Patents by Inventor Bruce W. Balch

Bruce W. Balch has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Across reticle variation modeling and related reticle
    Patent number: 7803644
    Abstract: Methods of modeling across reticle variations and a related reticle are disclosed. One embodiment of the method includes defining a test for determination across a multiple chip wafer; identifying a measurement structure for performing the test; implementing the measurement structure on the multiple chip wafer using a reticle including the measurement structure between copies of the multiple chips on the reticle, wherein no one of the multiple chips covers an entirety of the reticle; performing the test on the multiple chip wafer using the measurement structure to acquire data across the reticle; using data from the performing to establish an across reticle variation model; and using the across reticle variation model to predict across chip variation for at least one of the multiple chips.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2010
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Bruce W. Balch, Jeanne P. Bickford, Nazmul Habib, Phung T. Nguyen
  • ACROSS RETICLE VARIATION MODELING AND RELATED RETICLE
    Publication number: 20090068772
    Abstract: Methods of modeling across reticle variations and a related reticle are disclosed. One embodiment of the method includes defining a test for determination across a multiple chip wafer; identifying a measurement structure for performing the test; implementing the measurement structure on the multiple chip wafer using a reticle including the measurement structure between copies of the multiple chips on the reticle, wherein no one of the multiple chips covers an entirety of the reticle; performing the test on the multiple chip wafer using the measurement structure to acquire data across the reticle; using data from the performing to establish an across reticle variation model; and using the across reticle variation model to predict across chip variation for at least one of the multiple chips.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 12, 2007
    Publication date: March 12, 2009
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Bruce W. Balch, Jeanne P. Bickford, Nazmul Habib, Phung T. Nguyen