Stepper registration feedback control in 300-mm manufacturing

Joel Fenner; Joel G. Roberts; Steven L. Carson

doi:10.1117/12.485313

1 July 2003 Stepper registration feedback control in 300-mm manufacturing

Joel Fenner, Joel G. Roberts, Steven L. Carson

Proceedings Volume 5044, Advanced Process Control and Automation; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.485313
Event: Advanced Microelectronic Manufacturing, 2003, Santa Clara, CA, United States

Abstract

Control of registration (overlay error between printed layers) is a key aspect of successfully manufacturing semiconductors. At Intel, registration control was formerly achieved through manual adjustments of the tool to account for the known effects of non-stationary drift. The objective of the stepper registration control (SRC) project was to create a robust algorithm and automated implementation to replace the manual adjustment process. This goal was accomplished at Intel by developing an automated product called SRC. At the heart of the SRC application is the SRC feedback algorithm. At the stepper, alignment settings are adjusted to correct for non-stationary drift. The SRC algorithm uses a weighted average of registration data from previous lots to determine the recommended alignment settings. The novel scheme weights prior lots using a combination of traditional EWMA based weighting and variance based weighting. After piloting and comparing the results against the manual algorithm, the SRC application has been shown to be at least as good as the manual algorithm. Thus the SRC application is being used by all 300mm Intel factories. Since HVM factories cannot resource the same level of frequent manual adjustments, the benefits of reduced rework rate and increased process capability is more pronounced in HVM.

Citation Download Citation

Joel Fenner, Joel G. Roberts, and Steven L. Carson "Stepper registration feedback control in 300-mm manufacturing", Proc. SPIE 5044, Advanced Process Control and Automation, (1 July 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.485313

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