All surface film metrology system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10563973-B2
Application number	US-201615255605-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 2, 2016
Priority date	Mar 28, 2016
Publication date	Feb 18, 2020
Grant date	Feb 18, 2020

Abstract

A system is configured to perform metrology on a front surface, a back surface opposite the front surface, and/or an edge between the front surface and the back surface of a wafer. This can provide all wafer metrology and/or metrology of thin films on the back surface of the wafer. In an example, the thickness and/or optical properties of a thin film on a back surface of a wafer can be determined using a ratio of a greyscale image of a bright field light emerging from the back surface of the wafer under test to that of a reference wafer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
a stage configured to hold a wafer;
at least one light source configured to direct at least one beam at a front surface, a back surface opposite the front surface, and an edge between the front surface and the back surface of the wafer on the stage;
at least three detectors configured to receive the at least one beam reflected off the front surface, the back surface, and the edge and generate image data; and
a controller in electronic communication with the three detectors, wherein the controller is configured to perform metrology on the front surface, the back surface, and the edge using the image data, wherein the controller comprises a processor and the processor is programmed to determine a thickness of a film on the back surface of the wafer by measuring a ratio of a greyscale image of bright field light emerging from the back surface of the wafer and a reference wafer using a hardware model, a first film stack model, and a second film stack model, wherein the hardware model is mathematically expressed and includes hardware parameters of the system including at least one of incident angle, wavelengths of light, and parameters of a polarization conditioning element and is built from grey level data taken on samples under test, wherein the first film stack model is mathematically expressed and corresponds to the reference wafer, wherein the second film stack model is mathematically expressed and corresponds to the wafer, and wherein each of the first film stack model and the second film stack model includes a parameter used to calculate the thickness of the film and optical property of the film and the wafer.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system includes three of the light sources.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the light source includes at least one colored light emitting diode.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to perform metrology based on inspection results determined using the three detectors.

5. A method comprising:
providing a hardware model that is mathematically expressed and includes hardware parameters of a system, wherein the hardware parameters include at least one of incident angle, wavelengths of light, and parameters of a polarization conditioning element, and wherein the hardware model is built from grey level data taken on samples under test;
providing at least a first film stack model and a second film stack model, wherein the first film stack model is mathematically expressed and corresponds to a reference wafer and the second film stack model is mathematically expressed and corresponds to a wafer with a film on a back surface, wherein each of the first film stack model and the second film stack model include a parameter used to calculate a thickness of the film and optical property of the film and the wafer;
illuminating the wafer with the film on the back surface;
detecting, using a sensor, a greyscale image of a bright field light emerging from the back surface of the wafer with the film;
communicating the greyscale image to a processor; and
determining, using the processor, a thickness of the film on the back surface of the wafer by matching a measured ratio of the greyscale image of the bright field light emerging from the back surface of the wafer using the hardware model to a simulated ratio of the greyscale image using the first film stack model and the second film stack model.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising calibrating the system using a bare wafer.

7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising calibrating the system using a wafer having a film with a known thickness.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the bright field light includes light from a red light emitting diode, a green light emitting diode, and a blue light emitting diode.

9. The method of claim 5 , wherein the bright field light includes light from one or more diode lasers.

10. The method of claim 5 , further comprising determining, using the processor, optical properties of the film.

11. The method of claim 5 , wherein a film material and optical properties of the film are known prior to the determining.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the three detectors is one of a photo-multiplier tube, a CMOS device, a charge coupled device, or a time delay integration camera.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to perform an inspection of the wafer using the image data, and wherein the inspection is performed simultaneously with the metrology.

14. The method of claim 5 , further comprising inspecting the wafer, using the processor, simultaneously with the determining of the thickness.

15. The method of claim 5 , further comprising performing metrology on the back surface, a top surface, and an edge between the front surface and the back surface of the wafer.

16. The method of claim 5 , wherein the illuminating includes directing a beam at each of the back surface, a front surface opposite the back surface, and an edge between the front surface and the back surface of the wafer.

Assignees

• Kla Tencor Corp

Inventors

• Li Shifang
• Nicolaides Lena
• Horn Paul
• Graetz Richard

Classifications

• G01B11/06 Primary

  for measuring thickness {; e.g. of sheet material (thickness measurement by thermal means G01B21/085)} · CPC title

• G06T2207/30148

  Semiconductor; IC; Wafer · CPC title

• H10P74/203 Primary

  Structural properties, e.g. testing or measuring thicknesses, line widths, warpage, bond strengths or physical defects · CPC title

• H10P74/27

  Structural arrangements therefor · CPC title

• H10P74/23

  characterised by multiple measurements, corrections, marking or sorting processes · CPC title