JP2003142388A - Method of producing shot layout - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable producing of an optimum shot layout for exposure which matches the production demand of the user. SOLUTION: This method includes a process of automatically making a shot layout and a process of computing the throughput, being the number of processed sheets of wafers per unit time, on the basis of the made shot layout, and an optimum shot layout matched with the request of the user is obtained from the making of the shot layout, based on each process and the computation result of the throughput. In the automatic production process of the shot layout, a plurality of shot layouts which can be a candidate for an optimal shot layout are made from the effective exposure region on a wafer, the shot size, and the chip size, and in the throughput computation process, the throughput is computed from the number of shots of the made shot layout, the shot size, and the exposure quantity.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shot layout forming method and the like for determining the arrangement of exposure shots on a substrate such as a wafer in a semiconductor exposure apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Usually, when a semiconductor exposure apparatus (stepper or scanner) is used to project and expose a circuit pattern on the surface of an original such as a reticle onto a wafer, which is a substrate, the shot arrangement is such that the number of chips from the wafer is small. It is decided to take the maximum number.

[0003]

In recent years, the equipment for mounting semiconductor devices has been shifting from personal computers (PCs) to the Internet such as mobile phones and digital consumer equipment, and semiconductor products are shrinking the market window.
Life expectancy is being shortened, and the variety of products is being reduced in quantity. Also,
Even in mass-produced products such as memories such as DRAMs and microprocessors, the high-priced period after product introduction has become much shorter than before. Therefore, in the future,
At the start of mass production of mass-produced products such as the Internet, digital consumer products, and memories and microprocessors, it is necessary to produce in a shorter period of time than before, that is, to increase the production amount of products per unit time. . Accordingly, semiconductor manufacturers are currently trying to improve productivity by manufacturing on a small-scale line called a mini-fab and changing wafer processing methods such as single wafer processing. Under such circumstances, in a semiconductor exposure apparatus such as a stepper and a scanner, productivity depends on the shot arrangement on the wafer, and the shot arrangement is determined by the chip arrangement on the wafer. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the production amount of products (device chips) per unit time, the shot layout that can take the maximum number of chips from the wafer is not necessarily high in chip productivity, that is, the optimum shot layout as in the past. In some cases, it may not be possible to meet the requirements of the above-mentioned semiconductor manufacturer as a user.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to create an optimum exposure shot layout that meets the production requirements of a user.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a step of automatically creating a shot layout in a shot layout creating method for obtaining a shot array for transferring a pattern of an original onto a substrate. When,
Based on the created shot layout, there is a step of calculating a throughput which is either the number of substrates processed per unit time or a chip production amount, and the creation of the shot layout and the throughput based on each of these steps. The feature is that an optimum shot layout that matches the user's request is obtained from the calculation result. In the step of automatically creating the shot layout, it is desirable to create a plurality of shot layouts that are candidates for the optimum shot layout from the effective exposure area on the substrate, the shot size, and the chip size. In the step of calculating the throughput, it is preferable to calculate the throughput from the shot number, shot size, and exposure amount of the created shot layout. As a method of determining the optimum shot layout, a method based on the number of chips produced per unit time can be used.

In the present invention, a shot layout creating process for automatically creating a plurality of shot layouts that are candidates for an optimum shot layout from the effective exposure area on a substrate such as a wafer, shot size, and chip size, and the created shots. For the layout, by having the step of obtaining the productivity (throughput) per unit time, the chip production amount per unit time in each shot layout is obtained, and by comparing these, it is possible to meet the requirements of the semiconductor manufacturer. Moreover, it is possible to obtain the optimum shot layout.

Further, the present invention may be a recording medium in which a program for using the shot layout creating method is recorded, and is also applied to an exposure apparatus using the shot layout creating method.

Further, the present invention includes the steps of installing a manufacturing apparatus group for various processes including the exposure apparatus in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, and a step of manufacturing a semiconductor device by a plurality of processes using the manufacturing apparatus group. It can also be applied to a semiconductor device manufacturing method of the present invention. The method further includes the steps of connecting the manufacturing apparatus group with a local area network, and performing data communication between the local area network and an external network outside the semiconductor manufacturing factory for information regarding at least one of the manufacturing apparatus group. It is desirable to have. A database provided by a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus is accessed through the external network to obtain maintenance information of the manufacturing apparatus by data communication, or between the semiconductor manufacturing factory and a semiconductor manufacturing factory different from the semiconductor manufacturing factory. It is preferable to perform production management by data communication via an external network.

Further, according to the present invention, manufacturing apparatus groups for various processes including the exposure apparatus, a local area network connecting the manufacturing apparatus groups, and an external network outside the factory can be accessed from the local area network. The present invention is also applied to a semiconductor manufacturing factory having a gateway and capable of performing data communication of information regarding at least one of the manufacturing apparatus group.

The present invention also provides a maintenance method of the exposure apparatus installed in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, wherein a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus provides a maintenance database connected to an external network of the semiconductor manufacturing factory. A step of permitting access to the maintenance database from the semiconductor manufacturing factory via the external network, and transmitting maintenance information accumulated in the maintenance database to the semiconductor manufacturing factory side via the external network. It may be characterized by having a process.

The present invention also provides the above-mentioned exposure apparatus,
It may be characterized in that it further includes a display, a network interface, and a computer that executes software for the network, and allows maintenance information of the exposure apparatus to be data-communicated via a computer network. The network software is
A user interface for accessing a maintenance database provided by a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus, which is connected to an external network of a factory in which the exposure apparatus is installed, is provided on the display, and from the database via the external network. It is preferable to be able to obtain information.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (Embodiment of Shot Layout Creating Method etc.) Hereinafter, a shot layout creating method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The configuration of a repeat (or scan) type projection exposure apparatus, a so-called stepper, will be described with reference to FIG. In this figure, 5
Reference numeral 0 denotes an illumination optical system, which is a reticle 51 as an original plate.
Exposure light is generated to project and expose the pattern (having a plurality of chip patterns) provided on the photosensitive resist layer on the wafer 55 as a substrate. A reticle stage 52 holds the reticle 51. By exposing the reticle 51 held on the reticle stage 52 with exposure light from the illumination optical system 50, the pattern on the reticle 51 is reduced and projected onto the wafer 55 on the wafer chuck 56 via the reduction projection lens 53. To be done.

Reference numeral 54 is a known autofocus detector. This autofocus detector irradiates the surface of the wafer 55 with a light beam, and photoelectrically detects the reflected light, so that the optical axis (Z axis) with respect to the focusing surface of the projection lens 53 is obtained.
The position of the surface of the wafer 55 in the direction is detected. Based on the detection result, the wafer chuck 56 is moved in the optical axis direction of the projection lens 53 by a driving mechanism (not shown), and the surface of the wafer 55 is positioned on the focusing surface of the projection lens 53. 57
Is a wafer stage for moving the wafer 55 held by the wafer chuck 56 along a plane (XY plane) perpendicular to the optical axis of the projection lens 53.
The step-and-repeat movement is performed when sequentially exposing each of the above regions.

Numeral 58 is XY integrated with the wafer stage 57.
A mirror moving along a plane, 59 is a well-known laser interferometer type length measuring device for measuring the position of the wafer stage 57 on the XY plane via the mirror 58, and 60 is a console for controlling the entire projection exposure apparatus. Unit, 61
Is a known alignment detector for detecting an alignment mark formed on the wafer 55 via the projection lens 53 and measuring the position of the wafer 55 on the XY plane.

Next, a method of creating a shot layout that is a candidate for the optimum shot layout according to the present invention will be described. In this shot layout creating method, first, a chip layout within the wafer 55 is created. FIG. 2 shows a method of arranging the chips in the wafer. The chip layout is such that the chips are arranged from the center (a) in the figure from
Arrange by one of the four patterns up to (d). The method of arranging the chips shown in FIGS. 2A to 2D is as follows. In the figure, A represents the center of the wafer and B represents the center of the chip.

(A) The center of the chip is the center of the wafer. (b) The center of the left side of the chip is the center of the wafer. (c) The center of the lower side of the chip is the center of the wafer. (d) The lower left corner of the chip is the center of the wafer.

Next, the chip coordinates to be used are determined in order to determine whether or not the arranged chip exists in the effective exposure area of the wafer. Here, the length of the chip in the X direction is
If lx is set and the length in the Y direction is set to ly, when the validity / invalidity judgment is performed in the first quadrant of the wafer, the coordinates of the upper right corner of the chip,
In the second quadrant, the coordinates of the lower right corner of the chip, in the third quadrant,
The coordinates of the lower left corner, and in the fourth quadrant, the coordinates of the upper left corner may be obtained. For example, the chip coordinates (X, Y) in the presence / absence determination in the first quadrant can be obtained by the following formula.

In the case of the chip layout of (a), (X, Y) = ((m-0.5) × lx), (n-0.5)
Xly)) (b) chip layout (X, Y) = ((mx1x), (n-0.5) * ly)) (c) chip layout (X, Y) = ((M−0.5) × lx), (n × ly)) In the case of the chip layout of (d), (X, Y) = ((m × lx), (n × ly)) m is the X of the chip Number of directions (m = 1, 2, 3, ...), n
Represents the number of chips in the Y direction (n = 1, 2, 3, ...).

Here, assuming that the distance from the center of the wafer is D and the determination chip coordinates are (X, Y), the effective exposure area of the wafer has chip coordinates that satisfy the following expression (1). The chips are defined as those that are within the effective exposure area of the wafer. Therefore, in each of the four chip arrangement patterns, the effective chip is determined by the equation (1), so that each chip layout in the wafer can be obtained. D ² ≧ X ² + Y ² (1)

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a chip layout in the wafer obtained by the above chip arrangement. 3 (a), (b),
(c) and (d) correspond to (a), (b), (c) and (d) of FIG. 2, respectively.

After the chip layout in the wafer 55 is obtained, the shot layout for actual exposure is then obtained. Usually, an exposure shot is composed of one to a plurality of chips, and the shot sizes X and Y are always an integral multiple of the chip size (x, y). FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a method of creating a shot layout. In this figure, a represents an exposure shot having a 2 × 1 2-chip configuration. Reference character c denotes a shot layout creation standard. In the present embodiment, as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 4, the frame of 1 shot 2 × 1 chip is based on the intersection of the left end and the lower end of the chip layout of the wafer 55. The shot layout is created by cutting the chip layout with, and taking the chip in the cut shot as a valid shot. In FIG. 4, the hatched portion of the dotted line indicated by b is the created shot layout.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a shot layout created based on the chip layout of FIG.

Next, a method of obtaining the number of wafers processed (throughput) per unit time from the shot layout created by the shot layout creating method will be described.
The throughput generally represents the number of wafers processed per hour, and the unit is represented by wph (Wafer per Hour). Further, the throughput is obtained from the processing time per wafer.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a general exposure processing sequence for one wafer in the alignment process. As shown in this figure, the processing of one wafer is performed from four processings of the wafer supply processing in step S1, the alignment processing in step S2, the exposure processing in step S3, and the wafer recovery processing in step S4. Become. Therefore, assuming that the unit of each processing time is seconds, the throughput is calculated by calculating the sum of these four processing times.
It can be calculated by the following equation (2).

Throughput (wph) = 3600 ÷ (wafer supply time + alignment time + exposure processing time + wafer recovery time) (2) Here, the wafer supply time and the wafer recovery time are determined by the wafer size, and the alignment Since the time is simply determined by the number of measurement shots used for alignment, these can be treated as fixed values that hardly depend on the shot layout. Therefore, in order to obtain the throughput, the exposure processing time depending on the shot layout should be obtained.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the exposure sequence in the shot exposure process. In the figure, (a) is a stepper,
(b) represents the exposure order of the scanner. Incidentally, the numbers described in the shots are numbers showing the exposure order of the shots.

First, the exposure order of the stepper will be described. As shown in (a) of FIG. 7, in the stepper, the first shot from the start of exposure is stepped in the -X direction, and when the exposure for one column is completed, the stepper is stepped in the -Y direction and then is stepped in the X direction again to be exposed. This process is repeated until the 28th shot at the end of exposure. In the shot layout of FIG. 7 (a), X
23 steps in the direction and 4 steps in the X and Y directions for a total of 2
The stage is moved by 7 steps, that is, the number of shots minus 1 step. Next, the exposure order of the scanner will be described. The arrow in the layout of the shot layout of FIG. 7B represents the scanning direction of the scan exposure, and as shown in the figure, the exposure is always performed so that the scanning directions are alternately reversed between adjacent shots. . The semicircular dotted line in the figure represents the movement (step) of the stage from the end of the scan exposure of one shot to the start of the scan exposure of the next shot, and the arrow indicates the moving direction of the stage. As can be seen from the dotted line of the semicircle, the order of movement of the stage and the number of movements are the same as those of the stepper.

In the exposure process, the movement pattern of the XY stage has three movement patterns in the X direction only, the Y direction only, and the XY simultaneous direction. In the case of the XY simultaneous movement, the X direction movement time and the Y direction. It is possible to allocate the movement to either X or Y by comparing both times of the direction movement time. Therefore, the stage movement time in one wafer can be obtained by obtaining the movement time in each of the X direction and the Y direction and the number of movements in the shot layout. Here, the number of movements in each of X and Y can be simply obtained as follows by the movement time in the X and Y directions, the number of shots, and the number of rows in the horizontal direction of the shot layout. When (X-direction moving time) ≧ (Y-direction moving time) X-direction moving number = shot number-1 Y-direction moving number = 0 (X-direction moving time) <(Y-direction moving time) X-direction moving number = Number of shots-Number of rows Number of movements in Y direction = Number of rows-1

From the above, the exposure processing time depends on the number of shots,
The number of rows in the horizontal direction of the shot layout, the movement time of the wafer stages X and Y depending on the shot size, and the exposure time per shot are given by the following equation (3-1).
Then, it can be obtained by (3-2). (X-direction moving time) ≧ (Y-direction moving time) Exposure processing time (sec) = Wafer stage X-moving time × (Number of shots−1) +1 exposure time of shot × Number of shots (3-1) (X Direction movement time) <(Y direction movement time) Exposure processing time (sec) = Wafer stage X movement time x (Number of shots-Number of Rows) + Wafer stage Y movement time x (Number of Rows-1) + 1 shot exposure Time x number of shots (3-2)

Next, a method of calculating the movement time of the wafer stage will be described. FIG. 8 shows a method of driving the stage. In the figure, V is the stage speed, t is the stage movement time, Vmax is the maximum stage speed, α is the stage acceleration,
S1 is the acceleration section, S2 is the constant speed section, S3 is the deceleration section, and S
4 is the statically determined (positioning) section, t1 is the acceleration drive time, t2
Is a constant speed driving time, t3 is a deceleration driving time, and t4 is a stage stationary (positioning) time.

Generally, in the wafer stage drive, when the vertical axis is the speed V and the horizontal axis is the time t, the acceleration drive of the acceleration section S1 and the constant speed section S2 are constant as shown in FIG. The total time from the acceleration drive time t1 to the stage settling time t4 is performed by the trapezoidal drive control consisting of high-speed driving and deceleration driving in the deceleration section S3, and static settling drive in the settling section S4. Is the moving time of the stage. The stage acceleration α and the maximum stage speed Vmax used for the drive control are set to optimum values in the exposure apparatus according to the moving distance of the stage, and the stage settling time t4
Is set to a fixed time. Here, the actual movement of the stage is performed in the section from the acceleration section S1 to the deceleration section S3, and the final positioning to the target position is performed by the position servo in the static determination section S4. Therefore,
The stage moving distance S indicates the area of the trapezoid indicated by diagonal lines in the figure, and from the stage acceleration α, the stage maximum speed Vmax, the acceleration driving time t1, the constant speed driving time t2, and the deceleration driving time t3, It can be calculated by the following equation (4). S = (1/2) × α × t1 ² + Vmax × t2 + (1/2) × α × t3 ² (4)

As can be seen from FIG. 8, the acceleration drive time t1 is the time required to reach the stage maximum speed Vmax, and the deceleration drive time t3 is the stage maximum speed Vmax to the speed 0.
Since it is the time until it becomes t1 = t3 = Vmax / α
Becomes Therefore, the above equation (4) is S = Vmax ² / α + V
max xt2, and the constant speed drive time t2 is t2 = S / V
max-Vmax / α.

From the above, the stage moving time Tstep can be obtained by the following equation (5). Tstep = t1 + t2 + t3 + t4 = Vmax / α + (S / Vmax−Vmax / α) + Vmax / α + t4 = Vmax / α + S / Vmax + t4 (5) Here, the stage moving distance S actually indicates a shot size. become.

Next, a method of calculating the exposure time per shot by the stepper and the scanner will be described. In the case of a stepper, the exposure of a shot is performed while the stage is stopped, so the exposure time Texpo for one shot is equal to the illuminance I of the exposure light on the wafer surface and the resist sensitivity (exposure amount) E.
Can be obtained by the following equation (6). Texpo = E ÷ I (6)

In the case of a scanner, since exposure is performed while scanning (scanning) in the Y direction within a shot at a constant speed, the exposure time is determined by the distance (length) of the exposure shot in the Y direction and the scanning speed (scan speed). You can ask.

Here, in the scan exposure, since the actual exposure is performed by the rectangular exposure slit orthogonal to the scanning direction, the scan speed Vscan, the width d of the exposure slit, the illuminance I of the exposure light on the wafer surface, and the exposure amount E. Then, the exposure amount E can be expressed by the following equation. E = I × (d ÷ Vscan) Therefore, from the above equation, the scan speed Vscan is Vscan = I ÷ E × d.

From the above, the exposure time Tex in the case of the scanner
po has the following equation (7), where Sscan is the scan distance.
Required by. Here, the acceleration α of the XY stage, the maximum speed Vmax, the exposure light illuminance I on the wafer surface, and the exposure slit width d are predetermined values in the exposure apparatus depending on the shot size, the exposure conditions, or the exposure apparatus.

Below, the chip productivity per unit time of each shot layout will be determined based on an example. In FIG. 9, wafer size = 200.0 mm, shot size X = 18.0.
mm, Y = 20.0 mm Chip size X direction lx = 6.
It is a figure which shows the shot layout created by this shot layout creation method in the case of an exposure shot consisting of 0 mm, Y direction ly = 10.0 mm, exposure effective area = radius 97.0 mm, and 3 × 2 6-chip configuration.

The number of shots, the number of chips, and the number of rows (Rows) in the layout of the four shot layouts created are as follows: (a) shot number = 85, chip number = 441, Row number = 10 (b) Number of shots = 87, number of chips = 448, number of rows = 10 (c), number of shots = 83, number of chips = 442, number of rows = 9 (d), number of shots = 85, number of chips = 444, number of rows = 9, and in the conventional case, the shot layout in (b) was determined as the optimum shot layout.

Next, with respect to the four shot layouts of FIG. 9, the throughput in the stepper is calculated by using the above-described throughput calculation formula. This time, the set exposure amount is 500.0
J / m ² and the set values of the device are: stage acceleration =
5000mm / sec ² , maximum stage speed = 250mm / se
c, stage settling time = 0.05 sec, wafer surface exposure light illuminance = 5000 W / m ² , wafer supply time = 5.0 sec
, Wafer recovery time = 5.0 sec, alignment time =
It is 10.0 seconds.

First, the X stage moving time Tx is calculated from the moving distance of 18.0 mm from the equation (5) as follows: Tx = 250/5000 + 18.0 / 250 + 0.05 = 0.172 sec Y stage moving time Ty From the distance of 20.0 mm, Ty = 250/5000 + 20.0 / 250 + 0.05 = 0.180 sec from the same equation (5).

Next, the exposure time Texpo has an illuminance of 5000 W.
/ M ² and the exposure dose of 500.0 J / m ² from the above formula (6)
Therefore, Texpo = 500/5000 = 0.10 sec.

Next, the exposure processing time is calculated. From the above calculation, the stage movement time is calculated as X stage movement time Tx <
Since the Y stage movement time becomes Ty, the formula (3-2) above is applied to the calculation formula of the exposure processing time, and the exposure processing time in each shot layout is as follows.

In the case of (a) 0.172 × 75 + 0.18 × 9 + 0.1 × 85 = 2
In case of 3.02 sec (b) 0.172 × 77 + 0.18 × 9 + 0.1 × 87 = 2
In case of 3.564 sec (c) 0.172 × 74 + 0.18 × 8 + 0.1 × 83 = 2
In case of 2.468 sec (d) 0.172 × 76 + 0.18 × 8 + 0.1 × 85 = 2
3.012 sec

From the above, the throughput of each shot layout from (a) to (d) of FIG. 9 is obtained as follows.

In case of (a) 3600 ÷ (5.0 + 10.0 + 23.02 + 5.0)
= 83.68 wph (b), 3600 ÷ (5.0 + 10.0 + 23.564 + 5.
0) = 82.63 wph (c) 3600 ÷ (5.0 + 10.0 + 22.468 + 5.
0) = 84.76 wph (d) 3600 ÷ (5.0 + 10.0 + 23.012 + 5.
0) = 83.69 wph

Finally, the chip production amount per hour in each shot layout is calculated. The chip production amount per hour is calculated by (throughput) × (total number of chips in each shot layout), and the chip productivity in each shot layout under the above conditions is 83.68 in the case of (a). X441 = 36902 chips (b) 82.63 × 448 = 37018 chips (c) 84.76 × 442 = 37463 chips (d) 83.69 × 444 = 37158 chips It can be seen that the shot layout has the highest production amount per hour, that is, the shot layout with high productivity. As a result, the semiconductor manufacturer can use the shot layout of (c) in the case of a semiconductor product that requires high-speed productivity.

Although the operation of the present invention has been described in order above, conditions such as productivity priority and number of chips in a wafer are set in advance, and the optimum shot layout that satisfies the conditions is automatically set. It may be created.

The present invention is also applicable to a recording medium such as a magnetic disk or MO in which a program for using the above shot layout creating method is recorded, and a semiconductor exposure apparatus using the above shot layout creating method.

(Embodiment of Semiconductor Production System) Next,
Semiconductor devices (ICs and LSs) using the apparatus according to the present invention
An example of a production system of a semiconductor chip such as I, a liquid crystal panel, a CCD, a thin film magnetic head, a micromachine, etc. will be described. This is to perform maintenance services such as troubleshooting of a manufacturing apparatus installed in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, periodic maintenance, or software provision using a computer network outside the manufacturing factory.

FIG. 10 shows the entire system cut out from a certain angle. In the figure, 101 is a business office of a vendor (apparatus supplier) that provides a semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus. As an example of the manufacturing apparatus, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for various processes used in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, for example, pre-process equipment (exposure apparatus, resist processing apparatus, lithography apparatus such as etching apparatus, heat treatment apparatus, film forming apparatus, flatness apparatus, etc. It is assumed that it will be used as a manufacturing equipment) and post-process equipment (assembly equipment, inspection equipment, etc.). Within the business office 101, a host management system 1 that provides a maintenance database for manufacturing equipment
08, a plurality of operation terminal computers 110, and a local area network (LAN) 109 that connects these to construct an intranet or the like. The host management system 108 has a gateway for connecting the LAN 109 to the Internet 105, which is an external network of the office, and a security function for restricting access from the outside.

On the other hand, 102 to 104 are manufacturing factories of semiconductor manufacturers who are users of manufacturing equipment. The manufacturing factories 102 to 104 may be factories belonging to different manufacturers or may be factories belonging to the same manufacturer (for example, a factory for pre-process, a factory for post-process, etc.). In each of the factories 102 to 104, a plurality of manufacturing apparatuses 106, a local area network (LAN) 111 that connects them to construct an intranet, and a host as a monitoring apparatus that monitors the operating status of each manufacturing apparatus 106 are provided. A management system 107 is provided. Each factory 1
02-104 host management system 107
Is provided with a gateway for connecting the LAN 111 in each factory to the Internet 105 which is an external network of the factory. As a result, it becomes possible to access the host management system 108 on the side of the business office 101 of the vendor from the LAN 111 of each factory via the Internet 105, and the security function of the host management system 108 allows access to only a limited number of users. . Specifically, each manufacturing apparatus 1 is connected via the Internet 105.
In addition to notifying status information indicating the operating status of 06 (for example, a symptom of a manufacturing apparatus in which a trouble has occurred) from the factory side to the vendor side, response information corresponding to the notification (for example, information instructing a troubleshooting method, You can receive maintenance information such as software (data and data for handling), the latest software, and help information from the vendor side. A communication protocol (TCP / IP) generally used on the Internet is used for data communication between each of the factories 102 to 104 and the vendor's office 101 and data communication via the LAN 111 in each factory. . In addition,
Instead of using the Internet as an external network outside the factory, it is possible to use a leased line network (ISDN or the like) having high security without being accessed by a third party. Further, the host management system is not limited to one provided by a vendor, and a user may construct a database and place it on an external network to permit access from a plurality of factories of the user to the database.

Now, FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing the entire system of this embodiment cut out from an angle different from that shown in FIG. In the above example, a plurality of user factories each equipped with a manufacturing apparatus and a management system of a vendor of the manufacturing apparatus are connected by an external network, and production management of each factory or at least one unit is performed via the external network. The information of the manufacturing apparatus was data-communicated. On the other hand, in this example, a factory equipped with manufacturing equipment of a plurality of vendors and a management system of each vendor of the plurality of manufacturing equipments are connected by an external network outside the factory, and maintenance information of each manufacturing equipment is displayed. It is for data communication. In the figure, reference numeral 201 denotes a manufacturing plant of a manufacturing apparatus user (semiconductor device manufacturing maker), and a manufacturing apparatus for performing various processes is installed on a manufacturing line of the factory, here, as an example, an exposure apparatus 202, a resist processing apparatus 203,
The film forming processing device 204 is introduced. Although only one manufacturing factory 201 is shown in FIG. 11, a plurality of factories are actually networked in the same manner. The respective devices in the factory are connected by a LAN 206 to form an intranet, and the host management system 205 manages the operation of the manufacturing line.

On the other hand, the host management system 21 for performing remote maintenance of the supplied equipment is provided at each business office of the vendor (apparatus supply manufacturer) such as the exposure equipment manufacturer 210, the resist processing equipment manufacturer 220, and the film deposition equipment manufacturer 230.
1, 221, 231, which are provided with the maintenance database and the gateway of the external network as described above. A host management system 205 that manages each device in the user's manufacturing plant, and a vendor management system 2 for each device
11, 221, and 231 are connected to each other via the external network 200 such as the Internet or a dedicated line network. In this system, when trouble occurs in any of the series of production equipment on the production line,
Although the operation of the manufacturing line is suspended, it is possible to quickly respond by receiving remote maintenance via the Internet 200 from the vendor of the device in which the trouble has occurred, and the suspension of the manufacturing line can be minimized. .

Each manufacturing apparatus installed in the semiconductor manufacturing factory has a display, a network interface, and a computer for executing network access software and apparatus operating software stored in a storage device. The storage device is a built-in memory, a hard disk, or a network file server. The network access software includes a dedicated or general-purpose web browser, and provides a user interface having a screen as shown in FIG. 12 on the display. The operator who manages the manufacturing device in each factory refers to the screen and refers to the model 401 of the manufacturing device, the serial number 402, and the subject 4 of the trouble.
03, date of occurrence 404, urgency 405, symptom 406, coping method 407, progress 408, etc. are input to the input items on the screen. The input information is transmitted to the maintenance database via the Internet, and the appropriate maintenance information as a result is returned from the maintenance database and presented on the display. In addition, the user interface provided by the web browser further includes hyperlink functions 410 to 410 as illustrated.
412 is implemented, the operator can access more detailed information on each item, extract the latest version of software used for the manufacturing equipment from the software library provided by the vendor, and use the operation guide (help Information) can be withdrawn. Here, the maintenance information provided by the maintenance database includes the information about the present invention described above, and the software library also provides the latest software for implementing the present invention.

Next, a semiconductor device manufacturing process using the above-described production system will be described. FIG. 13 shows a flow of the whole manufacturing process of the semiconductor device.
In step 1 (circuit design), the circuit of the semiconductor device is designed. In step 2 (mask manufacturing), a mask having the designed circuit pattern is manufactured. On the other hand, step 3
In (wafer manufacture), a wafer is manufactured using a material such as silicon. Step 4 (wafer process) is called a pre-process, and an actual circuit is formed on the wafer by the lithography technique using the mask and the wafer prepared above. The next step 5 (assembly) is called a post-process, which is a process of forming a semiconductor chip using the wafer manufactured in step 4, and includes an assembly process (dicing, bonding), a packaging process (chip encapsulation), and the like. Including steps. In step 6 (inspection), the semiconductor device manufactured in step 5 undergoes inspections such as an operation confirmation test and a durability test. A semiconductor device is completed through these processes and shipped (step 7). The front-end process and the back-end process are performed in separate dedicated factories, and maintenance is performed for each of these factories by the remote maintenance system described above. Information for production management and device maintenance is also data-communicated between the front-end factory and the back-end factory via the Internet or the leased line network.

FIG. 14 shows a detailed flow of the wafer process. In step 11 (oxidation), the surface of the wafer is oxidized. In step 12 (CVD), an insulating film is formed on the wafer surface. In step 13 (electrode formation), electrodes are formed on the wafer by vapor deposition. In step 14 (ion implantation), ions are implanted in the wafer. Step 1
In 5 (resist processing), a photosensitive agent is applied to the wafer. In step 16 (exposure), the circuit pattern of the mask is printed and exposed on the wafer by the exposure apparatus described above. In step 17 (development), the exposed wafer is developed. In step 18 (etching), parts other than the developed resist image are removed. In step 19 (resist stripping), the resist that is no longer needed after etching is removed. By repeating these steps, multiple circuit patterns are formed on the wafer. Since the manufacturing equipment used in each process is maintained by the remote maintenance system described above, troubles can be prevented in advance, and even if troubles occur, quick recovery is possible, and semiconductor devices can be compared to conventional devices. Productivity can be improved.

[0058]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the throughput for the created shot layout and further obtain the chip productivity per unit time. This makes it possible to find an optimum shot layout that meets the manufacturing requirements of the semiconductor manufacturer.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a projection exposure apparatus for semiconductor manufacturing to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a chip layout when creating a chip layout in the shot layout creating method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a chip layout created by the shot layout creating method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a shot layout creating method in the shot layout creating method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a shot layout created by the shot layout creation method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an exposure processing step for one wafer in the throughput calculation method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing shot exposure order in the throughput calculation method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a moving time of the wafer stage in the throughput calculating method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example shot layout for determining the chip productivity per unit time according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual view of a semiconductor device production system using the apparatus according to the present invention viewed from an angle.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual view of a semiconductor device production system using the apparatus according to the present invention viewed from another angle.

FIG. 12 is a specific example of a user interface.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a flow of a device manufacturing process.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a wafer process.

[Explanation of symbols]

50: illumination optical system, 51: reticle (original plate), 52: reticle stage, 53: reduction projection lens, 54: auto focus detector, 55: wafer (substrate), 56: wafer chuck, 57: wafer stage, 58: Mirror, 5
9: Laser interferometer type length measuring device, 60: Console unit, 61: Alignment detector.

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A shot layout creating method for obtaining a shot array for transferring a pattern of an original onto a substrate, the step of automatically creating a shot layout,
Based on the created shot layout, there is a step of calculating a throughput which is either the number of substrates processed per unit time or a chip production amount, and the creation of the shot layout and the throughput based on each of these steps. A shot layout creating method characterized by obtaining an optimum shot layout that matches a user's request from a calculation result. 2. In the step of automatically creating the shot layout according to claim 1, an effective exposure area on the substrate,
A shot layout creating method, characterized in that a plurality of shot layouts that are candidates for an optimum shot layout are created from a shot size and a chip size. 3. The shot layout creating method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of calculating the throughput, the throughput is calculated from the number of shots, the shot size, and the exposure amount of the created shot layout. 4. A shot layout creating method, wherein a method based on the number of chips produced per unit time is used as a method for determining the optimum shot layout according to claim 1. 5. A recording medium on which a program for using the shot layout creation method according to claim 1 is recorded. 6. An exposure apparatus using the shot layout creating method according to claim 1. Description: 7. A step of installing a manufacturing apparatus group for various processes including the exposure apparatus according to claim 6 in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, and a step of manufacturing a semiconductor device by a plurality of processes using the manufacturing apparatus group. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: 8. A step of connecting the manufacturing device group with a local area network, and data communication of information about at least one of the manufacturing device group between the local area network and an external network outside the semiconductor manufacturing factory. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 7, further comprising: 9. A semiconductor manufacturing factory which is different from the semiconductor manufacturing factory by accessing a database provided by a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus via the external network to obtain maintenance information of the manufacturing apparatus by data communication. 9. The semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 8, wherein production management is performed by performing data communication with the device via the external network. 10. A manufacturing apparatus group for various processes including the exposure apparatus according to claim 6, a local area network connecting the manufacturing apparatus group, and an external network outside the factory accessible from the local area network. A semiconductor manufacturing plant having a gateway for enabling data communication of information relating to at least one of the manufacturing apparatus group. 11. The method according to claim 6, wherein the semiconductor manufacturing factory is installed.
The exposure apparatus maintenance method according to claim 1, wherein a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus provides a maintenance database connected to an external network of a semiconductor manufacturing factory, and from within the semiconductor manufacturing factory via the external network. And permitting access to the maintenance database, and transmitting the maintenance information accumulated in the maintenance database to the semiconductor manufacturing factory side via the external network. . 12. The exposure apparatus according to claim 6, wherein
An exposure apparatus further comprising a display, a network interface, and a computer that executes network software, and enables maintenance apparatus information to be data-communicated via a computer network. 13. The network software comprises:
A user interface for accessing a maintenance database provided by a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus, which is connected to an external network of a factory in which the exposure apparatus is installed, is provided on the display, and from the database via the external network. 13. The exposure apparatus according to claim 12, which makes it possible to obtain information.