Automatic defect resizing tool

• US 6,463,171 B1
• Filed: 06/30/1999
• Issued: 10/08/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: GlobalFoundries, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
• Inventors: Steffan, Paul J., Yu, Allen S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Phuoc
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bayat, Ali
• Application Number:
  US09/345,174
• Time in Patent Office: 1,196 Days
• Field of Search: 382/141, 382/145, 382/149, 382/144, 382/151, 382/286, 382/194, 382/192, 382/298
• US Class Current: 382/149
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/8854 Grading and classifying of flaws
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/8861 Determining coordinates of flaws
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/9501 Semiconductor wafers manufacturing processes per se of semiconductor devices implementing a measuring step H01L22/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30148 Semiconductor; IC; Wafer
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0004 Industrial image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67288 Monitoring of warpage, curvature, damage, defects or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/20 Sequence of activities consisting of a plurality of measurements, corrections, marking or sorting steps

Abstract

A method of analyzing and classifying defects on a semiconductor wafer during a semiconductor manufacturing process using an automatic defect resizing tool to accurately measure the sizes of defects.

Claims

1. A method of analyzing and classifying defects on a semiconductor wafer during a semiconductor manufacturing process, the method comprising:

(a) sending a production lot of wafers through a manufacturing process;

(b) scanning a selected wafer from the production lot of wafers for defects;

(c) sending location information for defects caught during the step of scanning to a defect management system;

(d) sending the location information for defects to an automatic defect classification review tool; and

(e) determining the size of each individual defect by counting the number of pixels comprising each of the individual defects and multiplying the number of pixels in each of the individual defects by the magnification factor to determine the size of each individual. defect.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising sending the size of each individual defect to the defect management system.