International Business Machines Corporation

Globalfoundries Inc.

Shawn A Adderly

Jeffrey P Gambino

Matthew D Moon

Timothy Dooling Sullivan

Samantha D DiStefano

Max L Lifson

Max Gerald Levy

Daniel A Delibac

David C Thomas

Anthony C Speranza

Eric Andrew Joseph

William Joseph Murphy

Prakash Periasamy

David A DeMuynck

Craig E Schneider

Shawn R Goddard

Melissa J Roma

Kyle Babinski

Sebastian Theodore Ventrone

Jed Hickory Rankin

Zhong-Xiang He

Eric Jeffrey White

Jonathan Daniel Chapple-Sokol

Brian M Czabaj

Aydin Suren

Paul A Niekrewicz

Donald R Letourneau

Mark J Esposito

An apparatus for and methods of repairing and manufacturing integrated circuits using the apparatus. The apparatus, comprising: a vacuum chamber containing: a movable stage configured to hold a substrate; an inspection and analysis probe; a heat source; a gas injector; and a gas manifold connecting multiple gas sources to the gas injector.

Nano deposition and ablation for the repair and fabrication of integrated circuits

An apparatus and an associated method. The apparatus includes a chuck, an array of three or more ultrasonic sensors, a ceramic ring surrounding the chuck, and a controller connected to the ultrasonic sensors. The chuck is configured to removeably hold a substrate for processing. Each ultrasonic sensor may send a respective ultrasonic sound wave to a respective preselected peripheral region of the substrate and receive a respective return ultrasonic sound wave from the preselected peripheral region. The controller may compare a measured position of the substrate on the chuck to a specified placement of the substrate on the chuck based on a measured elapsed time between sending the ultrasonic sound wave and receiving the return ultrasonic sound wave for each ultrasonic sensor. The method compares a measured position of the substrate on the chuck to a specified position on the chuck.

Centering substrates on a chuck

The disclosure relates to semiconductor structures and, more particularly, to waveguide structures used in phonotics chip packaging and methods of manufacture. The structure includes: a first die comprising photonics functions including a waveguide structure; a second die bonded to the first die and comprising CMOS logic functions; and an optical fiber optically coupled to the waveguide structure and positioned within a cavity formed in the second die.

Waveguide structures used in phonotics chip packaging

An apparatus and an associated method. The apparatus includes a chuck in a process chamber, an array of three or more ultrasonic sensors in the process chamber, a ceramic ring surrounding the chuck, and a controller connected to the ultrasonic sensors. The chuck is configured to removeably hold a substrate for processing. Each ultrasonic sensor may send a respective ultrasonic sound wave to a respective preselected peripheral region of the substrate and receive a respective return ultrasonic sound wave from the preselected peripheral region. The controller may compare a measured position of the substrate on the chuck to a specified placement of the substrate on the chuck based on a measured elapsed time between sending the ultrasonic sound wave and receiving the return ultrasonic sound wave for each ultrasonic sensor. The method compares a measured position of the substrate on the chuck to a specified position on the chuck.

An apparatus and method for centering substrates determining on a chuck. The apparatus includes a chuck in a process chamber, the chuck configured to removeably hold a substrate for processing; an array of two or more ultrasonic sensors arranged in the process chamber, each ultrasonic sensor arranged relative to the chuck so as to send a respective ultrasonic sound wave to a respective preselected region of the substrate and receive a respective return ultrasonic sound wave from the preselected region of the substrate; and a controller connected to each ultrasonic sensor and configured to compare a measured position of the substrate on the chuck to a specified placement of the substrate on the chuck based on a measured elapsed time between sending the ultrasonic sound wave and receiving the return ultrasonic sound wave from each ultrasonic sensor.

Apparatus and method for centering substrates on a chuck

Disclosed is a method of manufacturing integrated circuit (IC) chips. In the method, wafers are received and the backside roughness levels of these wafers are determined. Based on the backside roughness levels, the wafers are sorted into different groups. Chips having the same design are manufactured on wafers from all of the different groups. However, during manufacturing, process(es) is/are performed differently on wafers from one or more of the different groups to minimize systematic variations in a specific parameter (e.g., wire width) in the resulting chips. Specifically, because systematic variations may occur when the exact same processes are used to form IC chips on wafers with different backside roughness levels, the method disclosed herein selectively adjusts one or more of those processes when performed on wafers from one or more of the different groups to ensure that the specific parameter is approximately equal in the resulting integrated IC chips.

Method of fine-tuning process controls during integrated circuit chip manufacturing based on substrate backside roughness

A method of monitoring a temperature of a plurality of regions in a substrate during a deposition process, the monitoring of the temperature including: forming, in the monitored plurality of regions, a plurality of metal structures each with a different metal pattern density, where each metal pattern density corresponds to a threshold temperature at or above which metal voids and surface roughness are formed in the plurality of metal structures, and detecting metal voids and surface roughness in the plurality of metal structures to determine the temperature of the monitored plurality of regions.

Void monitoring device for measurement of wafer temperature variations

An apparatus and method for leak detection of coolant gas from a chuck. The apparatus includes a chuck having a top surface and configured to clamp a substrate to the top surface, the chuck having one or more recessed regions in the top surface, the recessed regions configured to allow a cooling gas to contact a backside of the substrate; a cooling gas inlet and a cooling gas outlet connected to the one or more recessed regions; a first measurement device connected to the cooling gas inlet and configured to measure a first amount of cooling gas entering the cooling gas inlet and a second measurement device connected to the cooling gas outlet and configured to measure a second amount of cooling gas exiting from the cooling gas outlet; and a controller configured to determine a difference between the first amount of cooling gas and the second amount of cooling gas.

Method and apparatus for detecting foreign material on a chuck

Substrates (wafers) with uniform backside roughness and methods of manufacture are disclosed. The method includes forming a material on a backside of a wafer. The method further includes patterning the material to expose portions of the backside of the wafer. The method further includes roughening the backside of the wafer through the patterned material to form a uniform roughness.

Uniform roughness on backside of a wafer

In a particular embodiment, a method of anticipatorily loading a page of memory is provided. The method may include, during execution of first program code using a first page of memory, collecting data for at least one attribute of the first page of memory, including collecting data about at least one next page of memory that interacts with the first page of memory for a historical topology attribute of the first page of memory. The method may also include, during execution of second program code using the first page of memory, determining a second page of memory to anticipatorily load based on the historical topology attribute of the first page of memory.

Anticipatorily loading a page of memory

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for achieving uniform capacitance between a semiconductor wafer and an electrostatic chuck. In certain embodiments, the method comprises the step of forming a layer on a first side of the semiconductor wafer, wherein the layer has a specified resistivity. The method further comprises placing the semiconductor wafer on the electrostatic chuck, wherein the layer contacts the electrostatic chuck. The method further comprises applying a radio frequency signal to the electrostatic chuck, and processing a second side of the semiconductor wafer.

Achieving uniform capacitance between an electrostatic chuck and a semiconductor wafer

Disclosed are semiconductor structures with metal lines and methods of manufacture which reduce or eliminate extrusion formation. The method includes forming a metal wiring comprising a layered structure of metal materials with an upper constraining layer. The method further includes forming a film on the metal wiring which prevents metal extrusion during an annealing process.

Semiconductor structures with metal lines

Aspects of the present invention relate to method for reducing lateral extrusion formed in semiconductor structures and semiconductor structures formed thereof. Various embodiments include a method for reducing lateral extrusion formed in semiconductor structures. The method can include removing a portion of a first lateral extrusion in an aluminum layer of the semiconductor structure, and determining a post-removal thickness of a dielectric layer positioned adjacent the aluminum layer. The post-removal thickness may be determined subsequent to the removing of the portion of the first lateral extrusion. The method can also include determining a difference between the post-removal thickness of the dielectric layer and a pre-removal thickness of the dielectric layer.

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Essex Junction, VT, United States of America

Shawn A Adderly