Imaging reflectometry for inline screening

US12422376B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• KLA Corporation · US

Inventors

• John Robinson · Austin, US
• Stilian Ivanov Pandev · Santa Clara, US
• Shifang Li · Pleasanton, US
• Mike Von Den Hoff · Munich, DE
• Justin Lach · Portage, US
• Barry Saville
• David W. Price · Austin, US
• Robert J. Rathert · Mechanicsville, US
• Chet V. Lenox · Venus, US
• Thomas Groos · Mengerskirchen, DE
• Oreste Donzella · San Ramon, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 4, 2021
• Grant date: Sep 23, 2025
• Expiry date: Jun 4, 2041

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06N20/00
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A die screening system may receive die-resolved metrology data for a population of dies on one or more samples from the one or more in-line metrology tools after one or more fabrication steps, where the die-resolved metrology data includes images generated using one or more measurement configurations of the one or more in-line metrology tools. In this way, the die-resolved metrology data provides many measurement channels per die, where a particular measurement channel includes data from a particular pixel of a particular image. The controller may then generate screening data for the population of dies from the die-resolved metrology data, where the screening data includes a subset of the plurality of measurement channels of the die-resolved metrology data, and screen the plurality of dies into two or more disposition classes including at least outlier dies based on variability in the screening data.