Evaluating the reliability level of virtual metrology results for flexible process control: a novelty detection-based approach

The purpose of virtual metrology (VM) in semiconductor manufacturing is to support process monitoring and quality control by predicting the metrological values of every wafer without an actual metrology process, based on process sensor data collected during the operation. Most VM-based quality control schemes assume that the VM predictions are always accurate, which in fact may not be true due to some unexpected variations that can occur during the process. In this paper, therefore, we propose a means of evaluating the reliability level of VM prediction results based on novelty detection techniques, which would allow flexible utilization of the VM results. Our models generate a high-reliability score for a wafer’s VM prediction only when its process sensor values are found to be consistent with those of the majority of wafers that are used in model building; otherwise, a low-reliability score is returned. Thus, process engineers can selectively utilize VM results based on their reliability level. Experimental results show that our reliability generation models are effective; the VM results for wafers with a high level of reliability were found to be much more accurate than those with a low level.