Patents by Inventor Terry Manchester

Terry Manchester 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).

  • System and method for wafer alignment which mitigates effects of reticle rotation and magnification on overlay
    Patent number: 6269322
    Abstract: The present invention relates to wafer alignment. A reticle is employed which includes, a design and first and second alignment marks. The second alignment mark is symmetric to the first alignment mark such that a reticle center point is a midpoint of the first and second alignment marks. The first alignment mark is printed on a surface layer of the wafer. The second alignment mark is printed on the surface layer at an offset from the first alignment mark. A virtual alignment mark is determined, the virtual alignment mark being a midpoint of the printed first and second alignment marks. The virtual alignment mark is employed to facilitate aligning the wafer. The symmetric relationship between the first and second alignment mark results in the negation of print errors of the marks due to reticle rotation and/or lens magnification with respect to the virtual alignment mark. The employment of the virtual alignment mark in wafer alignment substantially facilitates mitigation of overlay error.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2001
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael K. Templeton, Bharath Rangarajan, Kathleen R. Early, Terry Manchester