NSF Award
9461125
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project involves the development of sensor fusion strategy and algorithm for an advanced copper metallization cluster tool for high performance on-chip interconnect. A growing number of low cost in-situ sensors are available to measure the various process parameters in a single wafer rapid thermal processor. In order to meet the increasingly stringent process control requirements for sub-half micron semiconductor technologies, development of the physical sensors as well as the ability to manage and interpret the increasingly larger number of sensor data are needed. The proposed SBIR Phase I project addresses the issue of intelligent integration and interpretation of sensor data. The sensor fusion algorithm will be applied to CVC Products' advanced copper metallization cluster tool which consists of 4 cluster modules (ICP, collimated PVD, MOCVD, RTP/.RTCVD). Sensor fusion technology is a key enabler of the copper metallization technology which is expected to play a strategic role in 0.25um semiconductor technologies and beyond. The sensor fusion algorithm will be developed based on a set of real time and pre/post process sensors that have been developed and verified during the Texas Instruments/ARPA/Air Force MMST program. Additionally, CVC's proprietary sensors as well as commercially available sensors will be used as inputs to the sensor fusion algorithm.
