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Background Statement for SEMI Draft Document 4292B

REVISION TO SEMI E126, SPECIFICATION FOR EQUIPMENT QUALITY INFORMATION PARAMETERS (EQIP)

Note: This background statement is not part of the balloted item. It is provided solely to assist the recipient in reaching an informed decision based on the rationale of the activity that preceded the creation of this document.

Note: Recipients of this document are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patented technology or copyrighted items of which they are aware and to provide supporting documentation. In this context, “patented technology” is defined as technology for which a patent has issued or has been applied for. In the latter case, only publicly available information on the contents of the patent application is to be provided.

Purpose

Provide clarifications in equipment type descriptions, and add EQIPs for existing and new equipment types.

Background

The E126 standard defines equipment quality information parameters (EQIPs) for key equipment types. Clarification is needed in the definition of the lithography equipment type regarding exposure tool vs. track EQIPs. Based on comments and rejections received with earlier submissions of this ballot, the ballot has been modified and is being resubmitted.

Impact

These line items will only impact this standard. They will provide enhancements that will address additional equipment types.

Proposal

Line Item: Clarification of lithography equipment/process description with respect to the related EQIPs, and addition of parameter of CD Uniformity EQIP for Lithography.

The results of this ballot will be discussed at the next I&C committee meeting on April 10, 2008 in conjunction with the NA Spring 2008 Standards Meetings in Dallas, Texas.

SEMI Draft Document 4292B

REVISION TO SEMI E126, SPECIFICATION FOR EQUIPMENT QUALITY INFORMATION PARAMETERS (EQIP)

1 Line Item: Clarification of definitions of Lithography Equipment / process, and Addition of CD Uniformity EQIP for the Lithography Wafer Track

Background: The standard should describe the stepper and track components of the lithography process so that the EQIPs could be associated with these components. The standard should enhance the EQIP set for lithography components to address CD Uniformity

Ballot:

All of these updates must be implemented.

1.1 Remove the row associated with Equipment Type Name “Lithography” in Table 1.

1.2 Add the following rows to Table 1 (column headings repeated for clarity):

Equipment Type Name / Equipment Type Definition
Lithography Exposure Tool / Component of Lithography cluster in which a pattern is printed or exposed on a portion of the wafer and the process is repeated as necessary to pattern the entire wafer.
Lithography Wafer Track / Component of Lithography cluster in which several instruments needed to process photoresist (e.g., deposition, soft bake, developing, hard bake) are integrated.

1.3 In Table 2, remove the two rows that have an Equipment Type Name of “Lithography”

1.4 Add the following 2 rows to Table 2 (column headings repeated for clarity):

Equipment Type Name / EQIP (Required (Y/N)?) / Comments
Lithography Exposure Tool / Overlay Offset (Y), CD (Y), CD Uniformity (N)
Lithography Wafer Track / CD Uniformity (N)

1.5 Add the following row to Table 3 (column headings repeated for clarity):

# EQIP Name / EQIP Definition / Format Descriptor Fields
CD Uniformity / A measure of the variation of the CD across a wafer. See definitions of "CD" and "Uniformity" in this table for further explanation. / Name, Units, Validity, Method of Calculation

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