The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 14, 2017
Filed:
Jun. 22, 2015
Kla-tencor Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US);
Himanshu Vajaria, San Jose, CA (US);
Shabnam Ghadar, Milpitas, CA (US);
Tommaso Torelli, Berkeley, CA (US);
Bradley Ries, San Jose, CA (US);
Mohan Mahadevan, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Stilian Pandev, Santa Clara, CA (US);
KLA-Tencor Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US);
Abstract
Methods and devices are disclosed for automated detection of a status of wafer fabrication process based on images. The methods advantageously use segment masks to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of the images. Metrics are then calculated for the segment mask variations in order to determine one or more combinations of segment masks and metrics that are predictive of a process non-compliance. A model can be generated as a result of the process. In another embodiment, a method uses a model to monitor a process for compliance.