This U.S. non-provisional patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from, and the benefit of, Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0061014, filed on May 18, 2016 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a method of controlling a substrate processing system, and in particular, to methods of evaluating a process of fabricating a semiconductor device and method of controlling a substrate processing system using the same.
A semiconductor device can be fabricated using a fabrication system with various sensors. The sensors provide various measurement data to a control unit. In general, based on the measurement data obtained by each of the sensors, the control unit can monitor the system used to fabricate the semiconductor device. Some of the measurement data is meaningful, but most of the data is meaningless.
Trend management is a method of interpreting data obtained from sensors. Trend management is performed based on a mean value of measurement data obtained by a sensor in a stabilized state. This method suffers from the following technical issues.
First, in the control unit, the same single standard is used to interpret measurement data obtained from all sensors. Intrinsic sensor characteristics are not considered in a process of interpreting the data. For example, although intrinsic characteristics of an open-loop control sensor and a closed-loop control sensor are different, data obtained by them are interpreted based on the same standard.
Second, in a semiconductor fabrication process, there is a transition period during which the sensors are not yet stabilized. Most of the measurement data obtained during the transition period are disused. For example, the control unit may discard measurement data obtained by a temperature sensor during a temperature-increasing period, when the fabrication system is controlled by the control unit.
Third, a measurement value obtained by a sensor may vary over time. For a normal sensor, it is challenging to apply such temporal variations to prepare the standard for a management.
The discarded measurement data does not represent variations in a process/system for fabricating a semiconductor device, and is not used in a prediction process based on correlation analyses between sensor measurement values and final products.
Exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept provide a process evaluation method that can compare measurement values of sensors with each other and a method of controlling a substrate processing system using the process evaluation method.
According to exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept, a method of evaluating a process includes obtaining a measurement value from a sensor of a substrate processing system during a semiconductor fabrication process and a predetermined reference value for the sensor, calculating a measurement difference value between the reference value and the measurement value, calculating a reference mean difference values between a maximum reference value for the sensor, which is greater than the reference value, and a minimum reference value for the sensor, which is less than the reference value, and dividing the measurement difference value by the reference mean difference value to obtain a score value for sensors. The score value is evaluated to determine whether to terminate the process
According to exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept, a method of controlling a substrate processing system includes performing a fabrication process on a substrate, obtaining monitoring data on the fabrication process, and evaluating the fabrication process using the monitoring data. Evaluating the fabrication process includes obtaining a measurement value from each of a plurality of sensors and predetermined reference values for each sensor, calculating a measurement difference value between the reference value and the measurement value for each sensor, calculating for each sensor a reference mean difference value between a maximum reference value for each sensor, which is greater than the reference value for each sensor, and a minimum reference value for each sensor, which is less than the reference value, and dividing for each sensor the measurement difference value by the reference mean difference value to obtain a score value for each sensor.
According to exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept, a method of evaluating a process includes obtaining a measurement value from each of a plurality of sensors and a predetermined reference value for each sensor, calculating a measurement difference value between the reference value and the measurement value for each sensor, calculating, for each sensor, a reference mean difference value between a maximum reference value for each sensor, which is greater than the reference value, and a minimum reference value for each sensor, which is less than the reference value, dividing, for each sensor, the measurement difference value by the reference mean difference value to obtain a score value for each sensor, comparing the generalized measurement values to each other to determine a ranking of the generalized measurement values, and displaying the score values in accordance with the rankings of the generalized measurement values.
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According to embodiments, chamber 10 provides an isolated space for performing a fabrication process on a substrate W. In exemplary embodiments, the chamber 10 includes an electrostatic chuck 12, a shower head 14, and a plasma electrode 16. The electrostatic chuck 12 is disposed at a lower region of the chamber 10. The substrate W is loaded on the electrostatic chuck 12. The shower head 14 is disposed at an upper region of the chamber 10. The shower head 14 can supply a reaction gas 15 onto the substrate W. The plasma electrode 16 is disposed in the shower head 14. The plasma electrode 16 can apply RE power to the reaction gas 15 in the chamber 10. The RF power can generate a plasma 18 from the reaction gas 15.
According to embodiments, the reaction gas supply unit 20 is connected to the shower head 14. The reaction gas supply unit 20 supplies the reaction gas 15 to the shower head 14. The reaction gas 15 contains a deposition gas or an etching gas. In exemplary embodiments, the reaction gas contains at least one of silane, hydrofluoric acid, carbonic acid, methane, chlorine, carbon tetrafluoride, or sulfuric acid.
According to embodiments, the RF power supply unit 30 is connected to the plasma electrode 16. The RF power supply unit 30 can apply RF power to the plasma electrode 16. The RF power is in a range of several kilowatts to several thousand kilowatts and a has frequency of several megahertz to several hundred megahertz.
According to embodiments, the control unit 40 controls the reaction gas supply unit 20 and the RF power supply unit 30. In exemplary embodiments, the control unit 40 includes a fault detection and classification (FDC) system. The control unit 40 is connected to the first to third sensors 42, 44, and 46. The control unit 40 uses sensing signals received from the first to third sensors 42, 44, and 46 to monitor a physical state of the chamber 10. In addition, the control unit 40 can evaluate a fabrication process being performed on the substrate W.
According to embodiments, the first to third sensors 42, 44, and 46 can be disposed in the chamber 10. Alternatively, the first to third sensors 42, 44, and 46 can be disposed outside the chamber 10. For example, the first sensor 42 can be an RF power sensor provided on a line 32 between the chamber 10 and the RF power supply unit 30. The second sensor 44 can be a vacuum sensor disposed in the chamber 10. The third sensor 46 can be a temperature sensor disposed in the chamber 10. The control unit 40 uses the sensing signals received from the first to third sensors 42, 44, and 46, respectively, to obtain information on the RF power, pressure, and temperature.
According to embodiments, the display unit 50 is connected to the control unit 40. The display unit 50 can display information on the RE power, pressure, and temperature. In addition, the display unit 50 can display a result of the evaluation.
The following are examples of methods of controlling the substrate processing system 100.
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In detail, according to embodiments, the control unit 40 controls the reaction gas supply unit 20 and the RF power supply unit 30 to perform a fabrication process on a substrate W disposed in the chamber 10 (in S10).
Thereafter, according to embodiments, the control unit 40 receives first to third sensing signals from the first to third sensors 42, 44, and 46, and generates monitoring data on the substrate processing system 100 (step S20). The monitoring data contains measurement values. The control unit 40 can import reference values from a database.
Next, according to embodiments, based on the monitoring data, the control unit 40 evaluates the fabrication process, which is being performed on the substrate W (step S30). For example, the control unit 40 can compare the measurement values with the reference values to evaluate the fabrication process being performed by the substrate processing system on the substrate W.
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Next, according to embodiments, the control unit 40 obtains differences, hereinafter referred to as measurement difference values, between the measurement values and the reference values (step S32). In other words, the measurement difference values are given by a difference between the reference values and the measurement values. For example, the control unit 40 can calculate first to third measurement difference values d1, d2, and d3, each of which is given by a difference between a corresponding pair of the first to third measurement values C1, C2, and C3 and the first to third reference values R1, R2, and R3. The first to third measurement difference values d1, d2, and d3 can be calculated at a predetermined process time. An exemplary, non-limiting predetermined process time is about 45 seconds, however, embodiments are not limited thereto. The first measurement difference value d1 is a difference between the first reference value R1 and the first measurement value C1. The second measurement difference value d2 is a difference between the second reference value R2 and the second measurement value C2. The third measurement difference value d3 is a difference between the third reference value R3 and the third measurement value C3.
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Next, according to embodiments, the control unit 40 compares the score values with predetermined reference score value Sm (step S35). The reference score value Sm can be statistically determined, based on a standard deviation, such as 3σ, of the process. Alternatively, the reference score value Sm may he predetermined. For example, the reference score value Sm may be 3. Each of the first to third score values S1, S2, and S3 is individually compared with the reference score value Sm.
According to embodiments, if at least one of the score values is greater than the reference score value Sm, the control unit 40 generates an interlock control signal (step S36). For example, the third score value S3 can be greater than the reference score value Sm. In this case, the control unit 40 causes the display unit 50 to display check items associated with the temperature of the chamber 10. In addition, the display unit 50 displays that the RF power and the vacuum is in a normal state.
According to embodiments, if all of the score values are less than the reference score value Sm, the control unit 40 outputs the score values to the display unit 50 (step S37). The first to third score values S1, S2, and S3 are provided to the display unit 50.
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Furthermore, according to embodiments, the control unit 40 compares the first to third score values S1, S2, and S3 with each other to determine the rankings of the generalized measurement values. The display unit 50 displays the first to third score values S1, S2, and S3, in accordance with the rankings of the generalized measurement values, at a predetermined process time. An exemplary, non-limiting predetermined process time is about 45 seconds, however, embodiments are not limited thereto. The displayed first to third score values S1, S2, and S3 are check items associated with the first to third sensors 42, 44, and 46. For example, check items associated with the temperature may be displayed as the highest ranking issue. Check items associated with the vacuum level may be displayed as an intermediate ranking issue. Check items associated with the RF power may be displayed as the lowest ranking issue. This can improve the reliability of a process of fabricating a semiconductor device.
Next, according to embodiments, the control unit 40 determines whether to terminate the fabrication process (step S50). If there is no need to terminate the fabrication process, the afore-described steps S10 to S40 are performed again under the control of the control unit 40.
If it is necessary to terminate the fabrication process, the control of the substrate processing system 100 ends.
The evaluation step S30 according to exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept can be performed during a process time interval,
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According to embodiments, the fourth measurement value C4 includes first to n-th unit measurement values c1-cn. The first to n-th unit measurement values c1-cn are obtained during the first process time interval T1.
According to embodiments, the fourth reference value R4 includes first to n-th unit reference values e1-en. The first to n-th unit reference values e1-en are obtained during the first process time interval T1.
Next, according to embodiments, the control unit 40 obtains a measurement difference value for one of the sensors for the process time interval (step S32). For example, the control unit 40 obtains a fourth measurement difference value d4 for the first process time interval T1. The fourth measurement difference value d4 is obtained by dividing the sum of absolute values, i.e., |c1-ei|, of differences between the first to n-th unit measurement values c1-cn and the respective first to n-th unit reference values ej-en by the measurement number n. In the graph of
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Next, according to embodiments, the control unit 40 compares the score value for the process time interval with a predetermined reference score value Sm (step S35). For example, the control unit 40 compares the fourth score value S4 with the reference score value Sm.
If the fourth score value S4 is greater than the reference score value Sm, the control unit 40 outputs an interlock control signal (step S36).
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If the fourth score value S4 is less than the reference score value Sm, the control unit 40 outputs the fourth score value S4 to the display unit 50 (in S37).
According to exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept, a process evaluation method includes dividing measurement difference values, which are given by differences between measurement values and reference values, by reference mean difference values to calculate score values of measurement values of sensors. The score values are generalized values of the measurement values. The generalized measurement values are compared with each other.
While exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts have been particularly shown and described, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that variations in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the attached claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2016-0061014 | May 2016 | KR | national |