Method for detecting process sensitivity to integrated circuit layout by compound processing
First Claim
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1. A method of detecting defects in integrated circuits, comprising:
- applying a first manufacturing process to only a first portion on a starting material;
applying a second manufacturing process, different from the first process, to only a second portion on the starting material; and
comparing the first and second portions to each other using an image subtraction method of defect detection by subtracting an image of the first portion from an image of the second portion to detect systematic pattern defects present in one of the first and second portions.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus that uses compound processing for detecting defects in integrated circuits involves processing two portions of a semiconductor wafer differently according to a first and a second process. The first process and the second process are performed on alternating columns on the wafer. Image subtraction is used to detect differences between the layouts in adjacent columns. After differences are detected, the layout is examined to determine whether the difference represents a defect. If so, the design rules of the layout can be changed to accommodate a wider process variation.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method of detecting defects in integrated circuits, comprising:
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applying a first manufacturing process to only a first portion on a starting material; applying a second manufacturing process, different from the first process, to only a second portion on the starting material; and comparing the first and second portions to each other using an image subtraction method of defect detection by subtracting an image of the first portion from an image of the second portion to detect systematic pattern defects present in one of the first and second portions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of compound processing a wafer having repeating portions with identical layouts to detect systematic pattern defects, comprising the steps of:
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processing only a first subset of the portions with a first processing step; processing only a second subset of the portions with a second processing step that is different from the first processing step; comparing a digitized image of one of the portions in the first subset of portions with a digitized image of one of the portions in the second subset of portions; detecting differences between the digitized images based on the comparison of the digitized images; and examining the detected differences to determine whether the detected differences represent systematic pattern defects. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification