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Diagnosing Processing Problems through Electrical Charge Characterization by Greg Horner, Senior Scientist; Brian Letherer, Senior Applications Engineer
Process engineers commonly require front-end electrical testers that are both sensitive to process deviations and powerful enough to diagnose any problems that arise in production. For day-to-day monitoring, these engineers usually prefer to monitor just a few electrical test parameters. However, when the process limits on these ‘front-line’ parameters are exceed ed, the electrical test equipment must be able to analyze the problem thoroughly in the shortest possible time. For test data to be meaningful, the results of the various parameters must complement each other in order to present a complete picture of the process deviation. The KLA-Tencor Quantox system is a noncontact metrology tool capable of characterizing the electrical properties of both dielectric and silicon. It provides process engineers with conventional electrical test data without the need for metallization or other processing. It also offers the ability to improve processing capabilities by reducing the time needed to gather information for monitoring critical processes and process tools. This system provides highly detailed information that separates the electrical charge contamination into individual categories. It provides an electrical measurement of oxide thicknesses as small as 2 nm, and produces “maps’ or “fingerprints” that provide a quick overview of wafer uniformity. It also monitors heavy metal contamination, both on the surface and in the bulk of the silicon. Quantox combines three non-contacting techniques to perform the measurement functions. A corona discharge is used to bias the surface and emulate the function of the MOS (metal oxide semiconductor) electrical contact. A vibrating Kelvin probe monitors the wafer surface potential as a function of surface charge. A pulsed light source linked to the Kelvin probe enables the stimulus and detection of surface photovoltage, which, in turn, provides additional information on the silicon bandbending. 26
Autumn 1999
Yield Management Solutions
These three techniques provide SPV-Q-V curves that are used to calculate and extract the system’s electrical test parameters. Heavy metal contamination
Recently, the experience of one user illustrated the complementary nature of Quantox system’s parameters and led to the source of a processing problem. Engineers at a logic manufacturer monitor their diffusion furnaces on a weekly basis for mobile ionic contamination with an Upper Control Limit (UCL) of 7E10 q/cm2. On one occasion (figure 1), their Qm data showed two wafers (T16 and T3) were contaminated at 1E11 q/cm2 and 7.3E10 q/cm 2 respectively. A third wafer (T8) was within specification at 5.8E10 q/cm2. Note that the ‘first-line’ Qm measurement may have been affected due to alkali contamination (Na, K, Li) or increased oxide leakage incurred by metal contamination. To isolate the cause of the process variation in the first two wafers, they first tested all three wafers for
F i g u re 1. Mobi le i onic contamination /bulk iro n .