Patent · US Expired

Semiconductor wafer, wafer alignment patterns and method of forming wafer alignment patterns

US5700732A · kind A · utility

29Cited by
3References
9Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 2, 1996
Grant dateDec 23, 1997
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 2, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S438/975
  • WIPO fieldSemiconductors
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A semiconductor processing method of forming integrated circuitry on a semiconductor wafer includes, a) forming at least two discrete wafer alignment patterns on the wafer, the two discrete alignment patterns having respective series of elevation steps provided therein; and b) while fabricating integrated circuitry elsewhere on the wafer, processing a first portion of at least one of the alignment patterns differently from a second portion of the one alignment pattern to render the first portion to be different from the second portion in the one alignment pattern. Such preferably superimposes a secondary step, most preferably of the same degree, over only a portion of the elevation steps in at least one of the wafer alignment patterns. Further, a semiconductor processing method of forming integrated circuitry on a semiconductor wafer includes, i) forming at least two discrete wafer alignment patterns on the wafer, the two discrete alignment patterns having respective series of elevation steps provided therein; and ii) while fabricating integrated circuitry elsewhere on the wafer, processing one of the alignment patterns differently from the other to render the one alignment pattern…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.