Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A system for analyzing fabrication processes, the system comprising:an input for accessing fabrication information, where the fabrication information includes at least one independent variable that is associated with substrate location information, and at least one dependent variable that is associated with at least one of the fabrication processes,wherein the independent variable includes at least one of time frame during which substrates were processed from which the fabrication information was gathered, equipment on which the substrates were processed, recipes used for processing the substrates, and fabrication conditions associated with the substrates,wherein the dependent variable includes at least one of measured physical characteristics of substrates from which the fabrication information was gathered, measured electrical characteristics of the substrates, and defect inspection data of the substrates,means for selecting desired portions of the fabrication information based on at least one of the independent variable and the dependent variable,means for producing a substrate profile based on the desired portions of the fabrication information,means for adjusting the substrate profile, including at least one of adjusting a resolution of the substrate profile, smoothing contours of the substrate profile, adjusting a coordinate system of the substrate profile, and adjusting the substrate profile based on simulations of the fabrication processes, andmeans for automatically and graphically comparing the substrate profile to a database of historical substrate profiles, where the historical substrate profiles have known associated fabrication conditions. 2. A system for analyzing fabrication processes, the system comprising:an input for accessing fabrication information, where the fabrication information includes at least one independent variable that is associated with substrate location information, and at least one dependent variable that is associated with at least one of the fabrication processes,means for selecting desired portions of the fabrication information based on at least one of the independent variable and the dependent variable,means for producing a substrate profile based on the desired portions of the fabrication information, andmeans for presenting a profile analysis table having columns of combinations of the fabrication information that are cross-indexed by rows of substrate profiles having at least one common measurement basis, with each column including,a substrate profile produced using the fabrication information included in a given one of the columns of combinations,a summary of the fabrication information for the given one of the columns of combinations, andan indication of a degree of similarity between the given one of the columns of combinations and a selected substrate profile. 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the independent variable includes at least one of time frame during which substrates were processed from which the fabrication information was gathered, equipment on which the substrates were processed, recipes used for processing the substrates, and fabrication conditions associated with the substrates. 4. The system of claim 2, wherein the dependent variable includes at least one of measured physical characteristics of substrates from which the fabrication information was gathered, measured electrical characteristics of the substrates, and defect inspection data of the substrates. 5. The system of claim 2, further comprising means for adjusting the substrate profile, including at least one of adjusting a resolution of the substrate profile, smoothing contours of the substrate profile, adjusting a coordinate system of the substrate profile, and adjusting the substrate profile based on simulations of the fabrication processes. 6. The system of claim 2, further comprising means for automatically and graphically comparing the substrate profile to a database of historical substrate profiles, where the historical substrate profiles have known associated fabrication conditions. 7. The system of claim 2, further comprising means for storing the substrate profile in association with the desired portions of the historical integrated circuit information. 8. The system of claim 2, wherein the substrate is one of a monolithic semiconducting integrated circuit substrate, a flat panel display, and a solar cell array. 9. The system of claim 2, wherein the fabrication information includes integrated circuit test information, integrated circuit inspection information, and integrated circuit processing information. 10. A method of analyzing substrate yield, the method comprising the steps of:accessing fabrication information, where the fabrication information is associated at least in part with substrate location information,selecting desired portions of the fabrication information based on at least one of an independent variable and a dependent variable,wherein the independent variable includes at least one of time frame during which substrates were processed from which the fabrication information was gathered, equipment on which the substrates were processed, recipes used for processing the substrates, and fabrication conditions associated with the substrates,wherein the dependent variable includes at least one of measured physical characteristics of substrates from which the fabrication information was gathered, measured electrical characteristics of the substrates, and defect inspection data of the substrates,producing a substrate profile based on the desired portions of the fabrication information,adjusting the substrate profile, including at least one of adjusting a resolution of the substrate profile, smoothing contours of the substrate profile, adjusting a coordinate system of the substrate profile, and adjusting the substrate profile based on simulations of substrate processing, andautomatically and graphically comparing the substrate profile to a database of historical substrate profiles, where the historical substrate profiles have known associated fabrication conditions. 11. A method of analyzing substrate yield, the method comprising the steps of:accessing fabrication information, where the fabrication information is associated at least in part with substrate location information,selecting desired portions of the fabrication information based on at least one of an independent variable and a dependent variable,producing a substrate profile based on the desired portions of the fabrication information, andpresenting a profile analysis table having columns of combinations of the fabrication information, cross-indexed by rows of substrate profiles having at least one common measurement basis, with each column including,a substrate profile produced using the fabrication information for a given one of the columns of combinations,a summary of the fabrication information for the given one of the columns of combinations, andan indication of a degree of similarity between the given one of the columns of combinations and a selected substrate profile. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the independent variable includes at least one of time frame during which substrates were processed from which the fabrication information was gathered, equipment on which the substrates were processed, recipes used for processing the substrates, and fabrication conditions associated with the substrates. 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the dependent variable includes at least one of measured physical characteristics of substrates from which the fabrication information was gathered, measured electrical characteristics of the substrates, and defect inspection data of the substrates. 14. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of adjusting the substrate profile, including at least one of adjusting a resolution of the substrate profile, smoothing contours of the substrate profile, adjusting a coordinate system of the substrate profile, and adjusting the substrate profile based on simulations of substrate processing. 15. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of automatically and graphically comparing the substrate profile to a database of historical substrate profiles, where the historical substrate profiles have known associated fabrication conditions. 16. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of storing the substrate profile in association with the desired portions of the fabrication information. 17. The method of claim 11, wherein the substrate is one of a monolithic semiconducting integrated circuit substrate, a flat panel display, and a solar cell array. 18. The method of claim 11, wherein the fabrication information includes integrated circuit test information, integrated circuit inspection information, and integrated circuit processing information.