A PCA-Based PCM Data Analyzing Method for Diagnosing Process Failures
Author:
- 13 November 2006
- journal article
- Published by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing
- Vol. 19 (4) , 404-410
Abstract
In an IC process line, after a process is finished, the process control module or monitor (PCM) is tested and the data are examined so that the status of the process quality is known. In the case of a process failure, the root cause of the failure must be analyzed, and relevant actions must be taken to correct it. In this paper, we describe a novel way of diagnosing process failures. First, the tested PCM parameters, which are correlated to each other, are analyzed and transformed to a new set of independent parameters using principal component analysis (PCA). In the second step, the most important eigenvectors from PCA calculation are identified, and the causes of the process failures can therefore be extracted. Furthermore, using the PCA eigenvectors as a coordinate base, the state space of a process can be constructed. As a result, the process states from different lots of wafers can be compared; thus, it is possible to trace the IC processes, or even to predict a possible process failure, before it happensKeywords
This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit:
- Numerical simulation for air flow in the mini-environment and SMIF enclosureIEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing, 2003
- Multivariate statistical methods for modeling and analysis of wafer probe test dataIEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing, 2002
- Knowledge transfer and the limits to profitability: an empirical study of problem-solving practices in semiconductor manufacturing and process developmentIEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing, 2002
- Artificial neural-network-based diagnosis of CVD barrel reactorIEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing, 2002
- MBPCA application for fault detection in NMOS fabricationIEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing, 2002
- A system model for feedback control and analysis of yield: A multistep process model of effective gate length, poly line width, and IV parametersIEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing, 2001
- Capture rate enhance method of 0.1-μm level defects by pattern-matching inspectorsIEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing, 2000
- Fault detection of plasma etchers using optical emission spectraIEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing, 2000
- Economical clean dry air system for closed manufacturing systemIEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing, 2000
- Estimation of contamination levels in a chemical recirculation system for semiconductor wafer processingIEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing, 2000