Patent Grant
8550031
1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to an integrated processing system containing multiple processing stations and robots that are capable of processing multiple substrates in parallel.
2. Description of the Related Art
The process of forming electronic devices is commonly done in a multi-chamber processing system (e.g., a cluster tool) that has the capability to sequentially process substrates, (e.g., semiconductor wafers) in a controlled processing environment. A typical cluster tool used to deposit (i.e., coat) and develop a photoresist material, commonly known as a track lithography tool, will include a mainframe that houses at least one substrate transfer robot which transports substrates between a pod/cassette mounting device and multiple processing chambers that are connected to the mainframe. Cluster tools are often used so that substrates can be processed in a repeatable way in a controlled processing environment. A controlled processing environment has many benefits which include minimizing contamination of the substrate surfaces during transfer and during completion of the various substrate processing steps. Processing in a controlled environment thus reduces the number of generated defects and improves device yield.
The effectiveness of a substrate fabrication process is often measured by two related and important factors, which are device yield and the cost of ownership (CoO). These factors are important since they directly affect the cost to produce an electronic device and thus a device manufacturer's competitiveness in the market place. The CoO, while affected by a number of factors, is greatly affected by the system and chamber throughput, or simply the number of substrates per hour processed using a desired processing sequence. A process sequence is generally defined as the sequence of device fabrication steps, or process recipe steps, completed in one or more processing chambers in the cluster tool. A process sequence may generally contain various substrate (or wafer) electronic device fabrication processing steps. In an effort to reduce CoO, electronic device manufacturers often spend a large amount of time trying to optimize the process sequence and chamber processing time to achieve the greatest substrate throughput possible given the cluster tool architecture limitations and the chamber processing times. In track lithography type cluster tools, since the chamber processing times tend to be rather short, (e.g., about a minute to complete the process) and the number of processing steps required to complete a typical process sequence is large, a significant portion of the time it takes to complete the processing sequence is taken up transferring the substrates between the various processing chambers. A typical track lithography process sequence will generally include the following steps: depositing one or more uniform photoresist (or resist) layers on the surface of a substrate, then transferring the substrate out of the cluster tool to a separate stepper or scanner tool to pattern the substrate surface by exposing the photoresist layer to a photoresist modifying electromagnetic radiation, and then developing the patterned photoresist layer. If the substrate throughput in a cluster tool is not robot limited, the longest process recipe step will generally limit the throughput of the processing sequence. This is usually not the case in track lithography process sequences, due to the short processing times and large number of processing steps. Typical system throughput for the conventional fabrication processes, such as a track lithography tool running a typical process, will generally be between 100-120 substrates per hour.
Other important factors in the CoO calculation are the system reliability and system uptime. These factors are very important to a cluster tool's profitability and/or usefulness, since the longer the system is unable to process substrates the more money is lost by the user due to the lost opportunity to process substrates in the cluster tool. Therefore, cluster tool users and manufacturers spend a large amount of time trying to develop reliable processes, reliable hardware and reliable systems that have increased uptime.
The push in the industry to shrink the size of semiconductor devices to improve device processing speed and reduce the generation of heat by the device, has caused the industry's tolerance to process variability to diminish. Due to the shrinking size of semiconductor devices and the ever increasing device performance requirements, the allowable variability of the device fabrication process uniformity and repeatability has greatly decreased. To minimize process variability an important factor in the track lithography processing sequences is the issue of assuring that every substrate run through a cluster tool has the same “wafer history.” A substrate's wafer history is generally monitored and controlled by process engineers to assure that all of the device fabrication processing variables that may later affect a device's performance are controlled, so that all substrates in the same batch are always processed the same way. To assure that each substrate has the same “wafer history” requires that each substrate experiences the same repeatable substrate processing steps (e.g., consistent coating process, consistent hard bake process, consistent chill process, etc.) and the timing between the various processing steps is the same for each substrate. Lithography type device fabrication processes can be especially sensitive to variations in process recipe variables and the timing between the recipe steps, which directly affects process variability and ultimately device performance. Therefore, a cluster tool and supporting apparatus capable of performing a process sequence that minimizes process variability and the variability in the timing between process steps is needed. Also, a cluster tool and supporting apparatus that is capable of performing a device fabrication process that delivers a uniform and repeatable process result, while achieving a desired substrate throughput is also needed.
Therefore, there is a need for a system, a method and an apparatus that can process a substrate so that it can meet the required device performance goals and increase the system throughput and thus reduce the process sequence CoO.
The present invention generally provides a cluster tool for processing a substrate, comprising a first processing rack that comprises two or more vertically stacked substrate processing chambers, wherein the first processing rack has a first side and a second side, a second processing rack that comprises two or more vertically stacked substrate processing chambers, wherein the second processing rack has a first side and a second side, a first robot adapted to access the substrate processing chambers in the first processing rack from the first side, a second robot adapted to access the substrate processing chambers in the first processing rack from the second side and the substrate processing chambers in the second processing rack from the first side, and a third robot adapted to access the substrate processing chambers in the second processing rack from the second side.
Embodiments of the invention further provide a cluster tool containing multiple processing stations and robots that are capable of processing multiple substrates in parallel. The cluster tool for processing substrates, includes a first substrate processing chamber, a second substrate processing chamber, wherein the second substrate processing chamber is a fixed vertical distance from the first substrate processing chamber, a third substrate processing chamber, a fourth substrate processing chamber, wherein the fourth substrate processing chamber is positioned a fixed vertical distance from the third substrate processing chamber, a first robot assembly adapted to access the first substrate processing chamber and the second substrate processing chamber, and a second robot assembly adapted to receive one or more substrates from the first substrate processing chamber and one or more substrates from the second substrate processing chamber generally simultaneously, and then deposit the one or more substrates from the first substrate processing chamber in the third substrate processing chamber and the one or more substrates from the second substrate processing chamber in the fourth substrate processing chamber generally simultaneously.
Embodiments of the invention further provide a cluster tool for processing a substrate, comprising a first processing rack having a plurality of vertically stacked substrate processing chambers, a second processing rack having a plurality of vertically stacked substrate processing chambers, a first robot blade assembly comprise a first robot blade, and a first robot blade actuator, a second robot blade assembly comprise a second robot blade, a second robot blade actuator, wherein the first robot blade assembly and a second robot blade assembly are vertically positioned a fixed distance apart and can be separately horizontally positioned by use of the first robot blade actuator or the second robot blade actuator, and a robot connected to the first robot blade assembly and the second robot blade assembly, wherein the first robot blade assembly and the second robot blade assembly are spaced a fixed distance apart and with cooperative motion of the robot are adapted to generally simultaneously access substrates positioned in the two vertically stacked substrate processing chambers in the first processing rack or generally simultaneously access substrates positioned in the two vertically stacked substrate processing chambers in the second processing rack.
Embodiments of the invention further provide a cluster tool for processing a substrate, comprising a cassette that is adapted to contain two or more substrates, a first module that comprises a first processing rack that comprises two or more substrate processing chambers stacked in a vertical direction, a second module that comprises a second processing rack that comprises two or more substrate processing chambers stacked in a vertical direction, a first robot assembly adapted to access a substrate positioned in at least one substrate processing chamber in each of the first and second processing racks and the cassette, and a second robot assembly comprises a robot, a first robot blade connected to the robot, and a second robot blade connected to the robot and positioned a fixed distance apart from the first robot blade, wherein the second robot is adapted to access a substrate positioned in at least one substrate processing chamber in each of the first and second processing racks and the first and second robot blades are adapted to generally simultaneously transfer, pickup and/or drop-off the substrates in at least two substrate processing chambers in each of the first and second processing racks.
Embodiments of the invention further provide a cluster tool for processing a substrate, comprising a first processing rack containing a first vertical stack of substrate processing chambers, a first robot adapted to transfer a substrate to a substrate processing chamber in the first processing rack, a second processing rack containing a first vertical stack of substrate processing chambers, a second robot adapted to transfer a substrate between a substrate processing chamber in the first processing rack and a substrate processing chamber in the second processing rack, a controller that is adapted to optimize the movements of the substrate through the first and second processing rack using the first robot or second robot, and a memory, coupled to the controller, the memory comprising a computer-readable medium having a computer-readable program embodied therein for directing the operation of the cluster tool, the computer-readable program comprising computer instructions to control the first robot and second robot movement comprising storing one or more command tasks for the first robot and second robot in the memory, review command tasks for first robot retained in the memory, review command tasks for second robot retained in the memory, and move command tasks from the first robot to the second robot or the second robot to the first robot to balance the availability of each robot.
Embodiments of the invention further provide a cluster tool for processing a substrate, comprising a cassette that is adapted to contain two or more substrates, a first processing rack containing a vertical stack of substrate processing chambers and having a first side extending along a first direction to access the substrate processing chambers therethrough, a second processing rack containing a vertical stack of substrate processing chambers and having a first side extending along a second direction to access the substrate processing chambers therethrough, wherein the first side and the second side are spaced a distance apart, a first robot having a base that is in a fixed position between the first side of the second processing rack and the first side of the first processing rack, wherein the first robot is adapted to transfer a substrate to a substrate processing chamber in the first processing rack, the second processing rack and the cassette, a third processing rack containing a vertical stack of substrate processing chambers and having a first side extending along a third direction to access the substrate processing chambers therethrough, a fourth processing rack containing a vertical stack of substrate processing chambers and having a first side extending along a fourth direction to access the substrate processing chambers therethrough, wherein the third side and the fourth side are spaced a distance apart, and a second robot assembly comprises a robot having a base that is in a fixed position between the first side of the third processing rack and the first side of the fourth processing rack, a first robot blade connected to the robot, and a second robot blade connected to the robot and positioned a fixed distance apart from the first robot blade, wherein the first and second robot blades are adapted to generally simultaneously transfer substrates to two chambers in the first, second, third and fourth processing racks.
Embodiments of the invention further provide a cluster tool for processing a substrate, comprising a cassette that is adapted to contain two or more substrates, a first processing chamber that is adapted to perform a first process on a substrate, a second processing chamber that is adapted to perform a second process on a substrate, wherein the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber are generally adjacent to each other, a fluid dispensing means that is adapted to fluidly communicate with a first substrate positioned in the first processing chamber and a second substrate positioned in the second processing chamber, wherein the fluid dispensing means comprises a fluid source, a nozzle that is in fluid communication with the fluid source, a fluid delivery means that is adapted to deliver fluid from the fluid source to the nozzle, a moveable shutter adapted to isolate the first processing chamber from the second processing chamber, and a robot adapted to transfer a substrate between the cassette, the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber.
Embodiments of the invention further provide a cluster tool for processing a substrate, comprising a first processing rack comprising a first processing module comprising a first processing chamber that is adapted to perform a first process on a substrate, a second processing chamber that is adapted to perform a second process on a substrate, wherein the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber are generally adjacent to each other, a fluid dispensing means that is adapted to fluidly communicate with a substrate that is being processed in the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber, wherein the fluid dispensing means comprises a fluid source, a nozzle that is in fluid communication with the fluid source, a fluid delivery means that is adapted to deliver fluid from the fluid source to the nozzle, and a moveable shutter adapted to isolate the first processing chamber from the second processing chamber, a second processing module comprising a third processing chamber that is adapted to perform a first process on a substrate, a fourth processing chamber that is adapted to perform a second process on a substrate, wherein the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber are generally adjacent to each other, a fluid dispensing means that is adapted to fluidly communicate with a substrate that is being processed in the third processing chamber and the fourth processing chamber, wherein the fluid dispensing means comprises, a fluid source, a nozzle that is in fluid communication with the fluid source, a fluid delivery means that is adapted to deliver fluid from the fluid source to the nozzle, and a moveable shutter adapted to isolate the first processing chamber from the second processing chamber, wherein the second processing module is generally adjacent to the first processing module, and a robot adapted to transfer a substrate between the first processing chamber, the second processing chamber, the third processing chamber and the fourth processing chamber.
Embodiments of the invention further provide a cluster tool for processing a substrate, comprising a cassette that is adapted to contain two or more substrates, a processing module comprising a first processing chamber that is adapted to perform a first process on a substrate in a processing region, a second processing chamber that is adapted to perform a second process on a substrate in a processing region, wherein the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber are generally adjacent to each other, a robot that is adapted to transfer and position a substrate in the first processing chamber and second processing chamber, wherein the robot comprises a robot blade, an actuator that is adapted to position the robot blade in the first and second processing chambers, and a heat exchanging device that is in thermal communication with the robot blade and is adapted to control the temperature of a substrate positioned thereon, and a system robot adapted to transfer a substrate between the cassette and the first processing chamber.
A cluster tool for processing a substrate, comprising a cassette that is adapted to contain two or more substrates, a processing module that comprises a first processing chamber, a second processing chamber that is generally adjacent to the first processing chamber, a first robot that is adapted to access a substrate positioned in the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber, wherein the first robot comprises a first robot blade assembly comprising a first robot blade, and a second robot blade, wherein the first robot blade and the second robot blade are spaced a distance apart, a second robot blade assembly comprising a third robot blade, and a fourth robot blade, wherein the third robot blade and the fourth robot blade are spaced a distance apart, wherein the second robot blade assembly and the first robot assembly are spaced a fixed distance apart, and wherein the first robot is adapted to generally simultaneously access the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber.
Embodiments of the invention further provide a cluster tool for processing a substrate, comprising a cassette that is adapted to contain two or more substrates, a first processing rack that comprises a first group of two or more substrate processing chambers stacked in a vertical direction, wherein the two or more substrate processing chambers have a first side extending along a first direction and a second side extending along a second direction, a first robot assembly that is adapted to access a substrate positioned in at least one substrate processing chamber in the first processing rack from the first side and the cassette, a second processing rack that comprises a second group of two or more substrate processing chambers stacked in a vertical direction, wherein the two or more substrate processing chambers have a first side extending along a third direction to access the substrate processing chambers therethrough, and a second robot assembly that comprises a robot, a first robot blade, and a second robot blade, wherein the first robot blade and the second robot blade are spaced a distance apart, wherein the second robot assembly is adapted to access a substrate positioned in at least two substrate processing chambers in the first processing rack from the second side generally simultaneously and access a substrate positioned in at least one substrate processing chamber in the second processing rack from the third side generally simultaneously.
Embodiments of the invention further provide a cluster tool for processing a substrate, comprising a cassette that is adapted to contain two or more substrates, 12 or more coater/developer chambers, 12 or more processing chambers selected from a group consisting of a bake chamber, a HMDS process chamber or a PEB chamber, and a transferring system consisting essentially of a first robot that is adapted to access a substrate positioned in at least one of the coater/developer chambers, at least one of the processing chambers and the cassette, and a second robot assembly that is adapted to access a substrate positioned in at least one of the coater/developer chambers and at least one of the processing chambers, wherein the second robot comprises a robot, a first robot blade connected to the robot, and a second robot blade connected to the robot and positioned a fixed distance apart from the first robot blade, wherein the second robot is adapted to access at least one substrate positioned in at least two coater/developer chambers generally simultaneously and at least one substrate positioned in at least two processing chambers generally simultaneously.
So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
The present invention generally provides an apparatus and method for processing substrates using a multi-chamber processing system (e.g., a cluster tool) that has an increased system throughput, increased system reliability, more repeatable wafer processing history (or wafer history) within the cluster tool, and also a reduced footprint of the cluster tool. In one embodiment, the cluster tool is adapted to perform a track lithography process in which a substrate is coated with a photosensitive material, is then transferred to a stepper/scanner, which exposes the photosensitive material to some form of radiation to form a pattern in the photosensitive material, and then certain portions of the photosensitive material are removed in a developing process completed in the cluster tool.
The central module 150 generally contains a central robot 107, a first central processing rack 152 and a second central processing rack 154. The first central processing rack 152 and a second central processing rack 154 contain various processing chambers (e.g., coater/developer chamber 60, bake chamber 90, chill chamber 80, etc.) that are adapted to perform the various processing steps found in the substrate processing sequence. In one embodiment, the central robot 107 is adapted to transfer substrates between the front end processing rack 52, the first central processing rack 152, the second central processing rack 154 and/or the rear processing rack 202. In one aspect, the central robot 107 is positioned in a central location between the first central processing rack 152 and a second central processing rack 154 of the central module 150.
The rear module 200 generally contains a rear robot 109 and a rear processing rack 202. The rear processing rack 202 generally contains processing chambers (e.g., coater/developer chamber 60, bake chamber 90, chill chamber 80, etc.) that are adapted to perform the various processing steps found in the substrate processing sequence. In one embodiment, the rear robot 109 is adapted to transfer substrates between the rear processing rack 202 and a stepper/scanner 5. The stepper/scanner 5, which may be purchased from Canon USA, Inc. of San Jose, Calif., Nikon Precision Inc. of Belmont, Calif., or ASML US, Inc. of Tempe, Ariz., is a lithographic projection apparatus used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). The scanner/stepper tool 5 exposes a photosensitive material (photoresist), deposited on the substrate in the cluster tool, to some form of electromagnetic radiation to generate a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the integrated circuit (IC) device to be formed on the substrate surface.
In one embodiment, a system controller 101 is used to control all of the components and processes performed in the cluster tool 10. The system controller 101 is generally adapted to communicate with the stepper/scanner 5, monitor and control aspects of the processes performed in the cluster tool 10, and is adapted to control all aspects of the complete substrate processing sequence. The system controller 101, which is typically a microprocessor-based controller, is configured to receive inputs from a user and/or various sensors in one of the processing chambers and appropriately control the processing chamber components in accordance with the various inputs and software instructions retained in the controller's memory. The system controller 101 generally contains memory and a CPU (not shown) which are utilized by the controller to retain various programs, process the programs, and execute the programs when necessary. The memory (not shown) is connected to the CPU, and may be one or more of a readily available memory, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), floppy disk, hard disk, or any other form of digital storage, local or remote. Software instructions and data can be coded and stored within the memory for instructing the CPU. The support circuits (not shown) are also connected to the CPU for supporting the processor in a conventional manner. The support circuits may include cache, power supplies, clock circuits, input/output circuitry, subsystems, and the like all well known in the art. A program (or computer instructions) readable by the system controller 101 determines which tasks are performable in the processing chamber(s). Preferably, the program is software readable by the system controller 101 and includes instructions to monitor and control the process based on defined rules and input data.
The embodiments illustrated in
Photolithography Process Sequence
The remove substrate from pod 508A step is generally defined as the process of having the front end robot 108 remove a substrate from a cassette 106 resting in one of the pod assemblies 105. A cassette 106, containing one or more substrates “W”, is placed on the pod assembly 105 by the user or some external device (not shown) so that the substrates can be processed in the cluster tool 10 by a user-defined substrate processing sequence controlled by software retained in the system controller 101.
The BARC coat step 510, or bottom anti-reflective coating process (hereafter BARC), is a step used to deposit an organic material over a surface of the substrate. The BARC layer is typically an organic coating that is applied onto the substrate prior to the photoresist layer to absorb light that otherwise would be reflected from the surface of the substrate back into the photoresist during the exposure step 538 performed in the stepper/scanner 5. If these reflections are not prevented, optical standing waves will be established in the photoresist layer, which cause feature size(s) to vary from one location to another depending on the local thickness of the photoresist layer. The BARC layer may also be used to level (or planarize) the substrate surface topography, since surface topography variations are invariably present after completing multiple electronic device fabrication steps. The BARC material fills around and over the features to create a flatter surface for photoresist application and reduces local variations in photoresist thickness. The BARC coat step 510 is typically performed using a conventional spin-on photoresist dispense process in which an amount of the BARC material is deposited on the surface of the substrate while the substrate is being rotated, which causes a solvent in the BARC material to evaporate and thus causes the material properties of the deposited BARC material to change. The air flow and exhaust flow rate in the BARC processing chamber is often controlled to control the solvent vaporization process and the properties of the layer formed on the substrate surface.
The post BARC bake step 512, is a step used to assure that all of the solvent is removed from the deposited BARC layer in the BARC coat step 510, and in some cases to promote adhesion of the BARC layer to the surface of the substrate. The temperature of the post BARC bake step 512 is dependent on the type of BARC material deposited on the surface of the substrate, but will generally be less than about 250° C. The time required to complete the post BARC bake step 512 will depend on the temperature of the substrate during the post BARC bake step, but will generally be less than about 60 seconds.
The post BARC chill step 514, is a step used to assure that the time the substrate is at a temperature above ambient temperature is controlled so that every substrate sees the same time-temperature profile; thus process variability is minimized. Variations in the BARC process time-temperature profile, which is a component of a substrate's wafer history, can have an effect on the properties of the deposited film layer and thus is often controlled to minimize process variability. The post BARC chill step 514, is typically used to cool the substrate after the post BARC bake step 512 to a temperature at or near ambient temperature. The time required to complete the post BARC chill step 514 will depend on the temperature of the substrate exiting the post BARC bake step, but will generally be less than about 30 seconds.
The photoresist coat step 520 is a step used to deposit a photoresist layer over a surface of the substrate. The photoresist layer deposited during the photoresist coat step 520 is typically a light sensitive organic coating that is applied onto the substrate and is later exposed in the stepper/scanner 5 to form the patterned features on the surface of the substrate. The photoresist coat step 520 is a typically performed using conventional spin-on photoresist dispense process in which an amount of the photoresist material is deposited on the surface of the substrate while the substrate is being rotated, thus causing a solvent in the photoresist material to evaporate and the material properties of the deposited photoresist layer to change. The air flow and exhaust flow rate in the photoresist processing chamber is controlled to control the solvent vaporization process and the properties of the layer formed on the substrate surface. In some cases it may be necessary to control the partial pressure of the solvent over the substrate surface to control the vaporization of the solvent from the photoresist during the photoresist coat step by controlling the exhaust flow rate and/or by injecting a solvent near the substrate surface. Referring to
The post photoresist coat bake step 522 is a step used to assure that most, if not all, of the solvent is removed from the deposited photoresist layer in the photoresist coat step 520, and in some cases to promote adhesion of the photoresist layer to the BARC layer. The temperature of the post photoresist coat bake step 522 is dependent on the type of photoresist material deposited on the surface of the substrate, but will generally be less than about 250° C. The time required to complete the post photoresist coat bake step 522 will depend on the temperature of the substrate during the post photoresist bake step, but will generally be less than about 60 seconds.
The post photoresist chill step 524, is a step used to control the time the substrate is at a temperature above ambient temperature so that every substrate sees the same time-temperature profile and thus process variability is minimized. Variations in the time-temperature profile can have an affect on properties of the deposited film layer and thus is often controlled to minimize process variability. The temperature of the post photoresist chill step 524, is thus used to cool the substrate after the post photoresist coat bake step 522 to a temperature at or near ambient temperature. The time required to complete the post photoresist chill step 524 will depend on the temperature of the substrate exiting the post photoresist bake step, but will generally be less than about 30 seconds.
The optical edge bead removal (OEBR) step 536, is a process used to expose the deposited light sensitive photoresist layer(s), such as the layers formed during the photoresist coat step 520 and the BARC layer formed during the BARC coat step 510, to a radiation source (not shown) so that either or both layers can be removed from the edge of the substrate and the edge exclusion of the deposited layers can be more uniformly controlled. The wavelength and intensity of the radiation used to expose the surface of the substrate will depend on the type of BARC and photoresist layers deposited on the surface of the substrate. An OEBR tool can be purchased, for example, from USHIO America, Inc. Cypress, Calif.
The exposure step 538 is a lithographic projection step applied by a lithographic projection apparatus (e.g., stepper scanner 5) to form a pattern which is used to manufacture integrated circuits (ICs). The exposure step 538 forms a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the integrated circuit (IC) device on the substrate surface, by exposing the photosensitive materials, such as, the photoresist layer formed during the photoresist coat step 520 and the BARC layer formed during the BARC coat step 510 (photoresist) of some form of electromagnetic radiation. The stepper/scanner 5, which may be purchased from Cannon, Nikon, or ASML.
The post exposure bake (PEB) step 540 is a step used to heat a substrate immediately after the exposure step 538 in order to stimulate diffusion of the photoactive compound(s) and reduce the effects of standing waves in the photoresist layer. For a chemically amplified photoresist, the PEB step also causes a catalyzed chemical reaction that changes the solubility of the photoresist. The control of the temperature during the PEB is critical to critical dimension (CD) control. The temperature of the PEB step 540 is dependent on the type of photoresist material deposited on the surface of the substrate, but will generally be less than about 250° C. The time required to complete the PEB step 540 will depend on the temperature of the substrate during the PEB step, but will generally be less than about 60 seconds.
The post exposure bake (PEB) chill step 542 is a step used to assure that the time the substrate is at a temperature above ambient temperature is controlled, so that every substrate sees the same time-temperature profile and thus process variability is minimized. Variation in the PEB process time-temperature profile can have an effect on properties of the deposited film layer and thus is often controlled to minimize process variability. The temperature of the post PEB chill step 542 is thus used to cool the substrate after the PEB step 540 to a temperature at or near ambient temperature. The time required to complete the post PEB chill step 542 will depend on the temperature of the substrate exiting the PEB step, but will generally be less than about 30 seconds.
The develop step 550 is a process in which a solvent is used to cause a chemical or physical change to the exposed or unexposed photoresist and BARC layers to expose the pattern formed during the exposure step 538. The develop process may be a spray or immersion or puddle type process that is used to dispense the developer solvent. In one embodiment of the develop step 550, after the solvent has been dispensed on the surface of the substrate a rinse step may be performed to rinse the solvent material from the surface of the substrate. The rinse solution dispensed on the surface of the substrate may contain deionized water and/or a surfactant.
The insert the substrate in pod step 508B is generally defined as the process of having the front end robot 108 return the substrate to a cassette 106 resting in one of the pod assemblies 105.
The HMDS processing step 511 generally contains the steps of heating the substrate to a temperature greater than about 125° C. and exposing the substrate to a process gas containing an amount of HMDS vapor for a short period of time (e.g., <120 seconds) to prepare and dry the surface of the substrate to promote adhesion of the photoresist layer deposited later in the processing sequence. While the use of HMDS vapor is specifically described above as the chemical used in conjunction with the HMDS processing step 511, the HMDS processing step 511 is meant to more generally describe a class of similar processes that may be utilized to prepare and dry the surface of the substrate to promote adhesion of the photoresist layer. Thus the use of the term HMDS in this specification is not intended to be limiting of the scope of the invention. In some cases the HMDS step is called a “vapor prime” steps.
The post HMDS chill step 513 controls the temperature of the substrate so that all substrates entering the photoresist processing step are at the same initial processing temperature. Variations in the temperature of the substrate entering the photoresist coat step 520, can have a dramatic affect on properties of the deposited film layer and thus is often controlled to minimize process variability. The temperature of the post HMDS chill step 513, is thus used to cool the substrate after the HMDS processing step 511 to a temperature at or near ambient temperature. The time required to complete the post HMDS chill step 513 will depend on the temperature of the substrate exiting the HMDS processing step 511, but will generally be less than about 30 seconds.
The pre-BARC chill step 509 controls the temperature of the substrate so that all substrates entering the BARC processing step are at the same initial processing temperature. Variations in the temperature of the substrate entering the BARC coat step 510, can have a dramatic affect on properties of the deposited film layer and thus is often controlled to minimize process variability. The temperature of the pre-BARC step 509, is thus used to cool or warm the substrate transferred from the POD to a temperature at or near ambient temperature. The time required to complete the pre-BARC chill step 509 will depend on the temperature of the substrates in the cassette 106, but will generally be less than about 30 seconds.
The anti-reflective top coat step 530 or top anti-reflective coating process (hereafter TARC), is a step used to deposit an organic material over the photoresist layer deposited during the photoresist coat step 520. The TARC layer is typically used to absorb light that otherwise would be reflected from the surface of the substrate back into the photoresist during the exposure step 538 performed in the stepper/scanner 5. If these reflections are not prevented, optical standing waves will be established in the photoresist layer, which cause feature size to vary from one location to another on the circuit depending on the local thickness of the photoresist layer. The TARC layer may also be used to level (or planarizing) the substrate surface topography, which is invariably present on the device substrate. The anti-reflective top coat step 530 is a typically performed using conventional spin-on photoresist dispense process in which an amount of the TARC material is deposited on the surface of the substrate while the substrate is being rotated which causes a solvent in the TARC material to evaporate and thus densify the TARC layer. The air flow and exhaust flow rate in the coater chamber 60A is controlled to control the solvent vaporization process and the properties of the layer formed on the substrate surface.
The post top coat bake step 532 is a step used to assure that all of the solvent is removed from the deposited TARC layer in the anti-reflective top coat step 530. The temperature of the post top coat bake step 532 is dependent on the type of TARC material deposited on the surface of the substrate, but will generally be less than about 250° C. The time required to complete the post top coat bake step 532 will depend on the temperature of the process run during the post top coat bake step, but will generally be less than about 60 seconds.
The post top coat chill step 534 is a step used to control the time the substrate is at a temperature above ambient temperature is controlled so that every substrate sees the same time-temperature profile and thus process variability is minimized. Variations in the TARC process time-temperature profile, which is a component of a substrates wafer history, can have an affect on the properties of the deposited film layer and thus is often controlled to minimize process variability. The post top coat chill step 534, is typically used to cool the substrate after the post top coat bake step 532 to a temperature at or near ambient temperature. The time required to complete the post top coat chill step 534 will depend on the temperature of the substrate exiting the post top coat bake step 532, but will generally be less than about 30 seconds.
The post develop bake step 552 is a step used to assure that all of the developer solvent is removed from the remaining photoresist layer after the develop step 550. The temperature of the post develop bake step 552 is dependent on the type of photoresist material deposited on the surface of the substrate, but will generally be less than about 250° C. The time required to complete the post develop bake step 552 will depend on the temperature of the substrate during the post photoresist bake step, but will generally be less than about 60 seconds.
The post develop chill step 554 is a step used to control and assure that the time the substrate is at a temperature above ambient temperature is controlled so that every substrate sees the same time-temperature profile and thus process variability is minimized. Variations in the develop process time-temperature profile, can have an effect on properties of the deposited film layer and thus is often controlled to minimize process variability. The temperature of the post develop chill step 554, is thus used to cool the substrate after the post develop bake step 552 to a temperature at or near ambient temperature. The time required to complete the post develop chill step 554 will depend on the temperature of the substrate exiting the post develop bake step 552, but will generally be less than about 30 seconds.
The SAFIER™ (Shrink assist film for enhanced resolution) coat step 551, is a process in which a material is deposited over the remaining photoresist layer after the develop step 550 and then baked in the post develop bake step 552. The SAFIER™ process is typically used to cause physical shrinkage of IC trench patterns, vias and contact holes with very little deterioration of the profile and also improve line edge roughness (LER). The SAFIER™ coat step 551 is typically performed using conventional spin-on photoresist dispense process in which an amount of the SAFIER™ material is deposited on the surface of the substrate while the substrate is being rotated.
Processing Racks
Coater/Developer Chamber
The coater/developer chamber 60 is a processing chamber that may be adapted to perform, for example, the BARC coat step 510, the photoresist coat step 520, the anti-reflective top coat step 530, the develop step 550, and/or the SAFIER™ coat step 551, which are shown in
The lift assembly 1030 generally contains an actuator (not shown), such as an air cylinder or servomotor, and a guide (not shown), such as a linear ball bearing slide, which are adapted to raise and lower the rotatable spin chuck 1034 to a desired position. The lift assembly 1030 is thus adapted to position the substrate mounted on the rotatable spin chuck 1034 in the cup 1005 during processing and also lift the substrate above the top of the cup 1005A to exchange the substrate with an external robot (e.g., front end robot 108, central robot 107, rear robot 109, etc. which is not shown) positioned outside the enclosure 1001. A robot blade 611, which is attached to the external robot, enters the enclosure 1001 through the access port 1002 formed in the side wall 1001A.
The gas flow distribution system 1040 is adapted to deliver a uniform flow of a gas through the enclosure 1001 and coater cup assembly 1003 to the exhaust system 1012. In one embodiment the gas flow distribution system 1040 is a HEPA filter assembly which generally contains a HEPA filter 1041 and a filter enclosure 1044. The HEPA filter 1041 and filter enclosure 1044 form a plenum 1042 that allows the gas entering from the gas source 1043 to uniformly flow through the HEPA filter 1041, the enclosure 1001 and the coater cup assembly 1003. In one embodiment, the gas source 1043 is adapted to deliver a gas (e.g., air) at a desired temperature and humidity to the processing region 1004.
The fluid dispense system 1025 generally contains one or more fluid source assemblies 1023 which deliver one or more solution to the surface of a substrate mounted on the spin chuck 1033.
Photoresist Thickness Control Chamber
The coater chamber 60A in this embodiment generally contains an enclosure 1001, a gas flow distribution system 1040, a coater cup assembly 1003, an processing enclosure assembly 1050, and a fluid dispense system 1025. The embodiment illustrated in
The rotation assembly 1055 generally contains one or more rotation bearings (not shown) and a housing 1055A that are adapted to allow the enclosure lid 1052 to be rotated as the enclosure coater chuck 1056 is rotated. In one embodiment, the housing 1055A is rotated as the spin chuck 1033 is rotated by the rotation motor 1031, due to friction created by the contact between the enclosure lid 1052 and the chuck base region 1056B. The enclosure lid 1052 is attached to the rotation bearings through the lid shaft 1052A. In one embodiment, the contact between the enclosure lid 1052 and the chuck base region 1056B is initiated by the movement of the lift assembly 1030, the lift assembly 1054 or both lift assemblies moving together.
In one embodiment, when the enclosure lid 1052 and the chuck base region 1056B are in contact, a seal is formed, thus creating an enclosed processing environment around the substrate. In one embodiment, the volume of the processing region 1051 is intended to be rather small to control the vaporization of a solvent from the photoresist on the surface of the substrate, for example, the gap between the enclosure lid 1052 and/or the chuck base region 1056B to the substrate may be about 3 mm.
In one embodiment, a photoresist material is delivered to the processing region 1051 through a tube (not shown) in a clearance hole (not shown) in the lid shaft 1052A, while the enclosure lid 1052 and chuck base region 1056B are in contact and the substrate is being rotated at a first rotational speed. In this step the photoresist will tend to spread out due to the centrifugal force effects caused by the rotation, but the photoresist's ability to change properties is restricted due to the formation of a solvent rich vapor over the surface of the substrate. After dispensing the photoresist the enclosure lid 1052 and enclosure coater chuck 1056 may then be rotated at a second rotational speed until the photoresist is thinned to a desired thickness at which time the enclosure lid 1052 is lifted from the surface of the enclosure coater chuck 1056, to allow the solvent remaining in the photoresist to escape and thus complete the final solvent vaporization process.
In another embodiment, the photoresist is dispensed using a conventional extrusion dispense process (e.g., sweep a photoresist dispensing arm (not shown) across a stationary substrate), after which the substrate is enclosed in the processing enclosure assembly 1050 and rotated at a desired speed to achieve a uniform layer of a desired thickness. After the desired thickness has been achieved the enclosure lid 1052 is separated from the enclosure coater chuck 1056 to allow the complete vaporization of the solvent from the photoresist.
In one embodiment of the enclosure lid 1052, a plurality of holes 1052B are formed in the outer wall of the enclosure lid 1052 to allow the excess photoresist to exit the processing region 1051 during processing. In this configuration air flow across the surface of the substrate is still prevented or minimized due to lack of an entry and/or exit points for the flowing air. In this configuration, due to the centrifugal force acting on the air and photoresist which will cause them to flow out of the holes 1052B, the pressure in the processing region 1051 will drop below ambient pressure. In one embodiment, the pressure in the processing region may be varied during different phases of the process to control the vaporization of the photoresist, by varying the rotation speed of the substrate, enclosure lid 1052 and enclosure coater chuck 1056.
In one embodiment, a solvent rich vapor is injected into the processing region 1051 through a hole in the lid shaft 1052A during processing to control the final thickness and uniformity of the photoresist layer.
Showerhead Fluid Dispensing System for Solvent/Developer Dispense
In an effort to achieve a uniform and repeatable photoresist layer on the surface of a substrate, prior art designs have emphasized the design of the coater chamber cup geometry, method of spinning the substrate, varying the air flow through the processing region of the chamber, and designing photoresist dispensing hardware that improves process of dispensing the photoresist layer. These designs achieve one level of uniformity at varying levels of complexity and cost. Due to the need to reduce CoO and the ever increasing process uniformity requirements further improvement is needed.
The showerhead assembly 1075 generally contains a showerhead base 1072, a shaft 1072A and a showerhead plate 1072D. The shaft 1072A is attached to the showerhead base 1072 and has a center hole 1072B formed in the shaft to allow fluid delivered from the fluid source 1077 to flow into a plenum 1072C formed within the showerhead base 1072. The showerhead plate 1072D, which is attached to the showerhead base 1072, contains a plurality of holes 1072F formed therein that connect the plenum 1072C, and thus the fluid source 1077, to the lower surface 1072E of the showerhead plate 1072D. During processing, a processing fluid is dispensed from the fluid source 1077 into the center hole 1072B, where it enters the plenum 1072C and then flows through the plurality of holes 1072F and into the processing region 1071 formed between the substrate and the lower surface 1072E. In one embodiment, the hole size, number of holes and distribution of the plurality of holes 1072F across the showerhead plate 1072D are designed to uniformly deliver the processing fluid to the processing region 1071. In another embodiment, the hole size, number of holes and distribution of the plurality of holes 1072F across the showerhead plate 1072D are unevenly spaced across the showerhead plate 1072D to deliver a desired non-uniform distribution of a processing fluid to the processing region 1071. A non-uniform pattern may be useful to correct the thickness variations caused by aerodynamic or other effects that may cause thickness variations in the deposited photoresist layer.
In one embodiment, the showerhead assembly 1075 contains a motor 1072G and a rotary seal 1072H that are adapted to rotate and deliver a processing fluid to the showerhead assembly 1075 during processing. The rotary seal 1072H may be a dynamic lip seal, or other similar device that are well known in the art.
Photoresist Nozzle Rinse System
Referring to
Point of Use Photo Resists Temperature Control
To assure a uniform and repeatable coating process the dispensed photoresist temperature is often tightly controlled since the properties and process results can be greatly affected by the temperature of dispensed photoresist. The optimum dispense temperature may vary from one photoresist to another. Therefore, since the coater chamber 60A may contain multiple fluid source assemblies 1023 to run different process recipes containing different photoresist materials, the temperature of the fluid source assemblies 1023 will each need to be independently controlled to assure desirable process results are consistently achieved. Embodiments of the invention provide various hardware and methods for controlling the temperature of a photoresist before it is dispensed on the surface of a substrate during a coat or develop process.
In one embodiment, as shown in
In one embodiment, the encapsulating vessel assembly 1096 is temperature controlled to assure that the temperature of the nozzle body 1024A and processing fluid in the supply tube 1026 are maintained at a consistent temperature when the discharge nozzle 1024 is positioned over the vessel opening 1095A (see
In one embodiment, the temperature of the rinse nozzles 1090 and connected to the tubing 1090A are temperature controlled to assure that the cleaning solution sprayed on the discharge nozzle 1024 and supply tube outlet 1026A are at desired temperature so the processing fluid in the supply tube 1026 is not heated or cooled during the clean process.
Coater Nozzle Placement System
To assure uniform and repeatable process results the position where the photoresist material is dispensed on the substrate surface is preferably tightly controlled. The uniformity of the deposited photoresist layer can be affected by the position on the substrate surface at which the photoresist is dispensed. Therefore, it is common for the dispense arm 1027 position to be accurately controlled by use of an often expensive support arm actuator 1028 that is capable of precisely positioning the discharge nozzle 1024. An issue arises in that it is common for coater chambers 60A to have multiple discharge nozzles 1024 to dispense multiple different photoresist materials, which greatly increases the cost and complexity of the coater chamber 60A, due to the need to accurately or precisely control many dispense arms 1027. Therefore, various embodiments of the invention provide an apparatus and method that utilizes a single dispense arm 1027 that can be easily calibrated since there is only one arm to calibrate and also accurately control. In this configuration the multiple discharge nozzles 1024 found in the various fluid source assemblies 1023 are exchanged with the single dispense arm 1192 by use of shuttle assembly 1180 (
The carrier assembly 1160 generally contains a nozzle support 1161, two or more fluid source assembly 1023 that contains a discharge nozzle 1024 and supply tube 1026 (six discharge nozzle 1024 and fluid source assemblies 1023 are shown) and a rotary actuator (not shown). The rotary actuator is adapted to rotate the nozzle support 1161 and all of the discharge nozzles 1024 and their associated supply tube 1026 to a desired position by use of commands from the system controller 101.
The shuttle assembly 1180 is adapted to pick up a discharge nozzle 1024 from the carrier assembly 1160 and then rotate to transfer the discharge nozzle 1024 to the nozzle mounting position 1193 on the dispense arm 1192. The shuttle assembly 1180 generally contains an actuator assembly 1181, a shuttle arm 1182 and a nozzle transfer feature 1183. The nozzle transfer feature 1183 is adapted to engage with or grasp the discharge nozzle 1024 so that it can be removed from the carrier assembly 1160 and transferred to nozzle mounting position 1193 and then returned from the nozzle mounting position 1193 to the carrier assembly 1160 after the process is complete. The actuator assembly 1181 generally contains one or more actuators that are adapted to raise and lower the shuttle assembly 1180 and rotate the shuttle arm 1182 to a desired position. The actuator assembly 1181 may contain, for example, one or more of the following devices to complete the lifting task tasks: an air cylinder, DC servo motor attached to a lead screw, a DC servo linear motor. The actuator assembly 1181 may also contain, for example, one or more of the following devices to complete the rotational tasks: an air cylinder, a stepper motor or a DC servo motor.
In operation the shuttle arm 1182 rotates from its home position (see item “A” in
In one embodiment, the carrier assembly 1160 may contain a plurality of encapsulating vessel assemblies 1096 (not shown in
Developer Chamber
Referring to
In one embodiment, the developer chamber 60B contains a fluid distribution device 1070, described above, is adapted to deliver a uniform flow of a developer processing fluid to the surface of the substrate during the developing process. In one embodiment, the hole size, number of holes and distribution of the plurality of holes 1072F are designed to uniformly deliver the developer processing fluid to the processing region 1071 formed between the substrate and the bottom surface of the fluid distribution device 1070. In another embodiment, the hole size, number of holes and distribution of the plurality of holes 1072F are designed to deliver a non-uniform distribution of a developer processing fluid to the processing region 1071 formed between the substrate and the bottom surface of the fluid distribution device 1070.
Developer Endpoint Detection Mechanism
The area on the surface of the substrate, on which the beam emitted from the laser 1401 is projected, is defined as the detection area. In one embodiment, the size of the detection area is varied or controlled so that the amount of noise contained in the detected signal is minimized. Noise in the detected signal can be generated due to the variation in the pattern topology seen by the detection area during processing.
In one embodiment, a tunable laser is used in place of a single wavelength laser to more easily detect the change in the sharpness of the photoresist pattern as the develop process progresses. The amount of interference will depend on the size of the formed “grating” and the wavelength of the incident radiation. In another embodiment, a plurality of detectors (see items 1410-1412) that are able to detect the primary reflection and the amount of scattered radiation to help determine the develop endpoint. In another embodiment a CCD (charge coupled device) array is used to monitor the scattering and shift in intensity of the reflected radiation. In one embodiment, to prevent noise generated from the reflection of emitted radiation from the processing fluid retained on the substrate surface during processing, a slit may be used to prevent the reflection from reaching the detector.
For product substrates, where typically there is already a pattern on the surface of the substrate, the steps shown in
If detailed knowledge of the pattern is required, then active correction (item #1484 in
The active mirrors 1425-1427 can be small and compact, such as used on the micromirror chip available from TI in Dallas, Tex. They are shown more widely separated in
Twin Coater and Developer Chambers
In one embodiment, not shown, the twin coater/developer chamber 350 contains two nozzle arm assemblies 360 which are adapted to access the nozzles 391 in the central region 395 and position a nozzle over the surface of the substrate. In this configuration each process chamber could process two substrates using the same processing fluid by sharing the pump and dispensing from two different nozzles 391, or two different processing fluids could be dispensed in each of the chambers.
Chill Chamber
The chill plate assembly 83 generally contains a heat exchanging device 83A and a chill plate block 83B. The chill plate block 83B is a thermally conductive block of material that is cooled by the heat exchanging device 83A to perform the various chill processes described above (e.g., pre-BARC chill step 509, post BARC chill step 514, post photoresist chill step 524, etc.). The chill plate block 83B is thermally conductive to improve temperature uniformity during processing. In one embodiment, the chill plate block 83B may be made from aluminum, graphite, aluminum-nitride, or other thermally conductive material. In one embodiment, the chill plate block 83B surface which is in contact with the substrate “W” is coated with a Teflon impregnated anodized aluminum, silicon carbide or other material that can minimize particle generation on the backside of the substrate as it comes in contact with the chill plate block 83B. In one embodiment, the substrate “W” rests on pins (not shown) embedded in the surface of the chill plate block 83B so that only a small gap is maintained between the substrate and the chill plate block 83B to reduce particle generation. In another embodiment, as shown in
In one embodiment of the chill plate, the heat exchanging device 83A is adapted to heat and cool the substrate resting on the surface of the chill plate block 83B. This configuration may be advantageous since the time required to achieve a desired process set point temperature is dependent on the temperature differential between the substrate and the chill plate block 83B. Thus if the chill plate block 83B is set to a fixed temperature and it is desired that the substrate be cooled to that fixed temperature it will take a very long time to cool the last few degrees to reach the fixed temperature due to the small temperature differential between the substrate and the chill plate block 83B. The time to achieve a desired temperature can be reduced if the temperature of the chill plate block 83B is actively controlled so that a large temperature differential is maintained between the substrate and the chill plate block 83B until the substrate temperature is at or near the desired set point temperature and then the temperature of the chill plate block 83B is adjusted to minimize the amount of undershoot or overshoot in temperature of the substrate. The temperature of the chill plate block 83B is controlled by use of a conventional temperature sensing device (e.g., thermocouple; (not shown)) that is used in conjunction with the system controller 101 to vary the amount of energy removed from or delivered to the chill plate block 83B by the heat exchanging device 83A. Thus in this embodiment, the heat exchanging device 83A has the ability to both heat and cool the chill plate block 83B. In one embodiment, the heat exchanging device 83A is a thermoelectric device that is used to cool and/or heat the chill plate block 83B. In one embodiment, the heat exchanging device 83A is a heat pipe design, described below in conjunction with the PEB chamber 130, which is adapted to heat and cool the substrate. In one embodiment, it may also be advantageous to minimize the mass and/or increase the thermal conductivity of the chill plate block 83B to improve the ability to control the substrate temperature.
The support plate 84 is generally a plate that supports the chill plate assembly 83 and insulates it from the base 85. In general the support plate 84 may be made from a thermally insulating material such as a ceramic material (e.g., zirconia, alumina, etc.) to reduce external heat loss or gain.
Referring to
Bake Chamber
The bake plate assembly 93 generally contains a heat exchanging device 93A and a bake plate block 93B. The bake plate block 93B is a thermally conductive block of material that is heated by the heat exchanging device 93A to perform the various bake processes described above (e.g., post BARC bake step 512, post photoresist coat bake step 522, etc.). The bake plate block 93B is thermally conductive to improve temperature uniformity during processing. In one embodiment, the bake plate block 93B may be made from aluminum, graphite, aluminum-nitride, or other thermally conductive material. In one embodiment, the bake plate block 93B surface which is in contact with the substrate “W” is coated with a Teflon impregnated anodized aluminum, silicon carbide or other material that can minimize particle generation on the backside of the substrate as it comes in contact with the bake plate block 93B. In one embodiment, the substrate “W” rests on pins (not shown) embedded in the surface of the bake plate block 93B so that only a small gap is maintained between the substrate and the bake plate block 93B to reduce particle generation. In one embodiment, the heat exchanging device 93A is a thermoelectric device that is used to heat the bake plate block 93B. In another embodiment, as shown in
The support plate 94 is generally a plate that supports the bake plate assembly 93 and insulates it from the base 95. In general the support plate 94 may be made from a thermally insulating material such as a ceramic material (e.g., zirconia, alumina, etc.) to reduce external heat loss.
Referring to
HMDS Chamber
The HMDS process chamber 70 also contains a lid assembly 75 that is used to form a sealed processing region 76 in which the processing gas is delivered to the substrate “W” which is heated by the HMDS bake plate assembly 73. The HMDS bake plate assembly 73 generally contains a heat exchanging device 73A and a HMDS bake plate block 73B. The HMDS bake plate block 73B is a thermally conductive block of material that is heated by the heat exchanging device 73A to perform the various HMDS processing steps described above. The HMDS bake plate block 73B is thermally conductive to improve temperature uniformity during processing. In one embodiment, the HMDS bake plate block 73B may be made from aluminum, graphite, aluminum-nitride, or other thermally conductive material. In one embodiment, the HMDS bake plate block 73B surface which is in contact with the substrate “W” is coated with a Teflon impregnated anodized aluminum, silicon carbide or other material that can minimize particle generation on the backside of the substrate as it comes in contact with the HMDS bake plate block 73B. In one embodiment, the substrate “W” rests on pins (not shown) embedded in the surface of the HMDS bake plate block 73B so that only a small gap is maintained between the substrate and the HMDS bake plate block 73B to reduce particle generation. In one embodiment, the heat exchanging device 73A is a thermoelectric device that is used to heat the HMDS bake plate block 73B. In another embodiment, as shown in
The lid assembly 75 generally contains a lid 72A, one or more o-ring seals 72C and an actuator assembly 72. The actuator assembly 72 generally contains an actuator 72B and an o-ring seal 72D. The o-ring seal 72D is designed to isolate the HMDS processing region 77 from the environment outside of the HMDS process chamber 70. The actuator 72B is generally adapted to raise and lower the lid 72A so that a substrate can be transferred to and from the lift pins 97D in the lift assembly 97. The lid 72A is adapted to form a seal between the HMDS base 74 using the o-ring seal 72D retained in the lid 72A (or on the HMDS base 74) to form the processing region 76 and prevent the process gases used during the HMDS processing step 511 from escaping into the HMDS processing region 77.
During processing the actuator 72B lowers the lid 72A to form a seal between the lid 72A, the o-ring seals 72C and the HMDS base 74 to form a leak tight seal. The process gas delivery system 71 delivers the process gas(es) to the processing region 76 to perform the HMDS processing step 511. To deliver the process gas(es) an HMDS vaporization system 71A delivers the HMDS vapor and a carrier gas to the processing region through an isolation valve 71B and through the inlet 71F formed in the HMDS base 74, across the surface of the substrate, and out the outlet 71G formed in the HMDS base 74, to a scrubber 71E. In one embodiment, a purge gas is delivered to the processing region 76 from a purge gas source 71C after the HMDS vapor containing processing gas has been delivered to the processing region to remove any leftover HMDS vapor. The purge gas source 71C may be isolated from the HMDS vaporization system 71A by use of an isolation valve 71D. In one embodiment, the purge gas delivered from the purge gas source 71C is heated or cooled by use of a conventional gas heat exchanging means (not shown) to control the temperature of the injected purge gas.
Post Exposure Bake Chamber
During an exposure process using a positive photoresist an insoluble photoresist material is transformed into a soluble material. During the exposure process, components in the photoresist that contain photoacid generators (or PAGs) generate an organic acid that can attack the unexposed areas of the photoresist and affect the sharpness of the pattern formed in the photoresist layer during the exposure process. The attack of the unexposed photoresist is thus affected by the migration of the generated photoacid, which is a diffusion dominated process. Since the photoacid attack of the formed pattern is a diffusion dominated process, the rate of attack is dependent on two related variables, time and temperature. The control of these variables are thus important in assuring that the critical dimension (CD) uniformity is acceptable and consistent from substrate to substrate.
In one embodiment, the PEB step 540 is performed in a bake chamber 90 as shown in
In another embodiment, the PEB step 540 is performed in a PEB chamber 130.
The heat exchanging region 133A is a region enclosed between the substrate supporting region 133B, the base region 133C, and the side walls 133G. The heat exchanging region 133A is in communication with the heat exchanging source 143 through one or more inlet ports 133D and one or more outlet ports 133E. The heat exchanging region 133A is adapted to accept various heat exchanging fluids delivered from the heat exchanging source 143 in order to heat or cool the substrate that is in thermal communication with the top surface 133F. In one aspect of the invention, the material thickness of the top surface 133F (i.e., distance between the heat exchanging region 133A and the top surface 133F), and thus the mass of the top surface 133F, is minimized to allow for rapid heating and cooling of the substrate.
In one embodiment, the heat exchanging region 133A may contain a resistive heater or thermoelectric device to control the temperature of the substrate. In another embodiment the heat exchanging region 133A is adapted to control the temperature of the PEB plate assembly 133 by use of a radiation heat transfer method, for example, halogen lamps mounted below the substrate supporting region 133B.
The PEB plate assembly 133 may be formed by conventional means (e.g., machining, welding, brazing, etc.) from one single material or it may be formed from a composite structure (e.g., structure containing many different types of materials) that makes the best use of each material's thermal conductivity, thermal expansion, and thermal shock properties to form an optimal PEB plate assembly 133. In one embodiment, the PEB plate assembly 133 is made from a thermally conductive material such as aluminum, copper, graphite, aluminum-nitride, boron nitride, and/or other material.
The heat exchanging source 143 generally contains at least one heat exchanging fluid delivery system which is adapted to deliver a heat exchanging fluid to the heat exchanging region 133A. In one embodiment, as shown in
In one embodiment, the heat source 131 is a conventional heat pipe which is used to heat the substrate. In general a heat pipe is an evacuated vessel, typically circular in cross sections, that may be back-filled with a small quantity of a working fluid that transfers heat from the heat source 131 to a heat sink (e.g., the substrate supporting region 133B and thus the substrate). The transfer of heat is performed by the evaporation of the working fluid in the heat source 131 and condensation of a working fluid in the heat exchanging region 133A. In operation the heat exchanging region 133A is evacuated by a vacuum pump (not shown) and then energy is added to a working fluid, retained in the heat source 131, which creates a pressure gradient between the heat source 131 and the heat exchanging region 133A. This pressure gradient forces the vapor to flow to the cooler section where it condenses, thus giving up energy due to the latent heat of vaporization. The working fluid is then returned to the heat source 131 by gravity, or capillary action, through the outlet port 133E and the outlet line 131B. The temperature of the substrate supporting region 133B is controlled by use of a temperature sensing device (not shown) that is used in conjunction with the system controller 101 by varying the amount energy (e.g., flow of the working fluid) delivered to the heat exchanging region 133A.
In another embodiment, the heat source 131 delivers a heated gas, vapor or liquid from a fluid source (not shown) to the heat exchanging region 133A to transfer heat to the substrate by a convective heat transfer type process. In this configuration the heated gas, vapor or liquid is delivered to the heat exchanging region 133A through an inlet port 133D from an inlet line 131A and exits the heat exchanging region 133A through the outlet port 133E where it is delivered to a waste collection source 142A. The waste collection source 142A may be a scrubber or typical exhaust system.
In one embodiment, as shown in
In another embodiment of the PEB plate assembly 133, a heat exchanging device 134 is placed on the base region 133C to heat or cool the PEB plate assembly 133. In one aspect of the invention, the heat exchanging device 134 is used to cool the base region 133C, which is in thermal contact with the substrate supporting region 133B through a plurality of thermally conductive pillars 133H (only two shown). In this configuration the substrate can be heated by the injection of a hot fluid from the heat source 131 and cooled by use of the heat exchanging device 134. This configuration may avoid the need for the cooling source 142 to cool the substrate. The plurality of thermally conductive pillars 133H are regions in which heat can be transferred from the substrate supporting region 133B to the base region 133C or vise versa. The conductive pillars 133H may be arranged in any pattern, size or density (e.g., number of pillars 133H per unit area) that allows heat to uniformly flow to or from the heat exchanging device 134 and allows the fluid delivered from the heat source to uniformly communicate with the substrate supporting region 133B.
Referring to
In one embodiment, the lid assembly 137 may contain a heat exchanging device 137B to control the temperature of the lid 137A and thus form an isothermal environment around the substrate to improve thermal uniformity across the substrate during processing. In this configuration the heat exchanging device 137B adapted to act, as a heat pipe in a similar fashion as described above, to rapidly heat and cool the lid assembly 137. In one embodiment, the heat exchanging device 137B and the heat exchanging region 133A are both adapted to act as a heat pipe to rapidly and uniformly control the temperature of the substrate. In another embodiment, the heat exchanging device 137B is adapted to control the temperature of the lid assembly 137 by use of a radiative (e.g., heat lamps), or convective heat transfer means (described above).
In another embodiment of the lid assembly 137, a heated fluid source 141 is connected to the processing region 138 through a lid inlet port 137C to deliver a temperature controlled process fluid across the substrate surface and then out the lid outlet port 137D to a waste collection device 141B. The heated fluid source 141 generally contain a fluid source 141A, a fluid heater 141C and a waste collection device 141B (e.g., typically an exhaust system or scrubber). The fluid source 141A may deliver a gas or liquid during processing to control the temperature of the substrate. In one aspect of the invention the fluid source 141A may deliver an inert gas, for example, argon, nitrogen, or helium.
Referring to
Variable Heat Transfer Valve
The conductive block 254 is used to support the substrate, and it contains a heating device 255 which is adapted to heat a substrate that is in thermal communication with the block surface 254A. The conductive block 254 may be made from a thermally conductive material such as aluminum, copper, graphite, aluminum-nitride, boron nitride, and/or other material. The heating device 255 may be a resistive heater or a thermoelectric device that is used to heat the conductive block 254. In another embodiment, the heating device 255 consists of a plurality of channels formed in a surface of the conductive block 254 (not shown), which are temperature controlled by use of a heat exchanging fluid that continually flows through the channels. A fluid temperature controller (not shown) is adapted to control the heat exchanging fluid and thus the conductive block 254 temperature. The heat exchanging fluid may be, for example, a perfluoropolyether (e.g., Galden®) that is temperature controlled to a temperature between about 30° C. and about 250° C. The heat exchanging fluid may also be a temperature controlled gas, such as, argon or nitrogen.
The cooling region 253 is an area of the plate assembly 250 that is isolated from the conductive block 254 by the gap 259 and is maintained at a low temperature to cool the conductive block 254 when a conductive working fluid is delivered to the gap 259 by the fluid delivery system 275. The cooling region 253 contains a cooling device 265 that is used to cool this area of the plate assembly 250. The cooling region 253 may be made from a thermally conductive material such as aluminum, copper, graphite, aluminum-nitride, boron nitride, and/or other material. The cooling device 265 may be a thermoelectric device that is used to cool the cooling region 253. In another embodiment, the cooling device 265 consists of a plurality of channels (not shown) formed in a surface of the cooling region 253, which are temperature controlled by use of a heat exchanging fluid that continually flows through the channels. A fluid temperature controller (not shown) is adapted to control the heat exchanging fluid and thus the cooling region 253 temperature. The heat exchanging fluid may be, for example, a perfluoropolyether (e.g., Galden®) that is temperature controlled to a temperature between about 5° C. and about 20° C. The heat exchanging fluid may also be a temperature controlled gas, such as, argon or nitrogen.
The fluid delivery system 275 generally contains a fluid delivery source 270 that is adapted to deliver a conductive working fluid to the gap 259 formed between the conductive block 254 and the cooling region 253. The fluid delivery system 275 thus causes the conductive working fluid to flow from the fluid delivery system 275 through the inlet region 257 into the gap 259 and then out the outlet region 258, where it is returned to the fluid delivery system 275. The conductive working fluid is thus used to increase the thermal coupling between the cooling region 253 and the conductive block 254 during different phases of the process, to heat and cool the substrate. The conductive working fluid may a liquid, vapor or gas that is able to increase the thermal coupling between the conductive block 254 and the cooling region 253. In one embodiment, the conductive working fluid is liquid such as: a liquid metal alloy of gallium, indium, and tin (e.g., galinstan); mercury (Hg); Galden; or polyethylene glycol. In another embodiment, the conductive working fluid is a gas, such as, helium, argon, or carbon dioxide (CO2).
In one embodiment, the plate assembly 250 is used to bake the substrates in, for example, the PEB chamber to perform the PEB step 540. In this configuration the substrate is first delivered to the block surface 254A while the conductive working fluid is flowing through the gap 259 and thus the cooling region 253 is in communication with the conductive block 254 and the block surface remains at a low temperature. Once the substrate contacts the block surface 254A the flow of the conductive working fluid is stopped and is removed from the gap 259 to decouple the cooling region 253 from the conductive block 254. In one embodiment, a gas source 272 is used to force the remaining conductive working fluid back to the fluid delivery system 275. The conductive block 254 is then heated by energy delivered from the heating device 255 until a desired processing temperature is achieved in the conductive block 254. After maintaining the desired processing temperature for a period of time the heating device 255 is shut off and the conductive working fluid is delivered to the gap 259 to cool the conductive block 254 by increasing the thermal coupling between the conductive block 254 and cooling region 253. Once the substrate has reached a desired temperature it is removed from the processing chamber.
In one embodiment of the plate assembly 250, as shown in
PEB Process Endpoint Detection System
In an effort to reduce the processing time in the bake chamber, PEB chamber and/or the HMDS process chamber and improve the repeatability of the process results, an endpoint detector can be integrated into the chamber to notify the system controller 101 that the process is complete or nearly complete so that it can then be transferred to the next chill chamber 80. This design thus minimizes the need to run the process longer than necessary, or “over bake”, while still assuring that the chamber process is complete. This process is especially important in the PEB chamber due to the prevention of the generated organic acid during exposure from attacking the unexposed areas of the photoresist.
To resolve this problem, in one embodiment, the process endpoint is determined by measuring the concentration of a previously identified PEB, HMDS, or bake chamber reaction byproducts contained in the gas, or vapor, above the surface of the previously deposited or exposed photoresist layer.
In another embodiment of the endpoint detector, a laser is used to determine the photoresist layer thickness and/or sense a change in the index of refraction of the photoresist layer to determine the endpoint of the process.
In one embodiment of the endpoint detection process, the laser is designed to emit multiple wavelengths so that the photoresist thickness and/or index of refraction changes can be monitored during the processing. The thickness of the photoresist is measured by detecting a change in multi-wavelength interference patterns that will change as the photoresist thickness and index of refraction change during the process. In one embodiment of the endpoint detection process, the laser 194 emits radiation to a beam splitter 195, where a percentage of the radiation emitted from the laser 194 passes directly through the beam splitter 195 to the fiber optic cable 197. The fiber optic cable 197 then directs the emitted energy towards the surface of the substrate. The emitted radiation is then reflected, scattered or absorbed at the surface of the photoresist layer (item “P”) and/or the surface of the substrate. A percentage of the reflected radiation then travels back to the fiber optic cable 197 where it directs the radiation to the beam splitter 195. The beam splitter 195 then reflects a percentage of the reflected radiation to the detector 196 where the incident radiation is detected.
To detect when the endpoint of a process has occurred, using either of the embodiments described above, the detected signal may be compared with the signal or data collected from previously processed substrates. In one embodiment, obtaining post process measurements before the endpoint can be confidently detected may be required.
Improved Heat Transfer Design With Minimum Contact
To increase the system throughput, by reducing the chill chamber, bake chamber, PEB chamber and/or the HMDS process chamber processing times, various methods have been employed to increase the thermal coupling of the substrate to the heat exchanging device. While increasing the contact between the substrate surface and the surface of the plate assembly (e.g., PEB plate assembly 133, chill plate assembly 83, etc.) will increase the thermal coupling and reduce the time it takes a substrate to reach the desired process temperature, increasing contact is often undesirable since it will increase the number of particles generated on the backside of the substrate, which can affect the exposure process results and also device yield.
To reduce the particle generation on the backside of the substrate the contact of the substrate to the surface of the plate assembly can be minimized by use of an array of protrusions that space the substrate off the surface of the plate assembly. While protrusions reduce the number of particles generated they may tend to reduce the thermal coupling between the substrate and the plate assembly. Therefore, it is often desirable to minimize the height of the protrusions from the surface of the plate assembly to improve the thermal coupling, while also assuring that the substrate will not touch the surface of the plate assembly. Prior art applications have typically used sapphire spheres that are pressed or placed into machined holes in plate assembly surface to act as the protrusions. It is often difficult to mechanically achieve sufficiently good height control between the spheres and the surface of the plate assembly, since it needs to be very flat for this technique to assure that the substrate will not contact the plate assembly surface. These problems arise since the machining operations required to form the surface features that hold the spheres, or pins, are all referenced to some reference datum and thus does not take into account the variation in the surface topology of the plate assembly. This issue becomes especially important where the height of the protrusions from the surface of the plate assembly is about 30 micrometers.
Referring to
To form the protrusions 171, in one embodiment, a mask (not shown) is placed over the surface of the plate assembly which allows CVD or PVD material to be deposited on certain defined areas of the substrate by use of features or holes formed in the mask. In this way the size is controlled by the features formed in the mask and the height of the protrusion is can be controlled by assuring a certain amount of material is deposited on the surface of the plate assembly using a known PVD or CVD process deposition rate. In one embodiment, the protrusions 171 which are deposited by a PVD or CVD process are about 100 micrometers thick.
In one embodiment, the plate assembly 170 also contains a gas source port assembly 173 and a gas source 174 to purge the edge of the substrate during processing to prevent the evaporating solvent vapors from being deposited on the plate assembly surface 170A or the backside of the substrate due to the reduced pressure generated behind the substrate (e.g., a vacuum chuck configuration). In this configuration the gas source 174 is used to create a positive pressure in the gas port plenum 173B, thus causing the gas to flow out of a plurality of gas ports 173A formed in the surface of the plate assembly 170. In one embodiment the gas source 174 is adapted to deliver an inert gas to the edge of the substrate, such as, argon, xenon, helium, nitrogen, and/or krypton. The gas source 174 may also be adapted to deliver a fluid to the edge of the substrate.
In one embodiment, the gas delivered from the gas source 174 is heated prior to exiting the gas ports 173A to prevent cooling of the edge of the substrate during processing. In another embodiment, the length of the gas port plenum 173B in the plate assembly 170 is designed to assure that the gas resides in the gas port plenum long enough for the injected gas to substantially achieve the plate temperature before it exits the gas ports 173A.
Support Chamber
The support chamber 65 (
In one embodiment, the support chamber 65 contains various metrology tools, such as, a particle measurement tool, an OCD spectroscopic ellipsometry device, spectroscopic reflectometry and various scatterometry devices to detect defects in the processed substrates, perform statistical process control, and/or allow the system to compensate for variations in the incoming substrate quality. In one case a non-contact visible and/or DUV reflectometry technique can be used to perform measurements of film thickness and uniformity of the films on the substrate in the cluster tool. A reflectometry tool can be purchased from Nanometrics Incorporated, Milpitas Calif.
An integrated OCD spectroscopic ellipsometry tool may be used to enable complete film characterization and closed-loop control within the lithographic process without having to move the wafer to a standalone metrology tool, saving transport time and eliminating potential handling contamination and damage. The integration of the various process control metrology capability directly into the cluster tool will thus help improve CD control and CoO. An OCD spectroscopic ellipsometry tool can be purchased from Nanometrics Incorporated, Milpitas Calif.
Wafer Sequencing/Parallel Processing
In an effort to be more competitive in the market place and thus reduce CoO, electronic device manufacturers often spend a large amount of time trying to optimize the process sequence and chamber processing time to achieve the greatest substrate throughput possible given the cluster tool architecture limitations and the chamber processing times. In track lithography type cluster tools, since the chamber processing times tend to be rather short, (e.g., about a minute to complete the process) and the number of processing steps required to complete a typical track system process is large, a significant portion of the time it takes to process a substrate is taken up by the processes of transferring the substrates in a cluster tool between the various processing chambers. In one embodiment of the cluster tool 10, the CoO is reduced by grouping substrates together and transferring and processing the substrates in groups of two or more. This form of parallel processing thus increases the system throughput, and reduces the number of moves a robot has to make to transfer a batch of substrates between the processing chambers, thus reducing wear on the robot and increasing system reliability.
In one aspect of the invention, the track architecture is designed so that substrates leave the cassette 106 mounted in the pod assemblies 105A-D one-by-one, and are then grouped together in groups containing two or more substrates after being processed in the first processing station. For example, when using the process sequence shown in
In one aspect of the invention, the substrates may be grouped together at the pod assembly 105 and transferred through the cluster tool in groups, by use of a multiple bladed type front end robot 108, central robot 107 and rear robot 109.
In one embodiment, the substrates are grouped in pairs and thus the transferring process would include the grouping steps of single substrate transfer in to the first process chamber, then dual substrate transfer through the system, then single substrate transfer to and from the stepper/scanner 5, then dual substrate transfer through the system, and single substrate transfer from the last chamber to the cassette. In one embodiment, the central robot 107, as shown below in FIGS. 16A-B, contains a dual blade assembly 705 that contains at least one robot blade 711A on the first blade assembly 715A and at least one robot blade 711B on the second blade assembly 715B to transfer substrates in groups of two. In this configuration, the first blade assembly 715A and the second blade assembly 715B are a fixed distance apart, which corresponds to the vertical spacing of the two chambers in which the substrates are to be grouped. For example, if the substrates are grouped in pairs after the BARC coat step 510 is performed in CD1 and CD2 of the front end processing rack 52 shown in
In one embodiment of the dual blade assembly 705, the horizontal spacing of the first blade assembly 715A relative to the second blade assembly 715B is a fixed distance apart, which corresponds to the horizontal spacing of the two chambers in which the substrates are to be grouped. In this configuration, the first blade assembly 715A and the second blade assembly 715B are aligned in the horizontal plane so that the dual blade assembly 705 can access chambers spaced horizontally.
Referring to
In one embodiment, a batch develop process could be performed on the substrates, in which case the substrates would be transferred in a group and then ungrouped to perform the develop process, after which they would be regrouped transferred as a group.
Sequencing Without Buffer Stations
In one aspect of the invention, the substrate processing sequence and cluster tool are designed so that the substrate transferring steps performed during the processing sequence are completed to chambers that will perform the next processing step in the processing sequence. The prior art cluster tool configurations commonly install interim stations, or buffer chambers, in the process sequence so that the robot that dropped off a substrate can complete other transferring steps and/or allow other robots to pick up and transfer the waiting substrate to another desired position in the system. The step of placing a substrate in a chamber that will not perform the subsequent processing step wastes time, decreases the availability of the robot(s), wastes space in the cluster tool, and increases the wear on the robot(s). The addition of the buffering steps will also adversely affect device yield, due to the increase in the number of substrate handoffs which will increase the amount of backside particle contamination. Also, substrate processing sequences that contain buffering steps will inherently have different substrate wafer histories, unless the time spent in the buffer chamber is controlled for every substrate. Controlling the buffering time will increase the system complexity, due to an added process variable, and it will likely hurt the maximum achievable substrate throughput. In a case where the system throughput is robot limited, the maximum substrate throughput of the cluster tool is governed by the total number of robot moves to complete the process sequence and the time it takes to make the robot move. The time it takes a robot to make a desired move is usually limited by robot hardware, distance between processing chambers, substrate cleanliness concerns, and system control limitations. Typically the robot move time will not vary much from one type of robot to another and is fairly consistent industry wide. Therefore, a cluster tool that inherently has fewer robot moves to complete the processing sequence will have a higher system throughput than a cluster tool that requires more moves to complete the processing sequence, such as cluster tools that contain multiple buffering steps.
The various embodiments of the cluster tool shown on
One advantage of the cluster tool configuration described herein is the ability of the two or more robots to access processing chambers (e.g., chill chamber 80, bake chambers 90, etc.) in the different main modules (e.g., front end module 306, central module 310, etc.). For example, in the embodiment shown in
In one aspect, the system controller 101 is further programmed to monitor and control the motion of the end-effector of all robots in the system (e.g., dual blade assembly 705 (
In one aspect of the cluster tool 10 illustrated in
In one aspect of the cluster 10, as illustrated in
In one aspect, the transfer path A12 may be broken up into two steps (not shown) where the substrates are transferred to a chill chamber 80 in the first processing rack 308 by the central robot 107 and then transferred to the cassette using the front end robot 108. In this configuration the chill chamber 80 acts as a “safe” position where the substrate can reside without being exposed to thermal energy or processing fluids which may affect the wafer history and amount contamination on the processed substrate. A “safe” position may coincide with holding the substrate on raised lift pins 87D (shown in lower position of
In one aspect, transfer path A12 may be completed by picking up the substrate from the developer chamber 60B using the central robot 107 and then transferring the substrate to the pod assembly 105. In this configuration the central robot 107 may be further adapted to translate a distance along the length of the cluster tool 10 by use of a slide assembly (not shown) and a translation actuator (e.g., linear servo motor, etc. (not shown)) to give the robot the desired reach to access the cassettes.
In one aspect of the cluster 10, as illustrated in
Cluster Robots Design
A. Vertical Rail Robot Design
In one embodiment, where the FL robot 625 has two substrate carriers 611A-B, the FL robot 625 will generally contain a dual axis motor 615, primary arms 618A-B, secondary arms 619A-D, wrist assemblies 621A-B, and substrate carriers 611A-B. In general by movement of the various axes of the dual axis motor 615 the primary arms 618A-B can be rotated in an opposing direction to extend or retract the substrate carriers 611A-B or rotated in the same rotational direction to rotate the substrate carriers 611A-B to a desired position. The FL robot 625 is mounted on the support 613 of the support assembly 624 which supports and retains the robot assembly 625.
Referring to
The guiding mechanism 631 is adapted to support and precisely guide the FL robot assembly 610 or FL robot assembly 620 components as they are raised and lowered on the lift rails to assure that the position and accuracy of the motion of the FL robot assembly 610 or FL robot assembly 620 are well controlled to allow consistent movement and transfer of substrates. In one embodiment (not shown), the guiding mechanism 631 contains a linear guide which supports and retains the FL robot assembly 610 or 620 components. A linear guide may be purchased from Danaher Motion of Wood Dale, Ill. In another embodiment, as shown in
In one aspect of the invention the FL robot assembly 602 contains two or more FL robot assemblies (e.g., items 610, 620) which are synchronized to allow substrates to be grouped and transferred together. This configuration may be advantageous since it will improve substrate throughput in the cluster tool. In one aspect, the two or more FL robot assemblies are physically coupled together so that the motion of each blade of the FL robot assemblies moves in unison and thus are grouped. In this case the robot assemblies 610 may be a fixed distance apart and move in a synchronized motion. In another aspect, the FL robot assemblies (e.g., items 610, 620) are mechanically coupled together so that they maintained at a fixed distance apart, but each of the FL robots 625 are able to move independently of each other (e.g., move independently in the horizontal plane).
In another aspect, the system controller 101 is utilized to control and synchronize the movement of each of the two or more FL robot assemblies so that substrates can be transferred in groups of two or more. For example, if the central robot 107 is a FL robot assembly 602 that contains two robots, the transfer path A2, described in
B. Articulated Robot
The dual blade assembly 705 generally contains a support 720, and two or more blade assemblies 715 (e.g., first blade assembly 715A, a second blade assembly 715B, etc.). The support 720 attaches to and is guided by the articulated robot 710 so that a blade in a first blade assembly 715A and a blade in a second blade assembly 715B can each pick-up and/or place a substrate in a two different processing chambers retained in a processing rack. The pitch (see item “A”), or the distance, between the robot blades is fixed by the distance between the first supporting surface 720A and second supporting surface 720B, and is designed to coincide with the pitch between two of the processing chambers retained in the processing racks. Therefore, the distance between the transfer position of the bake chambers labeled B1 and B4, for example, in the first central processing rack 152, would coincide with the pitch between the coater/developer chambers labeled CD1 and CD2 in the front end processing rack 52, so that after completing the BARC coat step 510 the substrates could then be transferred to bake chambers labeled B1 and B4 to complete the post BARC bake step 512. Referring to
In one aspect, the substrate receiving surfaces 712A-B are adapted to retain a substrate positioned on the blade (not shown) by use of an edge gripping mechanism that holds the substrate in position on the robot blade. The edge gripping mechanism can be adapted to grab the edge of the substrate at multiple points (e.g., 3 points) to hold and retain the substrate.
Referring to
In one aspect of the invention, to perform a single substrate transfer task using a robot that contains two or more fixed robot blades, i.e., contains no robot blade actuators 721, the robot is adapted to “re-position,” e.g., flip, rotate, and/or detach, at least one of the robot blades so that the “re-positioned” blade(s) will not interfere with the process of transferring a substrate on another robot blade. In this configuration a special position or chamber (e.g., support chambers) may be adapted to receive a robot blade and reposition it in a desired orientation to allow substrates to be transferred using other robot blades. The ability to re-position one or more of the robot blades may be especially useful when one or more processing chambers in a grouped transferring sequence is not operational, and thus will not allow a blade to enter the processing chamber, since it will allow other adjacent processing chamber positions to be utilized.
Referring to
In one embodiment, the front end robot 108 or the rear robot 109 are a dual blade assembly 705 as illustrated and described above in conjunction with
While
C. Shuttle Robot.
In one embodiment, the slide assembly 113 is a linear ball bearing slide that guides the shuttle robot 110 as it transfers the substrates between the various processing chambers. The slide assembly 113 generally contains a shuttle 113A on which the robot blade actuator 112 is attached. The clamp 118 is used to attach the shuttle 113A to the belt 117 of the robot drive assembly 119 to allow the robot drive assembly 119 to move the robot blade 111 between the various processing chambers.
In one embodiment, as shown in
Integrated Bake/Chill Chamber
In one embodiment, the input region 830 is used to receive a substrate from an external robot. The input region 830 is generally an enclosed region that contains a substrate exchanging device, such as lift pins 836 or some other similar device, that is adapted to allow an external robot to pick up or drop-off a substrate in the integrated bake/chill chamber 800. The input region 830 is also configured to allow a chilled transfer arm assembly 832 to pick-up and drop off substrates from the lift pins 836.
The chilled transfer arm assembly 832 generally contains a chilled blade 833 that has a blade receiving surface 834 and a plurality of cut-outs 835 that are adapted to allow the chilled blade 833 to pick-up, retain and drop-off substrates from the various substrate exchanging devices in the various processing regions of the integrated bake/chill chamber 800. In one embodiment, the chilled blade 833 of the chilled transfer arm assembly 832 contains a heat exchanging device 837 (
Referring to
The bake region 820 may contain all of the components of a bake chamber 90, HMDS process chamber 70, or a PEB chamber 130 as illustrated and described in reference to
When the integrated bake/chill chamber 800 is in use, an external robot delivers the substrate to the lift pins 836 of the input region 830 through an access port 802. The chilled blade 833, which is positioned below the lift pins 836, then moves vertically to remove the substrate from the lift pins 836 and positions the substrate on the blade receiving surface 834. The chilled blade 833 is then moved to the bake region 820 where the chilled blade 833 deposits the substrate and then exits the bake region 820 so that a bake process can be performed on the substrate. After the bake process has been performed the chilled blade 834 picks up the substrate from the bake region 820, transfers the substrate to a substrate exchanging device in the chill region 810, and then exits the chill region 810. After a chill process has been performed, the substrate is removed from the chill region 810 through the access port 802 by use of the external robot. In one aspect, after the chill process has been performed the chilled blade 833 removes the substrate from the chill region 810 and deposits the substrate on the lift pins 836 in the input region. This configuration may be advantageous since the chill region 810 is made available to complete a chill process on a new substrate and/or it allows the external robot to pickup the substrate from the same position that it deposited the substrate.
Integrated Scanner/Stepper with PEB Cluster Tool Configuration
In one embodiment, as shown in
In this configuration the stepper/scanner 5A will generally contain one or more PEB chambers 5C and one or more chill chambers 5B (i.e., item 80 described above (
Oval System Configuration
In one embodiment, as shown in
In one aspect of the invention, the configurations illustrated in
Gantry Robot Design Configuration
The first central robot 420, the second central robot 430, and the third central robot 440 are adapted to transfer substrates to the various processing chambers contained in the first processing rack 460 and the second processing rack 480. In one embodiment, the second central robot 430 is adapted to transfer substrates between the first processing rack 460 and the second processing rack 480.
Referring to
In one embodiment, the rear region 445 contains a rear robot 440 which is adapted to transfer substrates between the processing chambers retained in the first processing racks 460 and a second processing rack 480 that abut the rear region 445 and a stepper/scanner 5.
The orientation, positioning and number of process chambers shown in the
In one embodiment, the process of transferring substrates between the method steps 510 through 536, which are enclosed in the broken line labeled “B”, are completed using the first central robot 420 and the second central robot 430 and the chambers contained in the first processing rack 460. In another embodiment, the second central robot 430 may be used to transfer the substrates to and from the first processing rack 460 and the second processing rack 480 so that available chambers in these racks can be used as required to meet the process sequence requirements.
In one embodiment, the process of transferring substrates between the processing steps 536 through 550, which are enclosed in the box labeled “C”, are completed using the rear robot 450. In one embodiment, the OEBR step 536 is completed in a OEBR chamber 62 mounted in the first processing rack 460 that abuts the rear region 445. Referring to
In one embodiment, the process of transferring substrates between the processing steps 540 through 550, which are enclosed in the box labeled “D”, are completed using the second central robot 430 and the third robot 440, and the chambers contained in the second processing rack 480. In another embodiment, the second central robot 430 may be used to transfer the substrates to and from the first processing rack 460 and the second processing rack 480 so that available chambers in these racks can be used as required to meet the process sequence requirements.
Referring to
In one embodiment of the cluster tool 10, the front end robot 410, the first central robot 420, the second central robot 430, the third central robot 440 and/or the rear robot 450 may be adapted to transfer substrates in groups of two or more to improve the system throughput by parallel processing the substrates. For example, in one aspect, a robot containing multiple independently controllable arms/blades is used to pick up a plurality of substrates from a plurality of processing chambers and then transfer and deposit the substrates in a plurality of subsequent processing chambers. In one aspect, the robot is adapted to pick-up or drop off simultaneously using an arm that has multiple blades that are spaced a desired distance, or pitch, apart. For example, the front end robot 410, the first central robot 420, the second central robot 430, the third central robot 440 and/or the rear robot 450 may have a pair of blade assemblies 715A and 715B mounted on a support 720 (shown in
Referring to
Referring to
The fan unit 493 is adapted to draw air from inside the enclosure 491 through a fan port 491G formed in one of the walls of the enclosure 491 and pushes the particulate containing air through a filter (not shown) to remove particles before it is exhausted (see item “A”) into the cluster tool 10. In this configuration a fan 493A, contained in the fan unit 493, is designed to create a negative pressure inside the enclosure 491 so that air outside the enclosure is drawn into the enclosure through an elongated opening 4000 through which the robot support interface 487 extends, thus limiting the possibility of particles generated inside the enclosure 491 from leaking out. In one embodiment, the filter (not shown) is a HEPA type filter or other type of filter that can remove the generated particulates from the air. The configuration shown in
In one embodiment of the lift rail assembly 495A, a fan unit 493 (not shown) is adapted to draw air from inside each of the vertical enclosures 495D to minimize the chance that the particles generated inside the vertical motion assembly 495 will cause defects on the devices formed on the surface of the substrate.
Substrate Center Finding Device
In an effort to be more competitive in the market place and thus reduce CoO, electronic device manufacturers often spend a large amount of time trying to improve the system uptime and system reliability to reduce substrate scrap and increase the total system throughput (i.e., wafers starts per week). One factor that can affect the system uptime and reliability is the misplacement of substrates in the various processing chambers which can cause substrate damage (e.g., chipping, substrate breakage, etc.). Damage to the substrates will cause the user to shut down the current process, scrap all of the partially processed substrates, clean the affected chamber(s) and then restart the process sequence, all leading to significant system downtime and cost. Typically, to prevent substrate to substrate process variation and damage to the substrate caused by misalignment of the substrate in one of the processing chambers, or other chambers, the robot is repeatedly calibrated to pick up and drop off a substrate from a transfer position. The transfer position may be, for example, the center point between the process chamber lift pins or the center point of the chuck.
To solve these problems, in one embodiment of the cluster tool 10, a substrate position error detection and correction system 1200 (hereafter SPEDAC 1200), shown in
The SPEDAC system 1200 determines the presence of a substrate on a substrate transport robot blade as it enters or exits the opening 88 found in the various processing chambers and corrects for any error by repositioning the robot blade 1210 in subsequent transferring steps. The SPEDAC system 1200 utilizes a pair of beams (item “A”) sent from two pairs of transmitters 1206 to detectors 1205 to detect the position of the substrate as it passes through the beams and adjusts the robot position to compensate for any error in the substrate's position. When a substrate position error is detected, the system determines the extent of the misalignment and corrects such misalignment, if correctable, by the movement of the robot blade position or alerts an operator for operator intervention. Further description of an exemplary method of detecting and compensating for substrate misplacement on the blade of the robot is further described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,798, entitled “Wafer Positioning System,” issued Oct. 8, 1996, U.S. Pat. No. 5,483,138, entitled “System and Method for Automated Positioning of a Substrate in a Processing Chamber,” issued Jan. 9, 1996, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,194, issued Nov. 9, 1999, to Freerks, et al., which are incorporated by reference in their entirety to the extent not inconsistent with the present disclosure. An example of an exemplary method to control robot position and thus substrate position is further described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,556,887, issued Apr. 29, 2003 to Freeman, et al., which is incorporated by reference in their entirety to the extent not inconsistent with the present disclosure.
Global Positioning
Another embodiment which may be used to improve the system uptime and system reliability by preventing substrate damage (e.g., chipping, substrate breakage) is the use of global positioning system (GPS) (not shown) to track and correct errors in the position of the robot blade and/or the position of the substrate. In this configuration, the global positioning detection system is used to define the location of the robot blade (substrate or robot end effector) with respect to a predetermined system datum. Typically, positional feedback of the robot blade's position is provided by incorporating encoders on shafts of drive motors for each control axis, that report the position of the motor and not the actual position of the robot blade. The actual position may vary from the reported position due to a loose coupling between the various drive components, improper robot parameter setup, robot positional control drift, undetected motion failures, and hardware collisions that may occur. Therefore, to resolve these issues, embodiments of the invention can be used to track the actual position of the robot blade, and thus substrate position. In one embodiment, a global positioning device 1300 and a communicating system (e.g., RF transmitter 1302, cable, etc.) is integrated into the robot blade or robot to measure and feedback its position to the system controller 101. Therefore, by use of previously collected 3-dimensional coordinate system measurements of each transfer position, using the GPS sensor or other device, the system controller can correct errors in the blade position by adjusting the position of the various robot parts. The robot parts are positioned by use of conventional control means which may include encoders and other devices feedback type device used to control the robot's position.
In one embodiment, real-time positional feedback of the blade position can be accomplished by the communication of the global positioning device 1300 which is in communication with a RF transmitter 1302 mounted near the robot blade, that is in communication with an RF receiver 1303 that communicates with the system controller 101. The feedback of the global positioning device 1300 allows the actual position of the robot blade to be compared to the commanded position eliminating positional drifting and failures due to undetected hardware failures,
In one embodiment, the system controller 101 uses the GPS system and the SPEDAC system 1200 (described above) to correct the robot positional placement and also the substrate to robot blade misalignment errors. This embodiment thus can be used to correct for substrate placement errors or movement of the substrate relative to the robot blade.
While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/254,784, filed Oct. 20, 2008, that is now U.S. Pat No. 8,215,262, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/458,664, filed Jul. 19, 2006, that is now U.S. Pat. No. 7,694,647 which is a continuation of Ser. No. 11/112,281 filed Apr. 22, 2005, that is now U.S. Pat. No. 7,357,842, which claims benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/639,109 filed Dec. 22, 2004, which are all herein incorporated by reference.
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