Accelerated thermal stress cycle test
First Claim
1. An accelerated thermal stress cycle test comprising the steps of:
- providing a cluster of reaction chambers including at least one chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber and at least one cool-down chamber;
heating a pre-processed wafer to at least 350°
C. in less than 2 minutes by positioning said wafer in one of said at least one CVD chambers in an inert gas;
cooling said pre-processed wafer to a temperature not higher than 70°
C. in less than 30 seconds by moving said wafer from said at least one CVD chamber to one of said at least one cool-down chambers;
repeating sequentially said heating and cooling steps for at least three times; and
determining any defect caused by said repeated heating and cooling steps.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An accelerated thermal stress cycle test which can be conducted in a significantly reduced test time compared to the conventional test is provided. The test is carried out in a cluster of reaction chambers that includes a CVD chamber and a cool-down chamber such that a pre-processed wafer can be heated from room temperature to at least 350° C. in an inert gas in about 2 min., and then cooled down to not higher than 70° C. in a cool-down chamber in less than 30 sec. The heating and cooling steps can be repeated between 3 and 7 times to reveal any defect formation caused by the thermal stress cycle test. Typical defects are metal film peeling from insulating dielectric material layer or void formation.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. An accelerated thermal stress cycle test comprising the steps of:
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providing a cluster of reaction chambers including at least one chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber and at least one cool-down chamber;
heating a pre-processed wafer to at least 350°
C. in less than 2 minutes by positioning said wafer in one of said at least one CVD chambers in an inert gas;
cooling said pre-processed wafer to a temperature not higher than 70°
C. in less than 30 seconds by moving said wafer from said at least one CVD chamber to one of said at least one cool-down chambers;
repeating sequentially said heating and cooling steps for at least three times; and
determining any defect caused by said repeated heating and cooling steps. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A thermal stress cycle test comprising the steps of:
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providing a heating chamber and a cooling chamber positioned juxtaposed to each other, said heating chamber being a single-wafer LPCVD chamber;
positioning a preprocessed wafer in said heating chamber and heating said pre-processed wafer from 23°
C. to at least 350°
C. in less than 2 minutes;
positioning said pre-processed wafer in said cooling chamber and cooling said pre-processed wafer from 350°
C. to not higher than 70°
C. in less than 30 seconds;
repeating sequentially said heating and cooling steps for at least 3 times; and
determining any defect formed on said pre-processed wafer. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification