Patent · US Expired

Method of using data regarding manufacturing procedures integrated circuits (IC's) have undergone, such as repairs, to select procedures the IC's will undergo, such as additional repairs

US6553276B2 · kind B2 · utility

37Cited by
26References
35Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 5, 2002
Grant dateApr 22, 2003
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 5, 2022

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01L2223/5444
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An inventive method in an integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing process for using data regarding repair procedures conducted on IC's at probe to determine whether any further repairs will be conducted later in the manufacturing process includes storing the data in association with a fuse ID of each of the IC's. The ID codes of the IC's are automatically read, for example, at an opens/shorts test during the manufacturing process. The data stored in association with the ID codes of the IC's is then accessed, and additional repair procedures the IC's may undergo are selected in accordance with the accessed data. Thus, for example, the accessed data may indicate that an IC is unrepairable, so the IC can proceed directly to a scrap bin without having to be queried to determine whether it is repairable, as is necessary in traditional IC manufacturing processes.

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