Method of monitoring anneal processes using scatterometry, and system for performing same
First Claim
1. A method of monitoring an anneal process performed on an implant region, comprising:
- forming a first plurality of implant regions in a semiconducting substrate;
performing at least one anneal process on said first plurality of implant regions;
performing a scatterometric measurement of at least one of said first plurality of implant regions after at least a portion of said anneal process is performed to determine an implant profile of said at least one implant region; and
determining an effectiveness of said at least one anneal process based upon said determined profile of said at least one implant region.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed to several inventive methods of monitoring anneal processes performed on implant regions, and a system for accomplishing same. In one aspect, the method comprises forming a first plurality of implant regions in a semiconducting substrate, performing at least one anneal process on implant regions, performing a scatterometric measurement of at least one of the implant regions after at least a portion of the anneal process is performed to determine a profile of the implant region and determining an effectiveness of the anneal process based upon the determined profile of the implant region. In other embodiments, one or more parameters of the anneal process may be varied on subsequently processed substrates based upon the determined efficiency of the anneal process.
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Citations
84 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring an anneal process performed on an implant region, comprising:
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forming a first plurality of implant regions in a semiconducting substrate;
performing at least one anneal process on said first plurality of implant regions;
performing a scatterometric measurement of at least one of said first plurality of implant regions after at least a portion of said anneal process is performed to determine an implant profile of said at least one implant region; and
determining an effectiveness of said at least one anneal process based upon said determined profile of said at least one implant region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of monitoring an anneal process performed on an implant region, comprising:
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forming a first plurality of implant regions in a semiconducting substrate;
performing at least one anneal process on said first plurality of implant regions;
performing a scatterometric measurement of at least one of said first plurality of implant regions after said anneal process is complete to determine an implant profile of said at least one implant region;
determining an effectiveness of said at least one anneal process based upon said determined profile of said at least one implant region; and
modifying, based upon said determined effectiveness of said at least one anneal process, at least one parameter of an anneal process to be performed on implant regions formed on a subsequently processed substrate. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A method of monitoring an anneal process performed on an implant region, comprising:
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forming a first plurality of implant regions in a semiconducting substrate;
performing at least one anneal process on said first plurality of implant regions;
performing a scatterometric measurement of at least one of said first plurality of implant regions after said anneal process is completed to determine an implant profile of said at least one implant region by;
generating a profile truce for said at least one implant region, creating a plurality of profile traces, each of which correspond to an anticipated profile of said at least one implant region, and comparing said generated profile trace to at least one of said created plurality of profile traces, and determining an effectiveness of said at least one anneal process based upon said determined profile of said at least one implant region. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67)
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68. A method of monitoring an anneal process performed on an implant region, comprising:
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forming a first plurality of implant regions in a semiconducting substrate;
performing at least one anneal process on said first plurality of implant regions;
performing a scatterometric measurement of at least one of said first plurality of implant regions after said anneal process is completed to determine an implant profile of said at least one implant region by;
generating a profile trace for said at least one implant region, creating a target profile trace for said at least one implant region, and comparing said generated profile trace to said target profile trace; and
determining an effectiveness of said at least one anneal process based upon said determined profile of said at least one implant region. - View Dependent Claims (69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84)
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Specification