JP4053721B2 - Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and method for controlling semiconductor manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus such as a multi-chamber apparatus or a cluster apparatus, and more particularly to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus control method for controlling an internal control system that optimizes processing parameters for each wafer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a control module 11 that controls a series of controls related to the inside of the apparatus, and various modules 12, 13, and 14 operate based on the control of the control module 11.
[0003]
First, the control module 11 includes a process module 12 for performing processing such as film formation and CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) on the semiconductor device, a measurement module 13 for performing various measurements of the semiconductor device before and after processing, and a semiconductor device in the middle of processing. A transfer module 14 for loading and unloading the wafer and transferring the wafer between the process module 12 and the measurement module 13 are connected by controllable communication means. A plurality of process modules 12, measurement modules 13, and transfer modules 14 are connected as necessary in order to realize the desired processing desired by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 10.
[0004]
On the other hand, in the control module 11, a recipe management device 15 for setting and holding a series of operation procedures (recipes) in the process module 12, the measurement module 13, and the transfer module 14 in order to realize desired processing is similar communication. When connected by means and processing, an operation procedure (recipe) is read from the recipe management device 15 as appropriate.
[0005]
The history storage device 16 holds the results of processing and measurement performed by the process module 12 and the measurement module 13 based on the operation procedure. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 10 is connected to an externally connected apparatus controller 19 via a communication means in order to receive a processing start instruction and processing parameters to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 10 via the input / output interface 18. Has been.
[0006]
The control module 11 sets a fixed numerical value received by the input / output interface 18 via the device controller 19 as a processing parameter value in the recipe read from the recipe management device 15 and creates a recipe to be used. By controlling the process module 12, the measurement module 13, and the transfer module 14, the semiconductor device on the wafer is processed and measured.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in recent years, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 10 such as a cluster apparatus has conventionally had only a single function of processing something on the surface of a wafer. An inspection function (measuring function) to be measured is combined with the machining process function.
[0008]
In the case of using this apparatus, conventionally, since there was a separate inspection apparatus, the processing results that could only be inspected in lot units, for example, can be inspected by measuring the processing results in wafer units. Yes.
[0009]
Although it has been conventionally performed to feed back the inspection result to the machining process and optimize the machining parameter, since this is a fixed numerical value, the same machining and measurement are performed as in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 10 as it is. The measured values obtained by continuous execution under control could not be used to optimize the processing of individual wafers.
[0010]
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described conventional problems, and its purpose is to obtain an optimum value for wafer processing by measuring values obtained by continuously executing processing and measurement under the same control. It is to provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and a method for controlling the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that can improve the processing accuracy and improve the quality of the product by utilizing the process.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a feature of the present invention is a semiconductor manufacturing system comprising a measuring means for measuring a processing result in addition to a processing means for processing a semiconductor device on a wafer, and a series of operation procedures. While processing the semiconductor device on the wafer by the processing means, and having a function of measuring the processing result by the measuring means, when processing the semiconductor device on the wafer, set the processing parameter value, The processing means includes a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that processes the semiconductor device on the wafer using the processing parameter value, and an apparatus controller that transmits an arithmetic expression including an internal variable to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus via the communication means. , input to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, for inputting an arithmetic expression including the internal variable that is transmitted from the device controller via the communication means to the semiconductor manufacturing device Means, holding means for holding an arithmetic expression inputted by the input means, and calculating the entire arithmetic expression by substituting at least a measurement value by the measuring means for an internal variable of the arithmetic expression. And calculating means for calculating.
[0012]
According to another aspect of the present invention, in addition to processing means for processing a semiconductor device on a wafer, measurement means for measuring a processing result is provided, and the semiconductor device on the wafer is processed by the processing means in a series of operation procedures. And having a function of measuring a processing result by the measuring unit, and when processing the semiconductor device on the wafer, a processing parameter value is set, and the processing unit uses the processing parameter value to set the processing parameter value on the wafer. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for processing the semiconductor device, wherein the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus inputs an arithmetic expression including an internal variable transmitted from a device controller via a communication unit, and is input by the input unit Holding means for holding an arithmetic expression, and calculating the entire arithmetic expression by substituting at least a measurement value by the measuring means into an internal variable of the arithmetic expression It is to comprise a calculating means for calculating a factory parameter value.
[0016]
According to the present invention, as a processing parameter to be transmitted when processing a semiconductor device, not a fixed numerical value conventionally used, but an arithmetic expression is transmitted, and a specific processing parameter is calculated from the arithmetic expression, This is set as a recipe and the semiconductor device is processed.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration according to an embodiment of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of the present invention. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 includes a control module 1 that controls a series of controls related to the inside of the apparatus, a process module 2 for processing a semiconductor device on the wafer, a measurement module 3 that performs various measurements on the semiconductor device on the wafer before and after processing, and A series of operation procedures (recipes) in the transfer module 4, the process module 2, the measurement module 3, and the transfer module 4 for loading and unloading a wafer loaded with a semiconductor device being processed and transferring the wafer between the process module 2 and the measurement module 3 Recipe management device 5 for setting and holding, processing performed by the process module 2 and measurement module 3 based on the operation procedure, history storage device 6 for holding measurement results, analyzing arithmetic expressions designated as processing parameters, Arithmetic calculation device that calculates specific numerical values according to this arithmetic expression Has the input and output interface 8 to be connected via the communication means to the device controller 9 connected to the outside of the semiconductor manufacturing device 100 to transmit a processing start instruction and processing parameters with respect to the semiconductor manufacturing device. A plurality of process modules 2, measurement modules 3, and transfer modules 4 are connected as necessary in order to realize the desired processing desired by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100.
[0018]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the arithmetic calculation device 7 described above. First, the arithmetic calculation device 7 receives the machining parameter to be calculated, which is received by the control module 1 via the device controller 9 (step 80), and determines whether the machining parameter is a conventional fixed value or an arithmetic equation unique to the present invention. Is investigated (step 81). If the machining parameter is an arithmetic expression, an internal variable (internal variable character string) specific to the device included in the arithmetic expression is extracted (step 82). If the internal variable is included, the corresponding numerical value is extracted. Is acquired from the history storage device 6, the process module 2, the measurement module 3, the transfer module 4, or the recipe management device 5 (step 83). The acquired numerical value is replaced with the corresponding internal variable of the arithmetic expression (step 84), and the entire arithmetic expression is calculated (step 85). The fixed numerical value obtained by the calculation replaces the machining parameter arithmetic expression itself (step 86).
[0019]
Next, the schematic operation of this embodiment will be described. The designation information of the recipe to be used and the arithmetic expression instead of the fixed numerical value are transmitted to the control module 1 via the input / output interface 8 from the process controller (not shown) via the apparatus controller 9.
[0020]
Since the processing conditions and operation procedures (recipes) of various machining processes are held in the recipe management device 5, the control module 1 reads out the recipe corresponding to the transmitted designation information, and displays the transmitted arithmetic expression. The result is sent to the arithmetic calculator 7.
[0021]
The arithmetic formula calculation device 7 calculates a parameter value by substituting, for example, a value held in the history recording device 6 into the input arithmetic formula, and sends it to the control module 1. Here, when the value is not held in the history recording device 6, the parameter value cannot be calculated using an arithmetic expression. Therefore, the default value is sent via the device controller 9, and this default value is used.
[0022]
The control module 1 overwrites the read recipe parameters with the parameter values and creates a recipe to be used. Then, the control module 1 controls the transfer module 4, the process module 2 and the measurement module 3 in accordance with the recipe to process and process wafers. Control the measurement operation.
[0023]
The process module 2 processes the wafer according to the control of the control module 1, the measurement module 3 measures the wafer processed by the process module 2 according to the control of the control module 1, and the transfer module 4 controls the control module 1. Then, the wafer is transferred to a necessary place. The history recording device 6 records the operation and process of the process module 2 and the measurement result of the measurement module 3.
[0024]
FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating Example 1 of the present invention. In this example, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 continuously processes three processes, a CMP process, a measurement process, and a film formation process.
[0025]
First, in the CMP process, a fixed numerical value of 123 seconds is used for the processing time that is a processing parameter, and processing is performed to flatten the wafer surface in the fixed time (step 20). At this time, in the CMP process, the film thickness after processing does not become constant even if the processing time is fixed due to the concentration of the abrasive liquid used during processing, deterioration of the cloth soaked with the abrasive liquid, and the like.
[0026]
When the CMP process (using the first module) is completed, the film thickness after the previous process is measured (using the second module) in the next measurement (inspection) process (step 21). In the inspection process, the remaining film thickness after processing is measured and the measured value is stored.
[0027]
Finally, a film having an appropriate film thickness is formed on the wafer surface after planarization by the film forming process (using the third module) (step 22). Here, the measurement result of the measurement process is effectively used by using an arithmetic expression as the machining parameter. The first and third modules indicate the type of the process module 2 in FIG. 1, and the second module indicates the type of the measurement module 3 in FIG.
[0028]
There are three types of parameters in the arithmetic formula used in this example: final film thickness value (1000 nm), processing rate (234.5 nm / sec), and measured residual film thickness (lnsp (ThisWafer)) However, when the film thickness of the remaining film after processing by the CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) process is not stable, the measurement value of the measurement process may be used for the film thickness of the remaining film.
[0029]
When the internal variable indicating the measurement value of the measurement process is lnsp (ThisWafer) in this example, the processing time in film formation is “processing time = (final film thickness value−film thickness of remaining film) / processing rate”. The processing parameter set in the apparatus is “(1000-lnsp (ThisWafer) /234.5”.
[0030]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. First, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 receives the processing parameters before processing (step 30), and starts the processing process after the processing parameters are correctly received (step 31). After starting the apparatus, the wafer is first loaded into the first module using the CMP process, and the processing parameters are read (step 33). In this example, the machining parameter is a fixed numerical value 123. Subsequently, processing based on the processing parameter is performed in the first module (step 34), and the processing result is written in the history storage device 6 after processing (step 35).
[0031]
When the processing in the first module is completed, the wafer is then loaded into the second module (step 36), the processing parameters for the measurement process (setting information related to the measurement) are read (step 37), and the measurement is performed (step 38). . When the measurement is completed, the measured value obtained is written in the history management device 6 (step 39).
[0032]
When the measurement in the second module is completed, a wafer is loaded on the third module (step 40), processing parameters are read (step 41), and calculation is performed (step 42). Since the third module uses an arithmetic expression as a machining parameter, the machining parameter is calculated by the following procedure.
[0033]
First, when a parameter described by an arithmetic expression is specified, an internal variable used in the arithmetic expression is searched, and data inside the device indicated by the internal variable is acquired (step 43).
[0034]
In this example, since the character string “lnsp (ThisWafer)” indicating the measurement result measured in the previous process is designated for the wafer that is currently being processed, the corresponding value is acquired from the history storage device 6. When acquisition of all internal variables is completed, numerical calculation is performed based on an arithmetic expression (step 44). The machining parameter value obtained by the calculation is replaced with an arithmetic expression to complete the machining parameter calculation (step 45).
[0035]
When the calculation of the processing parameters is completed, processing is performed with the third module (step 46), and the processing result is written in the history storage device 6 after processing (step 47). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the process has been performed up to the last wafer (step 48). If there is still a remaining wafer, the process returns to step 32. finish. This completes the processing for the unit wafer.
[0036]
In the first embodiment, the case where the CMP process, the measurement process, and the film forming process are all performed by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 has been described. However, the CMP process is performed by another semiconductor manufacturing apparatus (CMP apparatus). The measurement process and the film formation process may be performed by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. In this case, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 performs a measurement process and a film formation process, but calculates a parameter value by an arithmetic expression and performs the same operation.
[0037]
FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory diagram for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is an example in which the first embodiment is further expanded and the past processing result is included in the arithmetic expression. In this example, it is assumed that a series of processing procedures described below has been performed once or more in advance.
[0038]
First, the initial film thickness of the wafer is measured by a measurement process (step 50), and the wafer surface is processed by a processing process (step 51). Since the calculation of the processing time used for processing is as close as possible to the final remaining film thickness (500 nm), the arithmetic expression is expressed as “processing time = (initial film thickness of this wafer−final remaining film thickness). ) / ((Initial film thickness of the previous wafer−remaining film thickness of the previous wafer) / processing time of the previous wafer) ”(step 52). When the processing is completed, in order to measure the remaining film thickness after processing, the same measurement as the measurement of the initial film thickness is performed (step 53). The measurement result of the remaining film thickness is used to calculate the processing time of the wafer to be processed next.
[0039]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the second embodiment shown in FIG. First, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 receives the processing parameters before processing (step 60), and starts the processing process after correctly receiving the processing parameters (step 61).
[0040]
In order to measure the initial film thickness, a wafer is loaded into the second module, which is the measurement module 3 (step 62), and after setting information (parameters) relating to measurement is read (step 63), the measurement is performed (step 64). ). When the measurement is completed, the measurement result (processed value) is written in the history recording device 6 (step 65).
[0041]
Subsequently, a wafer is loaded on the first module, which is a processing module (step 66), and processing parameters are read (step 67). Here, since an arithmetic expression is used as the processing parameter, as in the first embodiment, the internal variable numerical value acquisition (step 69), the arithmetic expression calculation (step 70), the replacement from the arithmetic expression to the calculation result, that is, The parameter is corrected (step 71), and the first module performs processing using the calculated value (step 72). When the processing is completed, the processing result (processing time and the like in this example) is written in the history recording device 6 (step 73).
[0042]
Finally, in order to measure the remaining film, the wafer is loaded again into the second module, which is the measurement module (step 74), the set values (parameters) necessary for the measurement are read (step 75), and the measurement is performed (step 76). ). After the measurement is completed, the measurement result is output to the history storage device 6 (step 77). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the process has been performed up to the last wafer (step 78). If there is any remaining wafer, the process returns to step 62. If all the wafers have been processed, an end notification is transmitted to the apparatus controller 9 (step 79). finish.
[0043]
According to the present embodiment, an arithmetic expression including an internal variable received via the apparatus controller 9 is sent to the arithmetic expression calculation apparatus 7, and the arithmetic expression calculation apparatus 7 reads out a corresponding value held in the history recording apparatus 6. Since the machining parameter value is obtained by substituting into the internal variable and calculating the entire arithmetic expression, the control module 1 uses the machining parameter value to set and use the value of the corresponding machining parameter in the recipe. In order to create a recipe, the measurement result for each wafer by the measurement module 3 can be immediately reflected in the recipe to process the wafer. As a result, it is possible to cope with slight fluctuations in the processing performance of the apparatus, and it is possible to accurately process wafers according to specifications in units of wafers. As a result, a high-quality semiconductor device can be manufactured, and the yield of products can be improved.
[0044]
In addition, the control module 1 of the said embodiment can also receive the fixed value as usual, can set this fixed value to a recipe, and can also create the recipe to be used.
[0045]
In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various other forms in specific configurations, functions, operations, and effects without departing from the gist thereof.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, measurement values obtained by continuously executing processing and measurement under the same control are utilized for optimization of wafer processing, thereby improving processing accuracy. , Product quality can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration according to an embodiment of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the arithmetic expression device shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating Example 1 of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating Example 2 of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control module 2 Process module 3 Measurement module 4 Transport module 5 Recipe management apparatus 6 History recording apparatus 7 Arithmetic calculation apparatus 8 Input / output interface 9 Apparatus controller 100 Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus

Claims (5)

A semiconductor manufacturing system, comprising processing means for measuring a processing result in addition to processing means for processing a semiconductor device on a wafer, and processing the semiconductor device on the wafer by the processing means in a series of operation procedures And a function of measuring a processing result by the measuring unit, and when processing the semiconductor device on the wafer, a processing parameter value is set, and the processing unit uses the processing parameter value to set the processing parameter value on the wafer. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for processing a semiconductor device ;
An apparatus controller for transmitting an arithmetic expression including an internal variable to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus via communication means;
The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is
Input means for inputting an arithmetic expression including the internal variable transmitted from the apparatus controller via the communication means to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus ;
Holding means for holding an arithmetic expression input by the input means;
An arithmetic means for calculating the processing parameter value by substituting at least a measurement value by the measurement means into an internal variable of the arithmetic expression and calculating the entire arithmetic expression;
A semiconductor manufacturing system comprising: The holding means also holds a fixed numerical value inputted from the outside by the input means in addition to the arithmetic expression,
In addition to the measured value, the arithmetic means is an internal variable of the arithmetic expression, the fixed numerical value, various values obtained by the processing means, or a part or all of pre-registered processing parameter values. The semiconductor manufacturing system according to claim 1, wherein the processing parameter value is calculated by substituting The semiconductor device on the wafer is previously measured by the measuring unit, and the arithmetic unit substitutes the obtained measurement value into an internal variable of the arithmetic equation to calculate the processing parameter value by calculating the entire arithmetic equation. 3. The semiconductor manufacturing system according to claim 1, wherein the processing means performs processing on the semiconductor device on the wafer using the calculated processing parameter value. After processing the semiconductor device on the wafer by the processing unit, the processing unit measures the processing result, and the arithmetic unit substitutes the obtained measurement value into an internal variable of the arithmetic expression. The processing parameter value is calculated by calculating the entire formula, and the processing means performs the same processing as the processing on the semiconductor device on the next wafer using the calculated processing parameter value. The semiconductor manufacturing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: In addition to the processing means for processing the semiconductor device on the wafer, a measuring means for measuring the processing result is provided, the semiconductor device on the wafer is processed by the processing means in a series of operation procedures, and the processing result by the measuring means A processing parameter value is set when processing the semiconductor device on the wafer, and the processing means uses the processing parameter value to process the semiconductor device on the wafer. Manufacturing equipment,
  Input means for inputting an arithmetic expression including an internal variable transmitted from a device controller to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus via a communication means;
  Holding means for holding an arithmetic expression input by the input means;
  Calculation means for calculating the machining parameter value by substituting at least a measurement value by the measurement means into an internal variable of the arithmetic expression and calculating the entire arithmetic expression;
  A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus comprising:

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