Patents by Inventor Wesley R. Erck

Wesley R. Erck 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).

  • Patent number: 6529790
    Abstract: There is a method and system for efficiently computing the number of die per wafer and the corresponding number of stepper shots. In an example embodiment, dimensions for a die and the size of the wafer are received. The dimensions comprise a die element size that is a function of a scribe lane width, a guard ring width, an input/output pad area, and a length and a width of the die. A die count lookup table is selected for the specified wafer size and used to determine the die count corresponding to the die element size. In a similar manner, a stepper shot count lookup table is selected for the specified wafer size and used to determine the stepper shot count corresponding to the die element size.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2003
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventors: Michael R. Magee, Michael D. Beer, Wesley R. Erck
  • Patent number: 6522940
    Abstract: A method and system thereof for maximizing integrated circuit die production. In an example embodiment, the method is implemented on a server computer system in a client-server computer system network. In this embodiment, the server computer system receives from a client computer system a wafer size, a scribe lane width, and the dimensions for a die. A die count and a stepper shot count corresponding to the dimensions are determined using one or more lookup tables. A lookup table is associated with each combination of wafer size and scribe lane width. A measure of die production is calculated using the die count and the stepper shot count and transmitted to the client computer system. The dimensions can be changed and a new measure of die production calculated using the changed dimensions, until a maximum value of the measure of die production is determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2003
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventors: Wesley R. Erck, Michael R. Magee, Michael D. Beer
  • Patent number: 6374398
    Abstract: A method and system thereof for efficiently computing the number of dies per wafer and the corresponding number of stepper shot counts. Dimensions for a die and the size of the wafer are received. The dimensions comprise a die element size that is a function of a scribe lane width, a guard ring width, an input/output pad area, and a length and a width of the die. A die count lookup table is selected for the specified wafer size and used to determine the die count corresponding to the die element size. In a similar manner, a stepper shot count lookup table is selected for the specified wafer size and used to determine the stepper shot count corresponding to the die element size. The axes of the die count and stepper shot count lookup tables are incremented by varying amounts; for example, the increments in one portion of the lookup tables are smaller (finer), and in another portion the increments are larger (grosser).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2002
    Assignee: VLSI Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael R. Magee, Michael D. Beer, Wesley R. Erck
  • Patent number: 4849313
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method for making a reticle mask is disclosed. A reticle mask is made by the double pass method wherein scribe lines are first drawn on the reticle mask. Thereafter, a product die pattern is made in the reticle mask by a plurality of times. A plurality of alignment marks are associated with each product die pattern. The plurality of alignment marks are all written in the scribe line region. Thus, any deviation of the relative position of the product die pattern to the scribe line may be quantified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 18, 1989
    Assignee: VLSI Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: David C. Chapman, Wesley R. Erck