System and method for circuit repair

• US 6,205,239 B1
• Filed: 05/30/1997
• Issued: 03/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rudolph Technologies Incorporated (Onto Innovation Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Inventors: Pattikonda, Ramakrishna, Khaja, Veera S., Cleavelin, C. Rinn, Hennessey, A. Kathleen, Lin, YouLing, Reddy, Rajasekar
• Primary Examiner(s): Mancuso, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bali, Vikkram
• Application Number:
  US08/866,553
• Time in Patent Office: 1,390 Days
• Field of Search: 382/141, 382/149, 382/150, 382/151, 382/152, 382/147, 382/145, 382/144, 382/254, 382/209, 382/389, 382/290, 438/4, 430/30, 378/59
• US Class Current: 382/149
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/95607 using a comparative method
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10056 Microscopic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30148 Semiconductor; IC; Wafer
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0002 Inspection of images, e.g. flaw detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/001 using an image reference approach
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/20 Sequence of activities consisting of a plurality of measurements, corrections, marking or sorting steps
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/014 Solder alloys

Abstract

A system and method for repairing a defect on a manufactured object, which may be a semiconductor wafer, uses a computer and a repair tool. The method includes placing the manufactured device on a moveable stage; capturing and preparing a digital-pixel-based representation of the image; symbolically decomposing the digital-pixel-based representation of an image to create a primitive-based representation of the image; analyzing the primitive-based representation of the image to detect and locate an anomaly; isolating primitives associated with the anomaly; comparing the isolated primitives associated with the anomaly with primitives in a knowledgebase to locate a set of primitives in the knowledgebase that are most like the isolated primitives associated with the anomaly; assigning a defect-type label associated with the set of primitives in the knowledge base that was most similar to the isolated primitives associated with the anomaly; and using a repair tool to repair the defect based on defect-type label for the anomaly.

Claims

1. A method of repairing a semiconductor device, the method comprising:

capturing and aligning an image of a defect on a semiconductor device;

decomposing the image into primitives;

locating the defect;

isolating the primitives associated with the defect;

comparing the primitives associated with the defect with sets of primitives in a knowledge base to determine if the defect is repairable, and if repairable, to obtain repair instruction;

generating a pixel-based image of the defect if the defect is repairable;

providing the pixel-based image and repair instruction to a repair tool; and

repairing the defect with the repair tool using the pixel-based image and the repair instruction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the repair instruction may involves removing metal or adding metal.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

capturing and aligning a second image at a site where the defect was detected,

decomposing the second image into primitives;

comparing the primitives associated with where the defect was detected with primitives from a knowledgebase to determine if the repair was successful.

4. A method for repairing a defect on a manufactured object, the system comprising:

placing the manufactured device on a moveable stage;

capturing and preparing a digital-pixel-based representation of the image;

symbolically decomposing the digital-pixel-based representation of the image to create a primitive-based representation of the image;

analyzing the primitive-based representation of the image to detect and locate an anomaly;

isolating primitives associated with the anomaly;

comparing the isolated primitives associated with the anomaly with primitives in a knowledgebase to locate a set of primitives in the knowledgebase most like the isolated primitives associated with the anomaly;

assigning a defect-type label associated with the set of primitives in the knowledge base that was most similar to the isolated primitives associated to the anomaly;

using a repair tool to repair the defect based on defect-type label for the anomaly.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the manufactured object comprises a semiconductor wafer.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the manufactured object comprises a semiconductor wafer and the repair tool comprises a MICRION 9800.

7. A system for repairing a semiconductor device, the system comprising:

a computer having a processor and memory;

a moveable stage for holding and positioning the semiconductor wafer;

a camera for capturing an image of the wafer on the stage;

a digitizer coupled to the camera for producing a digital-pixel-based representation of the image;

a computer having a processor and memory, the computer coupled to the digitizer for receiving the digital-pixel-based representation from the digitizer, and the computer coupled to the stage for selectively moving the stage to align the wafer, and the computer operable to;

symbolically decompose the digital-pixel-based representation of an image to create a primitive-based representation of the image;

analyze the primitive-based representation of the image to detect and locate any anomalies;

compare primitives associated with the anomalies with sets of primitives in a knowledgebase to classify each anomaly as repairable or not repairable, and to deliver a repair instruction to a repair tool if the anomaly is repairable; and

a repair tool coupled to the computer for receiving a repair instruction therefrom and operable to perform the repair instruction.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the computer is further operable to align the primitive-based representation of the image with a primitive-based representation of an alignment file image by:

generating a first histogram from the primitive-based representation of the image;

generating a second histogram from the primitive-based representation of the alignment file image; and

matching the first histogram with the second histogram to determine a rotational shift.

9. A method of automated circuit repair comprising the steps of:

capturing an image from a location where there is a possible defect on a semiconductor die, and highlighting and outlining that defect and determining the exact location of the defect;

converting a pixel map format of the image to a set of high-level descriptors;

comparing the set of descriptors with sets of descriptors stored in a knowledgebase to identify the type of defect;

determining if the defect is correctable;

if correctable supplying an image of the defect and its coordinates to a computer controlled repair tool for making the correction;

obtaining an image of the defect from the repair tool;

producing a bit map of the precise area to be repaired;

determining whether metal is to be burned away or laid down and passing the precise defect coordinates to the repair bit map and the repair mode to a computer control system, which is coupled to the repair tool for obtaining an image of the repair from the repair tool;

comparing the original repair bit map to the repair image tool and then determining whether the repair was successful or unsuccessful.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the steps include depositing a metal on the semiconductor die.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein metal on the semiconductor die is etched.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of passing the repair image to the system for storage and analysis.