Taking Control

These articles showcase strategies being used to achieve advanced process and equipment control in semiconductor manufacturing.

Implementing EDA to improve equipment performance and fab productivity
An overview article focuses on the concrete steps that can be taken as Interface A comes into use, highlighting the performance and productivity benefits that the new technology will bring. (March 2006)

Developing a condition-based process control model for STI trench depth control
A process control model eliminates manual recipe management in STI applications and compensates for wet clean cycles, tool/chamber matching, and process and reticle-set differences. (July 2005)

Controlling etch tools using real-time fault detection and classification
Fab case studies detail the use of an FDC system based on a pattern-recognition algorithm that is immune to drifts in sensor parameters caused by normal chamber cycling. (March 2005)

Eliminating scrap through process and equipment control based on interactive learning
To correct a problem with bottom electrode temperature for an etch-tool recipe, a fab installed a model-based control system, improving tool and process performance and eliminating scrap. (October/November 2004)

(Taking Control) Developing and implementing an advanced CMP run-to-run controller
A CMP run-to-run controller based on a microscale polish simulator predicts the planariazation rate of high wafer features relative to low features as a function of critical recipe variables. (August/September 2003)

(Taking Control) Using maintenance input data to increase the prediction accuracy of APC strategies
Production and beta tests at different fab sites demonstrate that by taking maintenance data into account in an APC model, manufacturers can better predict process shifts and drifts. (June 2003)

(Taking Control) Performing STI process control using large-spot-size Fourier-transform reflectometry
Fab experiments demonstrate that an integrated film-measurement system for use in STI process control applications can measure different films simultaneously in dense patterns on product wafers. (April 2003)

(Taking Control) Improving overlay performance in lithography tools using run-to-run control
Fab tests over several months demonstrated that an automated process control strategy can improve overlay control in a lithography exposure tool, reducing rework and production costs. (January/February 2003)

(Taking Control) Improving equipment productivity through on-product etch-process monitoring
Experiments performed during implementation of a real-time process control technique revealed the technique's advantages over traditional equipment qualification. (October 2002)

(Taking Control) Devising an APC strategy for metal sputtering using residual gas analyzers
A study used RGA technology coupled with tight sensor integration, key-number compression, and multidimensional analysis to eliminate the introduction of contaminants into sputtering tools. (July/August 2002)

(Taking Control) Linking plasma process parameters to tool parameters and end-of-line results
A case study involving DRAM and logic gate-conductor etch relies on data compression and analysis techniques to map process parameters to tool parameters and electrical test results. (May 2002)

(Taking Control) Achieving process understanding and real-time fault detection on a PVD tool
A control system attached to a PVD tool can be used to customize recipes during process development, perform process monitoring to detect misprocessed wafers, and optimize PM cycles. (March 2002)

(Taking Control) Using global process control in semiconductor fabs to achieve APC
As the semiconductor industry experiences rapid technological changes, new products and processes are continuously developed while technology becomes ever more complicated and precise. (January 2002)