Inspection system and method for manufacturing electronic devices using the inspection system

• US 6,611,728 B1
• Filed: 09/03/1999
• Issued: 08/26/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ono, Makoto, Yoshitake, Yasuhiro, Morioka, Natsuyo, Nemoto, Kazunori, Ikeda, Yoko, Konishi, Junko, Iwata, Hisafumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Picard, Leo
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bahta, Kidest
• Application Number:
  US09/389,230
• Time in Patent Office: 1,453 Days
• Field of Search: 700/121, 700/109, 700/108, 700/175, 700/180, 700/192, 700/110, 700/111, 700/95, 700/96, 702/81, 702/84, 382/142
• US Class Current: 700/109
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/9501 Semiconductor wafers manufacturing processes per se of semiconductor devices implementing a measuring step H01L22/10
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/12 for structural parameters, e.g. thickness, line width, refractive index, temperature, warp, bond strength, defects, optical inspection, electrical measurement of structural dimensions, metallurgic measurement of diffusions electrical measurement of diffusions H01L22/14
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/20 Sequence of activities consisting of a plurality of measurements, corrections, marking or sorting steps

Abstract

An inspection system comprises an inspection machine for inspecting a work which is processed in one of the manufacturing processes of a manufacturing line and an analysis system for outputting an inspection history list obtained by making calculations from the inspected result. The inspection history list shows a matrix of first information as the inspection processes in which the work is inspected or the manufacturing processes corresponding to the inspection processes in which the work is inspected and second information as to the works inspected by the inspection machine.

Claims

1. An inspection system comprising:

an inspection machine for inspecting a work which is processed in a manufacturing process and providing an inspected result; and

an analysis system for outputting an inspection history list obtained by making calculations from the inspected result, said inspection history list showing a matrix of first information as to inspection processes in which the work is inspected or manufacturing processes corresponding to the inspection processes in which the work is inspected and second information as to the work inspected by the inspection machine.

2. The inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the inspection history list shows whether or not characteristic defects are included in the inspection result of the inspection process in which the work is inspected or the manufacturing process corresponding to the inspection process in which the work is inspected.

3. The inspection system according to claim 2, wherein the characteristic defect is a cluster.

4. The inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the inspection system further includes a test machine for testing an electrical characteristic of the work and the inspection history list shows whether or not the electrical characteristic of the work is included.

5. The inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the inspection system further includes a plurality of the inspection machines, and wherein the inspection machines include at least one visual inspection machine and a particle inspection machine.

6. The inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the inspection system further includes an observation machine for capturing a defect image of the work and the inspection history list shows whether or not the defect image of the work is included in the inspection result of the inspection process in which the work is inspected or the manufacturing process corresponding to the inspection process in which the work is inspected.

7. The inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the analysis system comprises a client-server system.

8. The inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the first information further includes the inspection processes in which a work is not inspected or the manufacturing processes corresponding to the inspection processes in which a work is not inspected.

9. The inspection system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said works are inspected and wherein the analysis system creates a defect location history list for each of said works according to inspection results obtained by the inspection machine before receiving an analysis instruction.

10. The inspection system according to claim 9, wherein the analysis system creates the inspection history list by using the defect location history list.

11. An inspection system comprising:

an inspection machine for inspecting a work which is processed in a manufacturing process; and

an analysis system for displaying a matrix of first information as to inspection processes in which the work is inspected or manufacturing processes corresponding to the inspection processes in which the work is inspected and second information as to the work inspected by the inspected machine.

12. An inspection system comprising:

an inspection machine for inspecting a work which is processed in a manufacturing process; and

an analysis system for displaying both inspection processes in which the work is inspected and inspection processes in which the work is not inspected or both manufacturing processes corresponding to the inspection processes in which the work is inspected and manufacturing processes corresponding to the inspection processes in which the work is not inspected.

13. An analysis system comprising:

storing means for storing inspection results of an inspected work; and

outputting means for outputting an inspection history list calculated by using said stored inspection results, said inspection history list showing a matrix of first information as to inspection processes in which the work is inspected or manufacturing processes corresponding to the inspection processes in which the work is inspected and second information as to the work inspected by the inspected machine.

14. The analysis system according to claim 13, wherein the first information further includes the inspection processes in which the work is not inspected or the manufacturing processes corresponding to the inspection processes in which the work is not inspected.

15. A method for producing electrical devices comprising:

a processing step for processing works in a manufacturing line;

a inspecting step for inspecting a work which is processed in one of the manufacturing processes of the manufacturing line by an inspection machine to produce an inspected result;

a analyzing step for analyzing defects information obtained by making calculations from the inspected result, said defects information showing a matrix of first information as to inspection processes in which the work is inspected or manufacturing processes corresponding to the inspection processes in which the work is inspected and second information as to a plurality of the works inspected by the inspected machine; and

a controlling step for controlling the manufacturing line on the basis of the result of the analysis.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the defects information shows whether or not characteristic defects are included in the inspection result of the inspection process in which the work is inspected or the manufacturing process corresponding to the inspection process in which the work is inspected, said analyzing step analyzing defects information without the characteristic defects.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the characteristic defect is a cluster.