Robust control of maximum photolithography overlay error in a pattern layer

Noah Graff, Grani A. Hanasusanto, Dragan Djurdjanović

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper presents a novel method for control of overlay errors in photolithography processes in semiconductor manufacturing. It minimizes the largest overlay error across all measurement markers on a pattern layer, and this minimization is done for the worst-case scenario regarding bounded process bias and modeling noise terms. This large-scale robust optimization problem was formulated as a linear program which can be solved within seconds to generate optimal control commands. Simulations based on wafer data obtained from a major 300 mm semiconductor fab illustrate consistent and significant advantages of this approach over the benchmark control strategies.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)429-432
Number of pages4
JournalCIRP Annals
Volume72
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Photolithography overlay
  • Process control
  • Robust control

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

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