Method for monitoring particles and defects on wafer surface and in process

摘要

A method for monitoring particles and defects on a wafer surface and in a process is described, which uses a monitoring instrument to detect particles and defects possibly present on a substantially effective surface of a wafer. Before the monitoring step, a substantially uniform conformal layer is formed on the substantially effective surface of the wafer, wherein the thickness of the conformal layer is controlled so that the apparent sizes of the particles and the defects possibly present on the wafer surface can be increased moderately.