This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application P2002-287944 filed on Sep. 30, 2002; the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to prediction and diagnostic techniques regarding the life of a rotary machine used in a manufacturing apparatus. In particular, it relates to a method for predicting the life span of a rotary machine such as a dry pump and a manufacturing apparatus including the rotary machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Failure diagnosis has become important to ensure efficient semiconductor device manufacturing. In recent years, especially as the trend towards many item/small volume production of system LSI grows, an efficient yet highly adaptable semiconductor device manufacturing method has become necessary. It is possible to use a small-scale production line for efficient production of semiconductors. However, if the large-scale production line is merely shortened, investment efficiency may be reduced because of problems such as a drop in manufacturing apparatus capacity utilization. To rectify this situation, there is a method whereby a plurality of manufacturing processes are performed by one piece of manufacturing apparatus. For example, in LPCVD apparatus using a dry pump for the evacuation system, reactive gases and reaction products differ and formation situations for the reaction products within the dry pump differ depending on the type of manufacturing processes. Therefore, the manufacturing process affects the life of the dry pump.
If the dry pump should have a failure during a specific manufacturing process, then the lot being processed becomes defective. Moreover, excessive maintenance of the manufacturing apparatus may become necessary due to microscopic dust caused by residual reactive gases within the manufacturing apparatus. Implementation of such excessive maintenance causes the manufacturing efficiency of the semiconductor device to drop dramatically. If regular maintenance is scheduled with a margin of safety in order to prevent such sudden failures during the manufacturing process, the frequency of maintenance work on the dry pump may become astronomical. Not only does this increase maintenance costs, but also the decrease in capacity utilization of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is conspicuous due to changing the dry pump, causing the manufacturing efficiency of the semiconductor device to decline sharply. In order to use the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in common for a plurality of processes, as is necessary for an efficient small-scale production line, it is desirable to accurately diagnose vacuum pump life and to operate the dry pump without having any waste in terms of time.
Previously, some methods of diagnosing dry pump life have been proposed. Basically, a state of the dry pump may be monitored by characteristics such as the motor current, vibration, and temperature, and methods have been provided to predict life from changes in these characteristics (refer to Japanese Patent Application P2000-283056). In particular, dry pump life diagnosis methods have been proposed whereby deviation from a reference value for a plurality of characteristics is analyzed using neural networks (refer to Japanese Patent Application P2000-64964).
In the case of performing life prediction with transitions in a motor current of the dry pump, sensitive, accurate and stable life prediction is difficult because of variations in process conditions such as gas flow, or power supply.
A first aspect of the present invention inheres in a method for predicting life of a rotary machine used in a manufacturing apparatus, includes: determining a starting time of an abnormal condition just before a failure of a monitor rotary machine used in a monitor manufacturing process, from monitor time-series data for characteristics of the monitor rotary machine, statistically analyzing the monitor time-series data, and finding a value for the characteristics at the starting time of the abnormal condition as a threshold of the abnormal condition; measuring diagnosis time-series data for the characteristic of a motor current of a diagnosis rotary machine during a manufacturing process; preparing diagnosis data from the diagnosis time-series; and determining a time for the diagnosis data exceeding the threshold as the life of the diagnosis rotary machine.
A second aspect of the present invention inheres in a manufacturing apparatus using a rotary machine, includes: a diagnosis rotary machine performing a manufacturing process; a measurement unit configured to measure diagnosis time-series data for characteristics of a motor current of the diagnosis rotary machine during the manufacturing process; and a data processing unit configured to prepare diagnosis data from the diagnosis time-series data, and determine a time for the diagnosis data exceeding the threshold found statistically from a monitor time-series data for characteristics of a monitor rotary machine, as a life of the diagnosis rotary machine.
Various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be noted that the same or similar reference numerals are applied to the same or similar parts and elements throughout the drawings, and the description of the same or similar parts and elements will be omitted or simplified.
A low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) apparatus as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in
The life prediction system 39 includes a measurement unit 6 measuring a variety of characteristics of the dry pump 3, and a data processing unit 7 configured to predict the life of the dry pump 3 by generating time-series data for the characteristics as diagnosis data.
Furthermore, the measurement unit 6 includes an ammeter 61, a voltmeter 62, and a wattmeter 63 to measure a motor current, a motor voltage, and a motor power of the dry pump 3, respectively, and a vibration gauge 64 measuring vibrations and a thermometer 65 monitoring temperature, both of which are attached to the body of the dry pump 3. In the embodiment of the present invention, the life span of the dry pump 3 is diagnosed and predicted mainly by measuring transitions in the motor current of the dry pump 3. The motor current measured by the ammeter 61 is converted into a small signal by the measurement unit 6, and then output to the data processing unit 7. In the data processing unit 7, life diagnosis is performed by subjecting the small signal to analog-to-digital conversion and generating time-series data for the characteristics of the motor current as diagnosis data.
In the LPCVD apparatus, gas pipings 51, 52, and 53 are connected to a CVD chamber 1. These gas pipings 51, 52, and 53 are connected to mass flow controllers 41, 42, and 43, respectively, which control various source gases and carrier gas introduced into the CVD chamber 1. More specifically, source gases and the like having their flow controlled by mass flow controllers 41, 42, and 43 are introduced into the CVD chamber 1 under fixed low-pressure conditions via gas pipings 51, 52, and 53. The CVD chamber 1 has an air-tight structure capable of shutting out outside air and maintaining an atmosphere. In order to evacuate the CVD chamber 1 using a dry pump 3, vacuum piping 32 is connected to the exhaust side of the CVD chamber 1, and a gate valve 2 is connected to the exhaust side of the vacuum piping 32. Another vacuum piping 33 is further connected to the exhaust side of the gate valve 2. The intake side of the dry pump 3 is connected to the exhaust side of the vacuum piping 33. The gate valve 2 may be a valve for either separating the CVD chamber 1 and dry pump 3 or for adjusting exhaust conductance, as circumstances require. In addition, the dry pump 3 is used for evacuating non-reactant source gases and reaction products introduced into the CVD chamber 1.
For example, in the case of depositing a silicon nitride film (Si3N4 film) using the LPCVD apparatus shown in
As shown in
The rotors 10a and 10b are rotated by a motor. When using the rotors 10a and 10b in a state where the reaction by-product is generated inside the dry pump 3, if the accumulated amount of the reaction by-product exceeds a certain limit, the reaction by-product rubs between the rotors 10a and 10b, or between the rotors 10a, 10b and an inner wall of the body 13, the rotors 10a, 10b finally fail. Even when the accumulated amount of the reaction by-product is not enough to cause failure of the rotors 10a, 10b, motor current increases since the motor load is increased. The more the accumulated amount of the reaction by-product inside the dry pump 3 increases, the larger the increment in motor current becomes. Regarding the transitions in motor current after the accumulation of the reaction by-product, as shown in
The increment of the motor current during the film deposition step develops after a certain length of time depending on film deposition conditions such as gas species, gas flow rates, or deposition temperature. Resulting from the measured transitions in motor current of the dry pump 3 under the film deposition conditions of, for example, Si2Cl6 gas: 50 sccm, NH3 gas: 1000 sccm, and deposition temperature: 650° C., as shown in
The characteristics of motor current that can be used for the life prediction include a maximum current in the increment, a total value of the increment, a number of the current peaks and the like during the film deposition step. Since the transitions in an occurrence frequency of the current peaks differs according to peak heights, the current peaks are categorized into “large peaks” and “small peaks” on the basis of a fixed value, for use as life diagnosis data. Furthermore, the motor current is affected by variation in power supply. In order to remove an effect of variation in power supply, the motor voltage and the motor power are measured in parallel with the motor current by the voltmeter 62 and the wattmeter 63, respectively. The variation in the motor current, which is synchronous with the variation in voltage or power, is eliminated as an effect of the variation in the power supply.
A method to determine the thresholds used as the determination reference is important in the life diagnosis of the dry pump 3. Values at the time point where the variation in the motor current becomes large are usually used as the thresholds. In the data shown in
In addition to the above method of deciding the threshold from the variation in the motor current, it is possible to decide the threshold by setting a fixed period of time before the failure of the dry pump 3 due to the blockage of the reaction by-product as the abnormal condition, and the period before that as in the normal condition. Using a statistical method, the values of the characteristics at the boundary between the abnormal condition and normal condition may be found accurately. For example, in the case where the characteristics of the motor current change greatly before the failure of the dry pump 3, by making the period after this change to be the abnormal condition, and setting the boundary with the normal condition, accuracy may be further improved. The threshold for the characteristics at the boundary between the normal condition and abnormal condition should be found by a statistical method such as a Mahalanobis distance (MD). The key to applying the MD lies in forming a reference space (Mahalanobis space). In the embodiment of the present invention, the Mahalanobis space is formed using not only the variations in the motor current as the characteristics during the LPCVD film deposition step, but also time-series data such as the voltage of the motor, the power of the motor, vibrations, and temperature of the dry pump 3. For example, the effects of variations in the film deposition conditions for evaluating the condition of the dry pump 3 may be eliminated by investigating the transition of changes in the MD during a three day period using the time-series data for the characteristics measured three days previously as “reference time-series data”.
A threshold X1 for the maximum current of the motor current during the film deposition step is found using the Mahalanobis distance. Here, the boundary between the normal condition and abnormal condition of the dry pump 3 is given as two days before the failure of the dry pump 3, which is when the increment in the motor current becomes prominent. In the same way, thresholds Y1 and Z1 for the number of small peaks and large peaks of the motor current during the film deposition step, respectively, are found using the Mahalanobis distance. In
The accumulation of the reaction by-product inside the dry pump 3 does not uniformly increase, thus the variations in the maximum current, the number of the small peaks and the number of the large peaks of the motor current occur. Consequently, accuracy in predicting the life of the dry pump 3 differs depending on the method of setting the threshold and the characteristics given as analysis targets. For example, with the number of the small peaks in
Accordingly, using the number of small peaks, an indication of abnormality may be captured by monitoring the accumulated state of the reaction by-product inside the dry pump 3, and using characteristics such as the number of large peaks, which mark the boundary between normal condition and abnormal condition clearly, the life of the dry pump 3 may be determined. Therefore, the accuracy of life span prediction is further increased. In the embodiment of the present invention, the life prediction of the dry pump 3 from two days to one week before failure becomes possible by using three kinds of characteristics as the diagnosis data, the maximum current, the number of small peaks and the number of large peaks of the motor current during the film deposition step, and finding the threshold for the abnormal condition from the MD.
Next, using the flowchart shown in
(a) To begin with, in step S101, thresholds for an abnormal condition utilized in the life prediction of the dry pump 3 in the LPCVD apparatus are set. In calculation of the thresholds, monitor time-series data of a motor current measured on a monitor dry pump (monitor rotary machine) is used. The thresholds for the abnormal condition of maximum currents, a number of small peaks and a number of large peaks in monitor film deposition steps are found using the MD.
(b) Next, in step S102, diagnosis time-series data of a motor current during a film deposition step of a diagnosis dry pump (diagnosis rotary machine) 3 is sampled and measured by the ammeter 61. The sampling interval is, for example, one second. The motor current measured by the ammeter 61 is converted into a small signal by the measurement unit 6 and output to the data processing unit 7.
(c) In step S103, in the data processing unit 7, the small signal is subjected to analog-to-digital conversion so as to prepare diagnosis data from the diagnosis time-series data for characteristics. The characteristics are maximum currents, a number of small peaks, and a number of large peaks, for example.
(d) Thereafter, in step S104, the life of the diagnosis dry pump 3 is determined by the data processing unit 7 comparing the diagnosis data with the thresholds. Measurement is repeated if all of the diagnosis data is below the thresholds. Furthermore, in the case where one or both of the number of small peaks and the maximum current exceed the thresholds, considered as an indication of abnormality, the measurement is also repeated.
(e) In the case where the diagnosis data for the number of small peaks, the maximum currents and the number of large peaks exceed the corresponding thresholds, respectively, in step S105, the life prediction system 3 then displays an indication on a display device or display panel, or with a display lamp attached to the LPCVD apparatus showing that the pump is just before failure (life).
According to the life prediction method of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of the embodiment of the present invention, the indication of abnormality and the life of the dry pump 3 can be determined with high sensitivity, stability and accuracy.
The present invention has been described as mentioned above, however the descriptions and drawings that constitute a portion of this disclosure should not be perceived as limiting this invention. Various alternative embodiments and operational techniques will become clear to persons skilled in the art from this disclosure.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the MD is used for deciding the boundary between the abnormal conditions and the normal conditions; however, similar effects may be obtained using another statistical method such as a t-test or a χ2-test or the like.
Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the analysis for predicting the life of the dry pump 3 is performed by the data processing unit 7 of the life prediction system 39 attached to the LPCVD apparatus, however, the life prediction analysis may be performed by another computer in the LPCVD apparatus. For example, it may be embedded in a controller (not shown in the figures) of the dry pump 3. Furthermore, as shown in
Furthermore, in the above description, the case where a Si3N4 film is deposited through a reaction of Si2Cl6 gas and NH3 gas is given, however, naturally, source gases are not limited to Si2Cl6 gas and NH3 gas. For example, dichlorosilane (SiH2Cl2) gas and the like may be used instead of Si2Cl6 gas.
Moreover, the example of LPCVD for Si3N4 film should not be construed as limiting; LPCVD for thin films with other materials is similarly applicable. In addition, an example where a single type of thin film is grown is shown, however, similar effects may be obtained in the case of forming a thin film having a plurality of species, such as a SiO2 film, TEOS oxide film, and polycrystalline silicon with the same LPCVD apparatus.
In addition, in the descriptions of the embodiment, a Roots-type dry pump 3 is illustrated as an example of a rotary machine, however, it has been verified that similar results may be obtained with a screw-type dry pump. Moreover, a rotary machine such as a turbo-molecular pump, a mechanical booster pump, or a rotary pump is also allowable.
It should be noted that an example of an LPCVD process is illustrated in the embodiment. In the present invention similar results have been confirmed in the case where the reaction product is deposited inside the dry pump resulting in the pump shutting down and may be applicable to CVD processes in general and also such as the dry etching process.
Various modifications will become possible for those skilled in the art after receiving the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the scope thereof.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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P2002-287944 | Sep 2002 | JP | national |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10366022 | Feb 2003 | US |
Child | 11020477 | Dec 2004 | US |