STTR Phase II: Rapid Nondestructive Residual Stress Characterization of Semiconductor Materials

这个小型企业技术转移（STTR）第二阶段研究项目旨在为微电子工业引入一系列仪器，这些仪器可以快速，高分辨率的残余应力检测，缺陷定位和量化。在硅片制造过程中，在晶圆工艺开始时可能会出现小裂纹，必须定位，以避免损坏的晶圆增加价值。在半导体晶圆键合中，脱键缺陷可能由捕获的粉尘颗粒和气泡引起，从而导致可靠性和性能下降。利用基于实验室的系统，红外灰场偏光镜能够定位这些缺陷并量化残余应力状态。现在，这项技术将与优化的探测器相结合，以提高缺陷分辨率，并引入显微镜平台，以提高对较小缺陷的检测。最后，这些应力分析工具将集成到一个自动检测系统中，该系统将适用于上述缺陷的在线检测。许多设备和工艺的盈利能力会因工艺产率低而受到严重阻碍。通过过程控制工具可以立即捕获应力变化，从而提高产量，通过实施可负担的100%检查来消除所有损坏的设备，可以提高客户满意度和设备可靠性。除了使我国微电子工业更具竞争力外，该工具还将通过提高分辨率限制来推进科学知识的发展，并为研究半导体衬底、晶圆键合、MEMS和集成电路的研究人员提供定量测量。

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II research project aims to introduce a series of instruments to the microelectronics industry that allow rapid, high resolution residual stress inspection, defect location and quantification. In silicon wafer manufacture, small cracks may appear at the beginning of the wafer process and must be located to avoid adding value to damaged wafers. In semiconductor wafer bonding, de-bond defects may result from trapped dust particles and gas bubbles resulting in reliability and performance degradation. The infrared grey-field polariscope was able to locate these defects and quantify the residual stress state using a laboratory-based system. Now, this technology will be interfaced with optimized detectors to improve defect resolution and introduced onto a microscope platform to improve inspection of smaller defects. Finally, these stress analysis tools will be integrated into an automated inspection system that will be applicable to on-line inspection of the above-mentioned defects. The profitability of many devices and processes can be significantly hindered by low process yields. Yields can be improved with process control tools that catch stress variations immediately, and customer satisfaction and device reliability improvements made by implementing affordable 100% inspection to eliminate all damaged devices. In addition to making our nation's microelectronics industry more competitive, this tool will advance the state of scientific knowledge by improving resolution limits and provide quantitative measurements for researchers who study semiconductor substrates, wafer bonding, MEMS and integrated circuits.