JP2002025878A - Automatic inspection method and automatic restoration method for processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automate inspection process of a processor and a restoration processing from maintenance. SOLUTION: This method is for automatically inspecting the processor, provided with the inline inspection apparatus of a body to be processed and inspection items, including at least those using the inline inspection device and the inspection time are registered beforehand (S302). When the registered inspection time is reached, the operating conditions of the processor are confirmed (S306). The inspection work of the registered inspection item is automatically executed immediately, when the processor is not operated and after the operation of the processor is ended, when the processor is in operation (S308). When an abnormality is detected, abnormality contents are reported to a manager, and the inspection work is interrupted (S316). The restoration processing from the maintenance can be also automated by the almost similarly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic inspection method and an automatic return method for a processing apparatus for an object to be processed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Processing apparatuses are generally operated under critical conditions, and periodic inspections and maintenance are indispensable because minor abnormalities and contaminations reduce the yield of final products. For example, in the case of a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, periodic inspection and maintenance are performed about once a day, and the automation of the work in the periodic inspection and the inspection at the time of return after the maintenance improves the reliability and efficiency of the operation. Needed for. Conventionally, at the time of periodic inspection or when returning after maintenance, workers have performed inspections on various inspection items. In addition, when returning after the maintenance, the inspection and the judgment of the result may be automatically performed according to a predetermined limited inspection item and inspection order, and the operation may return to the normal operation mode.

Incidentally, these inspection items include inspection items that cannot be inspected while the apparatus is operating and must be stopped once. Therefore, every time an inspection or maintenance is performed, the worker checks the operation status of the device. If the device is running, it is necessary to wait until the device stops, or stop the device if necessary. there were. In addition, these inspection items include inspection items such as particle measurement and film thickness measurement, which can be measured only after the dummy wafer or the like is once processed and then the dummy wafer or the like is collected. Therefore,
It is difficult to automatically perform all inspections and return after maintenance. When performing inspections and maintenance,
Workers had to check the operation status of the device every time and proceed with the work manually.

[0004] In recent years, as the size of a wafer or a glass substrate to be processed has increased, the processing apparatus itself has also increased in size.
The number of workers and the number of man-hours required for manual work by workers are also increasing, and from the viewpoint of contamination of clean spaces, automation during inspection and maintenance work is becoming an important technical requirement. ing.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional processing apparatus inspection method and recovery method, and automates processing apparatus inspection and return work after maintenance. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved automatic inspection method and automatic return method for a processing apparatus, which can improve the operation rate of the processing apparatus.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic inspection method for a processing apparatus for an object, comprising at least an inspection item and an inspection time thereof. A registration step of pre-registering the processing, a confirmation step of confirming the operation status of the processing apparatus when the registered inspection time has come, and, if it is determined in this confirmation step that the processing apparatus is not operating, Immediately, if it is determined that the processing device is operating, the inspection process for automatically executing the inspection work of the registered inspection items after the completion of the operation of the processing device, and the inspection process. And a step of determining completion.

It is preferable that the processing device includes an in-line inspection device, and the inspection item includes an inspection item using the in-line inspection. Further, it is preferable that the method further includes a step of responding to an abnormality detection in which when an abnormality is detected in the inspection step, the content of the abnormality is notified to a manager and the inspection work is interrupted. In addition, the above inspection items include at least one of ultimate vacuum degree inspection, leak inspection, flow rate inspection, discharge inspection, high-frequency power supply system inspection, plasma emission inspection, particle inspection, etching characteristic inspection, test transfer, and test wafer processing inspection. Is preferably included. Further, it is preferable to use a multivariate analysis method for detecting an abnormality and / or determining completion in the inspection step.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for automatically returning a processing apparatus for an object to be processed, wherein the processing apparatus returns from a maintenance mode to a normal operation mode. A registration step of pre-registering the inspection items including at least the inspection items and their inspection procedures, and registering the registered inspection items according to the registered inspection procedures when returning the processing apparatus from the maintenance mode. An automatic return method for a processing apparatus, comprising: an automatic return step of performing an automatic inspection.

It is preferable that the automatic return step further includes a step of responding to an abnormality detection for notifying an administrator of the content of the abnormality when the abnormality is detected and interrupting the inspection work. In addition, the above inspection items include at least one of ultimate vacuum degree inspection, leak inspection, flow rate inspection, discharge inspection, high-frequency power supply system inspection, plasma emission inspection, particle inspection, etching characteristic inspection, test transfer, and test wafer processing inspection. Is preferably included. further,
It is preferable to use a multivariate analysis method for detecting an abnormality and / or determining completion in the inspection step.

[0010]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
Preferred embodiments of the automatic inspection method and the automatic return method of the processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail. In the following description and the accompanying drawings, members having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

First, a schematic configuration of a processing apparatus to which the automatic inspection method and the automatic return method according to the present embodiment can be applied will be described with reference to FIGS.

The illustrated processing apparatus 100 is a multi-chamber type apparatus capable of simultaneously performing a plurality of processes, and performs etching or the like on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as a wafer) as an object to be processed. A plurality of processing chambers 102 and 104 for performing processing are arranged in parallel. One end of each of load lock chambers 110 and 112 as vacuum preparatory chambers provided with transfer arms 106 and 108 as transfer means is provided in each of the processing chambers 102 and 104.
4, 116 are connected.

The other ends of the load lock chambers 110 and 112 are connected to one side in the longitudinal direction of a transfer chamber 124 as a common transfer path via gate valves 118 and 120. The illustrated transfer chamber 12
Reference numeral 4 denotes a substantially rectangular shape, and is provided with a transfer arm 128 as transfer means movable in the longitudinal direction. Further, a spare chamber 130 is connected to one lateral side of the transfer chamber 124. The preliminary chamber 130 is provided with an in-line inspection device capable of performing a particle inspection, a film thickness inspection, and the like of a wafer, in addition to a pre-alignment stage for performing a wafer pre-alignment. In the example shown,
Although the spare chamber 130 is configured to serve both as the pre-alignment chamber and the in-line inspection chamber, each chamber may be configured separately.

A particle inspection apparatus as an in-line inspection apparatus irradiates a laser beam onto a wafer surface, detects light irregularly reflected by the particles, and measures the size of the particles based on the intensity. Further, the laser light and the wafer move relatively, and the entire surface of the wafer is used as a measurement area, and the position on the wafer where the particles exist is measured. Further, the particle inspection apparatus can measure particles having a size of 0.2 μm or more, preferably 0.1 μm or more, even when a pattern is formed on a wafer or when a multilayer film is formed. It is preferable to have the ability to detect In addition, the film thickness inspection device as an in-line inspection device uses laser light or LED
Light is irradiated to the wafer surface, and the film thickness is measured from the intensity change of the irradiation light from the upper surface and the lower surface of the film. In addition, even when a multilayer film is formed on a wafer, the film thickness inspection apparatus measures the thickness of the film on the outermost surface with a reproducibility within ± 5 angstroms, preferably within ± 2 angstroms. can do. The data obtained by these in-line inspection devices can be monitored on the device operation screen, stored in the control unit, and used as multivariate analysis data for evaluating the device state.

A plurality of, for example, three wafer cassettes 138, 140, 142 mounted on a cassette stage 138 are connected to other side surfaces in the longitudinal direction of the transfer chamber 124 via gate valves 132, 134, 136. . The wafer cassettes 138, 140, 142
It is configured such that a plurality of wafers can be accommodated at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. Further, a fine coil unit 144 is provided above the transfer chamber 124 so that clean air can be supplied into the transfer chamber.

The operation of the processing apparatus 100 will be briefly described. First, the transfer arm 128 moves in the transfer chamber 124 and takes out the wafer W from the selected carry-in wafer cassette 138. Next, the wafer W is transferred to the preparatory chamber 130, pre-aligned, and then transferred to the transfer arm 106 in the selected load lock chamber 110. The transfer arm 106
The wafer W is mounted on the mounting table 146 in the processing chamber 102.
Thereafter, a predetermined process, for example, a plasma process, is performed on the wafer W in the processing chamber 102, and then the wafer W is loaded into the load lock chamber 110, the transfer chamber 124, and the selected unloading wafer cassette in substantially reverse order. It is carried out to 142 and a series of processing ends.

The above processing is performed for a predetermined time.
Alternatively, after performing over a predetermined number of lots, it is necessary to perform predetermined inspection and maintenance. Hereinafter, an automatic inspection method of the processing apparatus and an automatic return method from the maintenance mode according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

First, an automatic inspection method for a processing device according to the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, according to the present embodiment, first, inspection items to be performed at the time of inspection work of the processing device are registered in advance. Is performed (S302).
As a registration method, it is possible to describe a macro for inspection in advance and to describe various parameters in the macro.

Inspection items that can be registered can be arbitrarily set. For example, the following items can be registered. Process module (processing room) virtual volume measurement, pressure gauge 0 adjustment inspection, pressure gauge 0 adjustment calibration, pressure gauge sensitivity / linearity inspection, flowmeter 0 point inspection, flowmeter 0 point calibration, flowmeter sensitivity / stability inspection, Flow meter FLOW VERIFY, self-diagnosis of flow meter, zero adjustment calibration of back cooling gas pressure gauge, process module exhaust test, load lock module exhaust test, process module leak test, load lock module leak test, discharge test, high frequency power supply system test,
Examples include plasma emission inspection, particle inspection, film thickness inspection, dummy transport inspection, test wafer processing inspection, and the like.

Of these inspection items, for particle inspection, film thickness inspection, dummy transport inspection, test wafer processing inspection, etc., the actual processing equipment is operated to process dummy wafers and test wafers, and in-line inspection equipment, etc. This is the item that needs to be processed. Further, it is also possible to input a parameter relating to an abnormality determination criterion for each inspection item. Furthermore, multivariate analysis of the measured values of all or a plurality of inspection items obtained over time is performed to obtain statistical parameters indicating a small number of device states. It is also possible to set a later return completion criterion.
By automating these comprehensive judgments conventionally performed by the operator, the periodic inspection and the return work after the maintenance can be automated.

Further, an execution trigger can be set as a parameter to be registered in the automatic inspection macro. The execution trigger is an item for setting the timing at which the above-described inspection macro is executed. The execution trigger sets time (can be set at execution intervals such as minutes, hours, days, weeks, and months), lots, the number of wafers, and discharge time. It is possible.

As described above, after the inspection items are registered in step S302, the processing device is operated as usual. Then, when the preset time for performing the inspection work in the execution trigger item is reached (S304), according to the present embodiment, the operation status of the processing device is confirmed (S306). In this confirmation step (S306), when it is determined that the processing device is not operating, the registered contents are automatically inspected immediately (S308). On the other hand, if it is determined in the confirmation step (S306) that the processing apparatus is operating, the inspection of the registered contents is performed after the operation of the processing apparatus is completed, for example, after the wafer is unloaded or the lot is completed. It is done automatically. The confirmation step (S30
In 6), when it is determined that the processing device is operating, it is possible to set so as to skip the inspection item specified by the inspection macro.

Inspection items using an in-line inspection device such as particle inspection and film thickness measurement, and inspection items requiring a long time such as dummy conveyance for inspecting a conveyance system are executed before the lot processing as an execution trigger. , After lot processing, or before and after lot processing,
It is also possible to perform calibration so that inspection items that do not require inspection time during the lot processing are mainly executed before and after the lot.

In the inspection step (S308), if no abnormality is detected as a result of the determination based on the abnormality determination criterion for each inspection item, each inspection is sequentially performed in the same manner. Ultimately, the test results are comprehensively determined based on the device abnormality criteria for a small number of statistical parameters obtained by multivariate analysis of all or multiple test item measurements obtained over time, If it is determined that the inspection is not abnormal, it is determined that the inspection has been completed, and a series of inspection work ends (S312). On the other hand, if an abnormality is detected in the inspection step (S308), the details of the abnormality detection are notified to an operator or the like (S314), and if necessary, the inspection work is interrupted (S316). Wait for staff member's instructions. However, it is also possible to configure so that the inspection work is continued when the detected abnormality content is minor.

In the inspection step (S308), various kinds of determination methods can be employed for abnormality detection, especially in the final overall determination of the apparatus state. By using, more reliable abnormality detection can be performed. In principal component analysis, the state of the device is evaluated simply by examining the value of the principal component by expressing the evaluation of the device state with one or a small number of statistical data that indicates the characteristics of the entirety of various types of inspection data called principal components. Can be evaluated and grasped.
Specifically, for example, the inspection data of all the inspection items when the apparatus is in a normal state is acquired a plurality of times in advance, and a principal component analysis of the obtained inspection data is performed.
Various values for obtaining the principal component are determined. Then, the test data of all the test items when the test is actually performed is applied to an expression for obtaining the first principal component, the value of the first principal component is obtained, and the value of the first principal component in a normal state is compared. Therefore, if it is within the predetermined range, it can be determined that there is no abnormality. If there are n test items, the number of principal components is up to the n-th principal component, that is, there are n components. Generally, the first principal component has the highest reliability.

As described above, according to the automatic inspection method of the processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the completion of the comprehensive inspection is automatically determined by using the multivariate analysis.
As in the case where an in-line inspection device is installed in
It is possible to measure automation even for inspection items that have been difficult to automate in the past. In addition, since the operation status of the processing device is confirmed at the time of executing the inspection work, a flexible inspection work can be automatically executed as if the worker performed the inspection work manually.

Next, a method of automatically returning the processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the processing apparatus needs to be maintained periodically or as needed. After completing the predetermined maintenance, it is necessary to perform an inspection on a predetermined inspection item according to a predetermined procedure and return to the normal operation mode. In this regard, in the past, when returning after maintenance, an operator sequentially performed inspections one by one while judging inspection items for various inspection items.
However, according to the automatic return method of the processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the return from the maintenance work including the in-line inspection such as the particle inspection and the film thickness measurement to the normal operation mode is completed, which has been conventionally performed by the worker. It can be automatically performed including comprehensive judgment.

In order to execute the automatic return method of the processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, it is necessary to register in advance the processing contents and the procedure performed when the processing apparatus returns from the maintenance work to the normal operation mode ( S402). As a registration method, similarly to the automatic inspection method of the processing apparatus described above, it is possible to describe a macro for inspection in advance and describe various parameters in the macro.

Inspection items that can be registered can be arbitrarily set in the same manner as the automatic inspection method of the processing apparatus described above. For example, the following items can be registered. Process module (processing room) virtual volume measurement,
Pressure gauge 0 adjustment inspection, pressure gauge 0 adjustment calibration, pressure gauge sensitivity / linearity inspection, flowmeter 0 point inspection, flowmeter 0 point calibration, flowmeter sensitivity /
Stability test, flow meter FLOW VERIFY, flow meter self-diagnosis, zero adjustment calibration of back cooling gas pressure gauge, process module exhaust test, load lock module exhaust test, process module leak test, load lock module leak test, discharge test, high frequency power Supply system inspection,
Examples include plasma emission inspection, particle inspection, film thickness inspection, dummy transport inspection, test wafer processing inspection, and the like.

Of these inspection items, for particle inspection, film thickness inspection, dummy transport inspection, test wafer processing inspection, etc., the actual processing equipment is operated to process dummy wafers and test wafers, and in-line inspection equipment. This is the item that needs to be processed. Further, it is also possible to input a parameter relating to an abnormality determination criterion for each inspection item. Furthermore, multivariate analysis of the measured values of all or a plurality of inspection items obtained over time is performed to obtain statistical parameters indicating a small number of device states. It is also possible to set a later return completion criterion.
By automating these comprehensive judgments conventionally performed by the operator, the periodic inspection and the return work after the maintenance can be automated.

After the inspection items are registered in advance as described above, periodic maintenance or maintenance as needed is performed on the processing apparatus (S404). After the maintenance is completed as usual, the processing apparatus is returned from the maintenance state according to the automatic return method according to the present embodiment (S406). At the time of return, in the registration step (S402), the return operation is automatically performed according to the inspection contents and procedure registered in advance (S40).
8).

At the time of the return step (S408), it is determined whether or not an abnormality has occurred for each inspection item based on an abnormality determination criterion (S410). In the abnormality determination step (S410), if no abnormality is detected as a result of the determination based on the abnormality determination criterion for each inspection item, each inspection is sequentially performed in the same manner. Ultimately, the test results are comprehensively determined based on the device abnormality criteria for a small number of statistical parameters obtained by multivariate analysis of all or multiple test item measurements obtained over time, If it is determined that the inspection is not abnormal, it is determined that the inspection has been completed, the return process is completed, and the process shifts to the normal operation mode (S412). On the other hand, the abnormality determination step (S41
In step (0), if an abnormality is detected, the contents of the abnormality detection are notified to an operator or the like. If necessary, the recovery process is interrupted (S414) and the operator waits for an instruction. However, it is also possible to configure so that the recovery processing is continued when the detected abnormality content is minor.

As described above, according to the automatic return method of the processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the completion of the comprehensive return is automatically determined by using the multivariate analysis, so that the in-line inspection apparatus can be connected to the processing apparatus. As described above, it is possible to measure the automation even of a return operation item from maintenance, which has been difficult to automate in the past.

Although the preferred embodiments of the automatic inspection method and the automatic return method of the processing apparatus according to the present embodiment have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can conceive various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, and those modifications naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood to belong.

[0035]

According to the automatic inspection method and the automatic return method of the processing apparatus according to the present invention, the completion of the comprehensive inspection and return is automatically determined by using the multivariate analysis, so that the in-line inspection apparatus can be implemented. As in the case of providing the processing device, it is possible to automate the periodic inspection, which was conventionally difficult to automate, and the process of returning from the maintenance mode to the normal operation mode. In addition, the reliability of these operations is improved, and the burden on the workers can be significantly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a horizontal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a processing apparatus to which an automatic inspection method and an automatic return method according to an embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a processing apparatus to which an automatic inspection method and an automatic return method according to an embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing steps of an automatic inspection method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing steps of an automatic return method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 100 processing apparatus 102, 104 processing chamber 106, 108 transfer arm 110, 112 load lock chamber 114, 116 gate valve 118, 120 gate valve 124 transfer chamber 128 transfer arm 130 spare chamber 132, 134, 136 gate valve 137 cassette stage 140, 142, 144 Wafer cassette 145 Fan coil unit 146 Mounting table W Wafer

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Akira Iwami 650 Misasa, Hosaka-cho, Nirasaki-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture Tokyo Electron Yamanashi Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 4M106 AA01 AA20 CA01 CA19 CA20 CA21 CA36 CA41 CA50 CA51 CA52 DH01 DJ20 DJ38 5F004 AA16 BB18 CA09 CB02 CB20 5F045 AA06 BB08 DP02 GB11 GB16 5F103 AA08 BB33 BB36 BB51 HH03 RR01

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An automatic inspection method for a processing apparatus for an object to be processed, comprising: a registration step of pre-registering at least inspection items and their inspection times; A checking step for checking the operation status; and, in the checking step, immediately when the processing device is determined not to be operating, and immediately when the processing device is determined to be operating, the An automatic inspection method for a processing apparatus, comprising: an inspection step of automatically executing an inspection operation of a registered inspection item after an operation is completed; and a step of determining completion of the inspection operation. 2. The automatic inspection method according to claim 1, wherein the processing device includes an in-line inspection device, and the inspection item includes an inspection item using the in-line inspection. 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, if an abnormality is detected in the inspection step, notifying an administrator of the abnormality and suspending the inspection work. 3. The automatic inspection method for a processing apparatus according to 1 or 2. 4. The inspection items include a final vacuum inspection, a leak inspection, a flow inspection, a discharge inspection, a high-frequency power supply system inspection, a plasma emission inspection, a particle inspection, an etching characteristic inspection, a test conveyance, and a test wafer processing inspection. Claim 1, characterized in that at least one is included.
4. An automatic inspection method for a processing apparatus according to any one of 2 and 3. 5. The process according to claim 1, wherein a multivariate analysis method is used for detecting an abnormality and / or determining completion in the inspection step. apparatus. 6. A method for automatically returning a processing apparatus for processing an object to be processed, the method including an inspection item when the processing apparatus returns from a maintenance mode to a normal operation mode, including at least an inspection item using the in-line inspection apparatus. A registration step of pre-registering the inspection items and their inspection procedures, an automatic return step of automatically inspecting the registered inspection items according to the registered inspection procedures when returning the processing apparatus from the maintenance mode, and An automatic return method for a processing apparatus, comprising: an item for bureaucratic judgment. 7. The automatic inspection method according to claim 6, wherein the processing device includes an in-line inspection device, and the inspection item includes an inspection item using the in-line inspection. 8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, when an abnormality is detected in said automatic return step, notifying an administrator of the content of the abnormality and interrupting the inspection work to deal with the abnormality. Item 8. The automatic inspection method for a processing device according to item 6 or 7. 9. The inspection items include a final vacuum inspection, a leak inspection, a flow inspection, a discharge inspection, a high-frequency power supply system inspection, a plasma emission inspection, a particle inspection, an etching characteristic inspection, a test conveyance, and a test wafer processing inspection. Claim 6, wherein at least one of them is included.
9. The method for automatically returning a processing device according to any one of 7 and 8. 10. The process according to claim 6, wherein a multivariate analysis method is used for detecting an abnormality and / or determining completion in the inspection step. apparatus.