Infineon Technologies Ag

Karl Schumacher

Heiko Hommen

Thomas Fischer

Gerhard Kunkel

Sebastian Schmidt

Thorsten Schedel

William Roberts

Jens Stäcker

Ralf Otto

Marlene Strobl

Patrick Lomtscher

Jens Uwe Bruch

The mutually associated structure patterns, which are provided on one mask, or a plurality of masks for a double or multiple exposure can be received by the mask substrate holder. The mask substrate holder has two receiving stations one for each of the masks. Alternatively, both structure patterns for the double exposure are formed on one mask. The substrate holder has one receiving station. The substrate holder, is displaced from the section including first structure pattern to the second, between the two exposure operations, without the masks having to be loaded or unloaded, and realigned.

Method for carrying out a double or multiple exposure

An inspection system includes an illumination source configured to illuminate a blazed phase grating sample, image collection pathways and an imaging system configured to capture an image of a sample point of the blazed phase grating sample, and a controller configured to adjust the illumination source in response to an analysis of the image of the sample point to determine illumination uniformity of the inspection system.

Optimizing light path uniformity in inspection systems

While a first leading semiconductor wafer ( ) already processed in a process appliance ( ) and belonging to a batch is being measured in a microscope measuring instrument ( ) in relation to values for the structure parameters a second or further semiconductor wafer ( ) belonging to the batch is processed in the process appliance ( ). An event signal ( ) reports, for example, an inspection carried out successfully of the first wafer, so that the following wafers ( ) no longer need to be inspected. Using the measured results, the process parameters ( ) of the process appliance ( ) are automatically readjusted. Events such as maintenance work or parameter drifts in trend maps etc. are detected in control units ( or ) and, via the output of an event signal ( ), for example in an event database ( ), lead to the event-based selection of structure parameters ( ) to be measured and/or to the initiation of a leading wafer ( ). Limiting-value violations ( ) of at least one process parameter ( ), detected by a control unit ( ), are responded to by a warning signal ( ) and likewise fed into the event database ( ).

Method for controlling a processing device for a sequential processing of semiconductor wafers

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Dresden, Germany

Karl Schumacher