International Business Machines Corporation

Carol Boye

Effendi Leobandung

David V Horak

Steven J Holmes

Toshiharu Furukawa

Mark Charles Hakey

Charles W Koburger, Iii

Fee Li Lie

Shravan Kumar Matham

Brad Austin

An advanced security method for verifying that integrated circuit patterns being processed into one or more layers provided to a wafer are trusted patterns and that the wafer being used during processing is a trusted wafer is provided. The method includes separate steps of pattern verification and wafer verification. Notably, the method includes first verifying that a pattern printed on a wafer matches a pattern of a trusted reference. Next, a peak and valley profile present at a specific location on a backside surface of the wafer is measured. The method further includes second verify that the measured peak and valley profile matches an original peak and valley profile measured at the same location on the backside surface of the wafer.

Advanced wafer security method including pattern and wafer verifications

A Y-shaped carbon nanotube atomic force microscope probe tip and methods comprise a shaft portion; a pair of angled arms extending from a same end of the shaft portion, wherein the shaft portion and the pair of angled arms comprise a chemically modified carbon nanotube, and wherein the chemically modified carbon nanotube is modified with any of an amine, carboxyl, fluorine, and metallic component. Preferably, each of the pair of angled arms comprises a length of at least 200 nm and a diameter between 10 and 200 nm. Moreover, the chemically modified carbon nanotube is preferably adapted to allow differentiation between substrate materials to be probed. Additionally, the chemically modified carbon nanotube is preferably adapted to allow fluorine gas to flow through the chemically modified carbon nanotube onto a substrate to be characterized. Furthermore, the chemically modified carbon nanotube is preferably adapted to chemically react with a substrate surface to be characterized.

Y-shaped carbon nanotubes as AFM probe for analyzing substrates with angled topography

Growing community of inventors

Latham, NY, United States of America

Carol Boye