JPH06310582A - Inspection data control method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a method and an apparatus by which the inspection data of a semiconductor chip can be simply examined only with a product identification code. CONSTITUTION:This method comprises the process of preparing a wafer ID reference inspection data file in which the name of products and inspection results are written with the wafer ID of a semiconductor wafer 2 used as a key word and the process of preparing a product name reference inspection data file in which the wafer ID and the inspection results are written with the name of products used as a key word at the time of inspection data control on the inspection which is applied to a plurality of semiconductor chips 3 of the semiconductor wafer 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inspection data management method and apparatus technology, and is particularly effective when applied to an inspection data management method and apparatus for an inspection performed on a semiconductor chip formed on a semiconductor wafer. It is about technology.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the conventional semiconductor manufacturing technology, the processing dimension has not reached the submicron level,
The requirements for processing accuracy were not so severe. Therefore, in the case of batch processing in which a plurality of semiconductor wafers forming one lot are processed at the same time, the processing precision of the semiconductor wafer products in one lot is judged to be the same and managed. Further, in the conventional semiconductor manufacturing technology, the semiconductor chips formed on one semiconductor wafer are usually of the same type.

Therefore, conventionally, the inspection data of a specific semiconductor chip in a semiconductor wafer can be used as the inspection data of all the semiconductor chips in the semiconductor wafer. Particularly for mass-produced products such as semiconductor memory products, the inspection data of a specific semiconductor chip on a specific semiconductor wafer in one lot can be used as the inspection data of the entire lot.

Therefore, in the past, when managing the inspection data of the semiconductor chip, it was sufficient to create and manage the inspection data such as the inspection result using the wafer identification symbol written for each semiconductor wafer as a keyword. It was sufficient to use the wafer identification symbol as a keyword when searching the inspection data.

As for the test equipment in the semiconductor manufacturing technology, for example, “VLSI Manufacturing / Test Equipment Guidebook, 1 November 20, 1992, Industrial Research Society, Inc.”
993 edition "P165-P227.

[0006]

By the way, in recent years, in the semiconductor manufacturing technology, since the processing dimension has reached the submicron level, the requirements for the processing dimension have become strict. Therefore, even in the case of batch processing, it is no longer possible to consider that the processing dimensional accuracy of the semiconductor chips in the semiconductor wafers in one lot is the same.

[0007] In particular, single-wafer processing for individually processing semiconductor wafers is being introduced along with the increase in size of semiconductor wafers. In this case, the semiconductor wafers may change due to variations in process conditions for each semiconductor wafer. An error may occur in the processing dimensional accuracy every time.

[0008] Further, in recent years, ASIC (Application Specific) which has been developed and manufactured.
In the case of a high-mix low-volume product such as an IC), a plurality of semiconductor chips of different types are formed on a single semiconductor wafer during manufacturing.

In these cases, it is necessary to use the inspection data of a specific semiconductor chip in a specific semiconductor wafer as the inspection data of all the semiconductor chips in the semiconductor wafer as described in the above-mentioned prior art. It is not preferable because it leads to a decrease in

Therefore, in the inspection, all the semiconductor chips on the semiconductor wafer are inspected, the inspection result of each semiconductor chip is stored, and the inspection data is created.

However, when creating the inspection data, when an inspection data file is created using a wafer identification symbol as a keyword as in the prior art, for example, when it is desired to know the inspection result for each semiconductor chip or which semiconductor wafer is the semiconductor chip. However, there is a problem that the survey and data collection are complicated and difficult when it is desired to know whether or not the data is extracted from the data.

For example, in order to investigate from which semiconductor wafer the semiconductor chip is cut out from the completed semiconductor chips having only the product name left, the mask drawing file is referred to and the corresponding product name is obtained. Although it is necessary to check the wafer identification symbol, the work is complicated and troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technique capable of easily inspecting inspection data of a semiconductor chip only from a product identification symbol.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0015]

Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, a brief description will be given to the outline of typical ones.
It is as follows.

That is, the present invention is an inspection data management method for an inspection performed on a plurality of semiconductor chips formed on a semiconductor wafer, wherein the wafer identification symbol of the semiconductor wafer is used as a keyword, and at least a product identification symbol is used. And a result of the inspection, and a second inspection in which at least the wafer identification symbol and the inspection result are described based on the first inspection data with the product identification symbol as a keyword. An inspection data management method including a step of creating data.

[0017]

According to the above-mentioned invention, by referring to the second inspection data, the inspection result of the product or the semiconductor wafer obtained by cutting out the product can be easily examined only from the product identification code.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is an explanatory view for explaining the structure of an inspection data management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view for explaining a wafer identification symbol reference inspection data file, and FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating a product identification code reference | standard inspection data file.

The inspection data management apparatus 1 of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus for managing inspection data for device dimension measurement inspection for a plurality of semiconductor chips 3 formed on a semiconductor wafer 2, for example.

The semiconductor wafer 2 is made of, for example, silicon (S
i) A wafer ID (wafer identification symbol) (not shown) is written in the wafer ID forming region I near the orientation flat portion 2a made of a single crystal.

In this embodiment, for example, a plurality of semiconductor chips 3 of different types are formed on the semiconductor wafer 2. On a part of the main surface of each semiconductor chip 3, a product name (product identification symbol) not shown is written.

The semiconductor wafer 2 is removably fixed on the sample table 4. The sample stage 4 is mechanically connected to the sample stage drive system 5. The sample table drive system 5
It is a mechanism portion that positions the semiconductor wafer 2 by moving the sample table 4 in a plane parallel to the main surface of the semiconductor wafer 2.

The sample table drive system 5 is electrically connected to the sample table control system 6. The sample stage control system 6 is electrically connected to the storage unit 8a via the reading device 7a. The storage unit 8a stores data such as a sample table positioning file. That is, the sample stage control system 6 controls the sample stage drive system 5 based on the data of the sample stage positioning file read from the storage unit 8a by the reading device 7a.

Further, in the inspection data management device 1, an inspection system 9 is installed above the semiconductor wafer 2.
The inspection system 9 is a component for performing a predetermined inspection on the semiconductor chip 3 of the semiconductor wafer 2. The inspection types include, for example, dimensional inspection of an element component, adhered foreign matter inspection, film thickness inspection, and the like. There are various tests.

The inspection system 9 is electrically connected to the storage section 8b via the reading device 7b. In the storage unit 8b,
Data such as a mask drawing file is stored. In the mask drawing file, the drawing start coordinates (X,
Y): Unit mm, product name, pattern coordinates, inspection control data necessary for inspection, and the like are described. That is, the inspection system 9 is configured to perform the inspection based on the inspection control data and the like read from the storage unit 8b by the reading device 7b. Then, in the mask drawing file, the chip coordinates of each semiconductor chip 3 and the product name are associated with each other.

The drawing start coordinates are the position coordinates of the semiconductor chip 3 where the drawing is first started, and the position coordinates of other semiconductor chips are obtained based on this coordinate and the data of the interval between the adjacent semiconductor chips. You can do it. The pattern coordinates are data describing the position coordinates of the corners of each pattern, and the shape of the pattern is defined thereby.

The inspection system 9 is electrically connected to the storage section (first data storage means) 8c. As shown in FIG. 2, the storage unit 8c stores an inspection data (hereinafter, referred to as wafer ID reference inspection data) file created by using the wafer ID as a keyword. FIG. 2 shows an inspection data file in the case of dimension measurement inspection, for example. As the inspection data, for example, the inspection result, the wafer ID, the chip coordinates, and the product name are described.
Note that FIG. 2 shows a part of the inspection data file.

On the other hand, the main control unit (first data creating means, second data creating means) 10 constituting the inspection data managing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 is a constituent section for controlling the overall operation of the inspection data managing apparatus 1. is there. The main control unit 10 includes storage units 8a to 8e.
Is electrically connected to. In FIG. 1, the storage unit 8
Although a to 8e are described separately, the storage units 8a to 8e are predetermined storage areas in one storage device in the present embodiment. However, the storage units 8a to 8e may be separate storage devices.

The storage section (second data storage means) 8d includes
As shown in FIG. 3, an inspection data (hereinafter referred to as product name reference inspection data) file created using a product name as a keyword is stored. This inspection data file is data created by converting the wafer ID reference inspection data (see FIG. 2). Note that FIG. 3 shows a part of the inspection data file.

The storage unit 8e stores a conversion program for converting the wafer ID reference inspection data file stored in the storage unit 8c into a product name reference inspection data file. That is, the main control unit 10 includes the storage unit 8e.
According to the conversion program stored in the storage unit 8c
After converting the wafer ID standard inspection data file stored in the product name standard inspection data file to the product name standard inspection data file, the created product name standard inspection data file is stored in the storage unit 8d.

An input device 11 such as a keyboard and a display device 12 such as a CRT display are electrically connected to the main controller 10.

Next, the inspection data management method of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the sample table control system 6 of the inspection data management system 1 reads the sample table positioning file from the storage section 8a by the reading device 7a, and then the sample table driving system based on the read sample table positioning file. 5 is operated to position the sample table 4 so that the first semiconductor chip 3 to be measured falls within the inspection field of view.

The position of the semiconductor chip 3 measured first is determined by the main controller 10 referring to the sample stage positioning file and expressing the chip coordinates as coordinates on the semiconductor wafer 3.

Subsequently, the inspection system 9 performs a predetermined inspection on the first measurement semiconductor chip 3 to describe the inspection data of the semiconductor chip 3 in the wafer ID reference inspection data file.

Here, in order to obtain the product name of the first measurement semiconductor chip 3 when the wafer ID reference inspection data file is created, in order to obtain the product name of the measurement first semiconductor chip 3, the first measurement measurement described in the sample stage positioning file of the storage section 8a is performed. After reading the chip coordinates of the semiconductor chip 3, the product name corresponding to the chip coordinates is obtained by referring to the mask drawing file in the storage unit 8b.

However, since the origin coordinates on the semiconductor wafer 2 in the mask drawing file and the origin coordinates in the sample stage positioning file are generally different, it is necessary to find the error.

By carrying out such inspection and description of data on each semiconductor chip 3 on the semiconductor wafer 2, the wafer ID reference inspection data file shown in FIG. 2 is created and stored in the storage section 8c. Remember.

After that, the inspection data management apparatus 1 of this embodiment
The main control unit 10 converts the wafer ID reference inspection data file in the storage unit 8c into the product name reference inspection data file shown in FIG. 3 according to the keyword conversion program, and stores the product name reference inspection data file in the storage unit 8d.

In the case of the present embodiment, the operator can refer to the inspection data as follows. That is, when the operator wants to refer to the inspection data by using the wafer ID as a keyword, the operator indicates that fact by using the input device 11 such as a keyboard.
By designating to the main controller 10 via the display unit 12, the wafer ID reference inspection data file shown in FIG.
Can be seen through.

On the other hand, when the operator wants to refer to the inspection data by using the product name as a keyword, he / she designates the fact to the main control unit 10 through the input device 11 such as a keyboard so that the product name shown in FIG. The reference inspection data file can be viewed through the display device 12.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the product name standard inspection data file is created, so that the inspection result of the product and the semiconductor wafer 2 from which the product is cut can be determined by using the product name as a keyword. It is possible to check easily. That is, it becomes possible to facilitate the inspection and collection work of the inspection data.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the case where a plurality of semiconductor chips of different types are formed on the semiconductor wafer, but the present invention is not limited to this. It may be applied when a plurality of chips are formed.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the device dimension measurement inspection has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made. In this case, the present invention may be applied.

[0046]

The effects obtained by the typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.
It is as follows.

According to the present invention, by referring to the second inspection data, it is possible to easily inspect the inspection result of the product or the semiconductor wafer obtained by cutting out the product only from the product identification code. It becomes possible to facilitate inspection and collection work of inspection data.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of an inspection data management device that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a wafer identification symbol reference inspection data file.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a product identification symbol standard inspection data file.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Inspection Data Management Device 2 Semiconductor Wafer 2a Orientation Flat Part 3 Semiconductor Chip 4 Sample Table 5 Sample Table Drive System 6 Sample Table Control System 7a Reader 7b Reader 8a Memory 8b Memory 8c Memory (first data memory means) 8d storage unit (second data storage unit) 8e storage unit 9 inspection system 10 main control unit (first data creation unit, second data creation unit) 11 input device 12 display device I wafer ID formation area

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A test data management method for a test performed on a plurality of semiconductor chips formed on a semiconductor wafer, wherein at least a product identification code and an inspection result are obtained by using a wafer identification code of the semiconductor wafer as a keyword. And a second inspection data in which at least a wafer identification symbol and an inspection result are recorded with the product identification symbol as a keyword, based on the first inspection data. An inspection data management method, comprising: 2. An inspection data management device for an inspection performed on a plurality of semiconductor chips formed on a semiconductor wafer, wherein at least a product identification symbol and an inspection result are obtained by using a wafer identification symbol of the semiconductor wafer as a keyword. First data creating means for creating the first inspection data marked with and storing the data in the first storing means,
A second inspection data in which at least a wafer identification symbol and an inspection result are written is created based on the first inspection data using the product identification symbol as a keyword, and the data is stored in the second storage means. An inspection data management apparatus comprising: a data creating unit.