Applied Materials, Inc.

Chan Juan Xing

Ludovic Godet

Jinxin Fu

Yongan Xu

Yifei Wang

Embodiments of the present disclosure include a die system and a method of comparing alignment vectors. The die system includes a plurality of dies arranged in a desired pattern. An alignment vector, such as a die vector, can be determined from edge features of the die. The alignment vectors can be compared to other dies or die patterns in the same system. A method of comparing dies and die patterns includes comparing die vectors and/or pattern vectors. The comparison between alignment vectors allows for fixing the die patterns for the next round of processing. The methods provided allow accurate comparisons between as-deposited edge features, such that accurate stitching of dies can be achieved.

Die system and method of comparing alignment vectors

A method and apparatus for determining a line angle and a line angle rotation of a grating or line feature is disclosed. An aspect of the present disclosure involves, measuring coordinate points of a first line feature using a measurement tool, determining a first slope of the first line feature from the coordinate points, and determining a first line angle from the slope of the first line feature. This process can be repeated to find a second slope of a second line feature that is adjacent to the first line feature. The slope of the first and second line features can be compared to find a line angle rotation. The line angle rotation is compared to a design specification and a stitch quality is determined.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Chan Juan Xing