TWI444797B - Method for monitoring and controlling abatement systems - Google Patents

Description

Method for monitoring and controlling abatement systems

This invention relates to the fabrication of semiconductor components, and more particularly to methods and systems for monitoring multiple attenuation systems.

Gas streams from the fabrication of semiconductor materials, components, products, and memory articles contain various compounds used and produced in process equipment. These compounds contain inorganic and organic compounds, products of decomposition of photoresists and other agents, and various other gases that must be removed from the exhaust prior to being vented to the atmosphere via process equipment.

Various compounds are used in the semiconductor manufacturing process, and many of them have extremely low human tolerance levels. During the process (such as physical vapor deposition, diffusion, etching PFC process, epitaxy, etc.), some of the tools used (such as chemical vapor deposition chambers, chemical mechanical polishing chambers, diffusion chambers, etc.) and processes may not be generated. The desired by-products, such as perfluorocompounds (PFCs) or by-products that may decompose into PFCs. PFCs have been identified as a major contributor to the greenhouse effect.

These unwanted by-products can be removed from the effluent by a weakening system. The gas generated by the substrate and the flat panel display/LCD process can be converted into a form that is less impactful to the environment by the abatement system and then discharged into the environment. The abatement system can be coupled to a semiconductor process tool and typically attenuates process gases from the tool as the gas is generated. Accordingly, an interface has yet to be developed to operate and monitor the abatement system.

In one aspect of the invention, a method of monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems is provided. The method comprises the steps of (1) presenting one or more attenuation systems on a display; (2) presenting one or more effluent streams from the process tool on the display; (3) presenting a plurality of effluent streams on the display Selection of an effluent stream configuration; (4) receiving a selected effluent stream configuration; and (5) controlling an interface manifold to perform the selected effluent stream configuration.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems is provided. The method comprises the steps of (1) presenting one or more abatement systems on a display; (2) presenting one or more effluent streams from the process tool on the display; (3) accepting a selection, the selection Instructing an alternate outflow logistics configuration, wherein the first subset of the one or more attenuation systems is selected as a primary attenuation system and the second subset of the one or more attenuation systems is selected as a a standby abatement system; (4) introducing the one or more effluent streams into the one or more primary abatement systems; (5) setting one or more of the abatement systems to be in a standby mode; and (6) configuring an interface disparity And re-importing the effluent stream from the one or more primary abatement systems to the one or more alternate abatement systems in accordance with a state of the primary abatement system.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems is provided, the method comprising the steps of (1) presenting one or more attenuation systems on a display; (2) on the display Presenting one or more effluent streams from the process tool; (3) accepting a selection indicating a redundant effluent stream configuration, wherein at least one of the first mitigation systems of the one or more mitigation systems receives One or more effluent streams from the process tool, and at least one second mitigation system of the one or more mitigation systems, receiving one or more effluent streams from the process tool; and (4) arranging one The interface manifold re-introduces the one or more effluent streams from the disconnection abatement system to an operational abatement system in accordance with a disconnection attenuating system condition.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems is provided. The method comprises (1) presenting one or more attenuation systems on a display; (2) presenting one or more effluent streams from the process tool on the display; (3) accepting a selection, the selection is indicative a load balancing effluent stream configuration; and (4) configuring an interface manifold to direct the effluent stream to the one or more abatement systems in accordance with at least one efficiency criterion.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a method of monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems is provided. The method comprises (1) presenting one or more attenuation systems on a display; (2) presenting one or more effluent streams from the process tool on the display; (3) accepting a selection, the selection is indicative a specific application effluent stream configuration; (4) configuring an interface manifold to direct a first effluent stream to a first abatement system, wherein the first effluent stream is from a first process; and (5) configuring An interface manifold for introducing a second effluent stream into a second abatement system, wherein the second effluent stream is from a second process.

Further features and aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the Detailed Description, the appended claims and appended claims.

The present invention provides a system and method for monitoring and controlling one or more abatement systems to integrate the abatement system into a single integrated system. The present invention is capable of automatically monitoring, tracking, and operating the abatement system and the effluent stream from the electronic component process tool to the weakened system. For example, in a system with two operational abatement systems, the operator can review the effluent flowing into each of the abatement systems via a software interface to a system controller and decide that only one of the abatement systems is to be These effluent streams are accommodated. Thereafter, the operator can use the interface to convert the appropriate conversion into the system to set the second abatement system to the standby mode, while the effluent originally flowing into the second abatement system is directed to the first abatement system. In addition, the system controller can be constructed to automatically use the abatement system, for example, in the most efficient manner.

In some embodiments, the present invention enables an operator to direct an effluent stream to an abatement system via an interface manifold, which may include a series of electronically controlled valves for opening, closing, and/or switching one or A channel between a plurality of electronic component processing tools and one or more abatement systems. The interface manifold can be coupled to a controller and operated by a controller for receiving messages from the interface manifold, the operator, the process tool, and the abatement system. In some embodiments, the operator can review the messages and then communicate the indications to the interface manifold via the controller. In addition, the controller can automatically operate the interface manifold based on messages received from the interface manifold, operator, process tool, and abatement system.

The system controller allows for easy selection and execution of effluent configurations that have been preset or operator-set. For example, the preset outflow logistics configuration can include an alternate configuration, a redundant configuration, a load balancing configuration, and a specific application configuration. These flow configuration types are detailed below.

Referring to Figure 1, a schematic diagram of a user interface 100 is shown. The user interface can be executed by a standard personal computer (PC) using a standard operating system. In addition, the user interface can be implemented on the controller, which is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 60/823,292, filed on Aug. 23, 2006, entitled "Attenuation System with Standby Function and Method of Use (ABATEMENT SYSTEM WITH) BACK-UP FUNCTIONALITY AND METHOD OF USING THE SAME) (Attorney Docket No. 11469), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The user interface 100, on the display 104, can include images of one or more selectively interacting attenuation systems 102. Here, three attenuation systems 102 are illustrated, however this is for illustrative purposes only, and may display any number of attenuation systems 102 detected. Each abatement system can have a specific (e.g., static) IP address and can be connected via a hub to a single integrated system such as a personal computer or server.

User interface 100 may also include images of one or more effluent streams 106 that may be applied to each abatement system 102. For example, the effluent configuration can include a standby effluent configuration, a specific application effluent configuration, a load balancing effluent configuration, a redundant effluent configuration, and a user set effluent configuration. The effluent configuration 106 applied to the weakened systems 102A-C shown may be otherwise marked or indicated. The effluent configuration will be described in more detail below.

An operator (not shown) can remotely install each of the attenuation systems 102 in the process system using the user interface 100, the process system being coupled in series with the system. The operator can monitor and track different parameters of each of the abatement systems 102 (as shown in Figure 2), as well as manipulate the parameters. In some embodiments, if the operator selects the first attenuation system 102A, the display will display a specific message regarding the attenuation system 102A, as shown in FIG.

Referring to Figure 2, which is a schematic diagram of display 200, display 200 is presented in a first attenuating system 102A selected in Figure 1. As shown, the attenuation system 202A is presented graphically. Other presentation methods can also be used. A number of parameter messages 204 associated with the attenuation system 202A can be displayed. The parameter message 204 can include, for example, attenuating the pressure at each inlet of the system 202A, the CDA flow rate, the fuel flow rate, the bath temperature, the pressure change at each inlet, the tank level, the scrubber exhaust pressure, and the like. The operator can optionally manipulate a number of parameters to change the functionality of the abatement system 202A.

Display 200 can also include an alarm indicator 206. By selecting the alarm indicator 206, the operator can view all of the alarms and warnings associated with the selected attenuation system 202A. The operator can view the alarm depending on the type (eg, alarm, warning, etc.) or on the weakening system 202A. The operator can also view the alarm history of a designated attenuation system 202A. Alarms, warnings, or other related events may be stored locally in the PC (eg, in the form of a text file), automatically stored in a remote server or controller.

Display 200 can also include trend indicator 208. By selecting trend indicator 208, the operator can view the historical trend of weakening system 202A. For example, all similar values from the sensors located in the attenuation systems 102A-C (202A-C?) can be credited to a particular rate. The operator can select a separate sensor and adjust the range of both the sensor minimum and maximum values to scale the trend into a trend display.

In addition, the data for each weakening system 202A can be exported in the form of a common separated value file (eg, CSV, etc.) that is compatible with other tools (eg, Excel files, etc.) coupled to the system.

Referring to Figure 3, there is shown a flow chart of an exemplary method for monitoring and controlling one or more of the attenuation systems. In step S100, one or more attenuation systems are presented on the display. In step S102, one or more effluent streams from the process tool are presented on the display. Additionally, one or more channels may be presented on the display for communicating one or more effluent streams to one or more abatement systems. In step S104, a selection of a plurality of effluent configurations is presented on the display. The effluent configuration can include a user-configured configuration, an alternate configuration, a redundant configuration, a load balancing configuration, and a specific application effluent configuration. Thereafter, in S106, a selection indicating the configuration of the outflow logistics is received. Alternatively, one or more channels for delivering one or more effluent streams to one or more abatement systems may be presented on the display to reflect the selected effluent stream configuration. In step S108, a number of valves in the interface manifold are controlled to perform the selected effluent configuration.

Referring to Figure 4, there is shown a flow diagram of an exemplary method for monitoring and controlling one or more of the attenuation systems. In step S200, one or more attenuation systems are presented on the display. In step S202, one or more effluent streams from the process tool are presented on the display. Additionally, one or more channels may be presented on the display for communicating one or more effluent streams to one or more abatement systems. In step S204, a selection indicating a standby outflow configuration is accepted. One or more abatement systems are selected as the primary abatement system, and one or more abatement systems are selected as the alternate abatement system. One or more weakening systems can be selected as primary or backup systems based on a number of parameters. These primary and alternate abatement systems can also be presented on the display. Alternatively, one or more channels for delivering one or more effluent streams to one or more abatement systems may be presented on the display to reflect the selected effluent stream configuration. In step S206, one or more effluent streams are directed to one or more primary abatement systems. In step S208, one or more standby weakening systems are set to the standby mode. Thereafter, in step S210, an interface manifold is configured to reintroduce the effluent stream from one or more primary abatement systems into one or more alternate abatement systems depending on the state of the primary abatement system. The foregoing state may indicate that the primary weakening system has been disconnected. The updated status of the primary and the abatement system can also be presented on the display.

Referring to Figure 5, there is shown a flow chart of an exemplary method for monitoring and controlling one or more of the attenuation systems. In step S300, one or more attenuation systems are presented on the display. In step S302, one or more effluent streams from the process tool are presented on the display. Additionally, one or more channels may be presented on the display for communicating one or more effluent streams to one or more abatement systems. In step S304, a selection indicating a redundant outflow configuration is accepted. Alternatively, one or more channels for delivering one or more effluent streams to one or more abatement systems may be presented on the display to reflect the selected effluent stream configuration. At least one first abatement system of the one or more attenuation systems receives one or more effluent streams from the process tool, and at least one second abatement system of the one or more attenuation systems receives the process tool One or more effluent streams. At least one of the first or second attenuation systems can be broken. The updated state of the system in operation and the weakening of the disconnection can be presented on the display. In step S306, an interface manifold is configured to re-introduce one or more effluent streams from a disconnection abatement system into an operational abatement system in accordance with the state of the disconnection abatement system.

Referring to Figure 6, a flow diagram of an exemplary method for monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems is shown. In step S400, one or more attenuation systems are presented on the display. In step S402, one or more effluent streams from the process tool are presented on the display. Additionally, one or more channels may be presented on the display for communicating one or more effluent streams to one or more abatement systems. In step S404, a selection is received indicating the load balancing outflow configuration. Alternatively, one or more channels for delivering one or more effluent streams to one or more abatement systems may be presented on the display to reflect the selected effluent stream configuration. Thereafter, in step S406, an interface manifold is configured to introduce the effluent stream into one or more abatement systems in accordance with efficiency criteria. Each abatement system can have an associated operating cost, and the efficiency criteria can include, for example, a minimum cost of a particular effluent stream, a minimum amount of material that reduces a particular effluent stream, and a minimum time to a particular effluent stream. One or more abatement systems can be presented on the display to receive the effluent stream.

Referring to Figure 7, a flow diagram of an exemplary method for monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems is shown. In step S500, one or more attenuation systems are presented on the display. In step S502, one or more effluent streams from the process tool are presented on the display. Additionally, one or more channels may be presented on the display for communicating one or more effluent streams to one or more abatement systems. In step S504, a selection indicating a particular application outflow configuration is received. In step S506, an interface manifold is configured to direct the first effluent stream to a first abatement system. The first effluent stream comes from the first process. Thereafter, in step S508, an interface manifold is configured to introduce the second effluent stream into a second abatement system. The second effluent stream comes from the second process. The first and second processes can be similar or different. For example, the first process can be a substrate manufacturing process, however, the second process can be a process chamber cleaning process. Alternatively, one or more channels for delivering one or more effluent streams to one or more abatement systems may be presented on the display to reflect the selected effluent stream configuration.

The foregoing merely discloses examples of the invention. Modifications of the systems and methods that fall within the scope of the invention are readily understood by those skilled in the art. In some embodiments, the systems and methods of the present invention are applicable to semiconductor component processing and/or electronic component processing.

Accordingly, the present invention has been described by way of example only, and other modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and the scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100. . . user interface

102. . . Weakening system

104. . . monitor

106. . . Outflow logistics configuration

200. . . monitor

202A. . . Weakening system

204. . . Parameter message

206. . . Alarm indicator

208. . . Trend indicator

S100. . . step

S102. . . step

S104. . . step

S106. . . step

S108. . . step

S200. . . step

S202. . . step

S204. . . step

S206. . . step

S208. . . step

S210. . . step

S300. . . step

S302. . . step

S304. . . step

S306. . . step

S400. . . step

S402. . . step

S404. . . step

S406. . . step

S500. . . step

S502. . . step

S504. . . step

S506. . . step

S508. . . step

1 is a schematic diagram of a system for monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a schematic diagram of a system for monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flow chart showing an exemplary method for monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flow chart showing an exemplary method for monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flow chart showing an exemplary method for monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flow chart showing an exemplary method for monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flow chart showing an exemplary method for monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

200. . . monitor

202A. . . Weakening system

204. . . Parameter message

206. . . Alarm indicator

208. . . Trend indicator

Claims (29)

A method of monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems, comprising: presenting one or more attenuation systems on a display; presenting one or more effluent streams from a process tool on the display; A selection of a plurality of effluent configurations is presented; receiving a selected effluent configuration; and controlling an interface manifold to perform the selected effluent configuration. The method of claim 1, wherein the interface manifold comprises a plurality of valves to perform the selected effluent stream configuration. The method of claim 1, further comprising: presenting one or more channels on the display for communicating the one or more effluent streams to the one or more abatement systems. The method of claim 3, further comprising: presenting one or more channels on the display for transmitting the one or more effluent streams to the one or more abatement systems to The selected effluent stream configuration is reflected. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected effluent stream configuration is set by a user. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected effluent stream is configured as at least one of a standby configuration, a redundant configuration, a load balancing configuration, and a specific application configuration. A method of monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems, comprising: presenting one or more attenuation systems on a display; presenting one or more effluent streams from the process tool on the display; accepting a selection The selection indicates an alternate outflow configuration, wherein the first subset of the one or more attenuation systems is selected as a primary attenuation system and a second subset of the one or more attenuation systems, Selecting as an alternate abatement system; directing the one or more effluent streams to the one or more primary abatement systems; setting one or more alternate abatement systems to a standby mode; and configuring an interface manifold to rely on the primary attenuation A state of the system re-introducing the effluent stream from the one or more primary abatement systems to the one or more alternate abatement systems. The method of claim 7, further comprising: receiving a state of the one or more primary abatement systems, wherein the one or more abatement systems are disconnected. The method of claim 8, further comprising: presenting, on the display, an update status of the one or more primary and used abatement systems. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of selecting the one or more attenuation systems as the primary or backup system is based on one or more parameters. The method of claim 7, further comprising: presenting the one or more attenuation systems selected as the primary attenuation system on the display, and the one or more attenuation systems selected as the standby attenuation system. The method of claim 7, further comprising: presenting one or more channels on the display for communicating the one or more effluent streams to the one or more abatement systems. The method of claim 12, further comprising: presenting the one or more channels on the display, the channels for transmitting the one or more effluent streams to the one or more abatement systems, To reflect the selected alternate effluent configuration. A method of monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems, comprising: presenting one or more attenuation systems on a display; presenting one or more effluent streams from the process tool on the display; accepting a selection The selection indicates a redundant effluent stream configuration, wherein the at least one first abatement system of the one or more abatement systems receives one or more effluent streams from the process tool, and the one or more At least one second abatement system of the system receives one or more effluent streams from the process tool; and an interface manifold is configured to draw the one or more effluent streams from the state of a disconnection abatement system The disconnection weakens the system and re-imports the weakened system in an operation. The method of claim 14, further comprising: receiving a state indicating that at least one of the first or second weakening systems is disconnected. The method of claim 15, further comprising: presenting an update status of the one or more operational or disconnection abatement systems on the display. The method of claim 14, further comprising: presenting the one or more channels on the display for communicating the one or more effluent streams to the one or more abatement systems. The method of claim 17, further comprising: presenting the one or more channels on the display, the channels for transmitting the one or more effluent streams to the one or more abatement systems, To reflect the selected alternate effluent configuration. A method of monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems, comprising: presenting one or more attenuation systems on a display; presenting one or more effluent streams from the process tool on the display; accepting a selection The selection is indicative of a load balancing effluent stream configuration; and an interface manifold is configured to direct the one or more effluent streams to the one or more abatement systems in accordance with at least one efficiency criterion. The method of claim 19, further comprising: presenting the one or more channels on the display for communicating the one or more effluent streams to the one or more abatement systems. The method of claim 19, further comprising: presenting the selected load balancing effluent stream configuration on the display. The method of claim 19, wherein each of the abatement systems has an associated operating cost, and wherein the efficiency criterion comprises attenuating a minimum cost of one of the particular effluent streams. The method of claim 19, wherein each abatement system has an associated operating cost, and wherein the efficiency criterion comprises a minimum amount of material that reduces a particular effluent stream. The method of claim 19, wherein each abatement system has an associated operating cost, and wherein the efficiency criterion includes a minimum time to attenuate a particular effluent stream. A method of monitoring and controlling one or more attenuation systems, comprising: presenting one or more attenuation systems on a display; presenting one or more effluent streams from the process tool on the display; accepting a selection The selection indicates a particular application effluent configuration; an interface manifold is configured to direct a first effluent stream to a first abatement system, wherein the first effluent stream is from a first process; and a The interface manifold is configured to direct a second effluent stream to a second abatement system, wherein the second effluent stream is from a second process. The method of claim 25, further comprising: presenting the one or more channels on the display for communicating the one or more effluent streams to the one or more abatement systems. The method of claim 26, further comprising: presenting the one or more channels on the display, the channels for transmitting the one or more effluent streams to the one or more abatement systems, To reflect the selected specific application outflow logistics configuration. The method of claim 25, wherein the first process is different from the second process. The method of claim 25, wherein the first process is a manufacturing process and the second process is a cleaning process.