Automatic furnace downloading to SUPREM format

Abstract

Technology CAD (TCAD) is a commonly used tool in process development and analysis. The task of creating the process in the required format for the TCAD deck is non-trivial and often prone to error due to the detailed nature of the furnace processing. Ensuring that the simulation deck is matched to the actual furnace process is also a key area. There is a difference between what is programmed into the furnace and what the wafers actually see. This work presents a method of automatic download of the actual furnace parameters to a format directly readable by the process simulator SUPREM, and examines the consequences of the furnace variability inherent in batch processing. The three furnace zones can be seen to interact and produce best-worst case simulations to aid in the prediction of manufacturability.