Appeal No. 2003-1323
Application No. 09/421,803
CITED REFERENCES
As evidence of unpatentability, the Examiner relies on the following references:
Hieber et al. (Hieber) 4,331,702 May 25, 1982
Gevelber et al. (Gevelber) 6,162,488 Dec. 19, 2000
(filed May 14, 1997)
BACKGROUND
Appellants’ invention relates to semiconductor manufacture. Specifically the
invention relates to a method of controlling semiconductor wafer uniformity using
spatially resolved sensors. Claim 36, which is representative of the claimed invention,
appears below:
36. A method for controlling wafer uniformity, comprising;
processing a process layer on a wafer;
measuring a thickness of the process layer in a plurality of sensing locations
during the processing of the process layer to determine the surface
uniformity of the process layer across the plurality of sensing locations;
and
autonomously changing a process control variable of a process control
device based on the determined surface uniformity to affect the rate of
processing the process layer in at least one of the sensing locations.
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