Method in an integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing process for identifying and redirecting ICs mis-processed during their manufacture

• US 7,885,782 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2006
• Issued: 02/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Beffa, Raymond J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nghiem; Michael P
• Application Number:
  US11/582,141
• Publication Number:
  US 20070094632A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,575 Days
• Field of Search: 702117-119, 702/81, 702/82, 702/84, 700/116, 700224-226, 700/95, 700/109, 700/115, 438/14
• US Class Current: 702/118
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2894 Aspects of quality control [QC] G01R31/31718 takes precedence; program control for QC G05B19/41875
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/006 Identification G06F11/2289 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67294 using identification means, e.g. labels on substrates or labels on containers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/20 Sequence of activities consisting of a plurality of measurements, corrections, marking or sorting steps
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2223/54433 containing identification or tracking information
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2223/5444 for electrical read out
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/544 Marks applied to semiconductor devices or parts, e.g. registration marks, alignment structures, wafer maps test patterns for characterising or monitoring manufacturing processes H01L22/00
• 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 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00

Abstract

A method of manufacturing IC devices from semiconductor wafers includes providing the wafers and fabricating ICs on the wafers. At probe, a unique fuse ID is stored in each IC, and an electronic wafer map is electronically stored for each wafer indicating the locations of good and bad ICs on the wafer and the fuse IDs of the ICs on the wafer. Each IC is then separated from its wafer to form an IC die, and the IC dice are assembled into IC devices. At the opens/shorts test at the end of assembly, the fuse ID of each IC in each device is automatically retrieved so the wafer map of the IC device may be accessed and evaluated to identify any IC devices containing bad ICs that have accidentally been assembled into IC devices. Any “bad” IC devices are discarded while remaining IC devices continue on to back-end testing.

Claims

1. A manufacturing process for an integrated circuit device having data from integrated circuit devices used in the process comprising:

storing the data from the manufacturing process for the integrated circuit device and a substantially unique identification code for each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices on each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devicesat probe testing of the integrated circuit devices and thereafter, the data indicating a first process flow or an another process flow within the manufacturing process for each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices;

storing the substantially unique identification code of each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices and a die location on an electronically stored wafer map for each integrated circuit device;

reading the substantially unique identification code stored on each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices for evaluating each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices with respect to the stored data from the manufacturing process for each integrated circuit device for identifying integrated circuit devices having the first process flow within the manufacturing process and indentifying integrated circuit devices having the another process flow different from the first process flow; and

redirecting each integrated circuit device identified as having the another process flow within the manufacturing process different from the first process flow of the integrated circuit devices in the first process flow to prevent the integrated circuit device from continuing within the first process flow after reading the substantially unique identification code of the integrated circuit device.

2. The manufacturing process of claim 1, wherein storing the data from the manufacturing process for the integrated circuit device and a substantially unique identification code for each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices on each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices storing data and the devices to indicate each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices comprises storing data indicating whether each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices is one of a good integrated circuit device and a bad integrated circuit device.

3. The manufacturing process of claim 1, wherein reading the substantially unique identification code stored on each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices comprises electrically retrieving a unique fuse identification programmed into each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices.

4. The manufacturing process of claim 1, wherein reading the substantially unique identification code stored on each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices comprises optically reading a unique identification code on each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices.

5. The manufacturing process of claim 4, wherein optically reading the unique identification code on each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices comprises optically reading a unique laser fuse identification programmed into each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices.

6. The manufacturing process of claim 1, wherein reading the substantially unique identification code stored on each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices comprises reading the substantially unique identification code of each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices at an opens/shorts test in the manufacturing process.

7. The manufacturing process of claim 1, wherein the stored data and the substantially unique identification code of each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices are accessed by accessing the stored data and the substantially unique identification code of each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices at an opens/shorts test in the manufacturing process.

8. The manufacturing process of claim 7, wherein identifying integrated circuit devices having the first process flow within the manufacturing process and identifying integrated circuit devices having the another process flow didderent from the first process flow comprises identifying any bad integrated circuit devices having undergone an assembly procedure within the manufacturing process.

9. The manufacturing process of claim 8, wherein identifying integrated circuit devices having the first process flow within the manufacturing process and identifying integrated circuit devices having the another process flow different from the first process flow comprises identifying integrated circuit devices having the first first process flow within the manufacturing process and indentifying integrated circuit devices having the another process flow different from the first process flow at an opens/shorts test in the manufacturing process.

10. The manufacturing process of claim 1, wherein redirecting each integrated circuit device identified as having the another process flow within the manufacturing process different from the first process flow of the integrated circuit devices in the first process flow comprises discarding any integrated circuit device identified as having the another process flow within the manufacturing process different from the first process flow.

11. The manufacturing process of claim 1, wherein redirecting occurs before a back-end test procedure within the manufacturing process.

12. The manufacturing process of claim 1, further comprising assembling the integrated circuit devices into packaged integrated circuit devices after storing stored data and before reading the substantially unique identification code of each integrated circuit device of the integrated circuit devices.