International Business Machines Corporation

Justin W Wong

Steven G Barbee

Leping Li

Eugene Henry Ratzlaff

Tony F Heinz

Yiping Hsiao

Gary R Moore

Richard Anthony Conti

Michael W Mock

Jonathan Daniel Chapple-Sokol

James Anthony O'Neill

Narayana V Sarma

Donald L Wilson

Mark L Reath

Edward P Higgins

Richard Hsiao

David Edward Kotecki

Jerome Brett Lasky

Mickey H Yu

Richard L Kleinhenz

Anthony C Speranza

Brian Christopher Barker

Steven Paul Zuhoski

Donald Leslie Wilson

Steven P Zuhoski

Horst Zisgen

Kevin M Boyd

James A Gallo

Barbara L Shiffler

Bret Philips

A solution for managing a manufacturing environment using operating data for each of a plurality of tools in the manufacturing environment. The operating data can include actual resource consumption data and/or actual exhaust generation data for a tool while the tool implements at least a portion of a recipe to manufacture one of a plurality of types of products manufactured in the manufacturing environment. Operation of the manufacturing environment can be configured to optimize one or more aspects of resource consumption and/or exhaust generation during the manufacture of desired quantities of the plurality of types of products within a desired time frame using the operating data.

Manufacturing management using tool operating data

A processing system and method. The processing system includes a processing tool, an electrostatic chuck (ESC) arranged within the processing tool, and a system that at least one of detects at least one of an ESC bias spike and an ESC current spike of the ESC and determines when an ESC bias voltage is zero or exceeds a threshold value. The method includes at least one of detecting at least one of an ESC bias spike and an ESC current spike of the ESC, and determining when an ESC bias voltage is zero or exceeds a threshold value. The system and method can be used in real time ESC and plasma processing diagnostics to minimize yield loss and wafer scrap.

In situ monitoring of wafer charge distribution in plasma processing

Disclosed are embodiments that provide near real-time monitoring of a control application in a manufacturing environment to detect and determine the root cause of faults within the control application. The embodiments monitor the flow of data within the control application during events (i.e., transactions, stages, process steps, etc.). By comparing a dataflow path for a near real-time event with historical dataflow path records, dataflow interruptions (i.e., fails) within the control application can be detected. By determining the location of such a dataflow interruption, the root cause of the control application fail can be determined. Additionally, the invention can generate summary reports indicating the status of the control application. For example, the summary reports can quantify the performance and/or the effectiveness of the control application. These summary reports can further be generated with drill downs to provide a user with direct access to the records upon which the reports were based.

Tool for reporting the status and drill-down of a control application in an automated manufacturing environment

Disclosed are embodiments that provide near real-time monitoring of a control application in a manufacturing environment in order to detect and determine the root cause of faults within the control application. The embodiments monitor the flow of data within the control application during certain events (i.e., certain transactions, stages, process steps, etc.). By comparing a dataflow path for a near real-time event with historical dataflow path records, dataflow interruptions (i.e., fails) within the control application can be detected. By determining the location of such a dataflow interruption, the root cause of the control application fail can be determined. Additionally, the invention can generate summary reports that quantify the performance and/or the effectiveness of the control application. These summary reports can further be generated with drill downs to provide a user with direct access to the records upon which the reports were based.

Tool to report the status and drill-down of an application in an automated manufacturing environment

Method for reporting the status and drill-down of a control application in an automated manufacturing environment

Disclosed are embodiments that provide near real-time monitoring of a control application in a manufacturing environment to detect and determine the root cause of faults within the control application. The embodiments monitor the flow of data within the control application during events (i.e., transactions, stages, process steps, etc.). By comparing a dataflow path for a near real-time event with historical dataflow path records, dataflow interruptions (i.e., fails) within the control application can be detected. By determining the location of such a dataflow interruption, the root cause of the control application fail can be determined. Additionally, the invention can generate summary reports indicating the status of the control application. These summary reports can further be generated with drill downs to provide a user with direct access to the records upon which the reports were based.

Method for reporting the status of a control application in an automated manufacturing environment

A method of manufacturing and inspecting SOI such that during STI formation, by depositing a light absorbing layer in the STI such as hydrosilicon oxynitride, the silicon inclusions in the buried insulator layer of the SOI are undetectable by an optical inspection. The reduction in background effects allows for improved optical inspection of SOI wafers without having to discriminate against defects created by SOI formation. A method of manufacturing and inspecting semiconductor devices is disclosed wherein deposition of a light absorbing layer, such as hydrosilicon oxynitride, prevents defects occurring prior to deposition from being optically inspectable and those defects created during the most recent processing can be easily distinguished. Also disclosed are an optically inspectable semiconductor device and an optically inspectable semiconductor device having an STI.

STI fill for SOI which makes SOI inspectable

A contactless method and apparatus for real-time in-situ monitoring of a chemical etching process during etching of at least one wafer in a wet chemical etchant bath are disclosed. The method comprises the steps of providing two conductive electrodes in the wet chemical bath, wherein the two electrodes are proximate to but not in contact with a wafer; monitoring an electrical characteristic between the two electrodes as a function of time in the etchant bath of the at least one wafer, wherein a prescribed change in the electrical characteristic is indicative of a prescribed condition of the etching process; and recording a plurality of values of the electrical characteristic as a function of time during etching. From the plurality of recorded values and corresponding times, instantaneous etch rates, average etch rates, and etching end points may be determined. Such a method and the apparatus therefor are particularly useful in a wet chemical etch station.

Real time measurement of etch rate during a chemical etching process

A method and apparatus for monitoring and controlling reactant vapors prior to chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The reactant vapors are monitored at full concentration without sampling as they are transported to a CVD reactor. Contaminants detected cause a process controller to switch the transport path to direct reactant vapors to a system pump.

Method of aluminum oxide low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD)

A contactless method and apparatus for real-time in-situ monitoring of a chemical etching process during etching of at least one wafer in a wet chemical etchant bath are disclosed. The method comprises the steps of providing two conductive electrodes in the wet chemical bath, wherein the two electrodes are proximate to but not in contact with a wafer; monitoring an electrical characteristic between the two electrodes as a function of time in the etchant bath of the at least one wafer, wherein a prescribed change in the electrical characteristic is indicative of a prescribed condition of the etching process; detecting a minimum and maximum value of the electrical characteristic during etching; determining the times of the minimum and maximum values; and comparing the times of the minimum and maximum values to determine a film etching uniformity value. Such a method and the apparatus therefor are particularly useful in a wet chemical etch station, and are useful for film deposition process quality control.

Chemical etch monitor for measuring film etching uniformity during a

A process and apparatus for Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 CVD on silicon wafers using aluminum tri-isopropoxide in a high-volume production environment is presented. The conditions required to use ATI in a production environment and provide maximum utilization of ATI are first of all delivery of ATI via direct evaporation. The ATI source bottle is pumped out (bypassing substrates) until propene and isopropanol signals are reduced to 1% of process pressure before start of aluminum oxide deposition. Either IR spectroscopy or mass spectrometry can be used to provide a control signal to the microprocessor controller. Heating the supplied tetramer to 120.degree. C. for two hours assures complete conversion to trimer. The ATI is stored at 90.degree. C. to minimize decomposition during idle periods and allow recovery of trimer upon return to 120.degree. C. for two hours. During periods of demand, the ATI is held at 120.degree. C. to minimize decomposition.

Aluminum oxide LPCVD system

A contactless method and apparatus for real-time in-situ monitoring of a chemical etching process to minimize overetch of at least one wafer in a wet chemical etchant bath are disclosed. The method comprises the steps of providing two conductive electrodes in the wet chemical bath, wherein the two electrodes are proximate to but not in contact with a wafer; monitoring an electrical characteristic between the two electrodes as a function of time in the etchant bath of the at least one wafer, wherein a prescribed change in the electrical characteristic is indicative of a prescribed condition of the etching process; detecting a minimum and maximum value of the electrical characteristic during etching; determining the times of the minimum and maximum values; and comparing the times of the minimum and maximum values to determine an overetch value. The overetch value may be compared to a desired value to control the etching process. Such a method and the apparatus therefor are particularly useful in a wet chemical etch station.

Minimizing overetch during a chemical etching process

Measuring film etching uniformity during a chemical etching process

Aluminum oxide low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD)

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South Burlington, VT, United States of America

Justin W Wong