Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US5808272?dq=6,411,947
Timestamp: 2014-09-21 02:09:00
Document Index: 134239706

Matched Legal Cases: ['art.44', 'art.451984', 'art.46', 'art.471986', 'art.52', 'art.531988']

Patent US5808272 - Laser system for functional trimming of films and devices - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsA laser system (50) and processing method exploit a wavelength range (40) in which devices, including any semiconductor material-based devices (10) affected by conventional laser wavelengths and devices having light-sensitive or photo-electronic portions integrated into their circuits, can be effectively...http://www.google.com/patents/US5808272?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US5808272 - Laser system for functional trimming of films and devicesAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS5808272 APublication typeGrantApplication numberUS 08/959,140Publication dateSep 15, 1998Filing dateOct 28, 1997Priority dateNov 22, 1994Fee statusPaidAlso published asDE69507713D1, DE69507713T2, EP0793557A1, EP0793557B1, US5685995, WO1996015870A1Publication number08959140, 959140, US 5808272 A, US 5808272A, US-A-5808272, US5808272 A, US5808272AInventorsYunlong Sun, Edward J. SwensonOriginal AssigneeElectro Scientific Industries, Inc.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (35), Non-Patent Citations (90), Referenced by (44), Classifications (16), Legal Events (7) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetLaser system for functional trimming of films and devicesUS 5808272 AAbstract A laser system (50) and processing method exploit a wavelength range (40) in which devices, including any semiconductor material-based devices (10) affected by conventional laser wavelengths and devices having light-sensitive or photo-electronic portions integrated into their circuits, can be effectively functionally trimmed without inducing performance drift or malfunctions in the processed devices. True measurement values of operational parameters of the devices can, therefore, be obtained without delay for device recovery, i.e., can be obtained substantially instantaneously with laser impingement. Accordingly, the present invention allows faster functional laser processing, eases geometric restrictions on circuit design, and facilitates production of denser and smaller devices.
We claim: 1. A laser functional trimming system for modifying with laser output a measurable operational parameter of an activated electronic device while preventing a spurious optoelectric response in the device, the device including a target material and a nontarget material positioned within optical proximity to the target material, the laser output including a laser pulse having a spatial distribution of energy that impinges the target material and exposes the nontarget material to extraneous laser output, the target material having ablation sensitivity to laser output in a first wavelength range and the nontarget material having optoelectric sensitivity to wavelengths in a second wavelength range that forms a subset of the first wavelength range such that exposure to a wavelength within the second wavelength range causes spurious optoelectric effects in the nontarget material that transiently obscure for a time interval concurrent with and following the laser pulse a true value of the measurable operational parameter of the device, comprising:an electrical input for activating the device; a laser that generates laser output at a selected wavelength in a third wavelength range for which the nontarget material has substantial optoelectric insensitivity, the third wavelength range overlapping the first wavelength range and excluding the second wavelength range; a beam positioner to direct at the target structure a laser pulse at the selected wavelength and at a power sufficient to ablate a portion of the target material while the device is operating; and a detector for measuring within the time interval a true value of the operational parameter of the device while the device is operating. 2. The laser system of claim 1 further comprising:a computer controlled system for comparing the true value of the measurable operational parameter with a preselected value for the operational parameter of the device and for determining whether the target material requires additional impinging with laser output to satisfy the preselected value for the operational parameter of the device. 3. The system of claim 2 in which the device is activated prior to generation of laser output and remains operating until at least the preselected value for the operational parameter of the device is satisfied.
10. The system of claim 1 in which the nontarget material comprises silicon and the third wavelength range comprises wavelengths between 1.2 and 3 μm.
11. The system of claim 1 in which the nontarget material comprises germanium and the third is wavelength range comprises wavelengths between 1.7 and 3 μm.
12. The system of claim 1 in which the target material forms part of a target structure and the nontarget material comprises a substrate of the target structure, wherein the nontarget material comprises silicon, germanium, or indium gallium arsenide, or semiconductor or ceramic material and the target material comprises aluminum, titanium, nickel, copper, tungsten, platinum, gold, nickel chromide, tantalum nitride, titanium nitride, cesium silicide, doped polysilicon, disilicide, or polycide.
This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/538,073, filed Oct. 2, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,995, which is continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/343,779, filed Nov. 22, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,398, which is a continuation-in-part of International Patent Application No. PCT/US93/08484, filed Sep. 10, 1993, pub. as WO94/06182 on Mar. 17, 1994.
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to methods and laser systems for functionally processing one or more materials of a single or multiple layer structure of a multimaterial, multilayer device and, in particular, to processing methods and laser systems that employ a laser output within a wavelength range that facilitates functional modification of a resistive or capacitive film structure of an integrated circuit having substrates or components including material such as silicon, germanium, or other semiconductor materials.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventional laser systems are typically employed for processing targets such as electrically resistive or conductive films of passive component structures, such as film resistors, inductors, or capacitors, in integrated circuits on silicon wafers or ceramic base plates. Laser processing is presented herein only by way of example to film trimming and may include any form of laser ablative removal of target material.
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a prior art integrated circuit 10 depicting resistors 12a and 12b (generally, resistor 12) having a patterned resistor path 14 between metal contacts 16. The resistance value of a resistor 12 is largely a function of the pattern geometry, the path length between contacts 16, and the thickness of material composing resistor 12.
An "L-cut" 15 on resistor 12a depicts a typical laser-induced modification. In an L-cut 15, a first strip of resistive material is removed in a direction perpendicular to a line between the contacts to make a coarse adjustment to the resistance value. Then an adjoining second strip, perpendicular to the first strip, may be removed to make a finer adjustment to the resistance value. A "serpentine cut" 17 on resistor 12b depicts another common type or laser adjustment. In a serpentine cut 17, resistor material is removed along lines 18 to increase the length of path 14. Lines 18 are added until a desired resistance value is reached.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side elevation view depicting a conventional output energy distribution of a laser output or pulse 20 directed at a resistive film structure 22 such as resistor 12. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, resistive film structures 22 typically comprise a thin film layer 24 of a resistive material such as nichrome, tantalum nitride, cesium silicide, or silicon chromide that is layered upon a substrate 26 such as silicon, germanium, or other semiconductor or ceramic materials. Alternatively, thin film layer 24 may be applied to an epitaxial, junction, or passivation layer 28. Thin film layer 24 may be covered by a protective layer 30, such as a dielectric, which may be necessitated by an IC processing requirement or may be desired for containing laser trimming by-products or slag from splattering other integrated circuit elements. Integrated circuit 10 and resistive film structure 22 may also be composed of several materials including those required for passivation, coating, binding, or other manufacturing purposes.
Functional processing is widely employed for trimming A/D and D/A converters, voltage regulators, operational amplifiers, filter circuits, photodetection circuits, and other circuits or devices. These devices are typically built on semiconductor material, such as silicon or germanium, or as hybrid integrated circuits in which the laser target is on either semiconductor or ceramic wafers, and are densely packed with other semiconductor-based active (gain-oriented) devices or multimodule circuits. Functional processing is described in detail by R. H. Wagner, "Functional Laser Trimming: An Overview," Proceedings of SPIE, Vol. 611, January 1986, at 12-13, and M. J. Mueller and W. Mickanin, "Functional Laser Trimming of Thin Film Resistors on Silicon ICs," Proceedings of SPIE, Vol. 611, January 1986, at 70-83. Examples of passive and functional processing laser systems include Model Nos. 4200, 4400, and 6100, manufactured by Electro Scientific Industries, Inc., which is the assignee of the present application. These systems typically utilize output wavelengths of 1.064 μm, 1.047 μm, and 0.532 μm.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a laser system and method that facilitate functional processing of active or passive devices.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method for modifying with laser output a measurable operational parameter of an activated electronic device while preventing a spurious optoelectric response in the device, the device including a target material and a nontarget material positioned within optical proximity to the target material, the laser output including a laser pulse having a spatial distribution of energy that impinges the target material and exposes the nontarget material to extraneous laser output, the target material having ablation sensitivity to laser output in a first wavelength range and the nontarget material having optoelectric sensitivity to wavelengths in a second wavelength range that forms a subset of the first wavelength range such that exposure to a wavelength within the second wavelength range causes spurious optoelectric effects in the nontarget material that transiently obscure for a time interval concurrent with and following the laser pulse a true value of the measurable operational parameter of the device, wherein
a third wavelength range of laser output is determined for which the nontarget material has substantial optoelectric insensitivity, the third wavelength range excluding the second wavelength range; the device is activated; a laser pulse is generated at a selected wavelength that falls within an overlap of the first and third wavelength ranges; the target material is impinged with the laser pulse having sufficient power to ablate a portion of the target material; and a true value of the operational parameter of the device is measured within the time interval.
For example, laser-processing an active device with laser output having a wavelength greater than 1.2 μm to functionally trim a target material with a silicon substrate or a position near a silicon-based structure forming part of the active device substantially eliminates the undesirable laser-induced performance shift or malfunction of the devices because silicon material and silicon-based structures and photo-receptive, light-sensing, and photo-electronic components are virtually "blind" to wavelengths greater than 1.2 μm.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a portion of an integrated circuit depicting resistors having a resistive film path between metal contacts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 4-6 graphically show the typical response curves of silicon-based, indium gallium arsenide-based, germanium-based, and other semiconductor material-based detectors versus wavelength. FIG. 4 is taken from page 3-39 of Oriel Corporation's catalog. FIG. 4 reveals that the silicon-based detector is optoelectrically sensitive to a wavelength range of about 0.3 μm to about 1.2 μm. Since the physics involved in the spectral response of the detector is the same as the response to light at different wavelengths of other silicon-based activated devices, FIG. 4 implies that silicon-based activated devices become "blind," i.e., optoelectrically insensitive, at wavelengths greater than about 1.2 μm. For the indium gallium arsenide-based device demonstrated in FIG. 4, the cutoff wavelength for optoelectric sensitivity is about 1.8 μm. Skilled persons will appreciate that the response curve of indium gallium arsenide is largely dependent on its composite percentage.
In a preferred embodiment, a conventional diode-pumped, solid-state laser with a lasant crystal such as Nd:YAG, Nd:YLF, ND:YAP, or Nd:YVO is configured to produce output in the 1.2 to 3.0 μm wavelength range. Each such laser design employs resonator mirrors with appropriate dichroic coatings to be highly transmissive to the most conventional wavelength of the lasant crystal but have desired reflectivity at a selected wavelength within the range 1.2 to 3 μm and preferably at 1.32 μm or 1.34 μm. Such dichroic coatings would suppress laser action at the most conventional wavelength of the lasant crystal, such as 1.06 μm for Nd:YAG, and enhance laser action at the selected wavelength, preferably 1.32 μm for Nd:YAG.
Preferably, all of the transmissive optics in a delivery path of the laser output beam are anti-reflection coated for the selected wavelength. In addition, photo-electric-based laser power or energy monitoring devices are changed to be responsive to the selected longer wavelength. Other minor optical modifications to compensate for changes in laser output focusing is characteristics are preferred and known to those having skill in the art.
It will be obvious to those having skill in the is art that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments of this invention without departing from the underlying principles thereof. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that this invention is also applicable to laser-based operations for other semiconductor substrate and film materials, as well as laser-based operations outside the semiconductor industry, for removal of one or more materials from a multimaterial device without causing performance drifting or malfunction of certain types of active devices. The scope of the present invention should, therefore, be determined only by the following claims.
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CONFIRMED.Sep 19, 2006RRRequest for reexamination filedEffective date: 20060202Aug 8, 2006RRRequest for reexamination filedEffective date: 20060202Feb 28, 2006FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8Feb 26, 2002FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Jun 29, 1999CCCertificate of correctionRotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google