JP2004363288A - Manufacturing method and inspection system for semiconductor device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for promoting automatization and reducing the cycle time, product TAT (Turn Around Time), and working manpower in executing a sample inspection in a manufacturing line for semiconductor devices or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The manufacturing method of the semiconductor devices includes a plurality of processing operations and inspection operations. The sample inspection is included in the inspection operation and is of a step to select a given lot out of a plurality of lots and inspect the selected lot to see if a result of the processing operation is good or not. The sample inspection comprises a step of raising a flag automatically for a given lot at a constant rate to indicate that the given lot is in the subject of inspection, and a step of automatically executing a process of checking the flag when each lot is about to be subjected to the inspection operation and executing the inspection when the flag is raised for the lot while skipping the inspection when the flag is not raised. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device manufacturing method and an inspection system, and more particularly to a technique effective when applied to a sampling inspection in a manufacturing line of a semiconductor device or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a technique studied by the present inventors, for example, the following technique is conceivable in a semiconductor device manufacturing method and an inspection system.
[0003]
2. Description of the Related Art A semiconductor device manufacturing line includes a plurality of processing steps such as film formation, photolithography, and diffusion, and a plurality of inspection steps such as a particle defect inspection, a film thickness inspection, and a development inspection. The inspection process is performed, for example, to confirm the quality of the processing result of the processing process.
[0004]
In the inspection process, a 100% inspection or a sampling inspection is performed as necessary. The 100% inspection includes an inspection of all lots, an inspection of all wafers in a lot, and an inspection of all chips in a wafer. The sampling inspection includes a lot sampling inspection, an in-lot wafer sampling inspection, and an in-wafer chip sampling inspection.
[0005]
A conventional MES (Manufacturing Execution System) used for an automatic semiconductor device manufacturing line is based on the premise that all wafers and all processes are performed, and does not have a concept of sampling (extraction). Therefore, it is possible to cope with the 100% inspection, but it is difficult to cope with the sampling inspection. Although it is possible to skip a specific step, it is possible to skip only manually.
[0006]
Further, in the sampling of wafers in a lot, only a method of fixedly instructing as parameters to be transferred to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is supported. For this reason, if a fixedly designated wafer is discarded before reaching the relevant inspection process, or if an additional inspection is performed based on the inspection results in a lot, the relevant parameters are completely manually corrected. I needed to.
[0007]
Note that a system for managing a sampling inspection in a semiconductor device manufacturing line is described in, for example, Patent Document 1.
[0008]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-76087
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the present inventor has studied the techniques of the semiconductor device manufacturing method and the inspection system as described above, and as a result, the following has become clear.
[0010]
For example, in the inspection of a semiconductor device manufacturing line, in general, in order to investigate the cause of the defect, how the defect increases and the measurement result changes every time the process is performed on the same wafer. The method of tracking is taken. That is, it is desirable that the same lot and the same wafer in the lot be inspected for each inspection step of the product manufacturing flow.
[0011]
In an automated manufacturing line using a conventional MES, a product that does not need to be inspected is also started to be inspected, and it is necessary to manually determine whether or not to perform the inspection and skip the process of starting the inspection-unnecessary product manually. In addition, since it is necessary to manually specify the wafers to be inspected in the lot, it is necessary to secure personnel only for operating at least the MES terminal, even though it is an automated line, and the cycle time is reduced accordingly. Was invited.
[0012]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technology capable of promoting automation, reducing cycle time and product TAT (Turn Around Time), and reducing the number of workers in a sampling inspection on a manufacturing line of a semiconductor device or the like. Things.
[0013]
The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The following is a brief description of an outline of typical inventions disclosed in the present application.
[0015]
(1) A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present invention is a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a plurality of processing steps and an inspection step. In a sampling inspection in which an arbitrary lot is selected from the above and inspected in the inspection process, a step of automatically setting a flag indicating that a given lot is to be inspected for a given lot, and Checking the flag when the process is started, performing an inspection if the flag is set, and automatically performing a process of omitting the inspection if the flag is not set. It is.
[0016]
(2) A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device having a plurality of processing steps and an inspection step. In the sampling inspection in which the wafer is selected and the inspection is performed in the inspection step, a priority is given to the inspection of each wafer in the lot, and the number of inspection objects required for the inspection is determined in order from the wafer having the highest priority. Automatically selecting a wafer, and automatically inspecting the selected wafer.
[0017]
(3) The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to (1) or (2) further includes a step of automatically collecting the result of the inspection and a step of determining whether additional work is necessary based on the collected inspection result. Automatically performing processing for omitting the additional work when the additional work is determined to be necessary, and performing the additional work when the additional work is determined to be unnecessary. .
[0018]
(4) The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to (1) or (2), further comprising: a step of automatically collecting the results of the inspection; and a step of automatically collecting the results of the inspection based on characteristics of each inspection step based on the collected inspection results. Automatically determining the priority order of the wafers to be subjected to the additional work using the priority order determination algorithm.
[0019]
(5) The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to (1) or (2), further comprising: a step of automatically collecting a result of the inspection; and a step of performing a subsequent treatment and the treatment based on the collected inspection result. The method includes a step of automatically determining a timing for performing the procedure, and a step of automatically performing the determined treatment at the determined time.
[0020]
(6) In the inspection system according to the present invention, in a semiconductor device manufacturing line having a plurality of processing steps and an inspection step, an arbitrary lot from a plurality of lots is checked in order to confirm whether or not the processing result of the processing step is good. An inspection system for selecting and performing a sampling inspection in the inspection step, a means for automatically setting a flag indicating that a given lot is to be inspected for a given lot, and Means for checking the flag when the process is started, performing an inspection when the flag is set, and automatically omitting the inspection when the flag is not set. .
[0021]
(7) In the inspection system according to the present invention, in a semiconductor device manufacturing line having a plurality of processing steps and an inspection step, an arbitrary wafer is selected from a lot in order to confirm the quality of the processing result of the processing step. An inspection system for performing a sampling inspection in the inspection step, wherein means for assigning an inspection priority to each wafer in the lot, and wafers to be inspected in a number required for the inspection in order from the wafer having the highest priority. And a means for automatically performing an inspection on the selected wafer.
[0022]
(8) The inspection system according to (6) or (7) further includes means for automatically collecting the result of the inspection, and determining whether or not additional work is necessary based on the collected inspection result. Means for performing the additional work when it is determined that the work is necessary, and automatically omitting the additional work when it is determined that the additional work is unnecessary.
[0023]
(9) The inspection system according to (6) or (7) further includes: a means for automatically collecting the result of the inspection; and a priority order based on the characteristics of each inspection step based on the collected inspection result. Means for automatically determining the priority of a wafer on which an additional operation is to be performed using a determination algorithm.
[0024]
(10) The inspection system according to (6) or (7) further includes a unit for automatically collecting the result of the inspection, and a subsequent treatment and a timing of performing the treatment based on the collected inspection result. And means for automatically performing the determined treatment at the determined time.
[0025]
Therefore, according to the above (1) to (10), an inspection whose work is complicated can be automatically started, which can contribute to a reduction in the cycle time of the inspection process, and the product TAT (Turn Around Time) is improved. .
[0026]
Further, according to the above (1), (3) to (6), and (8) to (10), the lot sampling is automated, and the process non-inspection lot waits for a process skip by hand while the inspection process is still in progress. It is possible to prevent the progress from being delayed, and it is possible to prevent an unnecessary increase in the TAT.
[0027]
Further, according to the above (1) to (10), the labor required for monitoring the device of the lot and manually performing the sampling of the lot / wafer is reduced.
[0028]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings for describing the embodiments, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a repeated description thereof will be omitted.
[0029]
FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an inspection process in a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a setting flow of an inspection target flag in the method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to this embodiment. 4 and FIG. 4 are views showing an example of automatic wafer sampling for normal inspection in the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present embodiment. FIGS. It is a figure showing an example of wafer sampling.
[0030]
First, an example of a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present embodiment includes, for example, a plurality of processing steps such as film formation, photolithography, and diffusion, and foreign matter defect inspection, film thickness inspection, pattern alignment accuracy inspection, pattern dimension inspection, and the like. It consists of a plurality of inspection steps. The inspection process is performed, for example, to confirm the quality of the processing result of the processing process. In the inspection process, sampling inspection is performed as needed. The sampling inspection includes a lot sampling inspection and an in-lot wafer sampling inspection. In the lot sampling inspection, an inspection is performed by selecting an arbitrary lot from a plurality of lots. In the lot sampling inspection, an inspection is performed by selecting an arbitrary wafer from the lot.
[0031]
Usually, in a semiconductor device manufacturing line, products are supplied in units of lots of a plurality of wafers in units of ten or more to twenty and several, and each lot flows through the line in a lump. In the inspection, lot sampling (lot sampling) inspection is performed at a fixed ratio determined for each product type in each lot.
[0032]
In order to automate this lot sampling, when the product is put in or passed through a specific process, the number of sheets and the number of passes for each type are counted, and a certain rule is set in the unique number assigned to the lot. To set a flag indicating that the lot is to be inspected at a certain rate. This flag is realized as electronic data managed on the MES.
[0033]
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the lots input for each group (for example, each product type) for which lot sampling is performed at the time of inputting the lots are counted (step S201), and it is determined that the lots to be inspected are set at preset lot numbers. Is set (steps S202, S203). At this time, when the sampling rate differs depending on the type of inspection, the number of lots is counted for each type of inspection, and a plurality of flags can be individually set or each bit of the flag can be distinguished. Set the flag in a simple way.
[0034]
As shown in FIG. 1, when each lot starts the inspection process, the flag that sets whether or not the completed lot is an inspection target is checked (step S101).
[0035]
As a result of the check, if the flag is set and the inspection target, the wafer sampling is performed so that the same wafer is selected between the inspection processes (step S102), and the inspection is performed (step S103). At this time, priorities are assigned to the wafers in the lot so that the inspection frequency can be ensured in response to, for example, a case where the wafer becomes a scrap, and wafer sampling is performed so that inspection is performed according to the priority order. The method of sampling wafers in a lot will be described later in detail.
[0036]
If the finished lot is not the inspection target, the inspection process is omitted, and the process waits for the start of the next process. These operations are automatically performed inside the MES.
[0037]
Depending on the method of realizing the manufacturing flow, the flag is checked, and if the inspection target, the flow is shifted to an inspection process defined as another flow to perform the inspection. The operation of causing the MES may be automatically performed inside the MES.
[0038]
In addition, if the sampling rate of the lot to be inspected is constant over the entire inspection process, separate production flows for the cases with inspection and the cases without inspection should be created separately. There is also a method of performing lot sampling by allocating whether or not to use the manufacturing flow. Although this method has an advantage that a complicated mechanism is not required for lot sampling, another automatic mechanism is required for management of a manufacturing flow, distribution of lots, and the like.
[0039]
As described above, by automating the lot sampling, it is possible to prevent the progress of the lot not to be inspected from being delayed due to the manual process skip waiting while the inspection process is in progress. Can be prevented.
[0040]
Next, automatic sampling of a wafer to be inspected in a lot (step S102) will be described.
[0041]
Normally, in a semiconductor device manufacturing line, a method is used in which the same wafer is traced and used to find the cause. Therefore, it is necessary to automatically sample the same wafer between different inspection processes.
[0042]
However, the product becomes defective at a certain defect rate, and may be scrapped (discarded) during the production. Even after the wafer to be inspected becomes scrap, if it is necessary to inspect wafers in a lot at a certain fixed rate, the wafer to be inspected may be changed in the middle.
[0043]
In addition, there is a priority as to which wafer in a lot should be inspected in order to detect a defect, investigate the cause, and take countermeasures at an early stage by inspection.
[0044]
Normally, individual wafers are given some kind of ID (identification symbol), managed on the MES, and distinguished. In order to automate wafer sampling, inspection priorities are assigned to wafers in a managed lot, and a required number of wafers are sampled in order from the wafer having the highest priority (step S102), and the inspection is performed (step S103). ). Thereby, the requirement for tracking the same wafer and the requirement for changing the inspection target wafer after scrap can be satisfied at the same time.
[0045]
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the inspection priority is assigned to each wafer in the lot, and the wafers to be inspected are automatically selected in order from the wafer having the highest priority in the order required for the inspection. By assigning a priority to each wafer, a constant inspection frequency can be ensured even when the inspection target wafer becomes scrap.
[0046]
In the example of FIG. 3, the priority of the wafer with the wafer number 7 is the highest, and then the priority of the wafer with the wafer number 6 is the highest, but the wafers with the wafer numbers 6 and 7 become scrap in the course of the process, and the wafers disappear. Therefore, the wafer with the wafer number 8 having the third priority is to be inspected. In FIG. 3, the required number is set to one.
[0047]
In addition, when sampling a plurality of sheets in a lot, usually, it is often desired to distinguish the priorities such as the first half, the middle, and the second half in the lot. Therefore, as shown in FIG. Sampling is performed for each group.
[0048]
In the example of FIG. 4, the wafers in the lot are divided into three groups A, B, and C, and the wafer having the highest priority in each group is the inspection target. In Group A and Group C, there are no wafers with the first and second highest priorities, so wafers with wafer numbers 3 and 8 with the third highest priority are to be inspected. The first wafer with the wafer number 13 is to be inspected. In FIG. 4, the number of groups is three, and the required number of sheets in each group is one.
[0049]
Next, execution of additional work such as additional inspection and defect review based on the inspection result will be described.
[0050]
If a defect is detected in the normal inspection (normal inspection), several or all additional inspections (additional inspection) in the lot are performed to determine the cause of the defect and specify the target range of the defect. In some cases, a defect is confirmed by a review operation using a microscope or an SEM. This additional work also needs to be incorporated into the product manufacturing flow in order to retain the history of the lot under the control of the MES.
[0051]
In order to automate the additional work, the inspection result of the normal inspection is automatically collected by the MES, the necessity of the additional work is automatically determined based on the result, and the additional work is performed. The process is automatically branched (step S104).
[0052]
For example, a specification check is performed based on the result of the inspection in the inspection process, the necessity of additional work is determined, and it is determined whether the lot is to be processed in the additional work process or the additional work process is omitted. According to this determination, the lot is put into a state of waiting for the start of the additional inspection process or the next process.
[0053]
If it is determined in the above-described steps that additional work is necessary, the corresponding lot start prohibition setting for the next process is performed to manually perform the final process start / prohibition (step S105).
[0054]
Next, automatic sampling of an additional work target wafer will be described.
[0055]
As described above, since the purpose of the additional work is to investigate the cause of the failure and to specify the target range of the failure, the priority order of the wafers to be subjected to the additional work differs depending on the occurrence state of the failure in the normal inspection.
[0056]
Therefore, in automation of the production line, a priority determination algorithm based on the characteristics of each inspection process is set, in which the normal inspection result collected by the MES is input and the priority of the additional work is output, and the additional work (additional work) is set. A target wafer to be inspected) is automatically determined (step S106).
[0057]
Specifically, when the additional inspection is performed, necessary sampling is performed based on the inspection result in the inspection process (Step S103) (Step S106). At this time, information necessary for investigating the cause and treating the lot can be obtained by automatically performing sampling in consideration of the characteristics of the process. In addition, measures to avoid unnecessary inspection time are taken into consideration.
[0058]
For example, as shown in FIG. 5, there are two processing steps between the inspection step before the inspection step and the inspection step, and the manufacturing apparatuses A and B in each step include two chambers in the first step. It is assumed that the configuration (apparatus A) and the second step have a 3-chamber configuration (apparatus B). At this time, since it is considered that an abnormality tends to occur in every other wafer in the first step and every two wafers in the second step, three consecutive wafers are sampled and measured. As described above, by determining the priority order of the wafers to be subjected to the additional work and sampling the wafers, it is possible to confirm which process has an abnormality.
[0059]
In the example of FIG. 5, the wafer with the wafer number 8 that has become NG has been started in the chamber 2 for both the apparatuses A and B. By additionally inspecting the wafers of the wafer numbers 9 to 11 shown in the figure, the wafer of the wafer number 10 if there is a problem in the chamber 2 of the apparatus A, and the wafer of the wafer number 11 if there is a problem in the chamber 2 of the apparatus B. In each case, an abnormality is detected. Therefore, it is possible to identify a manufacturing apparatus having an abnormality and to investigate the cause. FIG. 5 shows a case where the specification is set to 50 or less. Inspection results 32 (wafer number 1) and 27 (wafer number 13) are within the specification range (spec check; OK), and the inspection result is 176 (wafer number). 8) is out of specifications (spec check; NG).
[0060]
For example, as shown in FIG. 6, when there is a level difference in a lot such as a defect detected in the inspection process that is worse in the latter half of the lot or worse in the first half of the lot, the damage range is specified. Then, taking into account which range is to be inspected, the priority of the wafer to be subjected to the additional work is determined and sampling is performed.
[0061]
In the example of FIG. 6, since the second half number wafer tends to have a defect, the range of the influence can be specified by inspecting the wafers of the wafer numbers 8 to 13. FIG. 6 shows a case where the specification is set to 50 or less. Inspection results of 5 (wafer number 1) and 37 (wafer number 7) are within the specification range (spec check; OK), and the inspection result is 182 (wafer number). 13) is out of specifications (spec check; NG).
[0062]
After wafer sampling for additional inspection (Step S106), additional inspection (Step S107) and defect confirmation (Step S108) are performed.
[0063]
Next, automation of the treatment after the completion of the inspection will be described.
[0064]
According to the result of the normal inspection and the result of the additional work, (1) Judgment of the treatment of the lot, such as whether the lot can flow as it is or whether scrap or the like is required, and (2) on the process / manufacturing apparatus where the abnormality has occurred It is necessary to judge whether the construction of the subsequent lot may be continued or not, and (3) generation of an alarm for notifying the occurrence of an abnormality and prompting a countermeasure.
[0065]
Generally, MES has mechanisms such as lot flow stop, process stop, production equipment stop, and alarm generation. Therefore, these functions are only activated based on the inspection result, but after the automatic treatment is activated. In implementing the measures manually, the timing of function activation is important so that necessary information is automatically collected.
[0066]
Therefore, effective automatic treatment is executed based on the results of the normal inspection and the additional work.
[0067]
For example, immediately after the process in which the abnormality is detected (step S103), the setting of the start of the corresponding lot to the next process is prohibited (step S105), so that some special treatment is required during the additional work (from step S106 to step S108). In this case, it is possible to prevent a mistake in starting the next process by mistake.
[0068]
Further, for example, when the additional work is completed, the minimum information necessary for investigating the cause and treating the lot is collected. The notification is sent to the person in charge after the completion of the additional work, not immediately after S103) (step S109).
[0069]
Next, an example of an inspection system to which the method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present embodiment is applied will be described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the inspection system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0070]
The inspection system according to the present embodiment is, for example, an automation management system (MES) 11, and includes a process flow management DB 12, an individual lot management DB 13, a sampling processing engine 14, and the like. The lot 16 on the production line of the device is managed. The inspection system shown in FIG. 7 is a system for realizing the method of manufacturing the semiconductor device according to the above embodiment.
[0071]
The process flow management DB 12 is a database that manages a process flow of a semiconductor device manufacturing line. The individual lot management DB 13 is a database for managing individual lots on a semiconductor device manufacturing line. The sampling processing engine 14 is a processor that processes the automatic sampling according to the embodiment. The terminal 15 is a terminal such as a personal computer that accesses a database of the automation management system 11 and performs data input / output.
[0072]
The sampling processing engine 14 automatically sets a flag indicating that a given lot is to be inspected for a given lot, and checks the flag when each lot is ready for the inspection process. Means for automatically performing an inspection when the flag is set, and automatically omitting the test when the flag is not set; a unit for setting a priority of the check for each wafer in the lot; Means for automatically selecting wafers to be inspected in order from the number required for inspection, means for automatically performing inspection on the selected wafer, means for automatically collecting inspection results, and Based on the inspection result, the necessity of additional work is determined. If additional work is determined to be necessary, the additional work is performed. If the additional work is determined to be unnecessary, the additional work is omitted. Means for automatically determining the priority of wafers to be subjected to additional work using a priority determination algorithm based on the characteristics of each inspection process based on the collected inspection results; and Based on the test result obtained, a control program for realizing a subsequent treatment and a means for automatically determining the timing of performing the treatment, and a means for automatically performing the determined treatment at the determined time are included. Have been.
[0073]
From the terminal 15 to the process flow management DB 12, flow management information of various products is input. From the process flow management DB 12 to the individual lot management DB 13, flow information of individual lots of each product is input. Flow information is input from the process flow management DB 12 to the sampling processing engine 14. Inspection information is input from the individual lot management DB 13 to the sampling processing engine 14. The sampling processing engine 14 instructs the individual lot management DB 13 to perform sampling. Sampling is instructed from the individual lot management DB 13 to the lot 16. The individual lot management DB 13 collects inspection results from the lot 16. With these functions, the method of manufacturing the semiconductor device of the above embodiment is realized.
[0074]
Therefore, according to the semiconductor device manufacturing method and the inspection system of the present embodiment described above, an inspection whose operation is relatively complicated can be started by automation, and the cycle time (CT) of the inspection process can be reduced. Can contribute. Therefore, the product TAT is improved.
[0075]
Further, it is possible to reduce the labor required for monitoring the process of the lot and manually performing the lot / wafer sampling.
[0076]
As described above, the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof. Needless to say.
[0077]
For example, in the above embodiment, the sampling inspection of the wafer has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to the sampling inspection of chips, assemblies, and the like.
[0078]
In the above description, the case where the invention made by the present inventor is mainly applied to a semiconductor device manufacturing line, which is a technical field to which the invention belongs, has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is applicable to all product production lines.
[0079]
Further, in the above description, the case where the invention made by the present inventor is mainly applied to the inspection process of a manufacturing line, which is a technical field to which the invention belongs, has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can also be applied to automation in a production line having a step of performing only a partial product in a process.
[0080]
【The invention's effect】
The effects obtained by typical aspects of the invention disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.
[0081]
(1) An inspection whose work is complicated can be started automatically, which can contribute to a reduction in the cycle time of the inspection process, and the product TAT (Turn Around Time) is improved.
[0082]
(2) By automating lot sampling, it is possible to prevent delay in progress due to a manual process skip waiting while a lot to be inspected is still in the inspection process, and to prevent useless TAT from being lengthened.
[0083]
(3) The labor required to monitor the device of the lot and to manually perform the sampling of the lot / wafer is reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an inspection step in a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a setting flow of an inspection target flag in the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of automatic wafer sampling for normal inspection in the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of automatic wafer sampling for normal inspection in the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of automatic wafer sampling for additional inspection in the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of automatic wafer sampling for additional inspection in the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an inspection system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 Automation Management System (MES)
12 Process flow management DB
13 Individual lot management DB
14 Sampling processing engine
15 terminals
16 lots

Claims (10)

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a plurality of processing steps and an inspection step,
In order to confirm the quality of the processing result of the processing step, in a sampling inspection that performs an inspection in the inspection step by selecting an arbitrary lot from a plurality of lots,
Automatically setting a flag to indicate that a given lot is to be inspected for a given lot;
Automatically checking the flag when each lot is ready for the inspection step, performing the inspection if the flag is set, and automatically omitting the inspection if the flag is not set; When,
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a plurality of processing steps and an inspection step,
In order to confirm the quality of the processing result of the processing step, in a sampling inspection that selects an arbitrary wafer from the lot and performs an inspection in the inspection step,
Prioritizing the inspection of each wafer in the lot,
Automatically selecting the wafers to be inspected in order from the wafer with the highest priority in order to the number required for inspection,
Automatically inspecting the selected wafer;
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising:
Automatically collecting the results of the inspection;
The necessity of additional work is determined based on the collected inspection results.If the additional work is determined to be necessary, the additional work is performed.If the additional work is determined to be unnecessary, the additional work is performed. A step of automatically performing the omission processing;
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising:
Automatically collecting the results of the inspection;
Based on the collected inspection results, using a priority determination algorithm based on the characteristics of each inspection process, automatically determining the priority of the wafer to perform the additional work,
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising:
Automatically collecting the results of the inspection;
Automatically determining, based on the collected test results, a subsequent treatment and when to perform the treatment;
Automatically performing the determined treatment at the determined time,
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: In a semiconductor device manufacturing line having a plurality of processing steps and an inspection step, in order to confirm the quality of the processing result of the processing step, an arbitrary lot is selected from a plurality of lots and a sampling inspection is performed in the inspection step. An inspection system to perform,
Means for automatically setting a flag indicating that a given lot is to be inspected for a given lot;
A means for checking the flag when each lot is ready for the inspection process, performing an inspection when the flag is set, and automatically omitting the inspection when the flag is not set; When,
An inspection system comprising: In a semiconductor device manufacturing line having a plurality of processing steps and an inspection step, an inspection in which an arbitrary wafer is selected from a lot and a sampling inspection is performed in the inspection step in order to confirm the quality of the processing result of the processing step The system
Means for prioritizing the inspection of each wafer in the lot,
Means for automatically selecting wafers to be inspected in order from the wafer with the highest priority in the order required for inspection,
Means for automatically performing an inspection on the selected wafer;
An inspection system comprising: The inspection system according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising:
Means for automatically collecting the results of the inspection,
The necessity of additional work is determined based on the collected inspection results.If the additional work is determined to be necessary, the additional work is performed.If the additional work is determined to be unnecessary, the additional work is performed. Means for automatically performing the omission processing;
An inspection system comprising: The inspection system according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising:
Means for automatically collecting the results of the inspection,
Based on the collected inspection results, using a priority determination algorithm based on the characteristics of each inspection process, means for automatically determining the priority of the wafer to perform the additional work,
An inspection system comprising: The inspection system according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising:
Means for automatically collecting the results of the inspection,
Based on the collected test results, means for automatically determining the subsequent treatment and the time to perform the treatment,
Means for automatically performing the determined treatment at the determined time,
An inspection system comprising:

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