18517070. LENS ADJUSTMENT FOR AN EDGE EXPOSURE TOOL simplified abstract (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.)

LENS ADJUSTMENT FOR AN EDGE EXPOSURE TOOL

Organization Name

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.

Inventor(s)

Yong-Ting Wu of Tainan City (TW)

Yu Kai Chen of Tainan City (TW)

LENS ADJUSTMENT FOR AN EDGE EXPOSURE TOOL - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18517070 titled 'LENS ADJUSTMENT FOR AN EDGE EXPOSURE TOOL

Simplified Explanation

The edge exposure tool described in the patent application includes a lens adjustment device and a controller to automatically adjust parameters of the edge exposure lens and maintain tool performance.

• Lens adjustment device capable of automatically adjusting edge exposure lens parameters
• Controller determines edge adjustment and exposure control parameters using techniques like big data mining and machine learning
• Reduces performance drift and prevents wafer scratching
• Reduces downtime for cleaning and calibration of the edge exposure lens

Potential Applications

• Semiconductor manufacturing
• Photolithography processes

Problems Solved

• Drifting performance of edge exposure tools
• Wafer scratching during edge exposure
• Downtime for cleaning and calibration

Benefits

• Improved tool performance
• Reduced likelihood of wafer damage
• Decreased downtime for maintenance

Original Abstract Submitted

An edge exposure tool may include a lens adjustment device that is capable of automatically adjusting various parameters of an edge exposure lens to account for changes in operating parameters of the edge exposure tool. In some implementations, the edge exposure tool may also include a controller that is capable of determining edge adjustment parameters for the edge exposure lens and exposure control parameters for the edge exposure tool using techniques such as big data mining, machine learning, and neural network processing. The lens adjustment device and the controller are capable of reducing and/or preventing the performance of the edge exposure tool from drifting out of tolerance, which may maintain the operation performance of the edge exposure tool and reduce the likelihood of wafer scratching, and may reduce the down-time of the edge exposure tool that would otherwise be caused by cleaning and calibration of the edge exposure lens.