Patent · US Expired

Double side polished wafer scratch inspection tool

US7319518B2 · kind B2 · utility

2Cited by
15References
51Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 24, 2005
Grant dateJan 15, 2008
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 31, 2026

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01N2021/8864
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

The invention is a method of inspecting a semiconductor wafer surface for scratches. The method includes positioning a semiconductor wafer for illumination by a radiation source and adjacent a background material that will absorb radiation from the radiation source, directing radiation at a surface of the wafer from the radiation source that has a wavelength that will be absorbed by the fundamental absorption of the wafer, filtering or otherwise limiting the radiation to allow only radiation having wavelengths that are absorbed by the fundamental absorption of the wafer to pass, and detecting radiation scattered on the surface of the wafer and filtered, by position, to thereby identify the location of the scratches on the surface of the wafer, while the absorption of the background material prevents other radiation from the source from interfering with the detection of the scratch-scattered radiation.

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