CN117309821A - Detection device and detection method for gas in wafer conveying box - Google Patents
Detection device and detection method for gas in wafer conveying box Download PDFInfo
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- CN117309821A CN117309821A CN202311183469.9A CN202311183469A CN117309821A CN 117309821 A CN117309821 A CN 117309821A CN 202311183469 A CN202311183469 A CN 202311183469A CN 117309821 A CN117309821 A CN 117309821A
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- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 title abstract description 42
- 230000001678 irradiating effect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 6
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 claims description 172
- 238000010926 purge Methods 0.000 claims description 68
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 36
- 238000003860 storage Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- 235000012431 wafers Nutrition 0.000 abstract description 191
- 230000007547 defect Effects 0.000 abstract description 12
- 238000010521 absorption reaction Methods 0.000 description 13
- 239000006227 byproduct Substances 0.000 description 6
- 150000001875 compounds Chemical class 0.000 description 5
- 238000005530 etching Methods 0.000 description 5
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 description 5
- ABTOQLMXBSRXSM-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon tetrafluoride Chemical compound F[Si](F)(F)F ABTOQLMXBSRXSM-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 5
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 description 5
- 230000006870 function Effects 0.000 description 4
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 4
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- QGZKDVFQNNGYKY-UHFFFAOYSA-N Ammonia Chemical compound N QGZKDVFQNNGYKY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 125000000524 functional group Chemical group 0.000 description 3
- XKRFYHLGVUSROY-UHFFFAOYSA-N Argon Chemical compound [Ar] XKRFYHLGVUSROY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N Atomic nitrogen Chemical compound N#N IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- KRHYYFGTRYWZRS-UHFFFAOYSA-N Fluorane Chemical compound F KRHYYFGTRYWZRS-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 238000000862 absorption spectrum Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000004458 analytical method Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000009286 beneficial effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000000356 contaminant Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000005291 magnetic effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000002360 preparation method Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000000047 product Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000006467 substitution reaction Methods 0.000 description 2
- DDFHBQSCUXNBSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N 5-(5-carboxythiophen-2-yl)thiophene-2-carboxylic acid Chemical compound S1C(C(=O)O)=CC=C1C1=CC=C(C(O)=O)S1 DDFHBQSCUXNBSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910017855 NH 4 F Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000002835 absorbance Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000002411 adverse Effects 0.000 description 1
- 150000001335 aliphatic alkanes Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 229910021529 ammonia Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 230000003321 amplification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910052786 argon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007664 blowing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000004364 calculation method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005229 chemical vapour deposition Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000011109 contamination Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000002950 deficient Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007613 environmental effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000005294 ferromagnetic effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000001914 filtration Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910000040 hydrogen fluoride Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000011261 inert gas Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052757 nitrogen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000003199 nucleic acid amplification method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003647 oxidation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007254 oxidation reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000000206 photolithography Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005240 physical vapour deposition Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000002035 prolonged effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000002441 reversible effect Effects 0.000 description 1
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- 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
- H01L21/67242—Apparatus for monitoring, sorting or marking
- H01L21/67253—Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N21/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of optical means, i.e. using sub-millimetre waves, infrared, visible or ultraviolet light
- G01N21/17—Systems in which incident light is modified in accordance with the properties of the material investigated
- G01N21/59—Transmissivity
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- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
- Biochemistry (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
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- Pathology (AREA)
- Container, Conveyance, Adherence, Positioning, Of Wafer (AREA)
Abstract
The embodiment of the application provides a detection device and a detection method for gas in a wafer transfer box, wherein the detection device comprises: the light emitter is used for emitting test light which is used for irradiating air in the wafer conveying box; the signal detector is used for receiving the light to be detected formed by the test light passing through the air in the wafer conveying box and determining the light intensity signal of the light to be detected and the gas component in the wafer conveying box; and the controller is connected with the signal detector and is used for processing the light intensity signal to determine the content of each gas in the gas components. The detection device provided by the embodiment of the application can detect the environment in the wafer conveying box, so that whether the environment in the wafer conveying box changes or not can be timely judged, countermeasures can be timely made, pollution of block defects is reduced, and the yield of wafers is improved.
Description
Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and relates to, but is not limited to, a device and a method for detecting gas in a wafer transfer box.
Background
During semiconductor manufacturing, some byproducts (by products) remain on the wafer (process) during the process. Wafers that have been subjected to processing steps prior to etching are stored in a wafer transfer box (FOUP) for a longer period of time due to the long duration of the etching process. In this way, the residual byproducts on the wafer are combined with water in the air, and finally block defects (block defects) are formed after long-time volatilization, so that the wafer without the process steps is affected, and product defects are caused. The existing FOUP has no function of detecting the internal environment, and cannot know whether the internal environment of the FOUP changes in real time.
Disclosure of Invention
In view of the foregoing, embodiments of the present application provide a device and a method for detecting a gas in a wafer cassette.
In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a device for detecting a gas in a wafer cassette, including:
the light emitter is used for emitting test light which is used for irradiating air in the wafer conveying box;
the signal detector is used for receiving the light to be detected formed by the test light passing through the air in the wafer conveying box and determining the light intensity signal of the light to be detected and the gas component in the wafer conveying box;
And the controller is connected with the signal detector and is used for processing the light intensity signal to determine the content of each gas in the gas components.
In some embodiments, further comprising:
the purging mechanism is used for purging air in the wafer conveying box;
the purging mechanism is connected with the controller, and the controller is further used for controlling the purging mechanism to work when the signal detector detects that the gas component contains preset gas and the content of the preset gas is larger than a threshold value, and controlling the purging mechanism to stop working when the content of the preset gas is smaller than or equal to the threshold value.
In some embodiments, the light emitter and the signal detector are both disposed on the wafer cassette; the wafer transfer box comprises a front door and a tail part which is positioned at the opposite side of the front door;
the signal detector is arranged right below the light emitter and is positioned at the bottom of the wafer conveying box; or,
the light emitter is arranged at the bottom of the tail part of the wafer conveying box, and the signal detector is arranged right above the light emitter and is positioned at the top of the wafer conveying box.
In some embodiments, the wafer cassette includes a front opening and a tail on an opposite side of the front opening;
the light emitter is arranged at the top of the tail part of the wafer conveying box, and the signal detector is arranged right below the light emitter and is positioned on a wafer loading port at the bottom of the wafer conveying box; or,
the signal detector is arranged at the top of the tail part of the wafer conveying box, and the light emitter is arranged right below the signal detector and is positioned on the wafer loading port at the bottom of the wafer conveying box.
In some embodiments, further comprising: a reflecting mirror;
the reflector is used for reflecting light rays passing through the air in the wafer conveying box, so that the reflected light rays enter the air in the wafer conveying box again;
the signal detector is also used for receiving the light to be detected which passes through the air in the wafer conveying box again after being reflected by the reflecting mirror.
In some embodiments, the light emitter, the signal detector, and the mirror are all disposed on the wafer cassette; the wafer transfer box comprises a front door and a tail part which is positioned at the opposite side of the front door;
The light emitter and the signal detector are arranged at the top of the tail part of the wafer conveying box, and the reflector is arranged right below the light emitter and the signal detector and is positioned at the bottom of the wafer conveying box; or,
the reflector is arranged at the top of the tail part of the wafer conveying box, and the light emitter and the signal detector are arranged right below the reflector and are positioned at the bottom of the wafer conveying box.
In some embodiments, the wafer cassette includes a front opening and a tail on an opposite side of the front opening;
the light emitter and the signal detector are arranged at the top of the tail part of the wafer conveying box, and the reflector is arranged right below the light emitter and the signal detector and is positioned on the wafer loading port at the bottom of the wafer conveying box; or,
the reflector is arranged at the top of the tail part of the wafer conveying box, and the light emitter and the signal detector are arranged right below the reflector and are positioned on the wafer loading port at the bottom of the wafer conveying box.
In some embodiments, further comprising: a memory coupled to the controller and the signal detector;
The memory is used for recording the gas components in the wafer conveying box detected by the signal detector and the content of each gas in the gas components determined by the controller;
the controller is further configured to control the purging mechanism to operate when the gas component recorded in the memory contains the preset gas and the content of the preset gas is greater than a threshold value, and control the purging mechanism to stop purging air in the wafer transfer box when the content of the preset gas recorded in the memory is less than or equal to the threshold value.
In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for detecting a gas in a wafer cassette, which is applied to the detecting device in the first aspect, and the method includes:
transmitting test light through a light transmitter to irradiate air in the wafer transfer box;
receiving a light to be tested formed by the test light passing through the air in the wafer conveying box through a signal detector, and determining a light intensity signal of the light to be tested and a gas component in the wafer conveying box;
the light intensity signal is processed by a controller to determine the content of each of the gas components.
In some embodiments, the method further comprises:
when the signal detector detects that the gas component in the wafer conveying box contains preset gas and the content of the preset gas is larger than a threshold value, the purging mechanism is controlled to purge air in the wafer conveying box, and when the content of the preset gas is smaller than or equal to the threshold value, the purging mechanism is controlled to stop purging the air in the wafer conveying box.
In some embodiments, the method further comprises:
recording, by a memory, the gas composition in the pod detected by the signal detector and the content of each of the gases determined by the controller;
when the gas component recorded by the storage contains preset gas and the content of the preset gas is larger than a threshold value, the purging mechanism is controlled to purge the air in the wafer conveying box, and when the content of the preset gas recorded by the storage is smaller than or equal to the threshold value, the purging mechanism is controlled to stop purging the air in the wafer conveying box.
The embodiment of the application provides a detection device and a detection method for gas in a wafer transfer box, wherein the detection device comprises: a light emitter for emitting test light for irradiating air in a wafer transfer box (FOUP); the signal detector is used for receiving the light to be detected formed by the test light passing through the air in the wafer conveying box and determining the light intensity signal of the light to be detected and the gas component in the wafer conveying box; and the controller is connected with the signal detector and is used for processing the light intensity signal to determine the content of each gas in the gas components. The detection device provided by the embodiment of the application can detect the type and the content of the gas in the FOUP, so that the detection of the environment in the FOUP can be realized, whether the environment in the FOUP changes can be timely judged, countermeasures can be timely made, the pollution of block defects is reduced, and the yield of wafers is improved.
Drawings
In the drawings (which are not necessarily drawn to scale), like numerals may describe similar components in different views. Like reference numerals having different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. The drawings illustrate generally, by way of example and not by way of limitation, various embodiments discussed herein.
Fig. 1 to fig. 6 are schematic structural diagrams of a detection device according to an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of a detection method according to an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 8 is a flow chart of another detection method according to an embodiment of the present application.
Detailed Description
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the present application are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present application may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the specific embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the present application. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present application may be practiced without one or more of these details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the application; that is, not all features of an actual implementation are described in detail herein, and well-known functions and constructions are not described in detail.
In the drawings, the size of layers, regions, elements and their relative sizes may be exaggerated for clarity. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being "on" … …, "" adjacent to "… …," "connected to" or "coupled to" another element or layer, it can be directly on, adjacent to, connected to or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on" … …, "" directly adjacent to "… …," "directly connected to" or "directly coupled to" another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers present. It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another element, component, region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the present application. When a second element, component, region, layer or section is discussed, it does not necessarily mean that the first element, component, region, layer or section is present in the present application.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of the associated listed items.
During semiconductor manufacturing, some byproducts of the process remain on the wafer. Wafers that have been subjected to processing steps prior to etching are stored in a FOUP for a longer period of time due to the long duration of the etching process. In this way, the residual by-products on the wafer may combine with water in the air to form block defects, thereby affecting the wafer that is not subjected to the process steps, resulting in product defects.
Currently, the residual by-product on the wafer may be, for example, silicon tetrafluoride (SiF) 4 ) The gas, silicon tetrafluoride gas diffuses and gathers from the bottom to the top of the FOUP and diffuses out of the FOUP, combining with water molecules in the air to form Hydrogen Fluoride (HF) gas and ammonia (NH) 3 ) The hydrogen fluoride gas and the ammonia gas combine to form bulk defective ammonium fluoride (NH 4 F)。
Because the currently used FOUP has no function of detecting the internal environment, whether the internal environment of the FOUP changes or not cannot be known in real time, the pollution and the scrapping of wafers are easy to cause, and the preparation yield of the wafers is low.
Based on this, the embodiment of the application provides a detection device and a detection method for a gas in a wafer transfer box, wherein the detection device comprises: a light emitter for emitting test light for irradiating air in a wafer transfer box (FOUP); the signal detector is used for receiving the light to be detected formed by the test light passing through the air in the wafer conveying box and determining the light intensity signal of the light to be detected and the gas component in the wafer conveying box; and the controller is connected with the signal detector and is used for processing the light intensity signal to determine the content of each gas in the gas components. The detection device provided by the embodiment of the application can detect the type and the content of the gas in the FOUP, so that the detection of the environment in the FOUP can be realized, whether the environment in the FOUP changes can be timely judged, countermeasures can be timely made, the pollution of block defects is reduced, and the yield of wafers is improved.
The detection device and the detection method provided in the embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 to fig. 6 are schematic structural diagrams of a detection device according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 1 to fig. 6, the detection device 10 includes:
a light emitter 101 for emitting test light for irradiating air in the wafer cassette 100;
a signal detector 102 for receiving the light to be measured formed by the test light passing through the air in the wafer cassette 100 and determining the light intensity signal of the light to be measured and the gas composition in the wafer cassette 100;
a controller (not shown) is coupled to the signal detector 102 for processing the light intensity signals to determine the level of each of the gas components.
It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the light emitter 101 may be an infrared signal emitter or a light source capable of emitting infrared. In other embodiments, the light emitter 101 may also be an ultraviolet signal emitter or a light source that can emit ultraviolet light.
The test light emitted by the light emitter 101 may be, for example, infrared rays containing various wavelengths or may be ultraviolet rays containing various wavelengths. Here, the test light is used to illuminate the air in the FOUP 100 to enable detection of the gas type in the FOUP 100. Specifically, when the test light propagates in the air in the FOUP 100, the energy of the test light is captured by the gas molecules in the FOUP 100, so that the light intensity signal with a certain wavelength is weakened, and the test light is changed to form the light to be measured.
It should be noted that, after the signal detector 102 receives the light to be measured, it can capture the light intensity signal of the light to be measured, and then compare the attenuation of the light intensity signal of the light to be measured with the data on the infrared spectrogram (or the ultraviolet spectrogram) to obtain the information of the chemical bond or the functional group contained in the air in the FOUP 100, so as to determine the gas component in the FOUP 100.
In this embodiment, the light emitter 101 and the signal detector 102 are disposed opposite to each other, so that the test light emitted from the light emitter 101 can be received by the signal detector 102 after passing through the air in the FOUP 100.
The controller is connected with the signal detector 102, and can receive the light intensity signal of the light to be detected sent by the signal detector 102, and amplify and filter the light intensity signal of the light to be detected, so that the specific content of the gas in each of the gas components in the FOUP 100 can be determined.
In the embodiment of the application, the controller may be a control chip with an operation capability, for example, a micro control unit (Microcontroller Unit, MCU) or a central processing unit (Central Process Unit, CPU).
Referring to fig. 1 to 6, an embodiment of the present application exemplarily illustrates a structure of a front opening type wafer cassette 100, in which 25 slots (e.g., s1, s2, s3 … … s24 and s25 illustrated in fig. 1 to 6) are provided in the wafer cassette 100, so that 25 wafers of 300mm can be simultaneously accommodated. It should be noted that, the detecting device 10 in the embodiment of the present application may detect the gas in the wafer cassette with any specification, and the number of slots in the wafer cassette 100 is not limited.
In some embodiments, referring to fig. 1 and 2, the light emitter 101 and the signal detector 102 are disposed on the wafer cassette.
It should be noted that, since the wafer cassette 100 in the embodiment of the present application is a front-opening wafer cassette, the wafer cassette 100 includes a front opening door and a tail portion opposite to the front opening door, the front opening door is generally disposed on the front side (i.e. the right side in fig. 1 to 6) of the wafer cassette 100, and in order not to affect the grabbing operation of the wafer, the detecting device 10 is generally disposed on the tail portion of the wafer cassette 100.
It should be further noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the light emitter 101 and the signal detector 102 are disposed relatively in the wafer cassette 100. Thus, it is possible to emit test light and receive light to be tested, and detect the gas in the wafer cassette 100.
In some embodiments, referring to fig. 1, the light emitter 101 is disposed at the top of the tail of the wafer cassette, and the signal detector 102 is disposed directly below the light emitter 101 and at the bottom of the wafer cassette 100.
It should be noted that, the specific position of the light emitter 101 at the top of the tail of the wafer cassette 100 is related to the space inside the wafer cassette 100, when the space inside the wafer cassette 100 is large enough, the light emitter 101 may be disposed inside the top of the wafer cassette 100, and when the space inside the wafer cassette 100 is small, the light emitter 101 may be disposed outside the top of the wafer cassette 100. The specific position of the signal detector 102 at the bottom of the tail of the wafer cassette 100 is related to the space inside the wafer cassette 100, and when the space inside the wafer cassette 100 is large enough, the light emitter 101 may be disposed inside the bottom of the wafer cassette 100, and when the space inside the wafer cassette 100 is small, the light emitter 101 may be disposed outside the bottom of the wafer cassette 100.
It should be noted that, since the wafer carrier 100 is a transparent box, the box does not affect the transmission of infrared rays, and therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, the light emitter 101 is disposed outside the top of the wafer carrier 100, so that the emission of the test light is not affected; the signal detector 102 is disposed outside the bottom of the wafer cassette 100 without affecting its absorption of the light to be measured.
In other embodiments, referring to fig. 2, the light emitter 101 is disposed at the bottom of the tail of the wafer cassette 100, and the signal detector 102 is disposed directly above the light emitter 101 and is located at the top of the wafer cassette 100.
It should be noted that, the specific positions of the light emitter 101 and the signal detector 102 may be set inside or outside the tail of the wafer cassette according to the space inside the wafer cassette 100.
In some embodiments, either of the light emitter 101 and the signal detector 102 is disposed on the cassette 100, and the other is disposed on a Loadport (Loadport) 200 at the bottom of the cassette 100.
The wafer load port 200 is used for placing the FOUP 100, and the wafer load port 200 has a special door opening mechanism for opening the door of the FOUP 100. The wafer load port 200 has a positioning mechanism (Pin) 20 thereon, and the bottom of the FOUP 100 has a hole, so that the positioning of the FOUP 100 by the wafer load port 200 can be achieved after the Pin 20 is aligned with the hole in the bottom of the FOUP 100.
In some embodiments, referring to fig. 3, the light emitter 101 is disposed at the top of the tail of the wafer cassette 100, and the signal detector 102 is disposed directly below the light emitter 101 and on the wafer load port 200 at the bottom of the wafer cassette 100.
In other embodiments, the signal detector 102 is disposed at the top of the tail of the wafer cassette 100, and the light emitter 101 is disposed directly below the signal detector 102 and on the wafer load port 200 at the bottom of the wafer cassette 100.
It should be noted that, in the semiconductor processing system, since the number of wafer load ports 200 is smaller than that of FOUPs, the light emitters 101 or the signal detectors 102 are disposed on the wafer load ports 200, so that a plurality of FOUPs can share one light emitter 101 or one signal detector 102, which is beneficial to reducing the detection cost.
In some embodiments, referring to fig. 1 to 6, the detection device 10 further includes: and a purge mechanism 103, wherein the purge mechanism 103 is used for purging air in the wafer cassette 100.
With continued reference to fig. 1 to 6, the purge mechanism 103 is specifically connected to the wafer load port 200, and the purge mechanism 103 may be a gas pipe including a valve, so that when the valve is opened, a purge gas may be introduced into the FOUP 100 through the wafer load port 200 to purge the original gas in the FOUP 100, so as to avoid contamination of the wafer that is not subjected to the process step by the original gas in the FOUP 100. Here, the purge gas may be, for example, nitrogen, argon or other inert gas.
In the embodiment of the present application, the purge mechanism 103 is connected to the controller. Specifically, a controller is connected to the valve in the purge mechanism 103, and the controller can control the opening or closing of the valve. In this embodiment, the controller is further configured to control the purge mechanism 103 to operate when the signal detector 102 detects that the gas component in the wafer transfer box 100 contains the preset gas and the controller determines that the content of the preset gas is greater than the threshold value, that is, control the valve of the purge mechanism 103 to open, and blow out the gas into the wafer load port 200 and the FOUP 100. When the purging mechanism 103 works, the detection device 10 in the embodiment of the present application detects the gas in the wafer transfer box 100 in real time, and when the controller determines that the content of the preset gas is less than or equal to the threshold value, the purging mechanism 103 is controlled to stop working, that is, the valve of the purging mechanism 103 is controlled to be closed, and the blowing gas is stopped being introduced into the wafer loading port 200 and the FOUP 100.
It should be noted that the predetermined gas may be a polluted gas, such as SiF 4 . The threshold is a threshold preset by a person skilled in the art, and when the content of the polluted gas is greater than the threshold, the polluted gas reacts with water molecules in the air in the FOUP to generate block defects, so that untreated wafers are affected. When the content of the contaminant gas is less than or equal to the threshold value, the untreated wafer is generally not affected because the content of the contaminant gas is relatively low.
In some embodiments, referring to fig. 4 to 6, the detection device 10 further includes: a mirror 104; the mirror 104 is used to reflect light passing through the air in the pod 100 such that the reflected light re-enters the air in the pod 100.
In this embodiment, the path of the detection light can be prolonged through the reflecting mirror 104, so that the energy of the detection light is better absorbed by the air in the wafer transfer box 100, so that the light intensity signal of the light to be detected is more accurate, and the accuracy of the gas detection result in the wafer transfer box 100 can be improved.
In some embodiments, the signal detector 102 is further configured to receive the light to be measured, which is reflected by the mirror 104 and passes through the air in the wafer cassette 100 again, and obtain the light intensity signal of the received light to be measured, and determine the gas component in the wafer cassette 100 based on the received light to be measured.
In some embodiments, the light emitter 101, the signal detector 102, and the mirror 104 are all disposed on the wafer cassette 100.
It should be noted that, when the detection apparatus 10 includes the reflecting mirror 104, the position of the reflecting mirror 104 needs to be opposite to the position of the light emitter 101, and the position of the reflecting mirror 104 needs to be opposite to the position of the signal detector 102, so that the light emitter 101 and the signal detector 102 may be integrated together, and the integrated whole of the light emitter 101 and the signal detector 102 may be located directly above or directly below the reflecting mirror 104.
In some embodiments, referring to fig. 4, the light emitter 101 and the signal detector 102 are disposed at the top of the tail of the wafer cassette 100, and the reflector 104 is disposed directly below the light emitter 101 and the signal detector 102 and at the bottom of the wafer cassette 100.
In other embodiments, referring to fig. 5, the reflector 104 is disposed at the top of the tail of the wafer cassette 100, and the light emitter 101 and the signal detector 102 are disposed directly below the reflector and at the bottom of the wafer cassette 100.
The light emitter 101 and the signal detector 102 are related to the size of the space inside the wafer cassette 100, inside or outside the tail of the wafer cassette 100. The mirror 104 is typically disposed inside the pod 100 due to its small volume.
In some embodiments, the light emitter 101 and the signal detector 102 are disposed at the top of the wafer cassette 100, and the mirror 104 is disposed directly below the light emitter 101 and the signal detector 102 and on the wafer load port 200 at the bottom of the wafer cassette 100.
In some embodiments, referring to fig. 6, the mirror 104 is disposed at the top of the tail of the wafer cassette 100, and the light emitter 101 and the signal detector 102 are disposed directly below the mirror 104 and on the wafer load port 200 at the bottom of the wafer cassette 100.
It should be noted that, in the semiconductor processing system, since the number of wafer load ports 200 is small compared to the number of FOUPs, the integrated body of the light emitters 101 and the signal detectors 102 or the mirror 104 is disposed on the wafer load ports 200, so that a plurality of FOUPs can share one light emitter 101 and one signal detector 102 or share one mirror 104, which is beneficial to reducing the detection cost.
In some embodiments, the detection apparatus 10 further comprises: a memory coupled to the controller and the signal detector 102; the memory is used to record the gas composition in the pod 100 detected by the signal detector 102 and the content of each gas in the gas composition determined by the controller.
Here, the Memory may be a Memory such as a Read Only Memory (ROM), a programmable Read Only Memory (Programmable Read-Only Memory, PROM), an erasable programmable Read Only Memory (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory, EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable Read Only Memory (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory, EEPROM), a magnetic random access Memory (Ferromagnetic Random Access Memory, FRAM), a Flash Memory (Flash Memory), a magnetic surface Memory, an optical disk, or a Read Only optical disk (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory, CD-ROM).
In this embodiment, the memory records the content of each gas in the gas components in the wafer transfer box 100 detected by the signal detector 102 and the content of each gas determined by the controller, so as to form a database or a sample library, so that the relationship between the amount of the polluted gas and the pollution level in the FOUP can be analyzed according to the recorded content of the polluted gas (i.e. the preset gas), and the subsequent analysis and manufacturing process can be facilitated.
In some embodiments, the controller is further configured to control the purge mechanism 103 to operate when the preset gas is contained in the gas components recorded in the memory and the content of the preset gas is greater than the threshold value, that is, control the valve of the purge mechanism 103 to open, and blow out the purge gas into the wafer load port 200 and the FOUP 100.
In this embodiment of the application, through setting up detection device in the FOUP, can realize detecting the environment in the FOUP in real time, in time know the environmental variation in the FOUP to in time make the reply, reduce the pollution of bulk defect, improve the yield of wafer.
In some embodiments, the controller is further configured to control the purge mechanism to stop purging air within the wafer cassette when the content of the preset gas recorded in the memory is less than or equal to a threshold value. Therefore, on one hand, the cost can be saved, and on the other hand, the wafer in the wafer conveying box can be prevented from being influenced by other adverse effects caused by long-time blowing-in of the blowing-out gas.
It should be noted that, the detecting device 10 for detecting the gas in the wafer cassette according to the embodiment of the present application may be used to detect the gas in other devices, such as a reverse chamber, a transfer chamber, and an etching machine. The specific application scenario of the detection apparatus 10 is not limited in this application.
Still another embodiment of the present application provides a method for detecting a gas in a wafer cassette, which is applied to the detecting apparatus in the above embodiment, and fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of a detecting method provided in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 7, and the detecting method includes the following steps: s701 to S703.
Step S701, emitting test light through a light emitter to irradiate air in the wafer transfer box;
here, the test light emitted from the light emitter may be, for example, infrared rays including various wavelengths.
Step S702, receiving a light to be tested formed by the test light passing through the air in the wafer cassette by the signal detector 102, and determining a light intensity signal of the light to be tested and a gas component in the wafer cassette;
it should be noted that, since the test light is infrared light with various wavelengths, when the infrared light passes through the air in the wafer transfer box, the energy of the infrared light is captured by the gas molecules in the wafer transfer box, so that the light intensity signal with a certain wavelength is weakened, and the test light is changed to form the light to be tested. The signal detector can directly capture the light intensity signal of the light to be detected after receiving the light to be detected and compare the attenuation of the light intensity signal of the light to be detected with the data on the infrared spectrogram to obtain the information of chemical bonds or functional groups contained in the air in the wafer conveying box, so that the gas components in the wafer conveying box can be determined.
It should be noted that the light to be measured received by the signal detector may also be the light to be measured formed by reflecting the light by the reflecting mirror and then passing through the air in the wafer transfer box again.
In step S703, the light intensity signal is processed by the controller to determine the content of each of the gases in the gas composition.
The controller is connected with the signal detector, and can receive the light intensity signal of the light to be detected sent by the signal detector, and amplify and filter the light intensity signal of the light to be detected, so that the specific content of each gas in the gas components in the wafer conveying box can be determined.
In some embodiments, the relationship between the light intensity signal and the content of the gas follows lambert-beer's law, and the target compound can be quantitatively analyzed according to the light intensity signal, specifically, the relationship between the light intensity signal and the content of the gas satisfies the following formula (1):
E＝E 0 e -KCI (1)
where E is the incident light energy (i.e., the energy of the test light emitted by the light emitter); e (E) 0 Is transmitted light energy (i.e. the light intensity signal of the light to be measured); k is the gas absorption coefficient; c is the gas molar concentration or mass/volume concentration (i.e., the gas content); i is the thickness of the gas layer. Here, the absorption of each gas in the gas components in the wafer cassette is different, and when determining the content of each type of gas, the calculation is performed using the corresponding gas absorption coefficient.
In some embodiments, the detection method further comprises: when the signal detector detects that the gas component in the wafer transfer box 100 contains preset gas and the content of the preset gas is larger than the threshold value, the purging mechanism is controlled to purge the air in the wafer transfer box, and when the content of the preset gas is smaller than or equal to the threshold value, the purging mechanism is controlled to stop purging the air in the wafer transfer box.
Here, the predetermined gas may be a contaminating gas, such as SiF 4 。
It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, when the signal detector detects that the polluted gas exists, the purging mechanism is immediately controlled to purge the air in the wafer transfer box, because when the content of the polluted gas is relatively low, no influence is usually caused on other unprocessed wafers, and only when the content of the polluted gas exceeds the threshold value, pollution such as block defects can be generated, and at this time, the purging mechanism is controlled to purge the air in the wafer transfer box.
In the embodiment of the present application, the purge gas is introduced into the wafer cassette through the purge mechanism to purge the air in the wafer cassette. In the working process of the purging mechanism, the detection device detects the gas in the wafer conveying box in real time, and when the controller determines that the content of the preset gas is smaller than or equal to a threshold value, the purging mechanism is controlled to stop working, namely, the blowing-off gas is stopped being introduced into the wafer conveying box.
In some embodiments, the detection method further comprises: detecting the content of each gas in the gas components in the wafer transfer box by a memory record signal detector; when the content of the preset gas recorded in the memory is smaller than or equal to the threshold value, the purging mechanism is controlled to purge the air in the wafer conveying box.
In this embodiment, the memory records the content of each gas in the gas components in the wafer transfer box detected by the signal detector and the gas components determined by the controller, so that a database or a sample library can be formed, the relationship between the pollution gas amount and the pollution degree in the FOUP can be analyzed conveniently according to the recorded content of the pollution gas, and the subsequent analysis and manufacturing process can be facilitated.
It should be noted that, the method for detecting the gas in the wafer transfer box provided in the embodiment of the present application is applicable to a process of detecting the gas in other devices in addition to detecting the gas in the wafer transfer box.
The detection principle of the signal detector in the embodiment of the application is as follows: when infrared light having a continuous wavelength irradiates molecules of a substance to be measured, the infrared light having the same natural frequency as the molecules is absorbed, and an infrared absorption spectrum is obtained in which the wave number (i.e., absorption peak position) is on the abscissa and the absorbance is on the ordinate. The absorption of infrared light by different substances is different, and the wave numbers of characteristic absorption peaks are different. Table 1 below shows data for absorption peak positions and absorption intensities for some common compounds.
Table 1:
in some embodiments, the light to be measured received by the signal detector is 2960-2850 cm -1 The strong absorption was shown, and it can be shown from Table 1 that the air in the FOUP contains alkane. And by analogy, the gas composition in the FOUP can be determined according to the attenuation of the light intensity signal of the light to be detected (or the absorption peak position of the light to be detected).
In the embodiment of the application, the characteristic absorption peak intensity of the target compound in the infrared absorption spectrum and the concentration of the target compound follow lambert-beer law, and the target compound can be quantitatively analyzed according to the absorption peak intensity.
Another embodiment of the present application further provides a method for detecting a gas in a wafer cassette, where the method is applied to the detecting device in the foregoing embodiment, and fig. 8 is a schematic flow chart of another detecting method provided in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 8, and the detecting method includes the following steps: s801 to S805.
Step S801, a light source emits infrared light to irradiate air in the FOUP;
step S802, a signal detector collects relevant wave bands and transmits the relevant wave bands to a computer for processing;
step S803, the computer performs amplification, filtering and other processes;
step S804, the computer transmits the analyzed gas components and contents to a recording system for recording;
step S805, if the recording system generates a polluted gas, the system is fed back to the machine, and the machine will give N of loadport 2 The pipeline sends out a command, opens the pipeline and introduces N 2 And (3) gas.
In this embodiment, a light source (corresponding to the light emitter in the above embodiment) and a signal detector are installed on top of the tail of the FOUP, and a reflecting mirror is installed directly below the light emitter and the signal detector. In the wafer processing process, the infrared signal emitter emits infrared rays to irradiate air in the FOUP, energy of the infrared rays is absorbed by gas molecules in the FOUP in the propagation process, so that the reflected infrared rays attenuate at the wavelength, the attenuation of the light intensity signals can be captured by the infrared signal detector (corresponding to the signal detector in the embodiment), and then the information of chemical bonds or functional groups contained in the air molecules in the FOUP can be obtained according to the data on an infrared spectrogram by the attenuation of the light intensity signals. Then, the computer (corresponding to the controller in the above embodiment) is used to amplify and filter the light intensity signal, and then the analyzed components and contents are uploaded to the statistical system (corresponding to the memory in the above embodiment) for recording. If the recording system finds that the pollution gas is detected (corresponding to the pollution gas in the embodiment), the system feeds back the result to the machine, the machine sends out a command and opens the N of loadport 2 A pipe switch (corresponding to the valve in the above embodiment) for introducing N into the FOUP 2 The gas may purge the contaminated gas out of the FOUP.
The machine may be a chemical vapor deposition machine, a physical vapor deposition machine, a photolithography machine, or an oxidation furnace.
In the embodiment of the application, the gas environment in the FOUP is detected by utilizing the infrared rays, so that the defect source can be reduced, and the preparation yield of the wafer is improved.
In several embodiments provided herein, it should be understood that the disclosed structures and methods may be implemented in a non-targeted manner. The above-described structural embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of units is merely a logic function division, and there may be other division manners in actual implementation, such as: multiple units or components may be combined or may be integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not performed. In addition, the components shown or discussed are coupled to each other or directly.
Features disclosed in several method or structural embodiments provided in the present application may be combined arbitrarily without any conflict to obtain new method embodiments or structural embodiments.
The foregoing is merely some embodiments of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think about changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and the changes or substitutions should be covered in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.
Claims (11)
1. A device for detecting gas in a wafer cassette, comprising:
the light emitter is used for emitting test light which is used for irradiating air in the wafer conveying box;
the signal detector is used for receiving the light to be detected formed by the test light passing through the air in the wafer conveying box and determining the light intensity signal of the light to be detected and the gas component in the wafer conveying box;
and the controller is connected with the signal detector and is used for processing the light intensity signal to determine the content of each gas in the gas components.
2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising:
the purging mechanism is used for purging air in the wafer conveying box;
the purging mechanism is connected with the controller, and the controller is further used for controlling the purging mechanism to work when the signal detector detects that the gas component contains preset gas and the content of the preset gas is larger than a threshold value, and controlling the purging mechanism to stop working when the content of the preset gas is smaller than or equal to the threshold value.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the light emitter and the signal detector are both disposed on the wafer cassette; the wafer transfer box comprises a front door and a tail part which is positioned at the opposite side of the front door;
the signal detector is arranged right below the light emitter and is positioned at the bottom of the wafer conveying box; or,
the light emitter is arranged at the bottom of the tail part of the wafer conveying box, and the signal detector is arranged right above the light emitter and is positioned at the top of the wafer conveying box.
4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the wafer cassette comprises a front opening and a tail on an opposite side of the front opening;
the light emitter is arranged at the top of the tail part of the wafer conveying box, and the signal detector is arranged right below the light emitter and is positioned on a wafer loading port at the bottom of the wafer conveying box; or,
the signal detector is arranged at the top of the tail part of the wafer conveying box, and the light emitter is arranged right below the signal detector and is positioned on the wafer loading port at the bottom of the wafer conveying box.
5. The apparatus as recited in claim 2, further comprising: a reflecting mirror;
the reflector is used for reflecting light rays passing through the air in the wafer conveying box so that the reflected light rays reenter the air in the wafer conveying box;
the signal detector is also used for receiving the light to be detected which passes through the air in the wafer conveying box again after being reflected by the reflecting mirror.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the light emitter, the signal detector, and the mirror are all disposed on the wafer cassette; the wafer transfer box comprises a front door and a tail part which is positioned at the opposite side of the front door;
the light emitter and the signal detector are arranged at the top of the tail part of the wafer conveying box, and the reflector is arranged right below the light emitter and the signal detector and is positioned at the bottom of the wafer conveying box; or,
the reflector is arranged at the top of the tail part of the wafer conveying box, and the light emitter and the signal detector are arranged right below the reflector and are positioned at the bottom of the wafer conveying box.
7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the wafer cassette comprises a front opening and a tail on an opposite side of the front opening;
the light emitter and the signal detector are arranged at the top of the tail part of the wafer conveying box, and the reflector is arranged right below the light emitter and the signal detector and is positioned on the wafer loading port at the bottom of the wafer conveying box; or,
the reflector is arranged at the top of the tail part of the wafer conveying box, and the light emitter and the signal detector are arranged right below the reflector and are positioned on the wafer loading port at the bottom of the wafer conveying box.
8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 7, further comprising: a memory coupled to the controller and the signal detector;
the memory is used for recording the gas components in the wafer conveying box detected by the signal detector and the content of each gas in the gas components determined by the controller;
the controller is further configured to control the purging mechanism to operate when the gas component recorded in the memory contains the preset gas and the content of the preset gas is greater than a threshold value, and control the purging mechanism to stop purging air in the wafer transfer box when the content of the preset gas recorded in the memory is less than or equal to the threshold value.
9. A method for detecting a gas in a wafer cassette, applied to the detecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising:
transmitting test light through a light transmitter to irradiate air in the wafer transfer box;
receiving a light to be tested formed by the test light passing through the air in the wafer conveying box through a signal detector, and determining a light intensity signal of the light to be tested and a gas component in the wafer conveying box;
the light intensity signal is processed by a controller to determine the content of each of the gas components.
10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:
when the signal detector detects that the gas component in the wafer conveying box contains preset gas and the content of the preset gas is larger than a threshold value, the purging mechanism is controlled to purge air in the wafer conveying box, and when the content of the preset gas is smaller than or equal to the threshold value, the purging mechanism is controlled to stop purging the air in the wafer conveying box.
11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:
Recording, by a memory, the gas composition in the pod detected by the signal detector and the content of each of the gases determined by the controller;
when the gas component recorded by the storage contains preset gas and the content of the preset gas is larger than a threshold value, the purging mechanism is controlled to purge the air in the wafer conveying box, and when the content of the preset gas recorded by the storage is smaller than or equal to the threshold value, the purging mechanism is controlled to stop purging the air in the wafer conveying box.
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|---|---|---|---|
| CN202311183469.9A CN117309821A (en) | 2023-09-13 | 2023-09-13 | Detection device and detection method for gas in wafer conveying box |
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| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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| CN202311183469.9A CN117309821A (en) | 2023-09-13 | 2023-09-13 | Detection device and detection method for gas in wafer conveying box |
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