working of the wafer in an appropriate process, a probing test machine for testing product character of individual chips of each wafer in an inspection process, and an inspection data analysis station connected to said foreign particle inspection machine and said probing test machine by communication lines, said inspection data analysis station comprising:

a storage section for storing inspection data of said foreign particle inspection machine, test data of said probing test machine, and chip arrangement information of each type of wafer;

input means for accepting an analysis instruction, a type of wafer, a name of a process which the wafer has been subjected to, a lot number, or a wafer number which is selected and inputted by an analysis operator;

time series foreign particles trend display means for outputting a graph displaying a frequency of a number of foreign particles per any one of wafer, lot, day, week, and month, or a frequency of a number of foreign particles for each particle diameter, on the basis of the inspection and test data stored in said storage section;

inter-process foreign particle number trend display means for outputting a graph displaying a frequency of a number of foreign particles or a frequency of a number of foreign particles for each particle diameter in each process in the order of inspection on the basis of the inspection and test data stored in said storage section; and

foreign particle yield correlation display means for outputting a primary regression line obtained from a plurality of points which are plotted on a graph, each of said points representing a wafer yield corresponding to a number of foreign particles for each wafer of a specified type and lot number, on the basis of the inspection and test data stored in said storage section; and

yield for each foreign particle diameter display means for displaying on a graph a yield for each of chips having no foreign particle and for each of chips having foreign particles, by classifying each chip in each wafer of a specified type and lot number in accordance with the presence or absence of foreign particles and a maximum particle diameter of foreign particles attached to said each chip, said classifying being performed on the basis of the inspection and test data and the chip arrangement information for each type of wafer stored in said storage section.

2. In an inspection data analysis system in a semiconductor device manufacturing line, including a visual inspection machine for image pattern-recognizing at least a kind, a number, and coordinates of visually inspected defects on a wafer after working of the wafer in an appropriate process, a probing test machine for testing product character of individual chips of each wafer in an inspection process, and an inspection data analysis station connected to said visual inspection machine and said probing test machine by communication lines, said inspection data analysis station comprising:

a storage section for storing inspection data of said visual inspection machine, test data of said probing test machine, and chip arrangement information of each type of wafer;

input means for accepting an analysis instruction, a type of wafer, a name of a process which the wafer has been subjected to, a lot number, or a wafer number which is selected and inputted by an analysis operator;

time series visual defect trend display means for outputting a graph displaying a frequency of a number of visually inspected defects per any one of wafer, lot, day, week, and month, or a frequency of a number of visually inspected defects for each particle diameter, on the basis of the inspection and test data stored in said storage section;

inter-process visual defect number trend display means for outputting a graph displaying a frequency of a number of visually-inspected defects or a frequency of a number of visually inspected defects for each particle diameter in each process in the order of inspection on the basis of the inspection and test data stored in said storage section;

visual defect yield correlation display means for outputting a primary regression line obtained from a plurality of points which are plotted on a graph, each of said points representing a wafer yield corresponding to a number of visually inspected defects on each wafer of a specified type and lot number, on the basis of the inspection and test data stored in said storage section; and

yield for each visual defect particle diameter display means for displaying on a graph a yield for each of chips having no visually inspected defects and for each of chips having foreign particles, by classifying each chip in each wafer of a specified type and lot number in accordance with the presence or absence of visually inspected defects and a maximum particle diameter of visually inspected defects which are attached to said each chip, said classifying being performed on the basis of the inspection and test data and the chip arrangement information stored in said storage section.

3. An inspection data analysis system including an inspection data analysis station in a manufacturing line containing a process of forming a film comprising:

foreign particle inspection means for inspecting foreign particles on a wafer after predetermined processes have been performed on the wafer;

probe testing means for testing a product characteristic of respective chips on the wafer;

memory means connected to said foreign particle inspection means and said probe testing means through a communication line, for storing each of data produced from said foreign particle inspection means and said probe testing means;

input means for accepting instructions from an analysis operator;

time series foreign particle number trend display means for displaying a trend of the foreign particles on the wafer in accordance with the data stored in said memory means;

inter-process foreign particle number trend display means for extracting the foreign particles from the wafer in each of the processes and for displaying the trend of the number of foreign particles in accordance with the data stored in said memory means;

foreign particle number yield correlation display means for displaying the number of foreign particles on the wafer and a yield of the wafer in a corresponding relation therebetween in accordance with the data stored in said memory means; and

data processing means for analyzing each of said data and for outputting at least one of said time series foreign particle number trend display means, said inter-process foreign particle number trend display means and said foreign particle number yield correlation display means in accordance with the instructions from the input means.

5. An inspection data analysis system according to claim 3, wherein said data processing means comprises:

means for recognizing the foreign particles deposited during each of the processes from coordinates on the wafer;

means for comparing the coordinates of foreign particles deposited during a first process with those of foreign particles deposited during a second process; and

means for determining whether the foreign particles are removed from or deposited on the wafer on the basis of the compared result of said comparing means, and

wherein a trend of the number of foreign particles deposited during each of the processes is displayed by said inter-process foreign particle number trend display means on the basis of the determined result of said determining means.

4. An inspection data analysis system including an inspection data analysis station in a manufacturing line containing a process of forming a film comprising:

visual inspection means for recognizing an image of visually inspected defects on a wafer after predetermined processes have been performed on the wafer;

probe testing means for testing a product characteristic of respective chips on the wafer;

memory means connected to said visual inspection means and said probe testing means through a communication line, for storing each of data produced from said visual inspection means and said probe testing means;

input means for accepting instructions from an analyzer;

time series defect number trend display means for displaying a trend of the detects on the wafer in accordance with the data stored in said memory means;

inter-process defect number trend display means for determining the defects attached on the wafer in each of the processes and for displaying the trend of the number of defects in accordance with the data stored in said memory means;

defect number yield correlation display means for displaying the number of defects on the wafer and a yield of the wafer in a corresponding relation therebetween in accordance with the data stored in said memory means; and

data processing means for analyzing each of said data and for outputting at least one of said time series defect number trend display means, said inter-process defect number trend display means and said defect number yield correlation display means in accordance with the instructions from the input means.

6. An inspection data analysis system according to claim 4, wherein said data processing means comprises:

means for recognizing the foreign particles deposited during each of the processes from coordinates on the wafer;

means for comparing the coordinates of foreign particles deposited during a first process with those of foreign particles deposited during a second process; and

means for determining whether the foreign particles are removed from or deposited on the wafer on the basis of the compared result of said comparing means, and

wherein a trend of the number of foreign particles deposited during each of the processes is displayed by said inter-process foreign particle number trend display means on the basis of the determined result of said determining means.

7. An inspection data analysis system including an inspection data analysis station in a manufacturing line containing a process of forming a film comprising:

foreign particle inspection means for inspecting foreign particles on a wafer after predetermined processes have been performed on the wafer;

probe testing means for testing a product characteristic of respective chips on the wafer;

memory means connected to said foreign particle inspection means and said probe testing means through a communication line, for storing each of data produced from said foreign particle inspection means and said probe testing means;

input means for accepting instructions from an analysis operator;

time series foreign particle number trend display means for displaying a trend of the foreign particles on the wafer in accordance with the data stored in said memory means;

inter-process foreign particle number trend display means for extracting the foreign particles from the wafer in each of the processes and for displaying the trend of the number of foreign particles in accordance with the data stored in said memory means; and

data processing means for analyzing each of said data and for outputting at least one of said time series foreign particle number trend display means and said inter-process foreign particle number trend display means.

8. An inspection data analysis system including an inspection data analysis station in a manufacturing line containing a process of forming a film comprising:

foreign particle inspection means for inspecting foreign particles on a wafer after predetermined processes have been performed on the wafer;

probe testing means for testing a product characteristic of respective chips on the wafer;

memory means connected to said foreign particle inspection means and said probe testing means through a communication line, for storing each of data produced from said foreign particle inspection means and said probe testing means;

input means for accepting instructions from an analysis operator;

time series foreign particle number trend display means for displaying a trend of the foreign particles on the wafer in accordance with the data stored in said memory means;

foreign particle number yield correlation display means for displaying the number of foreign particles on the wafer and a yield of the wafer in a corresponding relation therebetween in accordance with the data stored in said memory means; and

data processing means for analyzing each of said data and for outputting at least one of said time series foreign particle number trend display means and said foreign particle number yield correlation display means in accordance with the instructions from the input means.

9. An inspection data analysis system including an inspection data analysis station in a manufacturing line containing a process of forming a film comprising:

foreign particle inspection means for inspecting foreign particles on a wafer after predetermined processes have been performed on the wafer;

probe testing means for testing a product characteristic of respective chips on the wafer;

memory means connected to said foreign particle inspection means and said probe testing means through a communication line, for storing each of data produced from said foreign particle inspection means and said probe testing means;

input means for accepting instructions from an analysis operator;

inter-process foreign particle number trend display means for extracting the foreign particles from the wafer in each of the processes and for displaying the trend of the number of foreign particles in accordance with the data stored in said memory means;

foreign particle number yield correlation display means for displaying the number of foreign particles on the wafer and a yield of the wafer in a corresponding relation therebetween in accordance with the data stored in said memory means; and

data processing means for analyzing each of said data and for outputting at least one of said inter-process foreign particle number trend display means and said foreign particle number yield correlation display means in accordance with the instructions from said input means.

10. An inspection data analysis system including an inspection data analysis station in a manufacturing line containing a process of forming a film comprising:

visual inspection means for recognizing an image of visually inspected defects on a wafer after predetermined processes have been performed on the wafer;

probe testing means for testing a product characteristic of respective chips on the wafer;

memory means connected to said visual inspection means and said probe testing means through a communication line, for storing each of data produced from said visual inspection means and said probe testing means;

input means for accepting instructions from an analyzer;

time series defect number trend display means for displaying a trend of the defects on the wafer in accordance with the data stored in said memory means;

inter-process defect number trend display means for determining the defects attached on the wafer in each of the processes and for displaying the trend of the number of defects in accordance with the data stored in said memory means; and

data processing means for analyzing each of said data and for outputting at least one of said time series defect number trend display means and said inter-process defect number trend display means in accordance with the instructions from the output means.

11. An inspection data analysis system including an inspection data analysis station in a manufacturing line containing a process of forming a film comprising:

visual inspection means for recognizing an image of visually inspected defects on a wafer after predetermined processes have been performed on the wafer;

probe testing means for testing a product characteristic of respective chips on the wafer;

memory means connected to said visual inspection means and said probe testing means through a communication line, for storing each of data produced from said visual inspection means and said probe testing means;

input means for accepting instructions from an analyzer;

time series defect number trend display means for displaying a trend of the defects on the wafer in accordance with the data stored in said memory means;

defect number yield correlation display means for displaying the number of defects on the wafer and a yield of the wafer in corresponding relation therebetween in accordance with the data stored in said memory means; and

data processing means for analyzing each of said data and for outputting at least one of said time series defect number trend display means and said defect number yield correlation display means in accordance with the instructions from the output means.

12. An inspection data analysis system including an inspection data analysis station in a manufacturing line containing a process of forming a film comprising:

visual inspection means for recognizing an image of visually inspected defects on a wafer after predetermined processes have been performed on the wafer;

probe testing means for testing a product characteristic of respective chips on the wafer;

memory means connected to said visual inspection means and said probe testing means through a communication line, for storing each of data produced from said visual inspection means and said probe testing means;

input means for accepting instructions from an analyzer;

inter-process defect number trend display means for determining the defects attached on the wafer in each of the processes and for displaying the trend of the number of defects in accordance with the data stored in said memory means;

defect number yield correlation display means for displaying the number of defects on the wafer and a yield of the wafer in a corresponding relation therebetween in accordance with the data stored in said memory means; and

data processing means for analyzing each of said data and for outputting at least one of said inter-process defect number trend display means and aid defect number yield correlation display means in accordance with the instructions form the output means.