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ANANTHA SETHURAMAN, SAGAR A. KEKARE, RAMAN NURANI & DADI GUDMUNDSSON,
KLA-Tencor Inc., San Jose, CA, USA

ABSTRACT

The move to a smaller design rule and the associated processing methods are automatic by-products of the demand for ever more powerful ICs. As a result, there are some anticipated yield management challenges. Coinciding with the most recent IC design rule reduction is the long-awaited transition to 300 mm processing, which presents several unique yield management problems not emphasised before. Some of the process control and defect inspection methodology challenges associated with the 300 mm transition are summarised, and the fundamentals of surmounting them are discussed. Key conclusions are the potential emergence of new defect inspection points and the importance of including yield management in the fab planning process from the beginning.