Method and apparatus for dynamic sampling of a production line
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method, comprising:
- processing a first plurality of semiconductor wafers based upon at least one control input parameter signal;
calculating a minimum sampling rate of semiconductor wafers;
selecting and analyzing wafers from the first plurality of said semiconductor wafers at the calculated sampling rate;
quantifying the performance of said processing of said first plurality of semiconductor wafers, based upon said analyzed wafers; and
performing a dynamic sampling process based upon said quantification of the performance of said processing of semiconductor wafers.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides for a method and an apparatus for performing dynamic sampling of a production line. A first plurality of semiconductor wafers are processed. A minimum sampling rate of semiconductor wafers is calculated. Wafers from the first plurality of the semiconductor wafers are selected and analyzed at the calculated sampling rate. The performance of the processing of the first plurality of semiconductor wafers is quantified, based upon the analyzed wafers. A dynamic sampling process is performed based upon the quantification of the performance of the processing of semiconductor wafers.
119 Citations
38 Claims
-
1. A method, comprising:
-
processing a first plurality of semiconductor wafers based upon at least one control input parameter signal;
calculating a minimum sampling rate of semiconductor wafers;
selecting and analyzing wafers from the first plurality of said semiconductor wafers at the calculated sampling rate;
quantifying the performance of said processing of said first plurality of semiconductor wafers, based upon said analyzed wafers; and
performing a dynamic sampling process based upon said quantification of the performance of said processing of semiconductor wafers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
acquiring metrology data from sampling of said processed semiconductor wafers;
calculating a model error based upon said acquired metrology data;
calculating a first sampling rate based upon said model error;
determining whether said model error drifts outside a predetermined range;
calculating a second sampling rate based upon a determination that said model error drifts outside said predetermined range; and
performing an adjustment to a manufacturing model based upon a determination that said model error does not drift outside said predetermined range.
-
-
8. The method described in claim 7, wherein acquiring metrology data further comprises acquiring metrology data using a metrology tool.
-
9. The method described in claim 7, wherein calculating a model error further comprises:
-
comparing said acquired metrology data to at least one predetermined setpoint;
calculating a difference between said acquired metrology data and said predetermined setpoint; and
normalizing said calculated difference.
-
-
10. The method described in claim 9, wherein calculating a difference between said acquired metrology data and said predetermined setpoints further comprises calculating a differential data responsive to a difference between a predicted manufacturing behavior and an actual manufacturing behavior.
-
11. The method described in claim 9, wherein normalizing said calculated difference further comprises dividing said calculated difference by a number of processed semiconductor wafers.
-
12. The method described in claim 9, wherein normalizing said calculated difference further comprises dividing said calculated difference by a nominal manufacturing value.
-
13. The method described in claim 7, wherein calculating a second sampling rate based upon a determination that said model error drifts outside said predetermined range further comprises increasing the value of said first sampling rate.
-
14. The method described in claim 7, wherein performing an adjustment to a manufacturing model based upon a determination that said model error does not drift outside said predetermined range further comprises:
-
acquiring metrology data from a manufacturing process that utilizes said second sampling rate;
correlating said acquired metrology data with a corresponding set of semiconductor wafers;
sending said correlated metrology data to a manufacturing model; and
adjusting a manufacturing recipe using said manufacturing model.
-
-
15. The method described in claim 14, wherein adjusting a manufacturing recipe using said manufacturing model further comprises modifying a set of control input parameters that controls a processing tool.
-
16. An apparatus, comprising:
-
a computer system;
a manufacturing model coupled with said computer system, said manufacturing model being capable of generating and modifying at least one control input parameter signal;
a machine interface coupled with said manufacturing model, said machine interface being capable of receiving process recipes from said manufacturing model;
a processing tool capable of processing semiconductor wafers and coupled with said machine interface, said first processing tool being capable of receiving at least one control input parameter signal from said machine interface;
a metrology tool coupled with said first processing tool and said second processing tool, said metrology tool being capable of acquiring metrology data;
a metrology data processing unit coupled with said metrology tool, said metrology data processing unit being capable of organizing said acquired metrology data; and
a sample rate adjustment unit coupled with said computer system, said sample rate adjustment unit being capable of determining a sampling rate for selecting and sampling processed semiconductor wafers based upon said organized metrology data. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
-
23. An apparatus, comprising:
-
means for processing a first plurality of semiconductor wafers based upon at least one control input parameter signal;
means for calculating a minimum sampling rate of semiconductor wafers;
means for selecting and analyzing devices from the first plurality of said semiconductor wafers at the calculated sampling rate;
means for quantifying the performance of said processing of said first plurality of semiconductor wafers based upon said analyzed devices; and
means for performing a dynamic sampling process based upon said quantification of the performance of said processing of semiconductor wafers.
-
-
24. A computer readable program storage device encoded with instructions that, when executed by a computer, performs a method, comprising:
-
processing a first plurality of semiconductor wafers based upon at least one control input parameter signal;
calculating a minimum sampling rate of semiconductor wafers;
selecting and analyzing devices from the first plurality of said semiconductor wafers at the calculated sampling rate;
quantifying the performance of said processing of said first plurality of semiconductor wafers based upon said analyzed devices; and
performing a dynamic sampling process based upon said quantification of the performance of said processing of semiconductor wafers. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
acquiring metrology data from sampling of said processed semiconductor wafers;
calculating a model error based upon said acquired metrology data;
calculating a first sampling rate based upon said model error;
determining whether said model error drifts outside a predetermined range;
calculating a second sampling rate based upon a determination that said model error drifts outside said predetermined range; and
performing an adjustment to a manufacturing model based upon a determination that said model error does not drift outside said predetermined range.
-
-
31. The computer readable program storage device encoded with instructions that, when executed by a computer, performs the method described in claim 30, wherein acquiring metrology data further comprises acquiring metrology data using a metrology tool.
-
32. The computer readable program storage device encoded with instructions that, when executed by a computer, performs the method described in claim 30, wherein calculating a model error further comprises:
-
comparing said acquired metrology data to at least one predetermined setpoint;
calculating a difference between said acquired metrology data to said predetermined setpoint; and
normalizing said calculated difference.
-
-
33. The computer readable program storage device encoded with instructions that, when executed by a computer, performs the method described in claim 32, wherein calculating a difference between said acquired metrology data and said predetermined setpoints further comprises calculating a differential data responsive to a difference between a predicted manufacturing behavior and an actual manufacturing behavior.
-
34. The computer readable program storage device encoded with instructions that, when executed by a computer, performs the method described in claim 32, wherein normalizing said calculated difference further comprises dividing said calculated difference by a number of processed semiconductor wafers.
-
35. The computer readable program storage device encoded with instructions that, when executed by a computer, performs the method described in claim 32, wherein normalizing said calculated difference further comprises dividing said calculated difference by a nominal manufacturing value.
-
36. The computer readable program storage device encoded with instructions that, when executed by a computer, performs the method described in claim 30, wherein calculating a second sampling rate based upon a determination that said model error drifts outside said predetermined range further comprises increasing the value of said first sampling rate.
-
37. The computer readable program storage device encoded with instructions that, when executed by a computer, performs the method described in claim 30, wherein performing an adjustment to a manufacturing model based upon a determination that said model error does not drift outside said predetermined range further comprises:
-
acquiring metrology data from a manufacturing process that utilizes said second sampling rate;
correlating said acquired metrology data with a corresponding set of semiconductor wafers;
sending said correlated metrology data to a manufacturing model; and
adjusting a manufacturing recipe using said manufacturing model.
-
-
38. The computer readable program storage device encoded with instructions that, when executed by a computer, performs the method described in claim 37, wherein adjusting a manufacturing recipe using said manufacturing model further comprises modifying a set of control input parameters that controls a processing tool.
Specification