Big data analytics for modeling WAT parameter variation induced by process tool in semiconductor manufacturing and empirical study

With the feature size shrinkage in advanced technology nodes, the modeling of process variations has become more critical for troubleshooting and yield enhancement. Misalignment among equipment tools or chambers in process stages is a major source of process variations. Because a process flow contains hundreds of stages during semiconductor fabrication, tool/chamber misalignment may more significantly affect the variation of transistor parameters in a wafer acceptance test. This study proposes a big data analytic framework that simultaneously considers the mean difference between tools and wafer-to-wafer variation and identifies possible root causes for yield enhancement. An empirical study was conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of proposed approach and obtained promising results.