Uses of corona oxide silicon (COS) measurements for diffusion process monitoring and troubleshooting

The dynamic nature of modern semiconductor fabrication facilities requires metrology tools that can be used to diagnose infrequent problems. However, due to the high cost of clean room floor space, these tools should also provide routine monitoring capability and be able to diagnose numerous issues. For a diffusion area, the corona oxide silicon (COS) measurement technique lends itself well to double duty as both an engineering and production tool.