Patent · US Expired

Optimization of die yield in a silicon wafer “sweet spot”

US6980917B2 · kind B2 · utility

9Cited by
3References
13Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 30, 2002
Grant dateDec 27, 2005
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 17, 2024

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG03F7/70433
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A method of increasing the wafer yield for an integrated circuit includes the steps of receiving as input a shot map, an initial orientation of a center of the shot map relative to a center of a wafer resulting in a maximum number of printable die, a usable wafer diameter, a selected yield margin, and historical yield information for each die location in the shot map; generating a plot of an estimated yield for each die location in the wafer from the historical yield information; plotting an estimated wafer yield within an area of the wafer as a function of a radius; and selecting a sweet spot radius corresponding to an area of the wafer having a wafer yield that is substantially equal to the selected yield margin for finding an offset from the initial orientation of the center of the shot map that results in a maximum wafer yield.

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