Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

Au Optronics Corporation

Chi-Wei Chang

Winston Shue

Feng-Ming Hsu

Szu-Che Yeh

Hsueh-Chin Lu

Jeng-Ding Tseng

Chung-Yi Lee

Ping-Ling Fan

Woo-Guan Chiong

Maureen Wang

Embodiments of mechanisms of an etching apparatus are provided. The etching apparatus includes a processing chamber. The etching apparatus also includes a gas distribution plate disposed in the processing chamber and comprising a number of exhaust openings. The etching apparatus further includes a number of end-point detectors disposed on the gas distribution plate. The gas distribution plate is configured to spurt gas into the processing chamber via the exhaust openings during a semiconductor process.

Mechanisms for etching apparatus and etching-detection method

In accordance with some embodiments, a positioning calibration device arranged within a transfer buffer is provided. The positioning calibration device includes at least one target element and at least three positioning modules. The at least one target element is arranged on a wafer transportation apparatus within the transfer buffer. The transportation apparatus is utilized to transfer a wafer. The at least three positioning modules are utilized to detect the positions of the at least one target element by wireless communications for generating position information of the wafer transportation apparatus. The heights which each of the at least three positioning modules arranged at are not the same.

Device and method for positioning and calibrating a wafer transportation apparatus

A power management method and a power management device for a display are disclosed, including: comparing contents in an original frame image with contents in a previous image to generate a plurality of successive second periods with first stages and second stages, shortening a plurality of time intervals in the first pulse timing distribution and outputting the first pulse timing distribution for displaying a first sub-frame image on the display during the first stage of one of the plurality of successive second periods, and shortening a plurality of time intervals in the second pulse timing distribution and outputting the second pulse timing distribution for displaying a second sub-frame image on the display during the first stage of the other one of the plurality of successive second periods; and turning off the driving circuit of the display in the second stages.

Power management method and power management device

A method of forming a low resistance metal silicide layer on a narrow width, conductive gate structure, has been developed. After formation of a metal silicide layer on a conductive gate structure via a self-aligned metal silicide (salicide), procedure, unreacted metal is removed via a selective wet etch procedure. Components of the wet etch procedure incorporated in the metal silicide layer, are next removed via a medium temperature&mdash;high vacuum anneal procedure. Removal of the wet etch components incorporated in the metal suicide layer allow a final anneal procedure to convert the metal silicide layer to a lower resistance metal silicide layer, without voids or agglomerated regions of metal silicide which may have formed during the final anneal if the incorporated wet etch components had not been removed.

Method to reduce metal silicide void formation

An apparatus and a method for calibrating the position of a cassette indexer in a semiconductor process machine are described. The apparatus is constructed by a base plate, a top plate and at least two support members rigidly attaching the top plate to the base plate in a parallel relationship. On the bottom side of the top plate, is mounted at least two spaced-apart rows of distance sensors each having at least five sensors capable of sensing a distance in the cavity of the calibration apparatus. After a wafer blade is extended into the cavity of the apparatus, a sensor in the front row and a sensor in the back row can be used to sense a front-to-back tilt of the wafer blade, while two adjacent sensors in the same row can be used to sense a side-to-side tilt of the wafer blade. The signals from the distance sensors are then sent to a processor for calculating the front-to-back and side-to-side levelness of the wafer blade such that a levelness of the cassette indexer can be determined and adjusted, if necessary.

Apparatus and method for calibrating the position of a cassette indexer

A deformable fluid supply line for use on a semiconductor fabrication machine is described which includes a generally S-shaped expandable joint connecting between two straight conduit sections for providing full communication thereinbetween and for providing stress absorbing characteristics such that the expandable joint can be stretched or otherwise deformed by at least 2 cm without breaking connections with the two straight conduit sections. When the generally S-shaped expandable joint is provided with a length of at least 10 cm, a deformation of at least 3.5 cm can be tolerated by the expandable joint without causing failure or otherwise damages in the connections with the two straight conduit sections. The deformable fluid supply line can survive an earthquake of the magnitude of Richter 5 scale. The invention further discloses a method for connecting a deformable fluid supply line to a fabrication machine by using an S-shaped joint connected in between two straight conduit sections. The present invention novel deformable fluid supply line can survive various forms of deformations including stretching, compressing, twisting and bending.

Deformable fluid supply line

An apparatus for detecting defects in a wafer edge and a method for detecting are disclosed. In the apparatus, an ultrasonic detection unit is used to detect crazing or micro-cracks in a wafer edge, while a laser detection unit is used for detecting cracks in the wafer edge. The ultrasonic detection unit and the laser detection unit may be positioned in a detection module together with a wafer platform for holding and rotating a wafer positioned thereon. The detection module is placed in a mini-environment of clean room conditions which also include a robot transport device and a wafer storage cassette. The present invention novel apparatus is compact in size and can be moved to any location in a fab plant such that it is positioned adjacent to a process machine. The present invention novel apparatus can be used to detect crazing (or micro-cracks) and cracks that are present in an edge portion of a wafer which may be caused by external stresses during various processing steps such as polishing, cleaning and edge bead rinsing.

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Hsin-Chu, Taiwan

Chi-Wei Chang