Advanced defect-kill-rate estimation and yield analysis incorporating defect clustering

A method is described for estimating the defect kill rate and analyzing the yield from line-monitoring data. The kill rate is obtained by solving simultaneous equations with respect to the number of good dies that include a specific defect. Simulation studies showed this new method to be more accurate than conventional methods when defect clustering occurs on a wafer. It will be useful for quantitative defect analysis and yield.