| abstract |
(57) Summary An object of the present invention is to provide a method for characterizing large-scale wafer topography that is crucial for device yield. According to the present invention, a method for characterizing large-scale wafer topography is applied to improve yield in the manufacture of large-scale integrated (LSI) devices. First, the heights of the center, edges, and midpoints are measured on four or more, preferably eight equally spaced radii. This gives, for example, 8 values each for Y s and Y e and averages them. The shape angle α and the absolute shape value M are then calculated and the values of α and M obtained are correlated with the properties of the individual wafers in terms of device performance and yield. Based on these results, wafer processing is controlled so that optimum wafer characteristics are obtained. |