Abstract: By applying heat and pressure to a backing film with an adhesive layer while mounting it to a polish head used for chemical mechanical polishing, inhomogeneities inside the adhesive layer, e.g. thickness and compressibility variations or air bubbles can easily be removed. A corresponding configuration includes a device for exerting a uniform pressure force, which can be a roller made of silicone or rubber, or a plate. The configuration also includes a device for heating and a control unit for controlling the heat and the pressure force. After the backing film is installed using this configuration and method, the polish head can be used to uniformly remove material from a semiconductor wafer surface and therefore the wafer yield is advantageously increased.

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring the water content of a water-containing liquid mixture contained in a tight chemistry tank includes a heating device for controlling the temperature of the liquid mixture to a temperature near the boiling point of the liquid mixture, a cooling medium system disposed at the top of the tight chemistry tank having a cooling medium inlet and a cooling medium outlet, a temperature measurement system for determining the temperature difference between the cooling medium inlet and outlet, and a computing device for calculating the water content of the liquid mixture from the temperature difference. Also provided is a tank for supplying water to the liquid mixture, and a control system for adjusting the amount of water supplied from the tank based upon the water content measured by the measuring apparatus. Also provided is a method for measure the water content.

Abstract: Processing parameters of at least one plate-shaped object, e.g. a semiconductor device or wafer, or a flat panel display, in a processing tool are adjusted depending on which processing device out of at least one set of processing devices has been used for the semiconductor device in a preceding step. A virtual or physical tag is generated, which connects the semiconductor device identification with the processing device identification. This enables a compensation of tool-dependent effects in previous processing of a single device. An example is chemical mechanical polishing prior to lithography, where alignment marks can be deteriorated differently between CMP-units. The amount of compensation is detected and evaluated by metrology tools, which—depending on the sequence of the metrology step relative to the processing step to be adjusted—either feed-forward or feed-backward their results to the processing tool. The yield of semiconductor device production is advantageously increased.

Abstract: A method for exposing a semiconductor wafer compensates for the effects of process inhomogeneities, e.g. in semiconductor etching or deposition processes, by individually adjusting sets of exposure parameters of an exposure tool for any exposure field. The exposure parameters are preferably the dose and the focus, which are varied across the semiconductor wafer.

Abstract: An apparatus for handling, storing and reloading carriers for disk-shaped items, such as semiconductor wafers or CDs, has at least one cleaning unit and at least one storage unit for the carriers containing the disk-shaped items. The apparatus further has at least one sorting unit for the disk-shaped items. The cleaning unit, the storage unit and the sorting apparatus are integral component parts of the apparatus and are operated by a common automatic control.

Abstract: For bay type structures of semiconductor wafer transport systems, a configuration includes interbay rail tracks and intrabay rail tracks mounted on each other, vehicles of the interbay system and carrier transfer cars of the intrabay system moving freely bi-directional inside the bay area without obstructing each other. The carrier transfer car is configured such that a wafer carrier can be directly loaded from the vehicle to the load port of a processing machine. The configuration simplifies and accelerates the transfer and enhances the flexibility of vehicles in wafer transport.

Abstract: A vehicle for transporting semiconductor devices is used for servicing loadports of semiconductor processing tools with device carriers by use of a portal hoist. Thereby, the vehicle contains an empty inner space and an open front side, such that the loadport is enclosed by the vehicle, when it approaches and docks to the loadport. Time for loading is shortened, complexity of structure and procedure is reduced and cleanroom space is saved.

Abstract: A polish head for Chemical Mechanical Polishing includes a backing film of silicone on a rigid support element, preferably, of amorphous ceramic. The silicone backing film is fabricated by molding, thereby enabling an appropriate cross-sectional shape for specific polishing needs. The head provides a uniform polishing of a semiconductor wafer.

Abstract: A test reticle having a pad and antenna structures with varying critical dimensions is provided to measure sidewall angles developing in the resist sidewalls of clear lines. These sidewall angles originate from resist flow due to the occurrence of excessively high temperatures in a resist process on a lithographic track after the exposure of a semiconductor wafer. A scanning electron microscope is used to perform the measurement. A sequence of temperatures is applied in each postbake step to process a wafer, and the sidewall angle is determined afterwards from e.g. a critical dimension measurement with a known resist thickness. An error signal is issued, if a threshold value of a sidewall angle is exceeded. The temperature of the resist process, e.g. the postbake, is then adjusted to a temperature below the temperature causing the warning signal.

Abstract: A heating system, a method for heating a deposition reactor or an oxidation reactor, and a reactor utilizing the heating system are particularly suited for low-pressure chemical vapor deposition or oxidation. A heating system is particularly useful for heating a reactor in which a plurality of wafers is held perpendicularly to the reactant gas flowing direction that is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the reactor, to enable a deposition or oxidation reaction. The heating system is adapted to change the reactor temperature during the process. In addition, a method heats a reactor to enable a reaction. Preferably, each of a plurality of reactor zones, into which the reactor is divided in a direction parallel to the reactant gas flowing direction, is heated at a different temperature profile indicating the temperature of this specific zone versus time. Thereby, the in-plane uniformity of deposited or oxidized layers can be largely improved.

Abstract: A light curtain system is provided for establishing a protective light curtain for a tool in a system for processing objects such as wafers, and is particularly provided as a safety device for an operator of the tool. The light curtain system includes a first light curtain component of invisible light beams. A receiver and an emitter form edges of the protective light curtain from the invisible light beams. In addition, a second light curtain component of visible light beams is provided. The visible light beams are directed and transmitted adjacent and in parallel to the light beams of invisible light for forming a part of the protective light curtain and for making the protective light curtain visible for an operator. The second light curtain component of visible light beams is activated at least temporarily.

Abstract: A semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device with a self-aligned contact, is described. A first conductor and a second conductor are formed on the surface of the semiconductor substrate. The first conductor and the second conductor are encapsulated with a first encapsulation and a second encapsulation, respectively. The first encapsulation and the second encapsulation contain titanium oxide, boron nitride, silicon carbide, magnesium oxide or carbon. The first encapsulation and the second encapsulation are suitable as a self-aligning etch mask for etching a self-aligned contact hole between the first conductor and the second conductor.

Abstract: A wafer holder has a set of minimum contact wafer support members predefining support member contacting portions on a planar wafer surface of a wafer. The wafer chuck has a wafer support region for contacting the planar wafer surface. The wafer support region of the chuck includes recesses configured at predefined positions corresponding to support member contacting portions of the lower wafer surface. The wafer handling system further includes a wafer transport device including a rotational position adjusting device for adjusting the rotational position of a wafer that is transported between the wafer holder and the wafer chuck. Thereby, elevations on the lower wafer surface, like scratches or deposited material which are produced by the contact between the support members and the wafer, are encapsulated by the recesses of the wafer chuck. A method for moving a wafer between a wafer holder and a wafer chuck is also provided.

Abstract: A metrology device is described which is couplable to a load port of a semiconductor product handling and/or processing tool. The tool encloses a mini-environmental atmosphere and has a load port table for supporting devices to be coupled to the load port. The metrology device contains a housing preserving an inner atmosphere, a coupling region for connecting the inner atmosphere to the mini-environmental atmosphere and a measuring device for measuring a property of a semiconductor product. The metrology device further has a support which is movable by a transport device and which is dimensioned such that the metrology device is self-supporting in a position appropriate for coupling the coupling region to the load port. The metrology device is thereby couplable to the load port without being supported by the load port table.

Abstract: A wafer cleaning apparatus includes a wafer supporting device for supporting a wafer to be cleaned, and sponges for cleaning the wafer. The sponges are arranged in contact with either surface of the wafer and are rotated along rotational axes that are parallel to the wafer. A sponge positioning device pushes the sponges against the wafer. A wafer rotation drive is adapted to rotate the wafer at a constant speed, and a sponge rotation drive system is adapted to rotate the sponges at a constant speed. A closed loop controller receives motor current signals from the wafer rotation drive and/or the sponge rotation drive system, and the closed loop controller provides an adjustment signal to the sponge positioning device. The adjustment signal is for adjusting the friction between the sponges and the wafer.

Abstract: A recycling procedure for 300 mm nitride dummy wafers which have a stabilization layer of silicon dioxide is provided. The recycling procedure is essentially based on selectively wet etching the deposited silicon nitride with respect to the silicon dioxide stabilization layer, preferably with hot phosphoric acid at 160° C. In particular, a method of handling a silicon wafer which is employed as a dummy wafer during a nitride deposition process includes the steps of depositing a silicon dioxide layer on the wafer surface, performing the nitride deposition process on the wafer to deposit silicon nitride or silicon oxinitride on the wafer surface until a predetermined layer thickness is reached, and etching the silicon nitride or silicon oxinitride layer selectively with respect to the silicon dioxide layer.