CN112635285A - Monitoring method and system for plasma process chamber arc discharge - Google Patents
Monitoring method and system for plasma process chamber arc discharge Download PDFInfo
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- CN112635285A CN112635285A CN202011398761.9A CN202011398761A CN112635285A CN 112635285 A CN112635285 A CN 112635285A CN 202011398761 A CN202011398761 A CN 202011398761A CN 112635285 A CN112635285 A CN 112635285A
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- 238000012544 monitoring process Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 176
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 145
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 title claims abstract description 113
- 238000010891 electric arc Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 91
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 41
- 238000001228 spectrum Methods 0.000 claims description 39
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 claims description 37
- 238000004458 analytical method Methods 0.000 claims description 11
- 238000005229 chemical vapour deposition Methods 0.000 claims description 6
- 238000001312 dry etching Methods 0.000 claims description 6
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 abstract description 6
- 230000009286 beneficial effect Effects 0.000 abstract description 3
- VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicium dioxide Chemical compound O=[Si]=O VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 11
- 230000002159 abnormal effect Effects 0.000 description 11
- 238000011112 process operation Methods 0.000 description 8
- 235000012239 silicon dioxide Nutrition 0.000 description 5
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- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 4
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 description 4
- 230000003595 spectral effect Effects 0.000 description 4
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- 238000009616 inductively coupled plasma Methods 0.000 description 2
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- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000000623 plasma-assisted chemical vapour deposition Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000000427 thin-film deposition Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000009471 action Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000000151 deposition Methods 0.000 description 1
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- H—ELECTRICITY
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- H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
- H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
- H01J37/32—Gas-filled discharge tubes
- H01J37/32917—Plasma diagnostics
- H01J37/32935—Monitoring and controlling tubes by information coming from the object and/or discharge
- H01J37/32944—Arc detection
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- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
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- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
- H01L21/67017—Apparatus for fluid treatment
- H01L21/67063—Apparatus for fluid treatment for etching
- H01L21/67069—Apparatus for fluid treatment for etching for drying etching
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- H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/67242—Apparatus for monitoring, sorting or marking
- H01L21/67253—Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
- H01J2237/00—Discharge tubes exposing object to beam, e.g. for analysis treatment, etching, imaging
- H01J2237/32—Processing objects by plasma generation
- H01J2237/33—Processing objects by plasma generation characterised by the type of processing
- H01J2237/332—Coating
- H01J2237/3321—CVD [Chemical Vapor Deposition]
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
- H01J2237/00—Discharge tubes exposing object to beam, e.g. for analysis treatment, etching, imaging
- H01J2237/32—Processing objects by plasma generation
- H01J2237/33—Processing objects by plasma generation characterised by the type of processing
- H01J2237/334—Etching
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Abstract
The invention provides a method and a system for monitoring arc discharge of a plasma process chamber, wherein the monitoring method is characterized by comprising the following steps: defining a plurality of monitoring regions in the plasma processing chamber; and in the plasma process, judging the monitoring area where the arc discharge occurs by monitoring the plasma glow intensity of the monitoring areas. The invention defines a plurality of monitoring areas in the plasma process chamber, and judges whether arc discharge occurs or not and which monitoring area occurs specifically by monitoring the plasma glow intensity of the plurality of monitoring areas in the plasma process. The invention can accurately position the generation position of the plasma process chamber after the arc discharge occurs in the plasma process chamber, thereby being beneficial to analyzing the reason of the arc discharge during the subsequent equipment maintenance and preventing the re-generation.
Description
Technical Field
The invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, in particular to a method and a system for monitoring arc discharge of a plasma process chamber.
Background
In the field of semiconductor manufacturing, plasma processes using plasma as a process medium have been widely used in process steps such as dry etching and chemical vapor deposition. In the plasma process, the process gas is converted into plasma under the action of the radio frequency power supply, and the process processes such as etching or deposition and the like are completed on the surface of the wafer to be processed. The above process has high requirements for the process parameter setting and the chamber environment, and if the process parameter setting is improper, the surface of the part in the chamber is damaged, or abnormal substances remain on the surface of the wafer to be processed, an abnormal arc discharge (arc) phenomenon can be generated in the plasma process. Abnormal arc discharge not only affects the normal process, resulting in wafer scrap, but also may cause damage to chamber components, increasing the maintenance time and cost of the equipment. With the continuous development of semiconductor manufacturing processes, in advanced semiconductor devices such as three-dimensional memories, the etching and thin film deposition of high aspect ratio trenches are more prone to adopt a high-power radio frequency power supply to perform a plasma process, which further increases the probability of abnormal arc discharge.
Currently, abnormal arcing during plasma processing is generally prevented by monitoring the reflected power of the rf power supply.
However, the existing method for monitoring the reflected power can only approximately reflect whether the abnormal arc discharge exists in the process chamber as a whole, and cannot determine the specific position where the arc discharge actually occurs, which is not favorable for the reason investigation and process improvement of the arc discharge. If the position of the arc discharge can be accurately positioned, the reason of the arc discharge can be further analyzed according to the surface conditions of the chamber component and the wafer where the position is located when the subsequent equipment is shut down for maintenance, for example, abnormal residues exist on the surface of the wafer or the chamber component is damaged. This will allow for a fast development scheme and prevent reissue, thereby improving product yield and equipment capacity.
Therefore, there is a need for a new method and system for monitoring arcing in a plasma processing chamber to solve the above-mentioned problems.
Disclosure of Invention
In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and a system for monitoring arc discharge in a plasma processing chamber, which are used to solve the problem that the arc discharge position in the plasma processing process cannot be located in the prior art.
To achieve the above and other related objects, the present invention provides a method and system for monitoring arc discharge in a plasma processing chamber, comprising: wherein a plurality of monitoring regions are defined in the plasma processing chamber; and in the plasma process, judging the monitoring area where the arc discharge occurs by monitoring the plasma glow intensity of the monitoring areas.
As an alternative of the invention, the method of monitoring plasma glow intensity of a plurality of said monitoring regions comprises installing a plurality of light sensors in said plasma process chamber, detecting plasma glow intensity by said light sensors.
As an alternative of the present invention, the number of the photosensors and the number of the monitoring areas are the same, and each photosensor corresponds to one monitoring area, and the photosensitive surface of the photosensor faces to the corresponding monitoring area.
As an alternative of the present invention, the orthographic projection of the plurality of monitoring regions on the wafer processed by the plasma processing chamber comprises a plurality of equally divided same circular sectors; orthographic projections of the light sensors on the wafer are located on the same circumference.
As an alternative of the present invention, a method of determining a monitoring area where arcing occurs includes: and setting a glow intensity threshold value, and judging that arc discharge occurs in the monitoring area when the plasma glow intensity of the monitoring area is greater than the glow intensity threshold value.
As an alternative of the present invention, a method of determining a monitoring area where arcing occurs includes: setting a difference threshold, setting one monitoring area in the multiple monitoring areas as a comparison area, and judging that arc discharge occurs in the comparison area when the difference between the plasma glow intensity of the comparison area and the average value of the plasma glow intensities of any other monitoring area is greater than the difference threshold.
As an alternative of the present invention, during the plasma process, the reflected power of the rf power supply of the plasma process chamber is also monitored, and when the reflected power is greater than a reflected power threshold, the plasma process is stopped.
As an alternative of the invention, the plasma process comprises dry etching or chemical vapour deposition.
As an alternative of the invention, in the plasma process, a plasma glow spectrum is collected, and the plasma glow spectrum is compared with historical data to judge the cause of arc discharge.
The invention also provides a monitoring system for arc discharge of the plasma process chamber, which is characterized by comprising the following components:
a plurality of light sensors disposed in the plasma processing chamber for monitoring plasma glow intensity in a plurality of the monitoring regions during a plasma process;
and the judging module is connected with the optical sensor and is used for judging the monitoring area where the arc discharge occurs.
As an alternative of the present invention, the number of the photosensors and the number of the monitoring areas are the same, and each photosensor corresponds to one monitoring area, and the photosensitive surface of the photosensor faces to the corresponding monitoring area.
As an alternative of the present invention, the orthographic projection of the plurality of monitoring regions on the wafer processed by the plasma processing chamber comprises a plurality of equally divided same circular sectors; orthographic projections of the light sensors on the wafer are located on the same circumference.
As an alternative of the present invention, a glow intensity threshold is set in the determination module, and plasma glow intensities of a plurality of the monitoring areas are received from the optical sensor; and when the plasma glow intensity of the monitoring area is greater than the glow intensity threshold value, the judging module judges that the arc discharge occurs in the monitoring area.
As an alternative of the present invention, a set difference threshold is set in the determination module, and the plasma glow intensities of the plurality of monitoring areas are received from the optical sensor; and setting one monitoring area in the plurality of monitoring areas as a comparison area, and judging that the comparison area has arc discharge when the difference value between the plasma glow intensity of the comparison area and the average value of the plasma glow intensities of any other monitoring area is greater than the difference threshold value by the judgment module.
As an alternative of the present invention, the monitoring system for plasma process chamber arc discharge further comprises a reflected power monitoring module; in the plasma process, the reflected power monitoring module monitors the reflected power of a radio frequency power supply of the plasma process chamber, and when the reflected power is greater than a reflected power threshold, the plasma process is stopped.
As an alternative of the invention, the monitoring system for the arc discharge of the plasma process chamber further comprises a spectrum collection module and an analysis module; the spectrum collection module is used for collecting plasma glow spectrum in the plasma process; the analysis module is connected with the spectrum collection module, and compares the plasma glow spectrum with historical data in the plasma process to judge the reason of arc discharge.
As described above, the present invention provides a method and a system for monitoring arc discharge in a plasma process chamber, which have the following advantages:
the invention defines a plurality of monitoring areas in the plasma process chamber, and judges whether arc discharge occurs or not and which monitoring area occurs specifically by monitoring the plasma glow intensity of the plurality of monitoring areas in the plasma process. The invention can accurately position the generation position of the plasma process chamber after the arc discharge occurs in the plasma process chamber, thereby being beneficial to analyzing the reason of the arc discharge during the subsequent equipment maintenance and preventing the re-generation.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a plasma processing system for performing a plasma process according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a schematic top view illustrating monitoring of a plurality of monitoring areas according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows spectral signals collected during an arc discharge caused by a falling deposit in a silicon dioxide CVD process according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Description of the element reference numerals
100 plasma processing chamber
100a top plate
100b base plate
100c side wall
101 monitoring area
101a first area
102 optical sensor
102a coil structure
103 wafer
104 radio frequency power supply
104a automatic matching device
105 plasma
106 judging module
107 reflected power monitoring module
108 spectrum collection module
109 analysis module
110 characteristic peak
Detailed Description
The embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to specific embodiments, and other advantages and effects of the present invention will be easily understood by those skilled in the art from the disclosure of the present specification. The invention is capable of other and different embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways, and its several details are capable of modification in various respects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Please refer to fig. 1 to 3. It should be noted that the drawings provided in the present embodiment are only schematic and illustrate the basic idea of the present invention, and although the drawings only show the components related to the present invention and are not drawn according to the number, shape and size of the components in actual implementation, the form, quantity and proportion of the components in actual implementation may be changed arbitrarily, and the layout of the components may be more complicated.
Example one
Referring to fig. 1 to 3, the present embodiment provides a method for monitoring arc discharge in a plasma processing chamber, comprising: defining a plurality of monitoring regions 101 in the plasma processing chamber 100; in the plasma process, the monitoring area 101 where the arc discharge occurs is judged by monitoring the plasma glow intensity of a plurality of the monitoring areas 101.
Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a plasma processing system for performing a plasma process in this embodiment. Specifically, the plasma processing system includes a plasma processing chamber 100, the plasma processing chamber 100 including a top plate 100a, a bottom plate 100b, and sidewalls 100 c. The plasma processing chamber 100 is connected to an rf power supply 104, and a plasma 105 is generated in the plasma processing chamber 100 by the rf power supply 104. The rf power source 104 matches the load impedance with the rf power source impedance through an auto match device (auto match)104a, so as to maximize the power transmitted by the rf power source and stabilize the plasma 105 in the process chamber, and to control the reflected power at a low level. It is noted that the plasma processing system in fig. 1 schematically represents only the essential components that are closely related to the present embodiment. Although not shown in fig. 1, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conventional plasma processing system may further include a process gas supply device, a chamber vacuum pumping device, a chamber heating/cooling device, a process endpoint detection device, a wafer chuck, a wafer transfer device, and the like. The plasma processing chamber 100 may also have a more complex chamber structure in order to ensure a higher degree of vacuum, generate and sustain the plasma 105. In addition, according to different processes of dry etching or chemical vapor deposition, the specific structure of the chamber also has corresponding differences. Optionally, the plasma process performed by the plasma process system according to this embodiment includes dry etching or chemical vapor deposition. The dry etching includes processes such as Reactive Ion Etching (RIE), inductively coupled plasma etching (ICP) or capacitively coupled plasma etching (CCP). The chemical vapor deposition comprises Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD), High Density Plasma (HDPCVD) and other processes. The above process generally applies a radio frequency voltage with a frequency of 13.56MHz to the process gas, forms a stable plasma in the process chamber, and performs a processing process such as etching or thin film deposition on the wafer to be processed. With the increasing requirements of the manufacturing process, the power of the radio frequency power supply set by the process parameters is increased, and abnormal arc discharge is more easily generated in the process, so that the wafer and the chamber component are damaged.
Fig. 2 is a schematic top view of a plurality of monitoring regions 101 in this embodiment. Fig. 2 shows only the wafer 103 and the plurality of photosensors 102 located above it, and the coil structure 102a for integrally mounting the photosensors 102. In one embodiment, the coil structure 102a is a ring-shaped base, one surface of which is used for mounting the plurality of optical sensors 102, and the other surface of which is used for mounting on the top plate 100 a. As can also be seen from fig. 2, the orthographic projection of the plurality of monitoring regions 101 on the wafer 103 processed by the plasma processing chamber 100 comprises a plurality of equally divided sectors of the same circle; orthographic projections of the light sensors 102 on the wafer 103 are located on the same circle. The number of the optical sensors 102 is the same as that of the monitoring areas 101, each optical sensor 102 corresponds to one monitoring area 101, and the optical sensors 102 are disposed above the corresponding monitoring area 101. The photosensitive surface of the optical sensor 102 faces the corresponding monitoring area 101. In the present embodiment, the plurality of photosensors 102 are integrally mounted on a coil structure 102a, which coil structure 102a is further mounted below the ceiling 100a of the plasma processing chamber 100. It should be noted that, the embodiment only shows the technical solution that the optical sensors 102 are arranged in a ring shape, but in other embodiments of the present invention, the installation positions of the optical sensors 102 and the coil structures 102a can also be adjusted according to the arrangement of the chamber structure and the monitoring region, for example, the optical sensors are arranged on the sidewall 100c of the plasma processing chamber 100, or the boundary between the top plate 100a and the sidewall 100c, as long as the optical sensors can normally monitor the corresponding monitoring region. The structure in which the optical sensor 102 is integrally mounted may also be not limited to a coil structure, such as a discrete base structure, or the optical sensor 102 may also be directly mounted at a corresponding position inside the plasma process chamber 100.
For the arc discharge in the plasma process, the present embodiment introduces a plurality of optical sensors 102 for monitoring the plasma glow intensity of a plurality of the monitoring areas, and the plasma glow intensity is detected by the optical sensors 102. As shown in fig. 2, the monitoring regions 101 are distributed into a plurality of equally-divided sectors of the same circle, because during the plasma process, the arcing is more likely to occur in the wafer edge (wafer edge) region, and the clock positions where the arcing occurs at the wafer edge can be more easily distinguished according to the sector-distributed monitoring region division scheme. As shown in fig. 2, when an arc discharge occurs in the first region 101a, the optical signal representing the glow intensity collected by the optical sensor 102 corresponding to the monitoring region 101 to which the arc discharge belongs will be stronger than that in other normal regions. In other embodiments of the present invention, the monitoring regions 101 may also be adjusted according to the actual distribution of the regions where arcing is more likely to occur, and the number of monitoring regions 101 may also be adjusted accordingly. It should be noted that, based on the number and the positions of the settings, the areas monitored by the respective photosensors 102 may also overlap, and increasing the number of settings of the photosensors 102 may also improve the positioning accuracy of the arc discharge occurrence positions. Of course, in other possible embodiments, the plurality of monitoring areas 101 may be distributed in other possible arrangements. For example, on the basis of the distribution of the monitoring regions shown in fig. 2, a plurality of concentric circles with different radii are further introduced as boundaries, so that each sector-shaped region is divided into a plurality of sub-regions by different concentric circles in the radial direction, and the sub-regions are defined as the monitoring regions; alternatively, the plurality of monitoring regions may comprise a plurality of rectangular regions arranged in a periodic array in two orthogonal directions parallel to the plane of the wafer.
As an example, the method of determining the monitoring area 101 where the arc discharge occurs includes: setting a glow intensity threshold value, and judging that arc discharge occurs in the monitoring area 101 when the plasma glow intensity of the monitoring area 101 is greater than the glow intensity threshold value. As shown in fig. 1, a judging module 106 connected to the light sensor 102 is introduced in the present embodiment, and a glow intensity threshold is set in the judging module 106. The determining module 106 receives plasma glow intensities of a plurality of the monitoring areas 101 from the light sensor 102; when the plasma glow intensity of the monitored area 101 is greater than the glow intensity threshold, the determining module 106 determines that the arc discharge occurs in the monitored area 101. For example, in the plasma processing system in this embodiment, when a certain process is normally performed, if the plasma has a first glow intensity, a second glow intensity 10% higher than the first glow intensity may be used as the glow intensity threshold. During plasma process operation, when the judging module 106 finds that the glow intensity signal returned by a certain optical sensor 102 exceeds the glow intensity threshold, it can be judged that arc discharge has occurred in the monitoring area 101 corresponding to the optical sensor 102, at this time, the machine should be stopped, and the technical maintenance personnel can perform corresponding inspection according to the monitoring area where arc discharge is judged to occur. Alternatively, the optical sensor 102 may be a photoelectric sensor, which can convert an optical signal into an electrical signal and transmit the electrical signal to the determination module 106 for determination, and the determination module 106 may be a computer system that receives the electrical signal and performs comparison processing.
As an example, during a plasma process, a reflected power of the rf power supply 104 of the plasma process chamber 100 is also monitored, and when the reflected power is greater than a reflected power threshold, the plasma process is stopped. Optionally, the reflected power threshold ranges from 5 to 15W, preferably 10W, which can be adjusted according to the power applied by the rf power source 104. As shown in fig. 1, in the present embodiment, a reflected power monitoring module 107 connected to the rf power source 104 is introduced, during the plasma process, the reflected power monitoring module 107 monitors the reflected power of the rf power source 104 of the plasma process chamber 100 in real time, and when the reflected power is greater than the reflected power threshold, the plasma process is stopped. It should be noted that when the reflected power is greater than the reflected power threshold, arc discharge may not occur in the chamber, so the technical solution of reflected power monitoring introduced in this embodiment has a technical effect of preventing arc discharge from occurring. When the arc discharge does occur, the actual occurrence position of the arc discharge can be further located through the light sensor 102 and the determination module 106.
As an example, collecting characteristic signals of plasma glow spectrum and historical data of corresponding arc discharge reasons in the prior plasma process; and in the plasma process, collecting a plasma glow spectrum, and comparing the plasma glow spectrum with the historical data to judge the arc discharge reason. As shown in fig. 1, the plasma processing system in this embodiment further includes a spectrum collection module 108 and an analysis module 109, where the spectrum collection module 108 is configured to collect a plasma glow spectrum during the plasma processing; the analysis module 109 is connected to the spectrum collection module, and is configured to record a characteristic signal of the plasma glow spectrum collected in a previous plasma process and historical data of an arc discharge reason corresponding to the characteristic signal, and compare the plasma glow spectrum with the historical data in the plasma process to determine the arc discharge reason.
Specifically, the spectrum collection module 108 includes a window opening in the sidewall 100c and a spectrometer that collects a spectrum signal from the window, which may also be directly borrowed from a spectrum analysis system used by a process endpoint detection (EPD) system of the chamber. By collecting and fitting characteristic signals of plasma glow spectrum in the prior plasma process, when arc discharge occurs, the reason is judged, and the spectral characteristic signals corresponding to the reason are recorded in historical data.
For example, as shown in fig. 3, the plasma glow spectrum signal is collected during a batch of silicon dioxide cvd process operation, wherein the abscissa is the wavenumber of the spectrum signal and the ordinate is the relative intensity of the optical signals at different wavenumbers. Arcing occurs during the process operation, as judged by the skilled artisan, due to oxide peeling of the silicon dioxide deposits on the chamber walls down to the wafer surface. The spectral signal has a wave number of 541cm with higher intensity than the spectrum during normal operation-1The characteristic peak 110 of (a) is not included in the normal operation spectrum, and can be used as a basis for judging the cause of the arc discharge. When the arc discharge occurs again in the subsequent process operation, the spectrum signal of the subsequent process operation can be compared with the spectrum signal of fig. 3, and if the characteristic peak 110 also occurs, it can be determined that the arc discharge of the subsequent process operation is also caused by the falling of the silicon dioxide deposit on the chamber wall. It should be noted that the reason for the arc discharge may be, besides the falling of the silicon dioxide deposits as exemplified in the present embodiment, the other reasons such as abnormal silicon dioxide residues on the wafer surface, loss of chamber components, or poor process parameter setting, and the spectral signal thereof also has a corresponding characteristic peak for reason analysis and judgment. Alternatively, the determination module 106, the reflected power monitoring module 107 and the analysis module 109 may be integrated into the same computer system.
Example two
Referring to fig. 1 to 2, the present embodiment provides a method for monitoring arc discharge in a plasma processing chamber, which is different from the first embodiment in that the method for determining the monitoring area 101 where arc discharge occurs includes: setting a difference threshold, setting one monitoring area 101 in the multiple monitoring areas 101 as a comparison area, and judging that arc discharge occurs in the comparison area when the difference between the plasma glow intensity of the comparison area and the average value of the plasma glow intensities of any other monitoring area 101 is greater than the difference threshold.
In the first embodiment, the glow intensity of each monitoring area 101 is compared with the average value of the glow intensity in the process operation, and when the difference between the glow intensity of the concerned comparison area and the average value exceeds the difference threshold, it is determined that arc discharge has occurred in the comparison area. In the process of the plasma process chamber, when abnormal arc discharge does not occur, the glow intensity of the chamber is maintained at a relatively stable level, the average value of the plasma glow intensity of any other monitoring area can be used as a reference value, and when the difference value between the plasma glow intensity of the monitored monitoring area and the reference value is greater than a set difference value threshold value, the abnormal arc discharge is judged to occur. In addition, the determining module 106 may also monitor each monitoring region 101 as the comparison region at the same time, so as to ensure that whether arcing occurs in all regions in the process chamber is monitored at the same time. The comparison can also be carried out by simultaneously referring to the average value of the plasma glow intensity of other multiple monitoring areas. Alternatively, the difference threshold may be 10% of the average value of the plasma glow intensity of any other monitored region 101. Compared with the technical scheme of the first embodiment, the scheme of comparing different monitoring areas in the same process operation process in the embodiment can avoid false arc discharge caused by the fluctuation difference of different batches.
Other embodiments of this embodiment are the same as the first embodiment, and are not described herein again.
EXAMPLE III
Referring to fig. 1 to 2, the present embodiment provides a system for monitoring arc discharge in a plasma processing chamber, comprising:
a plurality of light sensors 102 disposed in the plasma processing chamber 100 for monitoring plasma glow intensity of a plurality of the monitoring regions 101 during a plasma process;
and a judging module 106 connected with the light sensor 102 and used for judging the monitoring area 101 where the arc discharge occurs.
As an example, as shown in fig. 2, a plurality of the optical sensors 102 correspond to a plurality of the monitoring areas 101 one by one, and the optical sensors 102 are disposed above the corresponding monitoring areas 101. The orthographic projection of the plurality of monitoring regions 101 on a wafer 103 processed by the plasma processing chamber 100 comprises a plurality of equally divided same circular sectors; orthographic projections of the light sensors 102 on the wafer 103 are located on the same circle.
As an example, as shown in fig. 1, as an aspect of the present embodiment, a glow intensity threshold is set in the determination module 106, and the plasma glow intensities of the multiple monitoring areas 101 are received from the optical sensor 102; when the plasma glow intensity of the monitored area 101 is greater than the glow intensity threshold, the determining module 106 determines that the arc discharge occurs in the monitored area 101. Or, as another scheme of this embodiment, a set difference threshold is set in the determination module 106, and the plasma glow intensities of the multiple monitoring areas 101 are received from the optical sensor 102; setting one monitoring area 101 of the multiple monitoring areas 101 as a comparison area, and when a difference value between the plasma glow intensity of the comparison area and an average value of the plasma glow intensities of the other monitoring areas 101 is greater than the difference threshold, the determining module 106 determines that arc discharge occurs in the comparison area.
As an example, as shown in fig. 1, a reflected power monitoring module 107 is further included; during the plasma process, the reflected power monitoring module 107 monitors the reflected power of the rf power source 104 of the plasma process chamber 100, and stops the plasma process when the reflected power is greater than a reflected power threshold. Optionally, the reflected power threshold ranges from 5 to 15W.
As an example, as shown in fig. 1, the monitoring system for plasma process chamber arc discharge further comprises a spectrum collection module 108 and an analysis module 109; the spectrum collection module 108 is used for collecting plasma glow spectrum in the plasma process; the analysis module 109 is connected to the spectrum collection module, and is configured to record a characteristic signal of the plasma glow spectrum collected in a previous plasma process and historical data of an arc discharge reason corresponding to the characteristic signal, and compare the plasma glow spectrum with the historical data in the plasma process to determine the arc discharge reason.
In summary, the present invention provides a method and a system for monitoring arc discharge in a plasma process chamber, wherein the monitoring method is characterized in that a plurality of monitoring regions are defined in the plasma process chamber; and in the plasma process, judging the monitoring area where the arc discharge occurs by monitoring the plasma glow intensity of the monitoring areas. The invention defines a plurality of monitoring areas in the plasma process chamber, and judges whether arc discharge occurs or not and which monitoring area occurs specifically by monitoring the plasma glow intensity of the plurality of monitoring areas in the plasma process. The invention can accurately position the generation position of the plasma process chamber after the arc discharge occurs in the plasma process chamber, thereby being beneficial to analyzing the reason of the arc discharge during the subsequent equipment maintenance and preventing the re-generation.
The foregoing embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and utilities of the present invention and are not intended to limit the invention. Any person skilled in the art can modify or change the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is intended that all equivalent modifications or changes which can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and technical spirit of the present invention be covered by the claims of the present invention.
Claims (16)
1. A method for monitoring arc discharge in a plasma process chamber, comprising: defining a plurality of monitoring regions in the plasma processing chamber; and in the plasma process, judging the monitoring area where the arc discharge occurs by monitoring the plasma glow intensity of the monitoring areas.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of monitoring comprises: the method for monitoring the plasma glow intensity of a plurality of monitoring areas comprises the steps that a plurality of light sensors are installed in the plasma process chamber, and the plasma glow intensity is detected through the light sensors.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of monitoring comprises: the number of the optical sensors is the same as that of the monitoring areas, each optical sensor corresponds to one monitoring area, and the photosensitive surface of each optical sensor faces to the corresponding monitoring area.
4. A method of monitoring arc discharge in a plasma processing chamber as recited in claim 3, wherein: the orthographic projection of the monitoring areas on the wafer processed by the plasma processing chamber comprises a plurality of equally divided same-circle sectors; orthographic projections of the light sensors on the wafer are located on the same circumference.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of monitoring comprises: the method for judging the monitoring area where the arc discharge occurs comprises the following steps: and setting a glow intensity threshold value, and judging that arc discharge occurs in the monitoring area when the plasma glow intensity of the monitoring area is greater than the glow intensity threshold value.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of monitoring comprises: the method for judging the monitoring area where the arc discharge occurs comprises the following steps: setting a difference threshold, setting one monitoring area in the multiple monitoring areas as a comparison area, and judging that arc discharge occurs in the comparison area when the difference between the plasma glow intensity of the comparison area and the average value of the plasma glow intensities of any other monitoring area is greater than the difference threshold.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of monitoring comprises: and in the plasma process, monitoring the reflected power of a radio frequency power supply of the plasma process chamber, and stopping the plasma process when the reflected power is greater than a reflected power threshold.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of monitoring comprises: the plasma process comprises dry etching or chemical vapor deposition.
9. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein: and in the plasma process, collecting a plasma glow spectrum, comparing the plasma glow spectrum with historical data, and judging the reason of the arc discharge.
10. A system for monitoring arcing in a plasma processing chamber, comprising:
a plurality of light sensors disposed in the plasma processing chamber for monitoring plasma glow intensity in a plurality of the monitoring regions during a plasma process;
and the judging module is connected with the optical sensor and is used for judging the monitoring area where the arc discharge occurs.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein: the number of the optical sensors is the same as that of the monitoring areas, each optical sensor corresponds to one monitoring area, and the photosensitive surface of each optical sensor faces to the corresponding monitoring area.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein: the orthographic projection of the monitoring areas on the wafer processed by the plasma processing chamber comprises a plurality of equally divided same-circle sectors; orthographic projections of the light sensors on the wafer are located on the same circumference.
13. The system of claim 10, wherein: a glow intensity threshold is set in the judgment module, and plasma glow intensities of a plurality of monitoring areas are received from the optical sensor; and when the plasma glow intensity of the monitoring area is greater than the glow intensity threshold value, the judging module judges that the arc discharge occurs in the monitoring area.
14. The system of claim 10, wherein: a set difference value threshold is set in the judgment module, and plasma glow intensities of a plurality of monitoring areas are received from the optical sensor; and setting one monitoring area in the plurality of monitoring areas as a comparison area, and judging that the comparison area has arc discharge when the difference value between the plasma glow intensity of the comparison area and the average value of the plasma glow intensities of any other monitoring area is greater than the difference threshold value by the judgment module.
15. The system of claim 10, wherein: the device also comprises a reflected power monitoring module; in the plasma process, the reflected power monitoring module monitors the reflected power of a radio frequency power supply of the plasma process chamber, and when the reflected power is greater than a reflected power threshold, the plasma process is stopped.
16. The system of any of claims 10 to 15, wherein: the device also comprises a spectrum collection module and an analysis module; the spectrum collection module is used for collecting plasma glow spectrum in the plasma process; the analysis module is connected with the spectrum collection module, and compares the plasma glow spectrum with historical data in the plasma process to judge the reason of arc discharge.
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