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:
May. 02, 2017
Filed:
Apr. 16, 2015
Applicant:
Kla-tencor Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US);
Inventors:
Timothy Goodwin, Mountain View, CA (US);
Lena Nicolaides, Castro Valley, CA (US);
Mohan Mahadevan, Livermore, CA (US);
Paul Horn, Milpitas, CA (US);
Shifang Li, Pleasanton, CA (US);
Assignee:
KLA-Tencor Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01N 21/88 (2006.01); G01N 21/95 (2006.01); H01L 21/66 (2006.01); G01B 11/16 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
H01L 22/24 (2013.01); G01B 11/16 (2013.01); G01N 21/8806 (2013.01); G01N 21/95 (2013.01); G01N 21/9503 (2013.01); H01L 22/12 (2013.01); G01N 2201/06113 (2013.01);
Abstract
Photoreflectance spectroscopy is used to measure strain at or near the edge of a wafer in a production process. The strain measurement is used to anticipate defects and make prospective corrections in later stages of the production process. Strain measurements are used to associate various production steps with defects to enhance later production processes.