Patent ID: 7642102
Filing Date: 2010-01-05
Classification: G01B,G03F

Abstract:
1. A method of processing a wafer comprising: receiving the wafer and wafer data, wherein the wafer is received by a measurement subsystem, a wafer state is established for the wafer, and the wafer data includes historical and/or real-time wafer thickness data; receiving an input message including a pass-through message, or a real-time feedforward message, or any combination thereof, wherein the pass-through message includes historical wafer data and the real-time feedforward message includes real-time wafer thickness data; creating, by a Transparent Coupling Device (TCD), real-time feedforward data using the real-time feedforward message, wherein the real-time feedforward data is created when input message includes a real-time feedforward message, and is not created when the input message does not include a real-time feedforward message, wherein the real-time feedforward data includes real-time wafer thickness data; feed-forwarding the real-time feedforward data to a controller in the measurement subsystem when a feedforward state is a first value, and not feed-forwarding the real-time feedforward data when the feedforward state is a second value, wherein the feedforward state is the first value when the real-time feedforward data can be fed-forward before a measuring process is performed for the wafer, and wherein the feedforward state is the second value when the real-time feedforward data cannot be fed forward before the measuring process is performed for the wafer; and either