Kla Tencor Corporation

Kla-Tencor Technologies Corporation

Aleksey Petrenko

Christian Wolters

Juergen Reich

Kurt Lindsay Haller

Stephen Biellak

George J Kren

Daniel Ivanov Kavaldjiev

Anatoly Romanovsky

Zhiwei Xu

Bret Whiteside

Alexander Belyaev

David W Shortt

Brian L Haas

Paul Doyle

Amith Kumar Murali

Zhongping Cai

Mike D Kirk

Richard Fong

Jien Cao

Jurgen Reich

The disclosure is directed to a system and method of managing illumination energy applied to illuminated portions of a scanned wafer to mitigate illumination-induced damage without unnecessarily compromising SNR of an inspection system. The wafer may be rotated at a selected spin frequency for scanning wafer defects utilizing the inspection system. Illumination energy may be varied over at least one scanned region of the wafer as a function of radial distance of an illuminated portion from the center of the wafer and the selected spin frequency of the wafer. Illumination energy may be further applied constantly over one or more scanned regions of the wafer beyond a selected distance from the center of the wafer.

Illumination energy management in surface inspection

A method and apparatus for producing high frequency dynamically focused oblique laser illumination for a spinning wafer inspection system. The focus is changed by changing the beam direction incidence angle so as to bring focal spot onto the wafer surface. Disclosed herein is a system and method for automatic beam shaping (i.e., spot size) and steering (i.e., position) for a spinning wafer inspection system, combined into a single module. Also disclosed is a method and system for measuring the beam position/size/shape and angle with sufficient resolution to make corrections using feedback from the monitor.

Method and apparatus for producing and measuring dynamically focussed, steered, and shaped oblique laser illumination for spinning wafer inspection system

Methods, systems, and structures for monitoring incident beam position in a wafer inspection system are provided. One structure includes a feature formed in a chuck configured to support a wafer during inspection by the wafer inspection system. The chuck rotates the wafer in a theta direction and simultaneously translates the wafer in a radial direction during the inspection. An axis through the center of the feature is aligned with a radius of the chuck such that a position of the axis relative to an incident beam of the wafer inspection system indicates changes in the incident beam position in the theta direction.

Monitoring incident beam position in a wafer inspection system

An edge-handling chuck, a system for holding and rotating a test substrate at a high speed and a method for chucking a rotating substrate are disclosed. The Chuck includes a plate having a central axis, a fluid opening and a top surface with a varied topography characterized by symmetry about the central axis. The topography is such that a volume flow rate of fluid between the fluid opening and a periphery of the top surface sufficient to counteract substrate sagging is significantly less than a volume flow rate needed for a similar but flat-surfaced chuck to similarly counteract such sagging. The system may further include a spindle motor and a gas system that supplies gas through the fluid opening to a gap between the top surface and a back surface of the substrate. A radial velocity of the fluid through the gap is approximately constant.

Method for improving edge handling chuck aerodynamics

In one embodiment, a system to create a haze standard on a surface of an object, comprises a radiation targeting assembly that targets a radiation beam onto the surface of the object, a drive assembly to impart relative motion between the radiation targeting assembly and the surface of the object, and a controller to regulate the radiation targeting assembly to deliver radiation at a controlled power level to at least one portion of the surface, thereby forming at least one region having a known haze characteristic.

System and method to create haze standard

Computer-implemented methods and systems for determining a configuration for a light scattering inspection system are provided. One computer-implemented method includes determining a three-dimensional map of signal-to-noise ratio values for data that would be acquired for a specimen and a potential defect on the specimen by the light scattering inspection system across a scattering hemisphere of the inspection system. The method also includes determining one or more portions of the scattering hemisphere in which the signal-to-noise ratio values are higher than in other portions of the scattering hemisphere based on the three-dimensional map. In addition, the method includes determining a configuration for a detection subsystem of the inspection system based on the one or more portions of the scattering hemisphere.

Computer-implemented methods and systems for determining a configuration for a light scattering inspection system

Growing community of inventors

Milpitas, CA, United States of America

Aleksey Petrenko