Reticle defect printability: impact on yield and feedback to suppliers

Robert Vinje; Arthur D. Klaum; David Chmielewski; Matt J. Lamantia; Dawn M. Woolery; Dianna L. Coburn; Colleen P. Weins

doi:10.1117/12.468087

27 December 2002 Reticle defect printability: their impact on yield and feedback to suppliers

Robert Vinje, Arthur D. Klaum, David Chmielewski, Matt J. Lamantia, Dawn M. Woolery, Dianna L. Coburn, Colleen P. Weins

Proceedings Volume 4889, 22nd Annual BACUS Symposium on Photomask Technology; (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.468087
Event: Photomask Technology 2002, 2002, Monterey, CA, United States

Abstract

The semiconductor industry continues to aggressively shrink linewidths and manufacture more closely spaced patterns to improve power and speed performances, as well as increase die per wafer counts. Current development is near 100 nm and high volume manufacturing is commonly near 150 nm. These smaller linewidths and more dense patterns are hampered with new populations of defects that were previously unimportant second or third order effects. As a result, new defects of interest must specifically be investigated, detected, and prevented on the reticles that hold master images of what is being printed. This is often difficult because reticle manufacturing, reticle defect detection, and reticle end-usage (manufacturer) typically spans three corporations. If defects occur on wafers that were not detected with current reticle inspection capabilities, there must be correlation from the printed wafer back to the reticle to assist the reticle supplier in locating the defect and working towards eliminating the problem. In some cases, photo defects may not impact device functionality. As a result closed-loop analyses and actions, which determine whether an event actually causes yield loss, must be developed into the business practices of multiple companies. This paper reports on an inter-company process (ICP) involving Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, Dupont Photomask Incorporated, and KLA-Tencor. The ICP evaluates reticle defects on wafers, their impact on yield, and the transfer of the defect information back to the reticle vendor in an effort to improve overall reticle quality for a 150 nm and beyond semiconductor manufacturing fab.

Citation Download Citation

Robert Vinje, Arthur D. Klaum, David Chmielewski, Matt J. Lamantia, Dawn M. Woolery, Dianna L. Coburn, and Colleen P. Weins "Reticle defect printability: their impact on yield and feedback to suppliers", Proc. SPIE 4889, 22nd Annual BACUS Symposium on Photomask Technology, (27 December 2002); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.468087

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