KR102260747B1 - Substrate processing apparatus, control system and method of manufacturing semiconductor device - Google Patents

Abstract

It provides a configuration to obtain the correct closing time of the pressure control valve.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a controller comprising: a controller for processing a substrate by supplying at least a source gas to a processing chamber and executing a process recipe for forming a film on the substrate; and a pressure controller configured to control an opening degree of a pressure control valve based on a pressure value detected by a pressure sensor detecting a pressure in the processing chamber, wherein the pressure controller includes a pressure value of the pressure sensor and the pressure a memory area for accumulating the opening degree data acquired from the control valve, and measuring the valve full closing time from the open state to the fully closed state of the pressure control valve during execution of the process recipe; a substrate processing apparatus configured to be held in an area, wherein the controller is configured to acquire the valve full close time held in the memory area, and to confirm whether the acquired valve full close time is within a range of a threshold value; is provided

Description

SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS, CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE

The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus, a control system, and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device.

Conventionally, a method of confirming an abnormal state of a pressure control valve includes a pressure deviation check for confirming the follow-up of a pressure monitor during pressure control, or a valve opening degree deviation check during valve opening degree control.

Under the current situation, for a film type that controls the pressure by opening and closing a pressure control valve in a short time, for example, a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer as described in Patent Document 1, the first processing gas (raw material gas) In the process of forming a film on a substrate by alternately supplying the second processing gas and the second processing gas (reactive gas), the pressure value is not controlled as a target, so the above-mentioned abnormality check according to the pressure deviation cannot be applied. . Also, it is possible to detect an abnormality by checking the deviation of the valve opening, but even if an abnormality is detected, the exact time taken from the open state to the closed state of the pressure control valve is not known.

In addition, when the closing time of the pressure control valve is recognized by the process control module via the current communication line, there is a delay time due to the communication line as in the comparative example shown in FIG. An exact closing time cannot be obtained due to a difference between the closing time and the time.

1. Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-506299 Gazette

In view of this situation, the present disclosure provides a configuration for acquiring an accurate closing time of the pressure control valve.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a controller comprising: a controller for processing a substrate by supplying at least a source gas to a processing chamber and executing a process recipe for forming a film on the substrate; and a pressure controller configured to control an opening degree of a pressure control valve based on a pressure value detected by a pressure sensor detecting a pressure in the processing chamber, wherein the pressure controller includes a pressure value of the pressure sensor and the pressure a memory area for accumulating the opening degree data acquired from the control valve, and measuring the valve full closing time from the open state to the fully closed state of the pressure control valve during execution of the process recipe, the memory a substrate processing apparatus configured to be held in an area, wherein the controller is configured to acquire the valve full close time held in the memory area, and to confirm whether the acquired valve full close time is within a range of a threshold value; is provided

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to obtain an accurate time until the pressure control valve is closed.

1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of a processing furnace used in a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.
3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an apparatus controller in the substrate processing apparatus of the present disclosure;
4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main controller in the substrate processing apparatus of the present disclosure;
5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a communication system according to a comparative example of the present disclosure;
Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of a communication system in the device controller of the present disclosure;
Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a relationship between a process recipe and a valve full closing time according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

(1) Outline of substrate processing apparatus

The substrate processing apparatus described in this embodiment is used in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, and in a state in which a substrate to be processed is accommodated in a processing chamber, the substrate is heated by a heater to perform processing.

As a substrate to be processed by the substrate processing apparatus, for example, a semiconductor wafer substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as a "wafer") on which a semiconductor integrated circuit device (semiconductor device) is manufactured can be exemplified. Further, examples of the treatment performed by the substrate processing apparatus include oxidation treatment, diffusion treatment, reflow or annealing for carrier activation or planarization after ion implantation, and film formation treatment by thermal CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) reaction.

(2) Schematic configuration of substrate processing apparatus

A configuration example of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 .

(Whole Device)

The substrate processing apparatus 10 is provided with the housing 12 in which main parts, such as the processing furnace 40, are arrange|positioned therein. A pod stage 18 is disposed on the front side of the housing 12 . On the pod stage 18 , a pod 16 as a transport container for accommodating the wafer 14 is transported and placed. The pod 16 is configured such that, for example, 25 wafers 14 are accommodated therein, and placed on the pod stage 18 with a cover (not shown) closed. That is, in the substrate processing apparatus 10 , transfer between the external device and the pod 16 is performed while using the pod stage 18 on which the pod 16 is mounted.

A pod carrying device 20 for carrying the pod 16 is disposed on the front side in the housing 12 and at a position opposite to the pod stage 18 . In the vicinity of the pod carrying device 20, a rotary pod shelf 22a capable of storing the pod 16, a stacked pod shelf 22b capable of storing the pod 16, and a pod opener 24 are respectively arranged. The pod transport device 20 is configured to transport the pod 16 between the pod stage 18 , the rotary pod shelf 22a , the stacked pod shelf 22b , and the pod opener 24 .

The rotary pod shelf 22a is disposed in a first shelf area that is an area above the pod opener 24, and is configured to hold the pods 16 in a state where a plurality of pods 16 are placed. The rotary pod shelf 22a is constituted by a rotary shelf including a plurality of stages (eg, five stages) of shelf plates. In addition, a clean unit including a supply fan and a dust-proof filter may be provided in the vicinity of the rotary pod shelf 22a, and clean air, which is a purified atmosphere, may be circulated from the clean unit.

The stacked pod shelf 22b is disposed in a second shelf area that is an area below the pod stage 18, and is configured to hold the pods 16 in a state where a plurality of them are placed. The stacked pod shelf 22b includes a plurality of tiers (eg, three tiers) of shelf plates, and is configured such that the pods 16 are placed on each shelf plate. Also, in the vicinity of the stacked pod shelf 22b, the clean air may be circulated similarly to the rotary pod shelf 22a.

The pod opener 24 is configured to open the lid of the pod 16 . Further, with respect to the pod opener 24, a substrate number detector for detecting the number of wafers 14 in the opened pod 16 may be disposed adjacent to each other.

A transfer chamber 50 divided as a single room in the housing 12 is formed on the rear side of the housing 12 rather than the pod opener 24 . A substrate transfer machine 28 and a boat 30 as a substrate holding body are arranged in the transfer chamber 50 .

The substrate transfer machine 28 includes, for example, an arm (tweezer) 32 capable of taking out five wafers 14 . It is configured such that it is possible to transfer the wafer 14 between the pod 16 and the boat 30 placed at the position of the pod opener 24 by vertically rotating the arm 32 by a driving means (not shown). do.

The boat 30 is configured to stack a plurality of wafers 14 (for example, about 50 to 175 sheets) in a horizontal position and in a state in which the center is aligned, align and stack at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction to hold the wafers 14 in multiple stages in the vertical direction. . The boat 30 holding the wafer 14 is configured to be able to be raised and lowered by a boat elevator as a lifting mechanism (not shown).

A processing furnace 40 is disposed in the upper portion of the housing 12 on the back side, that is, above the transfer chamber 50 . In the processing furnace 40, the above-described boat 30 loaded with a plurality of wafers 14 is configured to be loaded from below.

(with treatment)

Next, the processing furnace 40 described above will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 2 .

The treatment furnace 40 includes a reaction tube 41 . The reaction tube 41 is made of, for example _{, a non-metallic material having heat resistance such as quartz (SiO 2} ) or silicon carbide (SiC), and has a cylindrical shape with a closed upper end and an open lower end.

A processing chamber 42 is formed in the cylinder of the reaction tube 41 . A boat 30 as a substrate holding body is inserted into the processing chamber 42 from below, and wafers 14 held in a horizontal position by the boat 30 are accommodated in a state in which they are arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction. The boat 30 accommodated in the processing chamber 42 is rotatable while the plurality of wafers 14 are mounted while maintaining the airtightness of the processing chamber 42 by rotating the rotation shaft 44 using the rotation mechanism 43 . configured to do

A manifold 45 is disposed below the reaction tube 41 in the form of a concentric circle with the reaction tube 41 . The manifold 45 is made of, for example, a metal material such as stainless steel, and has a cylindrical shape with an upper end and an open lower end. The reaction tube 41 is supported in the longitudinal direction from the lower end side by the manifold 45 . That is, the reaction tube 41 forming the processing chamber 42 is erected in the vertical direction with the manifold 45 interposed therebetween to constitute the processing furnace 40 .

The lower end of the manifold 45 is configured to be hermetically sealed by the seal cap 46 when the boat elevator (not shown) rises. Between the lower end of the manifold 45 and the seal cap 46 , a sealing member 46a such as an O-ring for hermetically sealing the inside of the processing chamber 42 is provided.

In addition, the manifold 45 includes a first gas supply pipe 47 having a valve 61 for introducing a source gas into the processing chamber 42 , and a valve 62 for introducing a reactive gas into the processing chamber 42 . One second gas introduction pipe 49 and an exhaust pipe 48 for exhausting gas from the processing chamber 42 are respectively connected.

A first purge gas introduction pipe 51 provided with a valve 64 for introducing a purge gas or the like is connected to the first gas supply pipe, and a valve 63 for introducing a purge gas or the like is also provided to the second gas supply pipe. A second purge gas introduction pipe 52 is connected.

The exhaust pipe 48 is provided with a pressure sensor 248 as a pressure detector for detecting the pressure in the process chamber 42 and an Auto Pressure Controller (APC) valve 242 as a pressure control valve for adjusting the pressure in the process chamber 42 , respectively. do.

A heater unit 207 as a heating means (heating mechanism) is disposed on the outer periphery of the reaction tube 41 in a concentric shape with the reaction tube 41 . The heater unit 207 is configured to heat the inside of the processing chamber 42 so as to have a uniform or predetermined temperature distribution throughout the interior of the processing chamber 42 .

(3) Outline of substrate processing process

Next, an operation procedure in the case of performing processing on the wafer 14 as one process of semiconductor device manufacturing using the substrate processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described.

(Pod transfer process)

When processing the wafer 14 in the substrate processing apparatus 10 , first, the pod 16 accommodating the plurality of wafers 14 is placed on the pod stage 18 . Then, the pod 16 is transferred from the pod stage 18 to the rotary pod shelf 22a or the stacked pod shelf 22b by the pod transport device 20 .

(wafer feeding process)

Thereafter, the pod 16 placed on the rotary pod shelf 22a or the stacked pod shelf 22b is transported to the pod opener 24 by the pod transport device 20 . Then, the lid of the pod 16 is opened by the pod opener 24 , and the number of wafers 14 accommodated in the pod 16 is detected by the substrate number detector.

(Transfer process before import)

When the pod opener 24 opens the cover of the pod 16 , the substrate transfer machine 28 disposed in the transfer chamber 50 takes out the wafer 14 from the pod 16 . Then, the unprocessed wafer 14 taken out from the pod 16 is transferred to the boat 30 located in the transfer chamber 50 similarly to the substrate transfer machine 28 . That is, the substrate transfer machine 28 performs a wafer charging operation of loading the unprocessed wafer 14 into the boat 30 before being loaded into the processing chamber 42 in the transfer chamber 50 . As a result, the boat 30 holds the plurality of wafers 14 in a stacked state where each of the wafers 14 is spaced apart in the vertical direction. The number of wafers 14 that the boat 30 holds in a stacked state and performs batch processing is, for example, 50 to 175 sheets.

(Import process)

After the wafer charging operation, the boat 30 holding a plurality of unprocessed wafers 14 is loaded into the processing chamber 42 (boat loading) by the lifting operation of the boat elevator. That is, the boat 30 holding the unprocessed wafer 14 is loaded into the processing chamber 42 from the transfer chamber 50 by operating the boat elevator. Thereby, the seal cap 46 will be in the state which sealed the lower end of the manifold 45 via the sealing member 46a.

(processing process)

After the boat loading, a predetermined process is performed on the unprocessed wafer 14 held by the boat 30 loaded into the processing chamber 42 . For example, in the case of performing a film forming process, the wafer 14 is rotated while the boat 30 is rotated by operating the rotating mechanism 43 while heating the inside of the process chamber 42 using the heater unit 49 . make it The rotation of the wafer 14 continues until the wafer 14 is unloaded, which will be described later. Then, a source gas, a purge gas, or the like is supplied to the processing chamber 42 through the gas introduction pipe 47 . Thereby, thin film formation is performed on the surface of the unprocessed wafer 14 held by the boat 30 .

After the thin film is formed on the surface of the wafer 14 , heating by the heater unit 207 is stopped, and the temperature of the processed wafer 14 is lowered to a predetermined temperature. Then, when the preset time elapses, the supply of the gas into the processing chamber 42 is stopped and the supply of the inert gas to the processing chamber 42 is started. As a result, the processing chamber 42 is replaced with an inert gas and the pressure in the processing chamber 42 is returned to normal pressure.

(Export process)

Thereafter, the seal cap 46 is lowered by the lifting operation of the boat elevator to open the lower end of the manifold 45, and the boat 30 holding the processed wafer 14 is placed in the manifold ( 45) out of the processing chamber 42 (boat unloading). That is, by operating the boat elevator, the boat 30 holding the processed wafer 14 is unloaded from the processing chamber 42 into the transfer chamber 50 .

(Transfer process after taking out)

After the waiting wafer 14 of the boat 30 is cooled to a predetermined temperature (eg, about room temperature), the substrate transfer machine 28 disposed in the transfer chamber 50 removes the wafer 14 from the boat 30 (脫裝) is carried out. Then, the processed wafer 14 removed from the boat 30 is transferred to and accommodated in the empty pod 16 placed on the pod opener 24 . That is, the substrate transfer machine 28 takes out the processed wafer 14 held by the boat 30 carried out from the inside of the processing chamber 42 from the boat 30 from the boat 30 and puts it into the pod 16 . Lee Jae-ha performs a wafer discharge operation.

Thereafter, the pod 16 containing the processed wafer 14 is transferred by the pod transfer device 20 onto the rotary pod shelf 22a, the stacked pod shelf 22b, or the pod stage 18. . In this way, a series of processing operations of the substrate processing process by the substrate processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment are completed.

At least the pod transfer device 20 serving as each mechanism for transferring the wafer 14 , the substrate transfer machine 28 , and a transfer mechanism including a boat elevator, a gas supply mechanism for supplying processing gas, etc. to the processing furnace 40 , and processing A gas exhaust mechanism for exhausting the inside of the furnace 40 and a control device 240 for controlling the heater unit 207 for heating the processing furnace 40 to a predetermined temperature, respectively, will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , the apparatus controller 240 as a control device includes a main controller 201 , a transfer system controller 211 as a transfer control module, and a process system controller 212 as a process control module. A transport system controller 211 and a process system controller 212 are electrically connected to the main controller 201 by, for example, a local area network (LAN) such as 100BASE-T. The main controller 201 is connected to an external host computer (not shown) via, for example, a communication network.

Each operation screen for operating the substrate processing apparatus 10 is displayed on the display apparatus 218 . Moreover, the display device 218 receives the operator's input data (input instruction) from the operation screen, and transmits the input data to the main controller 201 .

In addition, the display device 218 issues an instruction (control instruction) to execute an arbitrary substrate processing recipe (also referred to as a process recipe) among a recipe developed in a memory (RAM) or the like described later or a plurality of recipes stored in a storage unit to be described later. It accepts from the operation screen and is made to transmit to the main controller 201 . In addition, the operation screen of the display device 218 may be comprised by the touch panel. In the present embodiment, the main controller 201 is configured to execute a process recipe in which a process of supplying a process gas to the process chamber 42 and a process of exhausting the process gas from the process chamber 42 are repeatedly executed. Here, the process recipe includes a process of supplying a raw material gas as a first process gas to the process chamber 42 , a process of exhausting the raw material gas from the process chamber 42 , and a reaction gas as a second process gas for reacting with the raw material gas. It is configured to include at least a process of supplying the process chamber 42 and a process of exhausting the reaction gas from the process chamber 42 .

Although the transfer system controller 211 is partially omitted in FIG. 3 , a substrate mainly composed of a rotary pod shelf, a boat elevator, a pod transfer device 20 , a substrate transfer machine 28 , a boat 30 , and a rotation mechanism 43 . connected to the transport system. Further, the transfer system controller 211 is configured to control the transfer operations of these substrate transfer systems, respectively.

The process system controller 212 includes a temperature controller 212a, a pressure controller 212b, a gas flow controller 212c, and a sequencer 212d, which constitute a sub-controller. Since the sub-controller is electrically connected to the process system controller 212, it is possible to transmit/receive each data or download and upload each file. In addition, although the process system controller 212 and the sub-controller are shown separately, an integral structure may be sufficient.

A heater unit 207 mainly composed of a heater and a temperature sensor is connected to the temperature controller 212a. The temperature controller 212a is configured to adjust the temperature in the processing furnace 40 by controlling the temperature of the processing furnace 40 heater.

A pressure sensor 248, an APC valve 242, and a gas exhaust mechanism constituted by a vacuum pump are connected to the pressure controller 212b. The pressure controller 212b controls the opening degree of the APC valve 242 and switching (ON/ON) of the vacuum pump so that the pressure in the processing chamber 42 becomes a desired pressure at a desired timing based on the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor 248 . OFF) is configured to control. In addition, although detailed later, the pressure controller 212b is provided with a memory area for storing various data including the opening/closing time of the APC valve 242, and reports the data in the memory area according to the data request of the process system controller 212 It is configured to (transmit). In addition, the latest data of various data is stored (retained) in the memory area even after data report.

The gas flow controller 212c is constituted by a Mass Flow Controller (MFC). The sequencer 212d is configured to control supply or stop of gas from the first gas supply pipe 47 and the second gas supply pipe 49 by opening and closing the respective valves 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 . In addition, the process system controller 212 is configured to control the MFC 212c and each of the valves 61 , 62 , 63 and 64 so that the flow rate of the gas supplied to the process chamber 42 becomes a desired flow rate at a desired timing.

Further, details of the process system controller 212 are described in FIG. 3 . Although not shown and described, the transport system controller 211 has the same configuration.

Also, as shown in FIG. 3 , the process system controller 212 includes at least a read-only memory (ROM) 250 and a random-access memory (RAM) 251 together with the CPU 238 as a processing unit. It includes at least a temporary storage unit and an I/O communication unit 255 for performing I/O communication with the temperature control unit 212a, the MFC 212c, the pressure controller 212b, the sequencer 212d, and the like. The CPU 238 transmits, for example, control data (control instruction) for processing the substrate based on a recipe created or edited on the operation screen of the display device 218 or the like and stored in the RAM 251 or the like, to the temperature control unit 212a or the like. Output to the sub-controller at a predetermined cycle. In addition, the data collection period of the process system controller 212 is 1 second.

The RAM 251 temporarily stores input data (instructions for input) input from the display device 218 or the like, recipe commands and history data at the time of recipe execution, such as monitor data generated by the aforementioned conveying mechanism or processing mechanism, etc. do. These data in the RAM 251 are configured to be uploaded to a storage unit 222 to be described later of the main controller 201 at a predetermined timing. The ROM 250 may also be used as a storage unit for storing each program including the above-described process recipe. In this case, it is downloaded from the storage unit 222 described later of the main controller 201 in response to a storage instruction made up of an operation screen displayed on the display device 218 or an operation screen displayed on an external display device.

In addition, the main controller 201, the transport system controller 211, and the process system controller 212 according to the present embodiment can be realized using a normal computer system without using a dedicated system. For example, each controller that executes a predetermined process can be configured by installing the program from a recording medium storing the program for executing the above-described process in a general-purpose computer, for example.

And the means for supplying these programs is arbitrary. As described above, the supply may be via a predetermined recording medium, or may be supplied via, for example, a communication line, a communication network, a communication system, or the like. In this case, for example, the program may be posted on a bulletin board of a communication network, and it may be provided by being superimposed on a carrier wave via the network. Then, a predetermined process can be executed by activating the program provided in this way and executing it similarly to other application programs under the control of the OS.

Next, FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the main controller 201 included in the apparatus controller 240 as a control apparatus of the substrate processing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment.

The main controller 201 as the main control unit includes a CPU (central processing unit) 224 as a processing unit, a memory (RAM, ROM, etc.) 226 as a temporary storage unit, a hard disk (HDD) 222 as a storage unit, and a communication unit. It is configured as a computer having a transmission/reception module 228 and a time unit (not shown) having a clock function.

The hard disk 222 stores each recipe file such as a process recipe in which processing conditions and processing order are defined, a control program file for executing each of these recipe files, and the like. In this embodiment, a program for acquiring various data including the opening/closing time of the pressure control valve 242 is executed during this process recipe execution. The main controller 201 causes the substrate processing apparatus to execute the procedure for processing the substrate by causing the process system controller 212 to execute the process recipe. And in the procedure for processing the substrate, the procedure for maintaining the processing chamber 42 at a predetermined pressure by controlling the opening degree of the pressure control valve 242 based on the detection value of the pressure sensor 248 for detecting the pressure in the processing furnace; , the procedure for holding the data acquired from the pressure sensor 248 and the pressure control valve 242 in the memory area, and the valve full closing time until all the pressure control valves 242 are closed (hereinafter also referred to as closing time). The process system controller 212 causes the process system controller 212 to execute a data acquisition program including a procedure for keeping the close time in the memory area and a procedure for reporting the close time along with measuring . In addition, the main controller 201 causes the process system controller 212 to perform a procedure for confirming whether the close time is within a predetermined threshold or within a threshold range. Here, in this embodiment, it is not limited to full closing (valve opening degree 0%) from full opening (valve opening degree 100%), but full closing (valve opening degree 0%) based on the valve closing signal of the process system controller 212. ) is defined as the closing time.

Here, a switching hub or the like is connected to the transmission/reception module 228 of the main controller 201, and the main controller 201 is configured to transmit and receive data to and from an external computer via a network. Accordingly, even when the substrate processing apparatus 10 is installed in a clean room, it is possible to arrange, for example, an external computer and a higher-level controller connected to the plurality of main controllers 201 so as to exchange data, in an office other than the clean room. However, the external computer connected to the substrate processing apparatus 10 is not limited to this host controller, and may be a normal general-purpose computer called a PC, or a dedicated terminal may be sufficient as it.

Also, as shown in Fig. 4, the main controller 201 may have a configuration including a display device such as a liquid crystal monitor and a user interface (UI) device including a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse, that is, a display device 218. none.

As shown in FIG. 5 , according to the present embodiment, a process system controller 212 that processes a substrate by executing a process recipe, and a pressure sensor 248 that detects pressure in the processing furnace 40 during execution of the process recipe ) is provided with a pressure controller 212b for controlling the opening degree of the pressure control valve 242 to maintain the processing chamber 42 at a predetermined pressure, the pressure controller 212b including a pressure sensor 248 and It includes a memory area as a storage unit for holding various data acquired from the pressure control valve 242, measures the closing time until the pressure control valve 242 is fully closed, holds it in the memory area, and the process system controller ( 212) to report the close time according to the request instruction. And the process system controller 212 is configured to compare the acquired closing time with a predetermined threshold value (or threshold value range) to detect abnormality in the operation of the pressure control valve 242 . In addition, the various data in the memory area is configured so that the latest data of the various data is retained even after each data such as the close time is reported to the process system controller 212 .

A valve closing signal (instruction to close all valves) is output from the process system controller 212 to the pressure controller 212b, and the pressure controller 212b completely closes (fully closes) the pressure control valve 242 according to this instruction. . And since the pressure controller 212b measures the data of the valve opening degree of the pressure control valve 242 from the pressure control valve 242 at a cycle shorter than that of the process system controller 212, it is possible to obtain an accurate closing time until full closing. . Specifically, the data collection period of the pressure controller 212b is 0.01 seconds, and detailed data collection is possible even compared with the period (1 second) of the process system controller 212 .

The pressure controller 212b always stores the data of the valve opening degree of the pressure control valve 242 in the memory area up to the valve opening degree of 0%, and stores all the data of the valve opening degree in the memory area. In addition, the time (close time) until this valve opening degree becomes 0% is measured, and this time data is also stored in the memory area. Needless to say, it is not necessary to store all the data of the valve opening degree when the memory area is small. Then, the process system controller 212 waits until there is an instruction to monitor the valve opening degree.

Further, the valve full closing time held by the pressure controller 212b in the memory area is held until the next full closing operation based on the valve closing signal from the process system controller 212 .

The process system controller 212 outputs a data request instruction to the pressure controller 212b, and when the pressure controller 212b receives this data request instruction, the process system controller 212 sets the closing time together with all the data of the valve opening degree. made to report to And the process system controller 212 compares the acquired close time with a predetermined threshold value (or threshold value range), and according to whether the close time settles within this threshold value (or threshold value range), the pressure control valve 242 ) is configured to detect an abnormal operation. Further, when an operation abnormality is detected, the process system controller 212 is configured to notify the main controller 201 of the fact that an abnormality has occurred in the pressure control valve 242 as abnormality information. The data collection period of the main controller 201 is 1 second.

Moreover, the process system controller 212 is comprised so that the latest data of the valve opening degree and closing time after a report may be hold|maintained. Although not specifically described, data related to pressure, such as a pressure value (measured value) by the pressure sensor 248, as well as data related to temperature and gas flow rate are reported in the same way, and the latest data is maintained after reporting. do.

Although not shown in FIG. 5, since the process system controller 212 transmits various data including the acquired closing time to the main controller 201, the main controller 201 also acquires the closing time measured by the pressure controller 212b similarly. can do. That is, by comparing the acquired closing time with a threshold value, the main controller 201 can detect an operation abnormality of the APC valve 242 and notify that an abnormality has occurred in the pressure control valve 242 as abnormal information. . In other words, the upper controller can be configured to similarly detect an operation abnormality of the APC valve 242 .

In this embodiment, the process system controller 212 can acquire the opening degree data including the closing time of the APC valve 242 similarly to the pressure controller 212b. In addition, the process system controller 212 detects an operation abnormality of the APC valve 242 by comparing the acquired closing time with a threshold value, and transmits this abnormal information of the APC valve 242 to the main controller 201 . Therefore, for example, the closing time of the APC valve 242 can be monitored with the main controller 201 , and the state of the valve that affects the film thickness, such as the APC valve 242 , can be checked.

In addition, in this embodiment, the process system controller 212 acquires the closing time measured by the pressure controller 212b as the time from the open state of the APC valve to the closed state, so it is a matter of erroneous judgment An abnormality of the APC valve 242 can be detected without the presence of an APC valve.

As shown in Fig. 6 , in the comparative example, when the pressure controller 212b responds to the request instruction from the process system controller 212 (not including the closing time), the valve opening degree is 0% of the valve opening degree data. If data is included, the process system controller 212 determines that the APC valve 242 is fully closed (full closed).

Conventionally, the process system controller 212 was configured to recognize the time when the opening degree data of the valve opening degree of 0% was acquired as the time when the APC valve 242 was closed. Specifically, since the process system controller 212 recognized the time from when the process system controller 212 outputs the valve closing instruction until the pressure controller 212b responds with data of 0% of the valve opening degree as the closing time, In fact, the time difference with the closing time (actual closing time) acquired by the pressure controller 212b had generate|occur|produced.

However, in this embodiment, the pressure controller 212b holds the acquired closing time, and includes this closing time in response data to the request instruction data of the process system controller 212, so that the process system controller 212 APC The full closing (full close) time of the valve 242 can be determined more accurately. Moreover, the process system controller 212 can acquire the same time as the closing time acquired by the pressure controller 212b also about the time from the opening (full opening) of the APC valve 242 to full closing (full closing).

The communication system configuration of the device controller 240 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7 . Here, in the case of the same content as that of FIG. 5 , the description is omitted if necessary, and a configuration and content different from that of FIG. 5 will be mainly described.

The main controller 201 receives the event set in the step in advance during the process recipe execution or the valve closing instruction from the display device 218, and the process system controller 212 receives the full closing (valve closing) instruction of the APC valve 242. output to In addition, the process system controller 212 that has received this instruction outputs a fully closed (valve close) instruction to the pressure controller 212b. Here, since the process system controller 212 outputs the full closing (valve closing) instruction to the pressure controller 212b and then acquires the closing time from the pressure controller 212b, it is the same as that described in FIG. 5, and therefore, it is omitted. Hereinafter, it will be described from the next step.

The process system controller 212 reports the closing time acquired from the pressure controller 212b to the main controller 201 . At this time, the pressure value by the pressure sensor 248 and the opening degree data of the APC valve 242 may also be reported at 1-second intervals.

In addition, the main controller 201 is configured so that the pressure values by these pressure sensors 248, the closing time of the APC valve 242, and the valve opening degree data are reported to the upper controller connected via the network at 1 second intervals.

The upper-level controller or main controller 201 is configured to display various types of data in a graph on the screen together with accumulating various types of reported data. For example, by arranging the accumulated closing time on the vertical axis and displaying the process recipes in the order in which they are executed, the change over time of the APC valve 242 can be confirmed. Thereby, the state of consumption and deterioration of the APC valve 242 can be observed.

In addition, the host controller or the main controller 201 may be configured to compare the closing time and the threshold value, for example, by comparing the acquired closing time with the threshold value to detect abnormal operation of the APC valve 242, this APC You may configure so that abnormality information of the valve 242 may be displayed on the display device 218. As shown in FIG.

In the upper part of FIG. 8, the film-forming step of a process recipe is shown in the simplified structure. Step A is a step of purging the inside of the processing furnace 40 (or the processing chamber 42 ) (also referred to as an N _{2 gas flow step of supplying N 2} gas as an inert gas), and step B included in step C to be described later. is a step of fully closing the APC valve 242, and the step time 301 is 1 second. Process C is a process of supplying a process gas (eg, raw material gas), and the step time 302 is also about several seconds. Then, at least steps A and C (including step B) are executed and repeated as one cycle is started. Process B may be provided between process A and process C, and process A → process B → process C may be repeatedly executed as one cycle. In addition, the process C is set to about 2 to 5 seconds, and 2 second is especially preferable.

The horizontal axis of FIG. 8 is time, and below the film-forming step configuration of the upper process recipe is opening degree data (unit: %) and the temporal relationship between process B is shown. Normally, the closing time 311 is completed within the step time 301 of the step B. Here, the time T represents a threshold value (unit is time) of the closing time 311 and is set to a time that may not affect the film thickness. For example, an arrow 303 indicated by a dotted line indicates when the time T is set as the minimum time for ensuring the required amount of the process gas (source gas) in one cycle.

Here, the point of this embodiment is that the normal closing time 311 is within the range of the step time (1 second setting) 301 of the step B. That is, it indicates that the data including the close time 311 collected by the pressure controller 212b can be acquired by the process system controller 212 and the main controller 201 . Therefore, the setting of the threshold value (time) T of the close time 311 is shorter than the data collection period (1 second) of the process system controller 212 and the main controller 201 and is as close to the close time 311 as possible. can be set, so that, in the present embodiment, an abnormality of the APC valve 242 can be detected during the film forming step.

According to the conventional valve abnormality occurrence shown in FIG. 8 , the valve operation time increases, the close time 312 further exceeds the step time 301 of the process B, and the process gas ( The time 304 during which the source gas) is supplied is shorter than the minimum time 303 described above. It can be seen that the flow rate of the process gas (source gas) decreases thereby affecting the film thickness.

However, if the actual closing time is between the closing time 311 and the step time 301 of the process B, since the conventional closing time could not be measured, in order to actually detect an abnormality in the APC valve 242, after processing (after the process is finished) It was necessary to measure the film thickness of the sample wafer. In this case, there was a fear that the wafer 14 would be processed in the next batch without noticing the valve operation abnormality.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, it is comprised so that the pressure controller 212b may report the valve operation time (including a close time) of the APC valve 242 acquired to the process system controller 212. As shown in FIG. The process system controller 212 is configured to confirm whether the acquired closing time of the APC valve 242 has exceeded the threshold value (time) T shown in FIG. 8 , whereby valve operation abnormality can be detected in real time.

In this way, the process system controller 212 can compare the accurate closing time of the APC valve 242 with a threshold value (time) while repeatedly acquiring the correct closing time of the APC valve 242 in real time during the execution of the process recipe, indicating the operation delay time of the APC valve 242 . Over time behavior of data can be monitored.

In addition, since the threshold value T of the closing time is set within the step time 301 of the process B, for example, if the valve 61 for supplying the source gas at the threshold value T is opened, in the processing furnace 40 (process chamber 42 ) In addition to being able to more efficiently fill the APC valve 242 with the process gas, the APC valve 242 may be configured not to supply the process gas if there is a problem.

In this embodiment, it is comprised so that the valve opening degree of the APC valve 242 may be maintained at 0% during process C. However, the valve opening degree of the APC valve 242 may be adjusted so that the inside of the processing furnace 40 (the processing chamber 42 ) is held constant at a predetermined pressure. Accordingly, it is possible to stabilize the flow rate of the process gas flowing in the processing furnace 40 even in a process in which the process gas is supplied by repeatedly opening/closing in a short time.

According to the present embodiment, the APC valve 242 can monitor the exact closing time during process recipe execution, for example, the process gas APC valve 242 by the opening/closing time of the APC valve 242 (particularly the closing time until full closing). ) is close to the state affecting the film thickness. Thereby, APC valve abnormality can be detected.

According to this embodiment, the tendency of the closing time of the APC valve 242 to change is monitored by accumulating and displaying the closing time of the APC valve 242 in the storage unit 222 of the main controller 201 or the host controller. it becomes possible to For example, even in the process of supplying the process gas to the process chamber by repeatedly opening/closing (opening/closing) the APC valve 242 in a short time, the amount of process gas flowing into the process furnace does not change, and the influence on the thickness of the formed film can be reduced. have.

In addition, according to this embodiment, if the time from the open (full open) state of the APC valve 242 to full close (full close) changes, an abnormality can be detected during process recipe execution (during cyclic film formation). Since there is no need to measure the film thickness of the sample wafer after completion of the process recipe as in the prior art, a reduction in maintenance time from error handling to recovery can be expected. In addition, it is possible to control so that the next batch processing is not performed in a state where abnormality of the film thickness of the substrate is not noticed.

Further, according to the present embodiment, there is provided a process comprising: supplying a process gas to a process chamber; and a process of exhausting unreacted process gas from the process chamber; in a process repeatedly performed in a short time, it is possible to suppress abrupt fluctuations in the process gas flowing in the process furnace and reduce the influence of the thickness of the formed film.

Further, according to the present embodiment, by comparing the closing time acquired by the main controller 201 or the host controller with a threshold value, an operation abnormality of the APC valve 242 is detected, and the abnormal information of the APC valve 242 is retrieved. You may configure so that it may be displayed on the display device 218. As shown in FIG. Even with such a configuration, even if an abnormality occurs in the operation of the valve during the cyclic film formation, it is possible to detect an abnormality in the valve operation in the film formation step (during execution of the recipe). Therefore, as in the prior art, there is no need to perform the next patch process without noticing the thickness of the substrate or more, or to measure the film thickness of the sample wafer after the completion of the process recipe. Therefore, it is expected that the maintenance time until recovery from the error process will be shortened. can

In addition, the film-forming step according to the present disclosure is not limited to the cyclic film-forming in which steps A and C in the present embodiment are repeated depending on the film thickness, and a reactive gas is supplied into the processing furnace 40 (processing chamber 42 ). It can also be applied to cyclic film formation in which process D is added, and processes A, C, and A and D are used as one cycle, and this cycle is repeated depending on the target film thickness. It can also be applied to cyclic film formation in which the process C and the process D are simply performed as one cycle, and this cycle is repeated depending on the target film thickness. It goes without saying that the step B may be appropriately performed before the step D, or the step B may be included in the step D.

In addition, for example, as described above, in the configuration of the processing furnace 40 according to the present disclosure, it is configured as a batch-type apparatus for processing a large number of wafers 14 , but is not limited thereto, and a single-wafer type ( The present disclosure may be applied to a multi-leaf apparatus or a multi-leaf apparatus that processes every plurality of sheets.

For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the substrate to be processed is a semiconductor wafer substrate is taken as an example, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and is preferably applied to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a glass substrate such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) device. can

In addition, for example, in the embodiment described above, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. That is, as other film forming processes, a process for forming an oxide film, a nitride film, and a process for forming a film containing a metal may be used. In addition, the specific content of the substrate processing is not questionable, and the present disclosure is also preferably applicable to other substrate processing apparatuses such as oxidation processing apparatus, nitridation processing apparatus, and CVD apparatus using plasma.

10: substrate processing apparatus 14: wafer

Claims (15)

a controller for processing the substrate by supplying at least a source gas to the processing chamber and executing a process recipe for forming a film on the substrate; and
a pressure controller that controls an opening degree of the pressure control valve based on a pressure value detected by a pressure sensor that detects a pressure in the processing chamber;
to provide
The pressure controller includes a memory area for accumulating the pressure value of the pressure sensor and the opening degree data obtained from the pressure control valve, and the process recipe is executed from an open state to a fully closed state of the pressure control valve. It is configured to measure the valve full close time until it becomes and hold it in the memory area,
and the controller is configured to be capable of acquiring the valve full closing time held in the memory area, and confirming whether the acquired valve full closing time is within a threshold value. According to claim 1,
The controller executes the process recipe including a process of supplying the raw material gas to the process chamber and a process of exhausting the raw material gas from the process chamber, and before executing the process of supplying the raw material gas to the process chamber A substrate processing apparatus configured to be capable of ending a valve full close time. According to claim 1,
Main controller that executes the process recipe to the controller
further comprising,
the controller is configured to report the valve full close time to the main controller at a predetermined period;
and the main controller is configured to be able to compare the valve full closing time with a threshold value held in advance. According to claim 1,
and the controller is configured to be capable of periodically outputting a data request instruction to the pressure controller. 5. The method of claim 4,
and the pressure controller is configured to be capable of reporting to the controller data including a pressure value detected by the pressure sensor and an opening degree data of the pressure control valve other than a valve full close time of the pressure control valve. According to claim 1,
The substrate processing apparatus is configured such that the controller can acquire a time from the pressure controller until the opening degree of the pressure control valve becomes 0% as the valve full close time. According to claim 1,
A data acquisition period of the pressure controller is set shorter than a data request instruction period of the controller. According to claim 1,
The process recipe is to include the step of supplying the raw material gas,
and a period in which at least the pressure control valve is maintained in a fully closed state during execution of the step. According to claim 1,
The process recipe is to include a supply step of supplying the source gas,
The supply step includes a full closing step of putting the pressure control valve into a fully closed state,
and the threshold value is set within a step time of the full closing step. According to claim 1,
a valve for supplying the raw material gas
further comprising,
and the valve is configured to be opened after the pressure control valve is fully closed. According to claim 1,
The process recipe includes a step of fully closing the pressure control valve before supplying the source gas,
The substrate processing apparatus is configured to maintain the pressure control valve in a fully closed state while the source gas is supplied. 4. The method of claim 3,
Upper controller connected to the main controller
further comprising,
and the main controller is configured to report the valve full-close time acquired from the pressure controller to the host controller. 13. The method of claim 12,
The upper-level controller is a substrate processing apparatus installed at a position spaced apart from the controller and the pressure controller. An opening degree of the pressure control valve based on a pressure value detected by a controller that processes the substrate by supplying at least a source gas to the processing chamber and executing a process recipe for forming a film on the substrate, and a pressure sensor that detects the pressure in the processing chamber A control system having a pressure controller for controlling the
The pressure controller includes a memory area for accumulating the pressure value of the pressure sensor and the opening degree data acquired from the pressure control valve, until the opening degree of the pressure control valve during execution of the process recipe goes from an open state to a fully closed state. configured to hold in the memory area together with measuring the valve full close time;
and the controller is configured to acquire the valve full close time held in the memory area, and confirm whether the acquired valve full close time is within a range of a threshold value. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: supplying at least a source gas to a processing chamber and processing a substrate by executing a process recipe for forming a film on the substrate, the method comprising:
In the process of processing the substrate,
controlling the opening degree of the pressure control valve based on the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor detecting the pressure in the processing furnace;
accumulating in a memory area the pressure value of the pressure sensor and the opening degree data acquired from the pressure control valve;
a step of measuring a valve full close time from an open state to a fully closed state of the pressure control valve and holding the valve full close time in a memory area;
acquiring the valve full close time held in the memory area; and
confirming whether the acquired valve full closing time is within a range of a threshold value;
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device further comprising a.

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