Integrated process condition sensing wafer and data analysis system

• US 7,135,852 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2004
• Issued: 11/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SensArray Corp. (KLA Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SensArray Corp. (KLA Corporation)
• Inventors: Sun, Mei H., Renken, Wayne Glenn, Jensen, Earl M., Gordon, Roy, Paquette, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Hollington, Jermele
• Application Number:
  US10/837,359
• Publication Number:
  US 20040225462A1
• Time in Patent Office: 929 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 438/5
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67253 Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/6732 Vertical carrier comprising wall type elements whereby the substrates are horizontally supported, e.g. comprising sidewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/681 using optical controlling means
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48091 Arched
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48227 connecting the wire to a bond pad of the item
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00014 the subject-matter covered by the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group, being disclosed without further technical details
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01078 Platinum [Pt]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01087 Francium [Fr]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/10253 Silicon [Si]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/12041 LED
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/15153 the die mounting substrate comprising a recess for hosting the device
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/15157 Top view
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/15165 Monolayer substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/16152 Cap comprising a cavity for hosting the device, e.g. U-shaped cap
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/16153 Cap enclosing a plurality of side-by-side cavities [e.g. E-shaped cap]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/16195 Flat cap [not enclosing an internal cavity]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/19041 being a capacitor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/3011 Impedance
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/3025 Electromagnetic shielding

Abstract

A process condition measuring device and a handling system may be highly integrated with a production environment where the dimensions of the process condition measuring device are close to those of a production substrate and the handling system is similar to a substrate carrier used for production substrates. Process conditions may be measured with little disturbance to the production environment. Data may be transferred from a process condition-measuring device to a user with little or no human intervention.

Claims

1. An instrument for measuring a parameter, comprising:

a substrate,

a plurality of sensors carried by and distributed at positions across a surface of the substrate that individually measure the parameter at those positions,

at least one electronic processing component carried by the substrate surface,

electrical conductors extending across the substrate surface and connected to the plurality of sensors and said at least one electronic processing component,

wherein the sensors and said at least one electronic component are positioned in cavities formed into the substrate surface, and

a material filling the cavities around the sensors and said at least one electronic component.

2. The instrument of claim 1, additionally comprising a rigid protective cover extending across the substrate over at least the sensors and said at least one electronic component.

3. The instrument of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a circularly shaped silicon wafer.

4. The instrument of claim 3, wherein the parameter being measured includes temperature.

5. The instrument of claim 1, wherein measurement of the parameter by the sensors depends at least in part upon their temperature, the substrate has given thermal characteristics and the material filling the cavities have the given thermal characteristics of the substrate.

6. The instrument of claim 5, wherein the parameter being measured includes temperature.

7. The instrument of claim 1, wherein at least some of the sensors and said at least one electronic processing component are integrated circuit die attached to bottoms of the cavities.

8. The instrument of claim 1, wherein the material filling the cavities includes a cured polymer and at least seventy percent by volume of particles of thermally conductive material.

9. The instrument of claim 8, wherein the material filling the cavities is electrically insulative.

10. The instrument of claim 9, wherein the sensors and said at least one electronic processing component are attached to bottoms of the cavities by an adhesive material that contains particles of thermally conductive material and that is electrically insulative.

11. The instrument of claim 10, wherein at least some of the sensors and said at least one electronic processing component are integrated circuit die attached to bottoms of the cavities.

12. The instrument of claim 11, wherein the electrical conductors are connected to the integrated circuit die by wire leads attached between the electrical conductors and bonding pads of the circuit die.

13. The instrument of claim 12, wherein the material filling the cavities also extends around the wire leads for protection of them.

14. The instrument of claim 1, wherein the electrical conductors are encapsulated in an insulating film to which the plurality of sensors and at least one electronic processing component are physically attached in a manner to make electrical connections with the electrical conductors therein.

15. The instrument of claim 14, additionally comprising a rigid protective cover extending across the substrate over at least the sensors, said at least one electronic processing component and the electrical conductors encapsulated in an insulating film.

16. The instrument of claim 15, wherein the electrical conductors and the insulating film encapsulating them extend between the plurality of sensors and said at least one electronic processing component in grooves formed in one of the substrate and cover, and the substrate and cover are rigidly attached to each other in abutting surface regions between the grooves.

17. The instrument of claim 16, wherein the attached abutting surface regions of the substrate and cover extend over at least eighty percent of a common area of the substrate and cover.

18. The instrument of claim 17, wherein the substrate and cover are each circular in shape with the same diameter.

19. A measuring instrument, comprising:

first and second substrate portions held together at a common interface,

a plurality of cavities positioned between the first and second substrate portions,

a plurality of grooves positioned between the first and second substrate portions and extending between the plurality of cavities,

strips of electrically insulative film with electrical conductors therein positioned within the grooves,

a plurality of sensors of a parameter and electronic components positioned within the cavities and electrically connected with the electrical conductors in the film strips, and

wherein the first and second substrate portions are directly attached together in regions of their common interface between the grooves and cavities.

20. The instrument of claim 19, wherein the first and second substrate portions are each circular discs having the same diameter.

21. The instrument of claim 19, wherein the plurality of cavities and the plurality of grooves are arranged so that one or more patterns of segments of the film strips are repeated across the interface between the first and second substrate portions, thereby to simplify manufacture of the instrument.

22. The instrument of claim 21, wherein the sensors and electronic components have been attached to the film strip segments before installation in the cavities and grooves.

23. The instrument of claim 19, wherein the regions of the first and second substrate portions that are directly attached together exceed eighty percent of their common interface.

24. An instrument for measuring a parameter, comprising:

a silicon wafer substrate having opposing planar surfaces,

a plurality of recesses formed in said one substrate surface at positions distributed thereacross and having bottom surfaces,

a plurality of sensors in the form of silicon integrated circuit die attached to the bottom surfaces of at least some of the recesses, thereby providing measurements of the parameter at positions distributed across said one substrate surface,

at least one silicon electronic processing integrated circuit die attached to the bottom surface of at least one of the recesses,

electrical conductors extending across said one substrate surface between at least the recesses containing the integrated circuit die,

lead wires extending between and bonded to pads of the integrated circuit die and electrical conductors adjacent the recesses in which the die are attached, and

a protective material filling the recesses around the integrated circuit die and extending around the lead wires.

25. The instrument of claim 24, wherein the integrated circuit die are attached to the bottoms of the recesses by an adhesive that includes heat conductive particles.

26. The instrument of claim 25, wherein the protective material includes heat conductive particles.

27. The instrument of claim 26, wherein the adhesive and protective material are electrical insulators.

28. The instrument of claim 24, additionally comprising at least one additional electronic component attached to the bottom surface of at least one of the recesses and connected with the electrical conductors adjacent the at least one component.

29. A parameter measuring system, comprising:

a portable measuring instrument comprising a substrate with a plurality of sensors of the parameter spatially distributed there across, a first electronics system including a processor connected with the sensors and data storage, a power storage system connected to operate the sensors and electronics system, and a coil connected to at least receive electromagnetic energy for recharging the power storage system,

a docking station comprising a surface that supports the measuring instrument when inserted therein from a side, a module positioned above the supporting surface that contains a second electronics system including a processor, a flexible film carried by an underside of the module, a coil physically attached to the film and electrically driven by the second electronics system to provide electromagnetic energy to recharge the power storage system of the measuring instrument, and a mechanism carried by the underside of the module that lowers the film to rest its coil on the coil of the measuring instrument when carried by the surface in order to recharge the power storage system under control of the first and second electronics systems.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the film is attached at one extreme to the underside of the module and the lowering mechanism includes an electromagnetic device attached to an opposite extreme of the film for providing slack in the film to rest on the measuring instrument and relative tautness in the film to raise it above the measuring instrument.

31. The system of claim 29, wherein the surface of the docking station that supports the measuring instrument includes a plurality of wheels upon which the measuring instrument rests, the wheels being constrained to rotate about axes which intersect in a center of the measuring instrument and being powered by individual electrical motors, thereby to rotate the measuring instrument about said center when the electrical motors are energized.