Stepper 2 (Autostep 200) - Piece vs. Wafer Programming Differences

Work In Progress This article is still under construction. It may contain factual errors. Content is subject to change.

JOB Programing - FULL

This section describes how to set up a job to do a step and repeat exposure of your patterns. A more detailed description is given in section 8 of the Autostep 200 Advanced Operation and Utilization (White binder\Biljana's desk).  Jobs are created using the SPEC command.  First information about the array steps, alignment offsets, and general job is asked for. Passes are attached to each job to apply parameters unique to each pass specified. You can have up to 6 passes in one job. In this way all exposure information for a complete mask set can be specified all in one job.  Following is the procedure for setting up a job and passes.

Notes: If at any point you wish to stop and start over with the job description hit CTRL C followed by A and ENTER on the keyboard to abort the SPEC command.  An abort of this type will result in no saved information.  Also when a * is displayed, this indicates the default value if you hit enter for a reply to a question asked by the computer in setting up or editing any job.  If a numeric value is asked for hitting enter will leave the value previously specified, if that exists.  Also, if you put in an incorrect value and wish to go back a step type “?” and ENTER.

1. At the colon sign type SPEC “jobname” and hit enter.  The "jobname" can be 1-9 alphanumeric characters long.
2. Select M (metric units)
3. Input a job comment such as “HBT-1 process”
4. TOLERANCE (1,2,*3,4,5,6). Set tolerance to 1
5. SCALE CORRECTIONS . Hit Enter for scale corrections.
6. ORTHOGONALITY . Hit enter for orthogonality
7. LEVELER BATCH SIZE [1-25]. Input 1 to use wafer leveling, and -1 to turn leveling off.
8. WAFER DIAMETER : Enter the wafer diameter in mm.  This defines the maximum area in which exposure can occur.  If you have a square or non-circular piece, you will need to specify a diameter that includes the entire square, not the length of a square.
9. STEP SIZE: Enter the step size in X in mm at the wafer plane ( 5X reduction at the wafer level). Step size is die size+gap between dies.
10. C-OUNT, S-PAN or A-LL: Use “C” for specifying the number of columns to expose and "A" to fill in all area in X direction to the edge of a circular wafer. For square pieces you will always use “C”.  For quarter wafers, you will most likely use “C” and make the job array look square. You will then use dropouts in each pass to specify more complicated array shapes.
11. HOW MANY COLUMNS? When “C” is entered, you will then be able to enter the number of columns desired.
12. Repeat 9 through 11 for the Y step.
13. TRANSLATE ORIGIN: Keep this (x=0,y=0). It is generally used only if the wafer is off-center. This is useful information for piece substrates. Once you find the corner of your piece you are using for aligning, you can enter this info(x,y) as your translate origin. If you are consistent and always put your piece at the same location on the chuck, this will help you to spend less time in aligning.
14. DISPLAY? (Y/N*): If you select "Y" you will see see an “*” cartoon of the exposure array. The final array will be centered on the wafer.
15. LAYOUT? (Y/N*): Layout will give you a display of the number of rows and columns and the distance from die (1,1) to the array center, taking origin translation into account. Usually this is not looked at. Hit enter to pass this up.
16. ADJUST? (Y/N*): If you wish to adjust the numbers of rows and columns you can do this at the Adjust prompt.  Usually, you can hit enter to skip this.
17. STANDARD KEYS? (Y/*N): If you choose "Y", then the die used for right and left alignment is chosen automatically by the system.  This is good if you have a wafer larger than 63.5 mm in the X direction and both alignment marks are exactly 63.5 mm apart. If you do not meet these conditions (most jobs do not), you will need to choose "N".
18. If “N” is chosen you will need to enter the row and column of the right alignment die.
19. RIGHT ALIGNMENT DIE CENTER:
20. R: (Row# of the right alignment die), C: (Column# of the right alignment die)
21. If Non-standard alignment keys are selected (most of the time they are, step 18), you will need to select the right and left alignment die. For example if you have 10X10 exposures, the right alignment die could be(R=10,C=10) and the left alignment die (R=10,C=1).
22. For wafers: We usually select right and left alignment die bellow the center of wafer, and on the same row. It is practical to select left and right alignment die to be in the last row. This helps to quickly find alignment die, and do alignment.
23. For pieces: We usually select right and left alignment die to be in the last row.
24. RIGHT KEY OFFSET: The key offset is distance from the die (mask) center to the alignment mark center on the first layer (or the layer you will be aligning to).  Enter the number in (mm) at the wafer plane.  See picture below for sign convention of an alignment mark placed in quadrant 1 on the mask. The picture assumes normal Cartesian coordinates with the center-lines crossing at (0,0) and the mask is chrome-side down and oriented as it would be on the stepper. (This is the same orientation that you will have when viewing your L Edit file).
25. Sign Convention for Alignment key offset on Mask (main cell)- insert the photo
26. LEFT ALIGNMENT DIE CENTER: Repeat 19 through 25 for the Left alignment die. Left and Right Key Offset are always the same, except for jobs with one single exposure (one die), where left and right key offset are different!
27. EPI SHIFT: Skip through epi shift. Hit enter.
28. <<PASS>>
29. Now you are ready to enter information specific to pass.
30. NAME: Enter the pass name of the first layer you are exposing.  When you expose a job, you will specify it as jobname\passname.  The name of a pass can be 1 to 9 alphanumeric characters long.  (i.e. emitter or just number 1)
31. PASS COMMENT: Next enter a pass comment, something like " Exposing first layer or Exposing trench" etc. This is not mandatory, but it is useful.
32. USE LOCAL ALIGNMENT?(Y/*N): Enter "Y" or "N" for local alignment.
33. If this is a first pass (there is no any pattern on your wafer), you need to select in here "N". You will be asked to enter information for exposure time, focus, and pass shift. Hit enter for "exposure scale factor", "microscope focus offset", "enable match".
34. RETICLE BAR CODE: If you have a bar code on your reticle, enter the value here, otherwise hit enter.
35. PASS SHIFT: Use pass shift to shift all exposures in this pass by a set amount.  Usually this option is passed over, but may be used if you have multiple levels on a single mask and are aperturing all layers but the one of interest and this pattern is off-center.  You would enter the correct offset to ensure pattern alignment. See picture below for sign convention for X and Y for pass shifts to place pattern into center of wafer. Enter the number in mm at the wafer plane.  See picture below for sign convention of pass shift for a pattern placed in quadrant 1. The picture assumes normal Cartesian coordinates with the center lines crossing at 0,0 and the mask is chrome-side down and oriented as it would be on the stepper.
36. RETICLE BAR CODE: If you have a bar code on your reticle, enter the value here, otherwise hit enter.
37. MASKING APERTURE SETTING: You can set the aperture blades independently, entering values between 0 and 97 for the blade movement, in millimeters.  0 is completely open for all blades.  The smallest square you can aperture to is 5mm x 5mm (that means 1mm x 1mm at the wafer plane). You will be asked to enter information for : XL, XR, YF, YR.
38. RETICLE ALIGNMENT OFFSET (XL, XR, Y): Enter 0 for all these values.
39. Reticle Alignment Phase:  Enter N for negative (clear squares)
40. Reticle Transmission:  Hit Enter.
41. A-RRAY OR P-LUG: When "A" is entered all sites previously specified will be exposed except dropouts specified later. When P is entered, enter the row and column numbers of die you wish to be exposed.  Enter D at the R prompt to display the currently selected die. Press return with a blank entry at the R prompt when finished.
42. DROPOUTS: In the dropout section, sites or entire rows or columns can be removed from the exposure.  Enter the row.  Then enter at the C prompt: nothing to remove the whole row, the first and last column number with a dash in between (i.e.3-6) to remove several sits, or a single number to remove a single site.  Enter D at the R prompt to view the die that will be exposed.  Enter V at the R prompt to see a list of dropouts. Enter ? at the R prompt to put back in the last die that was dropped out.  Again hit return with no entry at the R prompt to exit.
43. SAVE PASS? (*Y/N): Answer "Y" to save this pass. If no other passes are desired, hit enter with no entry at the name prompt. Save the job.
44. If you press "Enter", you will have an option to continue with writing next pass.
45. <<PASS>>>
46. If this is a second pass or any other pass you should repeat steps from (28-43). Follow instructions to finish writing/saving passes. At the end SAVE the job.
47. If this is a second pass or any other pass with critical alignment, you need to use local alignment mark (DFAS). This would require writing a pass (usually called "mapping pass"). In this case you need follow next steps:
48. <<PASS>>
49. NAME: Enter the pass name for mapping. You need to give this pass a name that will be related to mapping, something like " LOCAL" or "DFAS". When you expose a job, you will specify it as MAP jobname\mapping pass, passname. (For example : MAP TEST123\LOCAL, 2). The name of a mapping pass can be 1 to 9 alphanumeric characters long.
50. PASS COMMENT: Next enter a pass comment, something like "mapping pass". This is not mandatory, but it is useful.
51. USE LOCAL ALIGNMENT?(Y/*N): Enter "Y" or "N" for local alignment.
52. You need to select in here "Y" for local alignment. Local alignment mark (DFAS) needs to to be on the layer that is being used for aligning.
53. EXPOSE MAPPING PASS? (Y/*N): *N is default value, select "N".
54. USE TWO POINT Alignment? (*Y/N): *Y is default value, select "Y".Yes will check your local alignment marks on your global alignment die and correct for rotation error prior to shooting.
55. ROTATION TOLERANCE (urads): 2.000
56. CONTINUE WITH MAPPING ? (*Y/N). Select *Y.
57. NUMBER OF ALIGNMENT PER DIE: 1
58. LOCAL ALIGNMENT MARK OFFSET: Skip this
59. MONITOR MAPPING CORRECTIONS? (*Y/N): Choose "Y" if you want to see data before exposure to make a judgment on whether to continue
60. MAP EVERY N'TH WAFER N: Enter 1 to map every wafer you shoot.
61. MICROSCOPE FOCUS OFFSET: Skip this step
62. PASS SHIFT: Enter x=0, Y=0
63. A-RRAY or P-LUG: Selct "P" for plug
64. At the prompt R, enter the dies you want to use for mapping. ( R1, C1; R1, C3 and etc.)
65. SAVE PASS? (*Y/N). Enter "Y"
66. Say "Y" to Write to Disk or all information will be lost.
67. You are ready.
68. STOP HERE

Local Alignment Mark Offset:

The local alignment mark offset is distance from the die (mask) center to the local alignment mark center(DFAS) on the first layer (or the layer you will be aligning to).  Enter the alignment mark position in X, and Y in (mm) at the wafer plane.  See picture above for sign convention of the global alignment mark being placed next to global alignment mark in quadrant 1 on the mask. The picture assumes normal Cartesian coordinates with the center-lines crossing at (0,0) and the mask is chrome-side down and oriented as it would be on the stepper. (This is the same orientation that you will have when viewing your L Edit file).

1. Monitor Mapping Corrections:  Choose "Y" if you want to see data before exposure to make a judgment on whether to continue.
2. Map Every Nth Wafer:  Enter 1 to map every wafer you shoot.
3. Next, input an exposure time between 0 and 128 sec. The calibrations are done at 0.38 sec. for 0.9um SPR 955-CM resist on silicon.  This time should be optimized for your substrate and process before doing the real devices to ensure optimum resolution.  Dose is calibrated for the system each lamp change.
4. 33) Expose Calib Factor: 1
5. 34) Focus Offset:  Based on a focus calibration that you do, you will have a focus offset from the baseline calibration job.  This calibration is done daily with a mark built-in to the system.  Focus offset is an integer.  +1 = 0.1 microns of lens movement up from the wafer.  -1 = 0.1 microns towards the wafer.
6. 35) Microscope focus offset:  Same units as above.  Used so that your wafer will be in focus right away.  You will find out this number the first time you expose.
7. 36) Enable Match:  Can use marks on your mask to make sure reticle is exactly aligned.  If you have the marks (standard on Photronix masks), and say yes:
8. a.     Match Template Name:  MATCH
9. b.     Match every Nth Wafer:  Enter 1.
10. c.     Reticle Rotation Offset:  Enter 0.
11. d.     Reticle T: 0
12. 37) AWA Parameter File Name:  just press Enter
13. 38) Use pass shift to shift all exposures in this pass by a set amount.  Usually this option is passed over, but may be used if you have multiple levels on a single mask and are aperturing all layers but the one of interest and this pattern is off-center.  You would enter the correct offset to ensure pattern alignment. See picture below for sign convention for X and Y for pass shifts to place pattern into center of wafer. Enter the number in mm at the wafer plane.  See picture below for sign convention of pass shift for a pattern placed in quadrant 1. The picture assumes normal Cartesian coordinates with the center lines crossing at 0,0 and the mask is chrome-side down and oriented as it would be on the stepper.

39) Reticle Bar Code:  If you have a bar code on your reticle, enter the value here, otherwise hit enter.

40) Masking Aperture Setting:  You can set the aperture blades independently, entering values between 0 and 97 for the blade movement, in millimeters.  0 is completely open for all blades.  The smallest square you can aperture to is 5mm x 5mm (that means 1mm x 1mm at the wafer plane)

41) Reticle Alignment Offset:  Enter 0 for all these values.

42) Reticle Alignment Phase:  Enter N for negative (clear squares)

43) Reticle Transmission:  Hit Enter.

44) Array or Plug.  When P is entered, only those row and column sites that the user enters will be exposed.  When A is entered all sites previously specified will be exposed except dropouts specified later.

45) When P is entered, enter the row and column numbers of die you wish to be exposed.  Enter D at the R prompt to display the currently selected die. Press return with a blank entry at the R prompt when finished.

46) In the dropout section, sites or entire rows or columns can be removed from the exposure.  Enter the row.  Then enter at the C prompt: nothing to remove the whole row, the first and last column number with a dash in between (i.e.3-6) to remove several sits, or a single number to remove a single site.  Enter D at the R prompt to view the die that will be exposed.  Enter V at the R prompt to see a list of dropouts. Enter ? at the R prompt to put back in the last die that was dropped out.  Again hit return with no entry at the R prompt to exit.

47) Answer Y to save pass.

48) If no other passes are desired, hit enter with no entry at the name prompt.

49) Enter another pass name if desired and hit enter.

50) If the pass information is mostly the same as a previous pass, hit Y at the Copy prompt and enter the name of the pass to be copied, then change any needed parameters after the job is saved using the EDIT command.

51) Say Y to Write to Disk or all information will be lost.

52) You are ready.

Editing an existing job:

To edit an existing job, use the EDIT command followed by the file name.  You can then scroll through job and all passes and change any desired parameters.

Don’t forget to save the changes.  If you just wanted to look at the program you can use the EDIT command and then use CTRL C followed by A and a carriage return to abort the command and not save any changes.

You can also edit a job by using the JOB command.  You can play with this.  It is menu driven and lets you easily change parameters without having to scroll through an entire program.