| Hideo Ota | Application Technology Dept., Semiconductor Process Control Systems Sales Div., |
| Masayuki Hachiya | Optical Inspection Systems Design Dept., Naka Div., Nanotechnology Products Business Gr., |
| Yoji Ichiyasu | Application Technology Dept., Semiconductor Process Control Systems Sales Div., |
| Toru Kurenuma | Design Dept. II, Development & Production Div., |
Data obtained from wafer-surface inspection tools are limited to defect maps, defect number, etc. In any case, in order to swiftly execute measures to decrease the amount of defects, it is very important to determine where the defects are being generated. Accordingly, more concrete information on defects, such as shape and constitution data, is becoming more necessary. Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation is therefore offering a line-up of wafer-surface defect inspection tools and review scanning electron microscopes, and Hitachi Kenki FineTech Co., Ltd. is offering a line-up of atomic-force microscopes. In the present work, a system of improving yields by providing surface-analysis information about unpatterned silicon wafers—called "smart root cause analysis"—was developed. From now onwards, although defect observation based on the output coordinates from surface inspection of unpatterned silicon wafers is extremely difficult owing to a lack of an alignment basis, the developed system can address this difficulty and make a key contribution to crucial defect countermeasures with high efficiency.
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Hitachi High-Technologies |
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The Hitachi Hyoron (Japanese Only) |
unpatterned wafer, scanning surface inspection system, SSIS, defect review SEM, AFM, defect identify
