Systems and methods are described for integrated decomposition and scanning of a semiconducting wafer, where a single chamber is utilized for decomposition and scanning of the wafer of interest.

Systems and methods are described for integrated decomposition and scanning of a semiconducting wafer, where a single chamber is utilized for decomposition and scanning of the wafer of interest.

A substrate analysis method using a nozzle for substrate analysis which discharges an analysis liquid from a tip thereof, scans a substrate surface with a discharged analysis liquid, and sucks the analysis liquid. This is done by arranging a liquid catch plate that catches the discharged analysis liquid, thus retaining analysis liquid discharged between the nozzle tip and the liquid catch plate; positioning the substrate so that the end part thereof can be inserted between the nozzle tip and the liquid catch plate; bringing the end part of the substrate into contact with analysis liquid retained between the nozzle tip and liquid catch plate; and moving the nozzle and liquid catch plate concurrently along a periphery of the substrate, while keeping the end part of the substrate in contact with the analysis liquid, to analyze the end part of the substrate.

An isolated sensor and method of isolating a sensor are provided. The isolated sensor includes a mounting portion, a sensor portion disposed adjacent to the mounting portion, and at least one pedestal connecting a mounting portion to a sensor portion.

A method includes obtaining sensor data associated with a deposition process performed in a process chamber to deposit a film stack on a surface of a substrate, wherein the film stack comprises a plurality of layers of a first material and a plurality of layers of a second material. The method further includes obtaining metrology data associated with the film stack. The method further includes training a first machine-learning model based on the sensor data and the metrology data, wherein the first machine-learning model is trained to generate predictive metrology data associated with layers of the first material. The method further includes training a second machine-learning model based on the sensor data and the metrology data, wherein the second machine-learning model is trained to generate predictive metrology data associated with layers of the second material.

A method includes receiving part data associated with a corresponding part of substrate processing equipment, sensor data associated with one or more corresponding substrate processing operations performed by the substrate processing equipment to produce one or more corresponding substrates, and metrology data associated with the one or more corresponding substrates produced by the one or more corresponding substrate processing operations performed by the substrate processing equipment that includes the corresponding part. The method further includes generating sets of aggregated part-sensor-metrology data including a corresponding set of part data, a corresponding set of sensor data, and a corresponding set of metrology data. The method further includes causing analysis of the sets of aggregated part-sensor-metrology data to generate one or more outputs to perform a corrective action associated with the corresponding part of the substrate processing equipment.

Systems and methods are described for integrated decomposition and scanning of a semiconducting wafer, where a single chamber is utilized for decomposition and scanning of the wafer of interest.

A method for measuring damage (D) of a substrate (1) caused by an electron beam (2). The method comprises using an atomic force microscope (AFM) to provide a measurement (S2) of mechanical and/or chemical material properties (P2) of the substrate (1) at an exposure area (1a) of the electron beam (2). The method further comprises calculating a damage parameter (Sd) indicative for the damage (D) based on the measurement (S2) of the material properties (P2) at the exposure area (1a).

A rotating buffer station for a chip mainly comprises an upper cover plate, a rotatable plate, a movable jaw member and a lower base. The upper cover plate is arranged on the lower base and formed with a guide slot. The rotatable plate is located between the lower base and the upper cover plate and formed with a cam slot. The rotatable plate is pivotally coupled to the lower base. The movable jaw member is slidably engaged with the cam slot and the guide slot. When the rotatable plate is rotated, the cam slot forces the movable jaw member to move radially along the guide slot so as to form a chip socket. Accordingly, with rotation of the rotatable plate, the cam slot forces the movable jaw member to move radially along the guide slot so that the chip socket can be resized to hold various differently-sized chips.

A method and device for inspection or analysis of a semiconductor sample is provided. The method includes: sandwiching a processed semiconductor sample between two blocks of a semiconductor material; polishing the sandwiched sample such that an even surface is obtained; and measuring the surface of the sandwiched sample. The blocks of a semiconductor material comprise the same semiconductor material as the semiconductor sample.