Laser beam adjustment in semiconductor device fabrication

1 . A method for adjusting an intensity of a power laser beam applied to a semiconductor device by a power laser, wherein an applied intensity of the power laser beam is indicative of a magnitude at which the power laser beam is emitted toward the semiconductor device and wherein a reflection intensity of a probing laser beam applied to the semiconductor device is indicative of an emissivity of the semiconductor device, comprising:

measuring the reflection intensity of the probing laser beam applied by a probing laser to determine the emissivity of the semiconductor device, wherein the probing laser is different than the power laser; and

adjusting the applied intensity of the power laser beam as a function of the emissivity.

2 . The method of claim 1 , the adjusting comprising:

adjusting the applied intensity to achieve a desired reflection intensity.

3 . The method of claim 1 , the adjusting comprising:

adjusting an amount of power supplied to the power laser emitting the power laser beam; and

applying the power laser beam to the semiconductor device to perform an anneal operation.

4 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:

applying the power laser beam to the semiconductor device with a power laser beam size; and

applying the probing laser beam to the semiconductor device with a probing laser beam size less than the power laser beam size while applying the power laser beam to the semiconductor device.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the semiconductor device has a semiconductor device size, comprising:

adjusting the power laser beam size based on the semiconductor device size.

6 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:

applying the power laser beam to the semiconductor device with a power laser beam width and a power laser beam length; and

applying the probing laser beam to the semiconductor device with a probing laser beam width less than the power laser beam width and a probing laser beam length less than the power laser beam length while applying the power laser beam to the semiconductor device.

7 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:

applying the probing laser beam to the semiconductor device as a polarized probing laser beam.

8 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:

adjusting an angle of incidence of the probing laser beam to reduce absorption by the semiconductor device.

9 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:

measuring thermal emission from the semiconductor device to obtain a measured intensity;

calculating a read temperature of the semiconductor device based on the measured intensity and the emissivity; and

comparing the read temperature to a set temperature of the semiconductor device for performing an anneal operation on the semiconductor device to determine a degree of deviation.

10 . The method of claim 9 , the adjusting comprising:

adjusting the applied intensity when the degree of deviation exceeds a threshold; and

not adjusting the applied intensity when the degree of deviation does not exceed the threshold.

11 . A method of annealing a semiconductor device, comprising:

applying a power laser beam by a power laser to the semiconductor device to anneal a layer of the semiconductor device;

measuring thermal emission from the layer of the semiconductor device to obtain a measured intensity;

applying a probing laser beam by a probing laser to the layer of the semiconductor device, wherein the probing laser is different than the power laser;

measuring a reflection intensity of the probing laser beam, the reflection intensity indicative of an emissivity of the layer of the semiconductor device; and

adjusting an applied intensity of the power laser beam as a function of the measured intensity and the emissivity, the applied intensity of the power laser beam indicative of a magnitude at which the power laser beam is emitted toward the layer of the semiconductor device.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein adjusting the applied intensity of the power laser beam comprises:

calculating a read temperature of the layer of the semiconductor device based on the measured intensity and the emissivity; and

comparing the read temperature to a set temperature of the layer of the semiconductor device for annealing the layer of the semiconductor device to determine a degree of deviation.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein adjusting the applied intensity of the power laser beam comprises:

adjusting the applied intensity when the degree of deviation exceeds a threshold by adjusting an amount of power supplied to the power laser emitting the power laser beam.

14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein:

applying the power laser beam comprises modulating the power laser beam at a first frequency, and

applying the probing laser beam comprises modulating the probing laser beam at a second frequency different than the first frequency.

15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein measuring the thermal emission from the layer of the semiconductor device comprises measuring the thermal emission from the layer of the semiconductor device by a first emission detector configured to detect the measured intensity of the thermal emission from the layer of the semiconductor device at a first wavelength.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein:

measuring the thermal emission from the layer of the semiconductor device comprises measuring the thermal emission from the layer of the semiconductor device by a second emission detector configured to detect a second measured intensity of the thermal emission from the layer of the semiconductor device at a second wavelength different than the first wavelength, and

adjusting the applied intensity of the power laser beam comprises adjusting the applied intensity of the power laser beam as a function of the measured intensity, the second measured intensity, and the emissivity.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein:

measuring the thermal emission from the layer of the semiconductor device comprises measuring the thermal emission from the layer of the semiconductor device by a third emission detector configured to detect a third measured intensity of the thermal emission from the layer of the semiconductor device at a third wavelength different than the first wavelength and different than the second wavelength, and

adjusting the applied intensity of the power laser beam comprises adjusting the applied intensity of the power laser beam as a function of the measured intensity, the second measured intensity, the third measured intensity, and the emissivity.

18 . The method of claim 11 , wherein:

applying the power laser beam comprising emitting the power laser beam from a CO 2 laser configured to emit the power laser beam at greater than 2000 watts, and

applying the probing laser beam comprises emitting the probing laser beam at less than 100 milli watts and at a wavelength of less than 1 micrometer.

19 . The method of claim 11 , wherein:

measuring the thermal emission from the layer of the semiconductor device comprises detecting the thermal emission from the layer of the semiconductor device as a photo-multiplier tube (PMT) count of atomic units of charge, and

adjusting the applied intensity of the power laser beam as a function of the measured intensity and the emissivity comprises:

calculating a read temperature of the layer of the semiconductor device based on the PMT count and the emissivity;

comparing the read temperature to a set temperature of the layer of the semiconductor device for annealing the layer of the semiconductor device; and

adjusting the applied intensity of the power laser beam based on the comparison of the read temperature to the set temperature.

20 . A method for annealing a semiconductor device, comprising:

applying a power laser beam by a power laser to the semiconductor device to anneal a layer of the semiconductor device;

measuring thermal emission from the layer of the semiconductor device due to the annealing by detecting the thermal emission from the layer of the semiconductor device as a photo-multiplier tube (PMT) count of atomic units of charge;

determining an emissivity of the layer of the semiconductor device using a probing laser beam emitted by a probing laser different than the power laser;

calculating a read temperature of the layer of the semiconductor device based on the PMT count and the emissivity;

comparing the read temperature to a set temperature of the layer of the semiconductor device for annealing the layer of the semiconductor device; and

adjusting an applied intensity of the power laser beam based on the comparison of the read temperature to the set temperature.