MONITORING PLASMA DAMAGE - A REAL-TIME, NONCONTACT APPROACH

A new generation of monitoring tools offers real-time and noncontact d iagnostics of plasma damage - especially dielectric charge build-up, r adiation damage, and heavy-metal contamination. Testing relies on reus able monitor wafers with 1000 Angstrom oxide, rather than on customize d test structures. The new technique generates whole-wafer maps, which are powerful diagnostic tools for correlating plasma damage with plas ma-equipment characteristics. We report on the results obtained while using the new monitoring approach at two independent semiconductor waf er-fab locations.