Patent ID: 9698062
Date: 2017-07-04
CPC Classifications: G01N,G06F,H01L

Claim:
1. A method for wet etching a substrate using a single wafer wet etching processing system that includes a plurality of stations to produce a substrate having a desired final etch profile, wherein the desired final etch profile defines a desired thickness of the substrate at one or more radial locations on a surface of the substrate after etching, the method comprising the steps of: measuring, at a measurement station, an initial thickness information for a particular substrate; calculating an etch profile for the particular substrate including: for each of a plurality of radial locations, calculating a respective etch depth according to the measured initial thickness information for the respective radial location and according to the desired thickness for the radial location after etching, wherein each radial location is a continuous area that surrounds a center of the surface at a respective radial distance from the center, and wherein for each respective radial location, the calculated etch depth is a function of radius at the respective radial location and wherein a first etch depth for a first radial location among the plurality of radial locations differs from a second etch depth for the second radial location among the plurality of radial locations; generating an etch recipe for selectively etching the particular substrate at each of the plurality of radial locations the respective etch depths, wherein the step of generating the etch recipe includes: spinning, using the single wafer wet etching apparatus, the particular substrate; and etching, using the single wafer wet etching apparatus that is operating in accordance with the adjusted etch parameters, the particular substrate as it is spun to achieve the desired final etch profile, wherein the etching includes selectively etching the amount of substrate material defined by the first etch depth from the entire first radial location and selectively etching the amount of substrate material defined by the second etch depth from the entire second radial location; wherein the plurality of stations are disposed within a housing and are accessed by an automated substrate transfer device that is configured to controllably move the substrate between stations.