A film thickness measuring apparatus and an end point detector monitor a film thickness of a conductive film based on an output of an eddy current sensor disposed in a polishing table. The output of the eddy current sensor includes an impedance component, and when a resistance component and a reactance component of the impedance component are associated with the respective axes of a coordinate system having two orthogonal coordinate axes, at least some points on the coordinate system corresponding to the impedance component form at least a part of a circle. The film thickness measuring apparatus determines a distance between a point on the coordinate system and the center of the circle, determines the film thickness from the impedance component and corrects the determined film thickness using the determined distance.

A polishing inspection system for semiconductor wafers, which is characterized by comprising a polishing head with a motor to drive the polishing head to rotate, a retaining ring fixed at a bottom of the polishing head, wherein the retaining ring comprises a plurality of grooves, a polishing pad positioned below the polishing head, and a laser sensor positioned beside the retaining ring, wherein the laser sensor is used for measuring the depth of the grooves on the retaining ring. The invention is helpful to monitor the groove depth of the retaining ring in real time and improve the reliability of the manufacturing process.

An electronic device and a manufacturing method thereof are disclosed. The manufacturing method of the electronic device includes: providing a substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; forming a through hole penetrating the substrate, a side wall of the through hole connected with the first surface and the second surface; providing a first conductive layer on the substrate, the first conductive layer extending into the through hole; providing a second conductive layer on the first conductive layer, the second conductive layer extending into the through hole and having an original thickness; performing a thinning step to remove at least a portion of the second conductive layer; and performing an inspection step to obtain a first inspection result, and determining whether to continue subsequent steps according to the first inspection result.

A method for monitoring a dechucking of a wafer includes illuminating, using light generated from a light source, the wafer disposed on a wafer holder in a processing chamber. The method further includes lifting, using pins disposed in the wafer holder, the wafer, and during the lifting, collecting a portion of the light at a light detector. And the method further includes, based on the collected portion of the light, determining whether to continue the lifting to complete the dechucking.

During polishing of a stack of adjacent conductive layers on a substrate, an in-situ eddy current monitoring system measures sequence of characterizing values. A polishing rate is repeatedly calculated from the sequence of characterizing values repeatedly, one or more adjustments for one or more polishing parameters are repeatedly calculated based on a current polishing rate using a first control algorithm for an initial time period, a change in the polishing rate that meets at least one first predetermined criterion that indicates exposure of the underlying conductive layer is detected, and one or more adjustments for one or more polishing parameters are calculated based on the polishing rate using a different second control algorithm for a subsequent time period after detecting the change in the polishing rate.

Methods and apparatus for controlling substrate temperature includes: measuring a substrate that has undergone a deposition process; analyzing measurements of the substrate to detect a defect of the substrate; and sending a feedback signal to modify a temperature control parameter of a temperature controller used in controlling a temperature of the substrate in the deposition process based on the analyzing if a defect is detected, and not sending a feedback signal to modify the temperature control parameter if a defect is not detected.

An upper surface of a plug (PL1) is formed so as to be higher than an upper surface of an interlayer insulating film (PIL) by forming the interlayer insulating film (PIL) on a semiconductor substrate (1S), completing a CMP method for forming the plug (PL1) inside the interlayer insulating film (PIL), and then, making the upper surface of the interlayer insulating film (PIL) to recede. In this manner, reliability of connection between the plug (PL1) and a wiring (W1) in a vertical direction can be ensured. Also, the wiring (W1) can be formed so as not to be embedded inside the interlayer insulating film (PIL), or a formed amount by the embedding can be reduced.

Systems and methods for using a design for manufacturing (DFM) structure to detect an overlay shift. The DFM structure comprises four branches with transistors and switches connected to a switch control. The first branch measures a current-voltage characteristic corresponding to the overlay shift in a first direction using a first switch. A second branch measures the current-voltage characteristic corresponding to the overlay shift in a second direction using a second switch. A third branch measures the current-voltage characteristic corresponding to the overlay shift in a third direction using a third switch. A fourth branch measures the current-voltage characteristic corresponding to the overlay shift in a fourth direction using a fourth switch. The switches are connected to a switch control configured to active each of the switches to measure the current-voltage characteristic, such that the value of the current-voltage characteristic indicates an overlay shift in an integrated circuit of a die.

A system for monitoring a precursor tank during a deposition process includes a sensor and a signal processor. The sensor includes a sensor chamber connected in line with the precursor tank and a deposition chamber, a radiation emitter to emit a radiation passing through a precursor-containing gas in the sensor chamber, and a radiation receiver to receive the radiation passed through the precursor-containing gas. The signal processor obtains an absorption spectrum of the precursor-containing gas from the received radiation and determines a remaining precursor amount in the precursor tank based on the absorption spectrum. The system facilitates inline monitoring the remaining precursor amount in the precursor tank during a deposition operation, thereby advantageously reducing risks of undergoing a deposition operation while the remaining precursor amount is unacceptably low and avoiding replacing the precursor tank while the remaining precursor amount is acceptable.

A semiconductor package may include a first semiconductor die having a first width; a second semiconductor die on the first semiconductor die, the second semiconductor die having a second width that is smaller than the first width; and a mold layer at least partially covering a side surface of the second semiconductor die, and a top surface of the first semiconductor die, wherein the first semiconductor die comprises at least one first detection pattern, the at least one first detection pattern being on the top surface of the first semiconductor die and in contact with a bottom surface of the mold layer.