A method, system, and medium for rapid wafer inspection suitable for equipment.

Abstract

This invention discloses a rapid wafer inspection method suitable for machine-mounted applications, comprising the following steps: configuring a virtual disk on the memory of the inspection software server; receiving heartbeat packets sent by the inspection software and monitoring in real time the changes in the folder storing die images after the machine software takes pictures of the wafer; copying new images to the virtual disk when they are generated; and performing defect inspection on all die images of the wafer using the inspection software after all die images of the wafer have been copied. This invention introduces a monitoring mechanism for changes in the image generation folder. When new images are generated, they are immediately copied from the machine software host to the inspection software host, and a virtual hard disk is used in memory, thereby accelerating the image read / write speed, which is approximately 30 times faster than that of a solid-state drive, significantly reducing image read / write time and lowering the overall wafer defect inspection time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of wafer appearance inspection technology, and more specifically, to a rapid wafer inspection method, system, and medium suitable for equipment. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, wafer appearance inspection has enabled the mechanical software to use a moving platform to take pictures of hundreds of thousands of dies with a camera. The pictures are then copied from the mechanical software to the inspection software, which uses wafer inspection algorithms to perform inspection, classify the quality of each die, and output the inspection results for each die.

[0003] However, existing technologies require photographing and inspecting a large number of wafers, resulting in a very large number of images. Ordinary disk read / write methods consume a lot of time, and the efficiency of wafer inspection urgently needs to be improved.

[0004] In existing technologies, the number of crystals can typically reach hundreds of thousands. The detection results of each crystal need to be displayed and processed together, which involves a huge amount of computation and the display interface is prone to lag.

[0005] When a problem occurs in the testing facility, it is necessary to stop the software from taking pictures. Since the software is generally a standard product and it is extremely difficult to customize, the testing software cannot establish communication with the software. This requires manual intervention to stop, start, or pause the operation of the software. Furthermore, the software is not on the same host, making the operation very inconvenient. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In response to at least one defect or improvement requirement in the prior art, the present invention provides a method, system and medium for rapid wafer inspection suitable for equipment, in order to solve the technical problem that the read and write speed of die images in wafer inspection needs to be further improved.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, according to a first aspect of the present invention, a rapid wafer inspection method suitable for machine tools is provided, comprising the following steps:

[0008] Configure the virtual disk of the memory sticks of the detection software server;

[0009] Receive heartbeat packets sent by the testing software and monitor in real time the changes in the folder containing the die images after the software takes pictures of the wafer;

[0010] If a new image is generated, the new image is copied to the virtual disk;

[0011] After all the die images of the wafer have been copied, the detection software is used to perform defect detection on all the die images of the wafer and output the detection results.

[0012] Furthermore, the output detection result is specifically as follows:

[0013] The detection results of multiple dies of the wafer are partitioned and plotted on multiple images using a multi-threaded mechanism;

[0014] The multiple images are merged into one large image and displayed.

[0015] Furthermore, the wafer rapid inspection method also includes the following steps:

[0016] The merged large image is magnified locally to view the corresponding grain detection results and grain coordinates, and the corresponding grain images are also viewed at the same time.

[0017] Furthermore, after receiving the heartbeat packet sent by the detection software, the method further includes the following steps:

[0018] If no heartbeat packet is received within a certain time interval, the protocol will stop the mechanism software.

[0019] Furthermore, the protocol terminating the mechanism software specifically includes the following steps:

[0020] The screen of the software is captured by pre-saved images of the stop button.

[0021] The location of the stop button in the mechanism software was found using a relevant algorithm;

[0022] A mouse click event is sent to the location of the stop button in the mechanism software to stop the operation of the mechanism software.

[0023] Furthermore, after stopping the operation of the mechanism software, the method further includes the following steps:

[0024] Restart the software and take a picture of the wafer. Save the captured images of the wafer to the designated folder for the testing software to copy.

[0025] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a rapid wafer inspection system suitable for machine tool assembly is also provided, comprising: an inspection software server, mechanism software and daemon process software server, and a display and operation device;

[0026] The detection software server includes a detection software module, which includes a folder monitoring image copying unit, a detection algorithm unit, a wafer result display unit, and a heartbeat sending unit.

[0027] The folder monitoring image copying unit is used to monitor the changes in the folder containing the wafer images after the software takes pictures of the wafer in real time, and to copy the newly generated images to the virtual disk of the detection software server.

[0028] The detection algorithm unit is used to perform defect detection on the grain image;

[0029] The wafer result display unit is used to display the defect detection results of the grain image;

[0030] The heartbeat sending unit is used to send heartbeat packets;

[0031] The institutional software and daemon software server includes an institutional software module and a daemon software module;

[0032] The software module of the mechanism works in conjunction with the external machine to perform high-speed imaging of the wafer;

[0033] The daemon software module includes a heartbeat receiving unit; the heartbeat receiving unit is used to receive the heartbeat packet.

[0034] The display device is used to show various images and test results during the wafer inspection process.

[0035] Furthermore, the daemon software module also includes an image button position positioning unit;

[0036] The image button location unit is used to capture the screen of the mechanism software by using a pre-saved image of the stop button, find the location of the stop button of the mechanism software by using a relevant algorithm, and send a mouse click event to stop the operation of the mechanism software.

[0037] According to a third aspect of the invention, a storage medium is also provided, which stores a computer program executable by an access authentication device, which, when run on the access authentication device, causes the access authentication device to perform the steps of any of the methods described above.

[0038] In summary, compared with the prior art, the above-described technical solutions conceived by this invention can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0039] (1) The detection method of the present invention introduces a monitoring mechanism for changes in the image generation folder. When a new image is generated, it is immediately copied from the host machine software to the host machine software and a virtual hard disk is used in memory, thereby speeding up the image reading and writing speed. The reading and writing speed is about 30 times faster than that of a solid-state drive, which greatly reduces the image reading and writing time, reduces the overall wafer defect detection time, and improves the efficiency of wafer appearance inspection.

[0040] (2) The detection method of this invention introduces a multi-threaded rendering and synthesis mechanism. It employs multi-threaded technology to render the grain results in partitions onto multiple images, then merges these partitioned images into a single large image, which is then displayed on the screen. This achieves simultaneous display of all combined grain results, minimizing the display interface lag caused by displaying and processing the detection results of each individual grain simultaneously. Furthermore, zooming in on the images allows for precise viewing of the detection results for each grain, and double-clicking a grain displays the corresponding snapshot image, improving the convenience and efficiency of viewing the detection results.

[0041] (3) The detection method of the present invention monitors the status of the detection software in real time through a daemon process. When the detection software is abnormal, it immediately stops the operation of the mechanism software through the protocol, realizing the automation of stopping the machine when there is an abnormality, avoiding the manual shutdown operation, thereby saving labor costs. Attached Figure Description

[0042] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0043] Figure 1 A flowchart illustrating a rapid wafer inspection method suitable for machine tools provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 2 A hardware connection diagram of a wafer rapid inspection system suitable for machine tools provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the software functional module structure of a wafer rapid inspection system suitable for machine tools, provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0046] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely for the purpose of explaining the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, the technical features involved in the various embodiments of the present invention described below may be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0047] The terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the steps or units listed, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to such process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0048] like Figure 1 As shown, in one embodiment, a rapid wafer inspection method suitable for machine-aided applications includes steps S1-S4:

[0049] S1. Configure the virtual disk of the memory sticks of the detection software server.

[0050] Before running the program, configure the memory virtual disk. This uses third-party software to create a virtual disk from a portion of the RAM, functioning like local drives C and D. The disk size is limited by the RAM size and is allocated based on the total number of images.

[0051] More specifically, the detection software maps a portion of the memory to a virtual disk Z, sets disk Z as a shared disk, and the mechanism software maps the shared disk to a local disk Y. After capturing images from the camera, the mechanism software stores the images on disk Y, and the detection software reads the images from the shared disk Z. The speed is about 30 times that of a solid-state drive, which greatly shortens the detection time.

[0052] S2. Receive heartbeat packets sent by the testing software and monitor in real time the changes in the folder containing the die images after the software takes pictures of the wafer.

[0053] The detection software is launched, and a heartbeat packet is sent to the daemon process. The software monitors the folder where the wafer images are stored in real time.

[0054] S3. If new images are generated in the above folder, the new images are immediately copied to the virtual disk.

[0055] S4. After all the die images of the wafer have been copied, the wafer inspection algorithm of the inspection software is used to perform defect detection on all the die images of the wafer and output the detection results.

[0056] The detection method in this embodiment introduces a monitoring mechanism for changes in the image generation folder. When a new image is generated, it is immediately copied from the host machine software to the detection software host machine, and a virtual hard disk in memory is used to speed up the image reading and writing speed, which is about 30 times faster than that of a solid-state drive. This significantly reduces the image reading and writing time, lowers the overall wafer defect detection time, and improves the efficiency of wafer appearance inspection.

[0057] Preferably, the output detection results are specifically as follows: the detection results of the crystal are plotted on multiple images using a multi-threaded mechanism, then merged into a large image, and then displayed on the display screen interface. The crystal detection results and crystal coordinates can be moved and zoomed in. Double-clicking the crystal can display small images of different scenes of the crystal taken by the camera.

[0058] The display of a large number of wafer die inspection results uses a multi-threaded approach, storing multiple images and then combining them into a large image, which speeds up the display speed. The interface is very smooth when moving, zooming in, and positioning the die, and there is no problem of interface lag caused by displaying hundreds of thousands of dies at the same time. Double-clicking a die can display multiple small images taken by the camera for comparison, eliminating the need to find the corresponding image by the die's position, making it easier to verify the accuracy of the inspection results and improving work efficiency.

[0059] Preferably, after receiving the heartbeat packet sent by the detection software, the method further includes the following steps:

[0060] The daemon process is started and receives heartbeat packets sent by the detection software via UDP protocol. If no heartbeat packet is received within a certain time interval, it indicates that the detection software has malfunctioned, and the mechanism software will automatically stop running via the protocol.

[0061] More specifically, the screen of the mechanism software is captured by pre-saved images of the stop button; the location of the stop button is found using relevant algorithms; and a mouse click event is sent to the location of the stop button to stop the operation of the mechanism software.

[0062] The detection method in this embodiment monitors the status of the detection software in real time through a daemon process. When the detection software malfunctions, it immediately stops the operation of the mechanism software through a protocol, thus automating the shutdown process in case of an anomaly and avoiding manual shutdown operations, thereby saving labor costs.

[0063] After stopping the operation of the mechanism software, the mechanism software is restarted to continue taking pictures of the wafer. The captured images of the wafer are stored in the designated folder for the testing software to copy. The above steps are repeated until the testing software malfunctions again.

[0064] In one embodiment, a wafer rapid inspection system suitable for use with a machine includes: an inspection software server, mechanism software and daemon software server, a switch, and a display and operation device, as shown in the hardware connection diagram below. Figure 2 As shown.

[0065] The schematic diagram of the software functional module structure of the detection system is as follows: Figure 3As shown, the detection software server includes a detection software module, which includes a folder monitoring image copying unit, a detection algorithm unit, a wafer result display unit, and a heartbeat sending unit.

[0066] The folder monitoring image copying unit is used to monitor the changes in the folder containing the wafer images after the software takes pictures of the wafer, and to copy the newly generated images to the virtual disk of the detection software server.

[0067] The detection algorithm unit is used to perform defect detection on the grain image.

[0068] The wafer result display unit is used to display the defect detection results of the grain image.

[0069] The heartbeat sending unit is used to send heartbeat packets.

[0070] The aforementioned institutional software and daemon software server include both institutional software module and daemon software module as two major functional modules.

[0071] The software module of the mechanism works in conjunction with the mobile platform outside the system to take pictures of the wafer.

[0072] The daemon software module includes a heartbeat receiving unit, which is used to receive the heartbeat packet.

[0073] The display and operation device includes a computer monitor and a necessary keyboard and mouse. The display and operation device is mainly used to display various pictures and inspection results during the wafer inspection process.

[0074] Preferably, the daemon software module further includes an image button location unit; the image button location unit is used to capture the screen of the mechanism software by using a pre-saved image of the stop button of the mechanism software, find the location of the stop button of the mechanism software by using a relevant algorithm, and send a mouse click event to stop the operation of the mechanism software.

[0075] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of any of the methods described above. The computer-readable storage medium may include, but is not limited to, any type of disk, including floppy disks, optical disks, DVDs, CD-ROMs, microdrives, as well as magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, DRAMs, VRAMs, flash memory devices, magnetic cards or optical cards, nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs), or any type of medium or device suitable for storing instructions and / or data.

[0076] It should be noted that, for the sake of simplicity, the foregoing method embodiments are all described as a series of actions. However, those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to the described order of actions, because according to the present invention, some steps can be performed in other orders or simultaneously. Furthermore, those skilled in the art should also understand that the embodiments described in the specification are preferred embodiments, and the actions and modules involved are not necessarily essential to the present invention.

[0077] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of each embodiment have different focuses. For parts not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions in other embodiments.

[0078] In the several embodiments provided by this invention, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some service interface; the indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units may be electrical or other forms.

[0079] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0080] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present invention can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0081] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage device (CMD). Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this invention, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a memory and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this invention. The aforementioned memory includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), portable hard drives, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0082] The foregoing description is merely an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure. Any equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure shall still fall within the scope of this disclosure. Other embodiments of this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure herein. This invention is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this disclosure that follow the general principles of this disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not described herein. The specification and embodiments are to be considered exemplary only, and the scope and spirit of this disclosure are defined by the claims.

[0083] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0084] It will be easily understood by those skilled in the art that the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wafer rapid inspection system suitable for use with equipment, characterized in that, Includes: detection software server, mechanism software and daemon software server, and display and operation device; The detection software server includes a detection software module, which includes a folder monitoring image copying unit, a detection algorithm unit, a wafer result display unit, and a heartbeat sending unit. The folder monitoring image copying unit is used to monitor the changes in the folder containing the wafer images after the software takes pictures of the wafer in real time, and to copy the newly generated images to the virtual disk of the detection software server. The detection algorithm unit is used to perform defect detection on the grain image; The wafer result display unit is used to display the defect detection results of the grain image; The heartbeat sending unit is used to send heartbeat packets; The institutional software and daemon software server includes an institutional software module and a daemon software module; The software module of the mechanism works in conjunction with the external machine to perform high-speed imaging of the wafer; The daemon software module includes a heartbeat receiving unit; The heartbeat receiving unit is used to receive the heartbeat packet; The display device is used to show various images and test results during the wafer inspection process.

2. The wafer rapid inspection system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The daemon software module also includes an image button location positioning unit; The image button location unit is used to capture the screen of the mechanism software by using a pre-saved image of the stop button, find the location of the stop button of the mechanism software by using a relevant algorithm, and send a mouse click event to stop the operation of the mechanism software.

3. A rapid wafer inspection method suitable for machine-aided equipment, characterized in that, The wafer rapid inspection system as described in claims 1 to 2 includes the following steps: Configure the virtual disk of the memory sticks of the detection software server; Receive heartbeat packets sent by the testing software and monitor in real time the changes in the folder containing the die images after the software takes pictures of the wafer; If a new image is generated, the new image is copied to the virtual disk; After all the die images of the wafer have been copied, the detection software is used to perform defect detection on all the die images of the wafer and output the detection results.

4. The wafer rapid inspection method as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The output detection result is specifically as follows: The detection results of multiple dies of the wafer are partitioned and plotted on multiple images using a multi-threaded mechanism; The multiple images are merged into one large image and displayed.

5. The wafer rapid inspection method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The rapid wafer inspection method also includes the following steps: The merged large image is magnified locally to view the corresponding grain detection results and grain coordinates, and the corresponding grain images are also viewed at the same time.

6. The wafer rapid inspection method as described in claim 5, characterized in that, After receiving the heartbeat packet sent by the detection software, the following steps are also included: If no heartbeat packet is received within a certain time interval, the protocol will stop the mechanism software.

7. The wafer rapid inspection method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The protocol for stopping the mechanism software specifically includes the following steps: The screen of the software is captured by pre-saved images of the stop button. The location of the stop button in the mechanism software was found using a relevant algorithm; A mouse click event is sent to the location of the stop button in the mechanism software to stop the operation of the mechanism software.

8. The wafer rapid inspection method as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The process further includes the following steps after stopping the operation of the mechanism software: Restart the software and take a picture of the wafer. Save the captured images of the wafer to the designated folder for the testing software to copy.

9. A storage medium, characterized in that, It stores a computer program executable by an access authentication device, which, when run on the access authentication device, causes the access authentication device to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 3 to 8.

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