Manufacturing method of serial number mark in wafer, wafer and process design toolkit product
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202411252200.6
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-09-09
- Publication Date
- 2025-02-14
AI Technical Summary
In the prior art, the serial number logo on the wafer has poor readability, high production time cost, long design cycle, and can only achieve the production of the serial number logo in the exposed area, and cannot simultaneously realize the production of the serial number logo in the chip.
Provide a process design toolkit containing serial number logo design components. Through electronic design automation software, serial number logo design units are generated on the wafer layout, and serial number logos are produced on the wafer using lithography technology, including exposure area serial number logos and chips. Serial number logo.
It improves the readability of serial number logos, shortens production time, reduces design cycle, and realizes the function of simultaneously producing exposed area serial number logos and chip serial number logos.
Smart Images
Figure CN119439635A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to the field of chip design and manufacturing, and in particular to a method for manufacturing a serial number mark in a wafer, and a wafer and process design tool kit product. Background Art
[0002] Currently, the serial number marks on the wafer include wafer serial number marks and exposure area serial number marks. The wafer serial number mark is used to identify different wafers, and the exposure area serial number mark is used to identify different exposure areas. Figure 1 As shown, the existing serial number marks are mostly binary coded, and the process uses a stepper or electron beam. The position of the exposure area serial number mark around each chip on the wafer is determined based on the file description. Therefore, there are the following technical problems:
[0003] 1) The binary code has poor readability and the location of the exposure area cannot be determined intuitively;
[0004] 2) The use of stepper or electron beam technology is relatively time-consuming, resulting in high time costs for making serial number marks;
[0005] 3) After the chip manufacturer's typesetters determine the placement of the exposure area serial number mark around each chip on the wafer based on the file description, they need to reconfirm with the chip designer whether the position meets expectations, which leads to a longer design cycle;
[0006] 4) Only the exposure area serial number mark can be made to identify different exposure areas, but the chip serial number mark cannot be made, that is, the position of the chip exposure area in the wafer cannot be determined.
[0007] In view of this, it is very important to provide a method for manufacturing a serial number mark in a wafer that can simultaneously form an exposure area serial number mark and a chip serial number mark. Summary of the invention
[0008] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and to provide a method for manufacturing a serial number mark in a wafer, a wafer and a process design tool kit product.
[0009] In order to achieve the above purpose, the technical solution of the present invention is:
[0010] A method for making a serial number mark in a wafer comprises the following steps:
[0011] 1) Providing a process design kit and a wafer layout containing a serial number mark design component, where there is at least one chip design unit on the wafer layout;
[0012] 2) using a process design toolkit including a serial number mark design component on electronic design automation software to generate a serial number mark design unit on a wafer layout and determine a position of the serial number mark design unit in a chip design unit;
[0013] 3) Encoding the serial number mark design unit to generate a design layout with the serial number mark encoding unit;
[0014] 4) Based on the design layout with the serial number mark coding unit, a photolithography process is used to produce a serial number mark on the wafer. The serial number mark includes an exposure area serial number mark and a chip serial number mark. The exposure step in the photolithography process adopts an aligned one-time exposure process.
[0015] Preferably, each serial number mark design unit is located at any position outside the functional area of the corresponding chip design unit.
[0016] Preferably, the exposure step in the photolithography process is performed after completing the manufacturing process of one of the metal layers of the chip designed on the chip design unit, and a contact exposure machine or a proximity exposure machine is used.
[0017] Preferably, the serial number marking encoding unit includes an exposure area serial number and a chip serial number, and the exposure area serial number and the chip serial number are encoded using letters and / or numbers.
[0018] Preferably, a plurality of chip design units constitute an exposure area, and the exposure area serial number in the serial number mark coding unit of each chip design unit in the same exposure area is the same.
[0019] Preferably, the exposure area serial number of each exposure area is encoded in numerical or alphabetical order based on the selected exposure area origin to identify the position of each exposure area on the wafer.
[0020] Preferably, the serial number marking encoding unit also includes symbols, which use numbers, letters, a combination of numbers and symbols, or a combination of letters and symbols to determine the direction of each exposure area relative to the selected exposure area origin and / or the direction of each chip design unit relative to the selected chip design unit origin.
[0021] Preferably, the chip serial number of each chip design unit is encoded in numerical or alphabetical order based on the selected chip design unit origin, so as to identify the position of each chip design unit in the exposure area where it is located.
[0022] Preferably, the encoding process of the serial number design unit includes the following steps:
[0023] Provides encoding setting interface;
[0024] Set the encoding format on the encoding setting interface. The encoding format includes the format of the exposure area number and the chip number.
[0025] The serial number mark design unit is encoded according to the encoding format.
[0026] A wafer manufactured by the above-mentioned method for manufacturing serial number marks in a wafer, each chip on the wafer is provided with a serial number mark, and the serial number mark includes an exposure area serial number mark and a chip serial number mark.
[0027] A process design toolkit product includes a serial number mark design component. When the process design toolkit product is executed by a processor, the following method is implemented: a serial number mark design unit is generated on a wafer layout by the serial number mark design component loaded in electronic design automation software, and the position of the serial number mark design unit in a chip design unit is determined.
[0028] A toolkit product includes an encoder and the above-mentioned process design toolkit product. When the encoder is executed by a processor, the following method is implemented: encoding a serial number mark design unit to generate a design layout with a serial number mark encoding unit.
[0029] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:
[0030] (1) The method for making a serial number mark in a wafer proposed in the present invention provides a process design toolkit including a serial number mark design component, so that the chip designer can directly draw a serial number mark design unit on the wafer layout to determine the position of the serial number mark design unit on the chip design unit, thereby determining the position of the serial number mark on the wafer, thereby saving the chip designer time for confirmation.
[0031] (2) The serial number mark produced by the method for producing the serial number mark in the wafer proposed by the present invention includes both the exposure area serial number mark and the chip serial number mark, so the position of the corresponding chip on the wafer can be accurately located through the exposure area serial number mark and the chip serial number mark. In the encoding process of the serial number mark design unit, the encoding tasks of multiple serial number mark design units can be completed at one time, and the generated serial number mark encoding unit supports formats such as numbers, letters and symbols, supports different encoding methods and arrangement methods, and the encoding method is more flexible.
[0032] (3) The method for making serial number marks in wafers proposed by the present invention is compatible with the chip manufacturing process, has high feasibility, and can be applied to wafers of various materials and various types of chips, with wide applicability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0033] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The accompanying drawings illustrate the embodiments and together with the description are used to explain the principles of the present invention. Other embodiments and many expected advantages of the embodiments will be readily appreciated as they become better understood by reference to the following detailed description.
[0034] Figure 1 The coding method of the exposure area serial number mark in the prior art;
[0035] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a method for manufacturing a serial number mark in a wafer according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0036] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an encoding method of Example 1 of a method for making a serial number mark in a wafer according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0037] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an encoding method of Example 2 of a method for making a serial number mark in a wafer according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0038] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of an encoding method of Example 3 of a method for making a serial number mark in a wafer according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0039] Figure symbols: 100, wafer layout; 110, serial number mark design unit; 120, chip design unit; 130, exposure area; 140, serial number mark coding unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0040] The present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the relevant invention, rather than to limit the invention. It is also necessary to explain that, for ease of description, only the parts related to the relevant invention are shown in the accompanying drawings.
[0041] It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other. The present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in combination with the embodiments.
[0042] In an embodiment of the present application, a method for making a serial number mark in a wafer is proposed, which is characterized by comprising the following steps:
[0043] S1, providing a process design tool kit including a serial number mark design component and a wafer layout 100, wherein at least one chip design unit 120 exists on the wafer layout 100.
[0044] Specifically, firstly, a process design tool kit and a wafer layout 100 including a serial number mark design component are provided, such as Figure 2As shown, the wafer layout 100 is divided into a plurality of exposure areas 130, and one exposure area 130 is divided into a plurality of chip design units 120. A process design kit (PDK) is usually provided by a chip manufacturer so that a chip designer can design. One of the key points of the embodiment of the present application is that the process design kit provided includes a serial number mark design component.
[0045] S2, using a process design toolkit including a serial number mark design component on electronic design automation software to generate a serial number mark design unit 110 on the wafer layout 100, and determining a position of the serial number mark design unit 110 in the chip design unit 120.
[0046] In a specific embodiment, each serial number mark design unit 110 is located at any position outside the functional area of the corresponding chip design unit 120 .
[0047] Specifically, a process design kit including a serial number mark design component can be loaded on an electronic design automation (EDA) software for use. PDK includes a collection of data files and script files specific to the chip manufacturer, which are used together with the EDA software to ensure that the design is compatible with the final manufacturing process from the beginning. The main components of PDK include models, symbols, process files, parameterized units (PCells) and rule files. The PDK in the embodiment of the present application includes not only a chip design component, but also a serial number mark design component. After the PDK in the embodiment of the present application is loaded on the EDA tool, a chip (Die) can be designed by a chip design component, the chip including devices such as transistors, capacitors and / or inductors, and a serial number mark is designed in a chip design unit 120 by a serial number mark design component to generate a serial number mark design unit 110. A serial number mark design unit 110 is provided on each chip design unit 120 on the wafer layout 100. The serial number mark design unit 110 can be located in an area outside the chip main body area (functional area) of the chip design unit 120, so as to avoid the influence of the serial number mark and its manufacturing process on the chip performance. The serial number mark design unit 110 can be located in the area within the cutting path. When the chip is manufactured and cut into individual grains, it is ensured that the serial number mark remains on the chip and will not be cut off. Through the operation of the engineer on the EDA software, the position of the serial number mark design unit 110 on the chip design unit 120 can be flexibly selected, such as being located in the lower left corner of the chip design unit 120. Figure 2As shown, it can also be located in other positions such as the upper right corner in the chip design unit 120. The specific position can be directly determined by the engineer of the chip design party. The specific operation process is not limited, and there is no need to hand it over to the personnel of the chip manufacturer for processing, and repeatedly confirm the position of the serial number mark in the chip design unit 120 with the chip designer, so the time for design completion can be effectively shortened. In a preferred embodiment, each serial number mark design unit 110 has the same position on its corresponding chip design unit 120, and the generation of multiple serial number mark design units 110 on an entire wafer layout can be completed at the same time, which is more convenient. In other embodiments, the position of each serial number mark design unit 110 on its corresponding chip design unit 120 may be different. At this time, only the position of the serial number mark design unit 110 on the chip design unit 120 is clarified, but the exposure area serial number and chip serial number on the serial number mark design unit 110 are both in the initial state, such as 0 or 00, and do not have the identification function.
[0048] S3, encoding the serial number mark design unit 110 to generate a design layout with a serial number mark encoding unit 140.
[0049] In a specific embodiment, the serial number mark encoding unit 140 includes an exposure area serial number and a chip serial number, and the exposure area serial number and the chip serial number are encoded using letters and / or numbers.
[0050] In a specific embodiment, a plurality of chip design units 120 constitute an exposure area 130 , and the exposure area serial numbers in the serial number mark encoding unit 140 of each chip design unit 120 in the same exposure area 130 are the same.
[0051] In a specific embodiment, the exposure area serial number of each exposure area 130 is encoded in numerical or alphabetical order based on the selected exposure area origin to identify the position of each exposure area 130 on the wafer.
[0052] In a specific embodiment, the serial number marking encoding unit 140 also includes symbols, which use numbers, letters, a combination of numbers and symbols, or a combination of letters and symbols to determine the direction of each exposure area 130 relative to the selected exposure area origin and / or the direction of each chip design unit 120 relative to the selected chip design unit origin.
[0053] In a specific embodiment, the chip serial number of each chip design unit 120 is encoded in numerical or alphabetical order based on the selected chip design unit origin, so as to identify the position of each chip design unit 120 in the exposure area 130 where it is located.
[0054] Specifically, by encoding the serial number mark design unit 110, the serial number mark design unit 110 becomes a serial number mark encoding unit 140. The serial number mark encoding unit 140 includes an exposure area serial number (shot ID) and a chip serial number (DieID), wherein the exposure area serial number is used to identify each exposure area 130 on a wafer, and the chip serial number is used to identify each chip in an exposure area 130. The serial number mark encoding units 140 in the same exposure area 130 have the same exposure area serial number, and the chip serial numbers of the serial number mark encoding units 140 in different exposure areas 130 may be the same. When locating the chip on the wafer, the exposure area 130 where the chip is located on the wafer is first located by the exposure area serial number, and then the position of the chip on the exposure area 130 is further located by the chip serial number. There are multiple encoding methods used for the exposure area serial number and the chip serial number, and the exposure area serial number and the chip serial number are independently encoded, so the corresponding encoding method can be flexibly selected according to specific needs. In one embodiment, the exposure area serial number and the chip serial number may be composed of letters and / or numbers. The letters may be English letters or other types of letters. The numbers may be Arabic numerals or other types of numbers. The letters or numbers may be encoded in sequence, so the distribution position of the exposure area 130 on the wafer or the distribution position of the chip on the exposure area 130 may be determined by the regularity of their sequence. In other embodiments, other encoding methods that can be converted into a serial number with a sequence may be selected, such as a barcode, which may be converted into a number after encoding. The encoding method of the exposure area serial number and / or the chip serial number is specifically described below through three examples. It should be noted that the encoding method protected by the present invention is not limited to this.
[0055] Example 1
[0056] like Figure 3 As shown, the embodiment of the present application proposes a coding method of the serial number mark coding unit 140. In this example, the serial number mark coding unit 140 only reflects the exposure area serial number, and the chip serial number is not shown. In this example, the exposure area serial numbers in all serial number mark design units 110 are A / A. The serial number mark design unit 110 is encoded to obtain the serial number mark coding unit 140. The exposure area serial numbers in the serial number mark coding unit 140 are divided into two rows, and the contents of the first row and the second row correspond to the horizontal and vertical directions in the coding sequence direction, respectively. In the embodiment of the present application, the horizontal and vertical directions in the coding sequence direction are generally defined based on the flat groove or V groove of the wafer, and the coding method of the exposure area serial number is as follows:
[0057] 1. The exposure area 130 at the upper left corner of the wafer layout 100 is used as the exposure area origin, and the corresponding exposure area serial number is A / A;
[0058] 2. In the horizontal direction of the coding sequence, from left to right, increase the letters of the first row of the exposure area serial number from A to B, C, ..., S in sequence;
[0059] 3. In the longitudinal direction of the coding sequence, from top to bottom, increase the letters in the second row of the exposure area numbers from A to B, C, ..., S.
[0060] Of course, the coding rule of the exposure area serial number in Example 1 can also be changed to the coding rule of the chip serial number, which is also applicable.
[0061] Example 2
[0062] like Figure 4 As shown, an embodiment of the present application proposes a coding method of a serial number mark coding unit 140. In this example, the serial number mark coding unit 140 only reflects the chip serial number, and the exposure area serial number is not shown. In this example, the chip serial numbers in all serial number mark design units 110 are R0 / T0. The serial number mark design unit 110 is encoded to obtain the serial number mark coding unit 140. The chip serial number of the serial number mark coding unit 140 is divided into two rows. The contents of the first row and the second row are composed of letters and numbers, and correspond to the horizontal and vertical directions of the coding sequence, respectively. After encoding, compared with the serial number mark design unit 110, the symbols and numbers of the chip serial numbers in the serial number mark coding unit 140 have changed. In the chip serial number, the letter "R" indicates that the chip design unit 120 is located at the chip design unit origin and the left side of the chip design unit origin, and the letter "L" indicates that the chip design unit 120 is located at the right side of the chip design unit origin; the letter "T" indicates that the chip design unit 120 is located at the chip design unit origin and above the chip design unit origin, and the letter "B" indicates that the chip design unit 120 is located below the chip design unit origin. The relative position between the corresponding chip design unit 120 and the chip design unit origin and the coding sequence direction are determined by the letters; if the number of chip design units 120 between a certain chip design unit 120 and the chip design unit origin in the horizontal or vertical direction in the coding sequence direction is m, then the number in the first row or the number in the second row is m+1. In the embodiments of the present application, the horizontal and vertical directions in the coding sequence direction are generally defined based on the flat groove or V groove of the wafer, and the chip serial number is encoded as follows:
[0063] 1. The chip design unit 120 located at the center of the exposure area 130 is used as the chip design unit origin, and the corresponding chip number is R0 / T0;
[0064] 2. If a chip design unit 120 is located on the left side of the chip design unit origin, the R in the corresponding chip serial number changes to L, and in the horizontal direction of the coding sequence, from right to left, the numbers in the first row of the chip serial number increase from 0 to 1 to 9 in sequence;
[0065] 3. If a chip design unit 120 is located on the right side of the chip design unit origin, the R in the corresponding chip serial number remains unchanged, and the numbers in the first row of the chip serial number increase from 0 to 1 to 9 from left to right in the horizontal direction of the coding sequence;
[0066] 4. If a chip design unit 120 is located below the chip design unit origin, the T in the corresponding chip serial number changes to B, and in the vertical direction of the coding sequence, from top to bottom, the numbers in the second row of the chip serial number increase from 0 to 1 to 9 in sequence;
[0067] 5. If a chip design unit 120 is located above the chip design unit origin, the T in the corresponding chip serial number remains unchanged, and in the vertical direction of the coding sequence, from bottom to top, the numbers in the second row of the chip serial number increase from 0 to 1 to 9.
[0068] Similarly, the coding rule of the chip serial number in Example 2 can also be changed to the coding rule of the exposure area serial number, which is also applicable.
[0069] Example 3
[0070] like Figure 5As shown, an embodiment of the present application proposes a coding method for a serial number mark coding unit 140. In this example, all serial number mark design units 110 are X+00 / Y+00, X+00 is the content of the first row, and Y+00 is the content of the second row. The serial number mark design unit 110 is encoded to obtain a serial number mark coding unit 140. The serial number mark coding unit 140 is divided into two rows. The contents of the first row and the second row correspond to the horizontal direction (X-axis direction) and the vertical direction (Y-axis direction) in the coding sequence direction, respectively. Compared with the serial number mark design unit 110, the symbols and numbers in the serial number mark coding unit 140 obtained after encoding have changed. In the serial number mark encoding unit 140, the letter "X" corresponds to the X-axis direction, and the right side of the chip design unit origin is taken as the positive direction of the X-axis, and the corresponding sign after X is +. Conversely, the left side of the chip design unit origin is taken as the negative direction of the X-axis, and the corresponding sign after X is -; the letter "Y" corresponds to the Y-axis direction, and the top of the chip design unit origin is taken as the positive direction of the Y-axis, and the corresponding sign after Y is +. Conversely, the bottom of the chip design unit origin is taken as the negative direction of the Y-axis, and the corresponding sign after Y is -. The relative position between the corresponding chip design unit 120 and the chip design unit origin is determined according to X or Y and the sign + or - following it. The first number in the first row and the first number in the second row represent the exposure area serial number. If the number of exposure areas 130 between a certain exposure area 130 and the exposure area origin in the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction is n, then the first number in the first row or the first number in the second row is n+1; the second number in the first row and the second number in the second row represent the chip serial number. If the number of chip design units 120 between a certain chip design unit 120 and the chip design unit origin in the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction is m, then the second number in the first row or the second number in the second row is m+1. In the embodiment of the present application, the horizontal and vertical directions in the coding sequence direction are generally defined based on the flat groove or V-groove of the wafer, and the coding method of the serial number mark coding unit 140 is as follows:
[0071] 1. The chip design unit 120 located at the center of the exposure area 130 is used as the chip design unit origin, and the corresponding serial number mark encoding unit 140 is X+00 / Y+00;
[0072] 2. If a chip design unit 120 is located on the left side of the chip design unit origin, the symbol + in the first row of the serial number mark encoding unit 140 changes to -, and in the negative direction of the X-axis, from right to left, the second number in the first row increases from 0 to 1 to 9;
[0073] 3. If a chip design unit 120 is located on the right side of the chip design unit origin, the symbol + in the first row of the serial number mark encoding unit 140 remains unchanged, and in the positive direction of the X-axis, from left to right, the second number in the first row increases from 0 to 1 to 9;
[0074] 4. If a chip design unit 120 is located below the chip design unit origin, the symbol + in the second row of the serial number mark encoding unit 140 changes to -, and in the negative direction of the Y axis, from top to bottom, the second number in the second row increases from 0 to 1 to 9;
[0075] 5. If a chip design unit 120 is located at the lower side of the chip design unit origin, the symbol + in the second row of the serial number mark encoding unit 140 remains unchanged, and in the positive direction of the Y axis, from bottom to top, the second number in the second row increases from 0 to 1 to 9 sequentially.
[0076] All exposure area serial numbers in the serial number mark encoding unit 140 within the exposure area 130 are the same. Figure 5 In the example, the exposure area 130 in the upper left corner of the wafer layout 100 is used as the exposure area origin. The first number in the first row and the first number in the second row are both 0, indicating that the exposure area 130 is located at the selected exposure area origin. If the first number in the first row is 1 and the first number in the second row is 2, the number of exposure areas 130 between the exposure area 130 and the exposure area origin in the X-axis direction is 0, and the number of exposure areas 130 in the Y-axis direction is 1. This example not only reflects the exposure area serial number, but also the chip serial number. In this example, the numbers in the exposure area serial number and the chip serial number are both represented by a single digit. In other embodiments, the numbers in the exposure area serial number and / or the chip serial number can also be represented by two or more digits, and the specific range of numbers can be selected. The serial number mark encoding unit 140 encoded by the above encoding method can accurately locate the position of each chip design unit 120 in the wafer layout 100, that is, the position of each chip in the wafer.
[0077] The above examples are for reference and illustration only and do not represent all encoding rules.
[0078] In a specific embodiment, the encoding process of the serial number design unit 110 includes the following steps:
[0079] Provides encoding setting interface;
[0080] Set the encoding format on the encoding setting interface. The encoding format includes the format of the exposure area number and the chip number.
[0081] The serial number mark design unit 110 is encoded according to the encoding format.
[0082] Specifically, the encoding process of the serial number mark design unit 110 can be implemented by an encoder, and an encoding setting interface is provided in the encoder. In one embodiment, a number of options are provided on the encoding setting interface, including an option for setting the format of the exposure area serial number and an option for setting the format of the chip serial number. Letters, symbols, numbers and their corresponding encoding rules can be selected in the option for setting the format of the exposure area serial number. Similarly, letters, symbols, numbers and their corresponding encoding rules can be selected in the option for setting the format of the chip serial number, so the encoding format can be flexibly selected. Further, an example of the serial number mark encoding unit 140 can be pre-generated according to the selected encoding format. If the selected encoding format is determined, the serial number mark design unit 110 is encoded according to the selected encoding format to generate a design layout with the serial number mark encoding unit 140. In other embodiments, the encoding setting interface can also be presented in other ways, which is not limited here. The above encoding process of the serial number mark design unit 110 supports different encoding methods, supports different arrangement methods, and can simultaneously generate all the serial number mark encoding units 140 on the entire wafer layout 100, so it is more intelligent and convenient.
[0083] S4, based on the design layout with the serial number mark encoding unit 140, a serial number mark is made on the wafer by using a photolithography process. The serial number mark includes an exposure area serial number mark and a chip serial number mark. The exposure step in the photolithography process adopts an aligned one-time exposure process.
[0084] In a specific embodiment, the exposure step in the photolithography process is performed after completing the manufacturing process of one of the metal layers of the chip designed by the chip design unit 120, and a contact exposure machine or a proximity exposure machine is used.
[0085] Specifically, after obtaining the design layout with the serial number mark encoding unit 140, the design layout is handed over to the chip manufacturer for production, and the chip manufacturer produces the chip according to the design requirements for the chip on the design layout. In the process of completing the manufacturing process of one of the metal layers of the chip designed on the chip design unit 120, the exposure step in the photolithography process is used to realize the formation of the metal pattern. Similarly, the exposure step in the photolithography process can also be used to complete the formation of the pattern of the serial number mark designed by the serial number mark encoding unit 140. The serial number mark can be a metal pattern located in the same metal layer as one of the metal layers of the chip, or a groove in one of the dielectric layers of the chip. Since the encoding method of steps S2 and S3 has greater flexibility, it is more appropriate to use an exposure process in the exposure step, and the corresponding exposure equipment selects a contact exposure machine or a proximity exposure machine. Although the traditional step-and-step exposure machine can also realize the formation of the pattern of the serial number mark designed by the serial number mark encoding unit 140, there are situations such as repeated exposure, and it is difficult to achieve. The exposure time of the serial mark pattern designed by the serial mark coding unit 140 on a whole wafer using a stepper exposure machine is 2 to 4 times the exposure time of the serial mark pattern designed by the serial mark coding unit 140 on a whole wafer using a contact exposure machine or a proximity exposure machine, thereby greatly shortening the wafer production cycle time.
[0086] Taking GaAs-based HBT devices as an example, that is, the wafer selects GaAs material, and the chip is an HBT device. In the process of making the first metal layer of the HBT device, in addition to exposing and developing the pattern of the first metal layer on the photoresist, an exposure step and a development step of the pattern of the serial number mark designed by the serial number mark encoding unit 140 are added to expose and develop the pattern of the serial number mark on the photoresist. Then sputter or evaporate the metal to form the first metal layer, and peel off the remaining photoresist, and the retained metal layer contains the pattern of the first metal layer and the pattern of the serial number mark. After subsequent processes, the chip finally generated not only contains the HBT device, but also contains the serial number mark. And the manufacturing process of the serial number mark can be compatible with the manufacturing process of the chip. Wafers of other materials and other types of chips are also applicable to the manufacturing method of the serial number mark in the wafer proposed in the embodiment of the present application.
[0087] The embodiment of the present application also proposes a wafer produced by the above-mentioned method for producing serial number marks in a wafer, wherein each chip on the wafer is provided with a serial number mark, and the serial number mark includes an exposure area serial number mark and a chip serial number mark.
[0088] Specifically, a wafer with a serial number mark can be manufactured by the above-mentioned method for manufacturing a serial number mark in a wafer, and the serial number mark includes an exposure area serial number mark and a chip serial number mark.
[0089] A process design toolkit product is also proposed in an embodiment of the present application, including a serial number mark design component. When the process design toolkit product is executed by a processor, the following method is implemented: a serial number mark design unit 110 is generated on a wafer layout 100 by the serial number mark design component loaded in electronic design automation software, and the position of the serial number mark design unit 110 in the chip design unit 120 is determined.
[0090] An embodiment of the present application also proposes a toolkit product including an encoder and the above-mentioned process design toolkit product. The process design toolkit product is loaded on electronic design automation software and is used to generate a serial number mark design unit 110 on a wafer layout 100, and the encoder is configured to encode the serial number mark design unit 110 to generate a serial number mark encoding unit 140.
[0091] In the embodiments provided by the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed products and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the product embodiments described above are only schematic, for example, the division of the process design toolkit and the encoder is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation, for example, multiple modules can be combined to realize the functions of the process design toolkit and the encoder, or some features can be ignored or not executed.
[0092] It should be understood that the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the invention may be directly implemented as a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.
[0093] The above storage medium can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic disk or optical disk. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general or special purpose computer.
[0094] The above describes the specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.
Claims
1. A method for making a serial number mark in a wafer, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: 1) Providing a process design toolkit and a wafer layout including a serial number mark design component, wherein at least one chip design unit exists on the wafer layout; 2) using the process design toolkit including the serial number mark design component on the electronic design automation software to generate a serial number mark design unit on the wafer layout, and determining the position of the serial number mark design unit in the chip design unit; 3) Encoding the serial number design unit to generate a design layout with the serial number encoding unit; 4) Based on the design layout with the serial number mark coding unit, a serial number mark is produced on the wafer using a photolithography process, wherein the serial number mark includes an exposure area serial number mark and a chip serial number mark, and the exposure step in the photolithography process uses an aligned one-time exposure process.
2. The method for making a serial number mark in a wafer according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the serial number mark design units is located at any position outside the functional area of the corresponding chip design unit.
3. The method for making a serial number mark in a wafer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The exposure step in the photolithography process is performed after the manufacturing process of one of the metal layers of the chip designed by the chip design unit is completed, and a contact exposure machine or a proximity exposure machine is used.
4. The method for making a serial number mark in a wafer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The serial number marking encoding unit includes an exposure area serial number and a chip serial number, and the exposure area serial number and the chip serial number are encoded using letters and / or numbers.
5. The method for making a serial number mark in a wafer according to claim 4, characterized in that: A plurality of the chip design units constitute an exposure area, and the exposure area serial number in the serial number mark encoding unit of each chip design unit in the same exposure area is the same.
6. The method for making a serial number mark in a wafer according to claim 5, characterized in that: The exposure area serial number of each exposure area is encoded in numerical or alphabetical order based on the selected exposure area origin to identify the position of each exposure area on the wafer.
7. The method for making a serial number mark in a wafer according to claim 5, characterized in that: The serial number marking encoding unit also includes symbols, which use numbers, letters, a combination of numbers and symbols, or a combination of letters and symbols to determine the direction of each exposure area relative to the selected exposure area origin and / or the direction of each chip design unit relative to the selected chip design unit origin.
8. The method for making a serial number mark in a wafer according to claim 4, characterized in that: The chip serial number of each design area is encoded in numerical or alphabetical order based on the selected chip design unit origin, and is used to identify the position of each chip design unit in the exposure area where it is located.
9. The method for making a serial number mark in a wafer according to claim 4, characterized in that: The encoding process of the serial number design unit includes the following steps: Provides encoding setting interface; Setting a coding format on the coding setting interface, wherein the coding format includes the format of the exposure area serial number and the chip serial number; The serial number mark design unit is encoded according to the encoding format.
10. A wafer manufactured by the method for manufacturing a serial number mark in a wafer according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: Each chip on the wafer is provided with a serial number mark, and the serial number mark includes an exposure area serial number mark and a chip serial number mark.
11. A process design tool kit product, characterized in that: The process design toolkit product comprises a serial number mark design component, and the process design toolkit product implements the following method when executed by a processor: a serial number mark design unit is generated on a wafer layout by the serial number mark design component loaded in electronic design automation software, and the position of the serial number mark design unit in the chip design unit is determined.
12. A tool kit product, characterized in that: It comprises an encoder and the process design toolkit product as claimed in claim 11, and when the encoder is executed by a processor, the following method is implemented: encoding the serial number mark design unit to generate a design layout with the serial number mark encoding unit.