JP2009059992A - Manufacturing method of semiconductor device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the technique for improving the productivity of a semiconductor device for a manufacturing method of the semiconductor device including an exposure process which is automatically performed by a control system. <P>SOLUTION: In the manufacturing method of the semiconductor device including processes of carrying a plurality of semiconductor wafers and a reticle into a processing chamber provided to an exposure processing mechanism and performing exposure processing using an exposure device installed in the processing chamber, the reticle has processing conditions for inspection for inspecting itself, and the control system when sensing that an inspection start condition is met (process C101) conveys the reticle to be inspected and a semiconductor wafer for inspection into the processing chamber (process C103), performs exposure processing in the processing chamber (process C104), and then performs development (process C108) to check whether a pattern formed on the semiconductor wafer for inspection is abnormal (process C109). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a technique that is effective when applied to a semiconductor device manufacturing technique including an exposure processing step performed using a reticle.

  A semiconductor device that processes a large volume of information at an extremely high speed is manufactured using a semiconductor material made of, for example, single crystal silicon as a base material. During the manufacturing process, it is handled in the state of a thin plate having a substantially circular shape called a semiconductor wafer, the semiconductor wafer is divided into equal areas, elements of the same structure are formed between the areas, and they are later formed into chips. By cutting, a single semiconductor device is formed.

  The manufacturing process includes a process referred to as a so-called pre-process, such as processing the semiconductor wafer itself, depositing a desired material, and processing it. For this processing, a series of so-called photolithography techniques such as application of a photoresist film, exposure, development, and etching are used.

  A photoresist film that is exposed to light and changes its strength against a chemical solution is applied onto a semiconductor wafer or a deposited film to be processed. The photoresist film is covered with a so-called reticle having a mask pattern made up of an exposure light transmitting portion and a non-transmitting portion having a desired processed pattern shape, and exposure light is irradiated from the upper surface thereof. Thereby, a desired pattern is transferred to the photoresist film as an exposed portion and a non-exposed portion. By immersing in the chemical solution in this state, either the exposed part or the non-exposed part, which has a lower strength against the chemical liquid, is removed, and a desired pattern is developed on the photoresist film. Here, the one from which the exposed portion is removed is referred to as a positive photoresist film, and the one from which the non-exposed portion is removed is referred to as a negative photoresist film.

At this time, a plurality of semiconductor wafers that are exposed under the same conditions are handled as a batch, the lot processing priority and reticle allocation are managed on the control system, and the exposure process is automated for production. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-24850 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technique for improving the performance.
JP 2006-24850 A

  This technique is disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 in which the manufacturing efficiency of a semiconductor device is increased and the productivity is improved by automating the exposure process. I found the problem shown in.

  The cause of the problem found by the inventor is that the reticle having a mask pattern for forming an exposed portion and a non-exposed portion on the photoresist film in the exposure process becomes cloudy (hereinafter referred to as haze) with use. It is to occur. This haze phenomenon that occurs in the reticle in the manufacture of a semiconductor device causes the following problems.

  First, due to the haze phenomenon, a desired pattern cannot be correctly transferred to the photoresist film, particularly due to scattering at the transmission part of exposure light. This leads to generation of defective chips and a decrease in yield.

  Therefore, the present inventor has studied a technique for inspecting a reticle when the reticle is used in an exposure process when a certain condition is reached. That is, when a predetermined period or the number of processed wafers is reached, a photolithography process is performed on the semiconductor wafer for inspection that does not become a product using the reticle to inspect whether a normal pattern is formed. is there.

  However, the following problems have been found in this method studied by the present inventors.

  First, when entering the inspection process, the flow of the above-described exposure process must be temporarily stopped. This causes a reduction in the throughput of semiconductor device manufacturing. In addition to this, unlike the manufacturing process normally managed by the control system, the inspection process is performed manually, which requires the presence of an operator, which can cause delays and forgetting. This also means that throughput is reduced. Furthermore, as described above, the fact that the operator must be present and manually perform the inspection process causes the unit price of the completed semiconductor device product to increase. Thus, the present inventor has found that the productivity of the semiconductor device is reduced.

  Second, there are a plurality of reticles used in the exposure process, and the inspection conditions differ depending on the type of exposure process to be performed, which makes management complicated. In particular, as described above, since this inspection process is manually performed by an operator, it causes erroneous processing, delay, or increase in the number of people. The occurrence of erroneous processing hinders the normal manufacturing of the semiconductor device and reduces the yield. The delay and the increase in the number of people cause a decrease in the throughput of manufacturing the semiconductor device and an increase in manufacturing cost. Thus, also from the above viewpoint, the present inventor has found a problem of reducing the productivity of the semiconductor device.

  The trend of achieving higher performance required for semiconductor devices by miniaturization in the future means that strict microfabrication technology is required in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices. In the exposure process that the present inventors have studied, exposure light having a shorter wavelength is desired. Currently, for example, an exposure apparatus using an argon fluoride (ArF) laser as a light source is increasing. According to the study of the present inventor, in such an exposure apparatus with a short wavelength light source, the occurrence of the haze phenomenon of the reticle tends to increase. In other words, the present inventor has found that the inspection process is required more frequently, and that the productivity of the semiconductor device is reduced from the viewpoint of yield, throughput, or manufacturing cost. .

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for improving the productivity of a semiconductor device in a semiconductor device manufacturing technique including an exposure process that is automatically processed by a control system.

  The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

  Of the inventions disclosed in the present application, the outline of typical ones will be briefly described as follows.

  That is, in a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method includes the steps of transporting a plurality of semiconductor wafers and a reticle to a processing chamber provided in an exposure processing mechanism, and performing an exposure process using the exposure apparatus provided in the processing chamber. Has an inspection processing condition for performing its own inspection, and when the control system senses that the inspection start condition has been reached, the control system transports the inspection target reticle and the inspection semiconductor wafer to the processing chamber, An exposure process is performed in the processing chamber, and then development is performed to check whether there is an abnormality in the pattern formed on the semiconductor wafer for inspection.

  Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, effects obtained by typical ones will be briefly described as follows.

  That is, in the semiconductor device manufacturing technology including the exposure process automatically processed by the control system, it is possible to improve the productivity of the semiconductor device by realizing labor saving and simplification in the reticle inspection process.

  In the following embodiments, when it is necessary for the sake of convenience, the description will be divided into a plurality of sections or embodiments. However, unless otherwise specified, they are not irrelevant to each other. There are some or all of the modifications, details, supplementary explanations, and the like. Further, in the following embodiments, when referring to the number of elements (including the number, numerical value, quantity, range, etc.), especially when clearly indicated and when clearly limited to a specific number in principle, etc. Except, it is not limited to the specific number, and may be more or less than the specific number. Further, in the following embodiments, the constituent elements (including element steps and the like) are not necessarily indispensable unless otherwise specified and apparently essential in principle. Needless to say. Similarly, in the following embodiments, when referring to the shapes, positional relationships, etc. of the components, etc., the shapes are substantially the same unless otherwise specified, or otherwise apparent in principle. And the like are included. The same applies to the above numerical values and ranges. Also, components having the same function are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings for describing the embodiments, and the repetitive description thereof is omitted as much as possible. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
The first embodiment exemplifies a technique of automating an inspection process of a reticle (mask) used in an exposure process in a semiconductor device manufacturing process and incorporating this inspection process into an already-automated exposure process routine.

  First, the configuration of an exposure processing mechanism M that realizes automation of the exposure process exemplified in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  The exposure processing mechanism M is mainly composed of a plurality of processing chambers 1, a wafer stocker 2, and a reticle stocker 3. Each detail is demonstrated in order.

  The processing chamber 1 is a room for actually performing an exposure process. If a wafer jig containing a plurality of semiconductor wafers to be subjected to equivalent exposure processing is defined as one lot (hereinafter referred to as a wafer lot), the processing chamber 1 has a loading wafer port 4 for receiving the wafer lot into the processing chamber 1. And a carry-out wafer port 5 for withdrawal from the processing chamber 1. Further, the processing chamber 1 includes a loading reticle port 6 for receiving a reticle on which a desired mask pattern used for exposure processing is formed, and a carrying-out reticle port 7 for removing from the processing chamber 1. I have. In the exposure process, when only a single reticle is used for a single wafer lot, the wafer port 4, 5 or the reticle port 6, 7 may be the same for loading and unloading.

  Further, the processing chamber 1 is provided with an exposure device for reducing and projecting a mask pattern of a reticle on a photoresist film applied to a semiconductor wafer. The exposure apparatus is, for example, a reduction projection exposure apparatus including an exposure light source such as a KrF light source (wavelength 249 nm), an ArF light source (wavelength 193 nm), and an F2 light source (wavelength 157 nm), a scanner, and a stepper.

  The wafer stocker 2 is provided for waiting a wafer lot before or after the exposure process. The wafer lot waiting in the wafer stocker 2 is conducted to the wafer ports 4 and 5 described in the processing chamber 1 by the transfer device 8. Apart from this, there is an external transport device 9 for removing the wafer lot after the exposure processing from the wafer stocker 2 to move to the next process, or for bringing it into the wafer stocker 2 to wait for a new wafer lot. is set up.

  The reticle stocker 3 is provided for waiting various reticles used for the exposure process. The reticle has a desired mask pattern composed of a transmission part and a non-transmission part for exposure light. By projecting the transmitted exposure light on the photoresist film in a reduced scale, a pattern composed of an exposed portion and a non-exposed portion can be formed on the photoresist film. The reticle waiting in the reticle stocker 3 is conducted to the reticle ports 6 and 7 described in the processing chamber 1 by the transfer device 8. Reticles are usually stored in reticle pods and transported in that state, but this is not a limitation.

  By the exposure processing mechanism M described above, a reticle having a desired mask pattern is assigned to a semiconductor wafer accommodated in a desired wafer lot, and exposure processing is performed in the processing chamber 1. The assignment of these wafer lots and reticles, the control of the transfer device for transfer / withdrawal to the processing chamber 1, the management of the entire exposure processing mechanism M, and the like are input to the control system (control means) 10 in advance. It is performed under the control of the program. For this purpose, for example, barcodes, character strings, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags, or QR codes (registered trademark) (two-dimensional codes) such as identification information in a state that can be recognized by the control system are included in wafer lots and reticles. Exposure processing conditions are provided. In order to read such identification information and the like, the exposure processing mechanism M is provided with detection means such as an optical sensor or a non-contact reader.

  In the first embodiment, a semiconductor device is manufactured using the exposure processing mechanism M described above with reference to FIG.

  Before entering the exposure processing step, a plurality of semiconductor wafers to be processed are prepared. The semiconductor wafer is subjected to a desired process such as forming a semiconductor element. Then, a photoresist film is applied so as to cover the film to be processed or the main surface of the semiconductor wafer itself to be processed. Here, for example, a photoresist film is applied by a so-called spin coating method in which a photoresist material is dropped on a main surface of a semiconductor wafer while being rotated in-plane, and is spread over the entire surface using centrifugal force. To do. In the method for manufacturing the semiconductor device exemplified in the first embodiment, either a positive type or a negative type photoresist film may be used.

  Thereafter, a plurality of semiconductor wafers subjected to equivalent exposure processing are accommodated in the same wafer jig, and this is defined as one lot (hereinafter referred to as a wafer lot). Then, a plurality of wafer lots having different exposure processing conditions are prepared. The control system 10 senses the availability of the wafer stocker 2 and transports as many wafer lots as can be stocked to the wafer stocker by the external transport device 9 in accordance with the processing priorities registered in the control system 10 in advance. In this state, the wafer lot is set in the exposure processing mechanism M together with the wafer jig, and waits until it is applied to a desired process.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process of performing exposure processing on the semiconductor wafer by the exposure processing mechanism M. The state prepared by the above steps is assumed to be a standby state A shown in FIG. For example, when an actual exposure process is performed, a wafer lot is unloaded from the wafer stocker 2, and when the control system 10 senses a new empty space in the wafer stocker 2, the wafer lot is replenished in the same manner as described above, and the standby state A Is preserved.

  Assume that an arbitrary exposure processing step is completed, and a vacant chamber that is not subjected to exposure processing is generated in one of the processing chambers 1 provided in the exposure processing mechanism M (step S101). When the control system 10 senses this, the control system 10 identifies and assigns a wafer lot having a high processing priority among the wafer lots housed in the wafer jig in the wafer stocker 2 (step S102).

  At this time, unique exposure processing conditions are given to the wafer lot specified in the above process in a state that can be recognized by the control system 10. Here, it is one of the conditions that the reticle having which pattern is used for the exposure processing of the semiconductor wafer belonging to the wafer lot. Therefore, the control system 10 specifies the reticle corresponding to the wafer lot when the wafer lot is specified (step S103).

  Then, the specified wafer lot and the reticle corresponding thereto are transported by the transport device 8 to the carry-in wafer port 4 and the carry-in reticle port 6 in the processing chamber 1 where there is a vacancy (step S104). The timing when each wafer is actually loaded into the processing chamber 1 is the time when the wafer lot and the reticle are loaded into the processing chamber 1 at the same time, or the time when the reticle is loaded into the processing chamber 1 is before the loading of the wafer lot into the processing chamber 1. May be. Further, in a case where a reticle buffer is provided between the processing chamber 1 and each of the reticle ports 6 and 7 and has a mechanism capable of holding a plurality of reticles, it is possible to regard the empty buffer as the empty processing chamber 1. is there.

  Thereafter, exposure processing is performed in the processing chamber 1 (step S105). The exposure process is performed by irradiating the photoresist film covering the semiconductor wafer with exposure light through a reticle having a desired mask pattern, and reducing and projecting this to transfer the desired photoresist film on the semiconductor wafer. Is a process of forming a pattern of an exposed portion and a non-exposed portion at the location. For example, when the exposure process is performed for each chip, the semiconductor wafer or the exposure light source is scanned until all the chip areas on the semiconductor wafer are exposed. There are a plurality of semiconductor wafers belonging to the wafer lot, and each of the above wafers is subjected to the above-described exposure processing. When all the semiconductor wafers are exposed, the wafer lot is stored in the unloading wafer port 5 and the reticle is stored in the unloading reticle port 7. The above series of operations is automated in the processing chamber 1.

  Thereafter, the wafer lot and reticle used for the exposure processing are withdrawn from the processing chamber 1 (step S106), and stand by in the wafer stocker 2 and reticle stocker 3, respectively (step S107). The processed wafer lot waiting in the wafer stocker 2 is collected from the exposure processing mechanism M by the external transport device 9 in order to move to the next step (step S108). As a result, the wafer stocker 2 becomes empty, and a new wafer lot is replenished by the external transport device 9. The collected wafer lot moves to the development step S109. Thereafter, the process proceeds to a desired process such as pattern formation.

  Here, at the time of step S106 when the above-described exposure step S105 ends and the wafer lot and the reticle are withdrawn from the processing chamber 1, the processing chamber 1 is in an empty state in which processing is not performed again. This state means that the process returns to the initial state of the exposure processing mechanism M, that is, step S101 in FIG. Therefore, the control system 10 senses the empty state of the processing chamber 1 and repeats the process S102 and subsequent steps of allocating a wafer lot having a high priority at that time among the wafer lots waiting in the wafer stocker 2.

  In the above description, the routine of the exposure process performed in one process chamber 1 among the plurality of process chambers 1 has been described. However, exactly the same exposure process is performed in parallel in the other process chambers 1. ing. The control system 10 improves the throughput of manufacturing the semiconductor device by performing overall assignment of wafer lots and management of the transfer device 8 with respect to the exposure process performed in all the processing chambers 1. .

  By the way, the inventor said that the reticle, which is indispensable for pattern transfer in the exposure processing step, causes a decrease in the yield of the semiconductor device due to the occurrence of the haze phenomenon, as clarified as a problem above. It is clear. In order to avoid this problem, timely inspection of the reticle is required. In this method, a similar exposure process is performed on a dummy wafer for inspection (inspection semiconductor wafer) unrelated to the product, and the developed pattern is inspected to be normal.

  However, in this inspection method, the exposure processing process automated using the exposure processing mechanism M as described above is temporarily stopped. Moreover, since it is a process different from the routine of a normal product, it is an operation that requires manual labor. For these reasons, the problem of reducing the productivity of the entire semiconductor device has arisen.

  On the other hand, the semiconductor device manufacturing method exemplified in the first embodiment is characterized in that a part of the reticle inspection process is partially automated and further incorporated into a routine of an exposure process of a normal product. . Details of the technology will be described below.

  First, as an important configuration, an inspection processing condition for inspecting the reticle itself is included in an exposure processing condition provided in the reticle and in a state that can be recognized by the control system 10. Here, timing for starting the process of inspecting the reticle is required. This reticle inspection start condition differs depending on what type of exposure processing is normally used for the reticle, and what is used as an index for the inspection start. In this regard, the present inventor, for example, conditions the period of inspection, the number of the semiconductor wafers that have been subjected to exposure processing since the previous inspection, or the elapsed time from the time of first use for the exposure processing. It is desirable. That is, in the first embodiment, it is assumed that each reticle has one of the inspection start conditions described above as an exposure processing condition that can be recognized by the control system 10. The inspection start conditions can be rewritten by the operator.

  FIG. 3 shows a flow of a reticle inspection process exemplified in the first embodiment.

  First, it is assumed that the control system 10 recognizes the inspection start condition of the reticle and recognizes that the reticle has reached the inspection start condition (step C101). In this state, the control system 10 starts a process for inspecting the reticle to be inspected. For example, even if an arbitrary wafer lot requests the use of the reticle, the control system 10 rejects the wafer lot, The wafer stocker 2 is put on standby.

  Next, the control system 10 searches for a processing chamber 1 that is not used for the exposure processing, that is, a vacancy in the processing chamber 1 (step C102). When the processing chamber 1 is not empty, the reticle to be inspected is made to wait on the reticle stocker 3 and waits for the processing chamber 1 to be empty. When the processing chamber 1 becomes empty, the inspection target reticle and the dummy wafer lot are preferentially transferred by the transfer device 8 and transferred into the processing chamber 1 (step C103). Here, the dummy wafer lot is not a semiconductor device to be a product, and for the purpose of inspecting whether a desired pattern can be obtained by the reticle, for example, an element or the like is not formed. This is a set of wafer jigs that contain a semiconductor wafer or the like simply coated with a photoresist film.

  Thereafter, in the processing chamber 1, exposure processing is performed on the dummy wafers accommodated in the dummy wafer lot using the reticle to be inspected in the same manner as the normal exposure processing step described above with reference to FIG. C104). When the exposure processing for all the dummy wafers is completed, the control system 10 removes the dummy wafer lot and the inspection target reticle from the processing chamber 1 (step C105), and makes the wafer stocker 2 and the reticle stocker 3 stand by respectively (step C106). .

  Here, when the process C105 for withdrawing the dummy wafer lot and the inspection target reticle from the processing chamber 1 is completed, the processing chamber 1 is vacant. This becomes the standby state A in the exposure processing step, and it is possible to return to the normal routine of the exposure processing step described with reference to FIG.

  Thereafter, the wafer lot containing the semiconductor wafer subjected to the exposure process using the reticle to be inspected is recovered from the wafer stocker 2 by the external transport device 9, and leaves the exposure processing mechanism M (step C107). Subsequently, in the exposure processing mechanism M, the normal exposure processing process described with reference to FIG. 2 proceeds.

  On the other hand, the development process C108 is performed on the dummy wafer of the wafer lot collected from the exposure processing mechanism M. Thereby, an exposure process is performed using the reticle to be inspected, and a pattern made of the formed photoresist is formed on the dummy wafer. For this pattern, for example, the presence or absence of abnormality is confirmed using a microscope or the like, thereby inspecting whether the desired processing is realized (step C109). If the desired processing is realized and the reticle to be inspected is normal, the exposure processing mechanism M uses it as usual (step C110). On the other hand, when the desired processing is not realized and an abnormality is found in the reticle to be inspected, the reticle is excluded from the reticle stocker 3 and the exposure process using the reticle is stopped (step C111). In this case, supplementation such as repair and replacement or replacement with a new reticle is required.

  As described above, in the method exemplified in the first embodiment, the exposure process using the reticle to be inspected on the dummy wafer is incorporated into a normal routine by attaching the inspection condition to the reticle. Thereby, it is possible to obtain a semiconductor wafer exposed by using the reticle to be inspected without temporarily stopping the processing steps of the exposure processing mechanism M for manufacturing the semiconductor device and without manual intervention. As a result, the yield can be improved without reducing the throughput in manufacturing the semiconductor device, and the productivity of the semiconductor device can be improved.

(Embodiment 2)
The first embodiment exemplifies a technique in which the step of performing the exposure process on the dummy wafer using the reticle to be inspected in the reticle inspection step can be performed under the control of the control system 10. At this time, productivity has been improved by incorporating an exposure processing step for the dummy wafer as part of the normal exposure processing step. On the other hand, if the exposure process to the dummy wafer cannot be started due to some event and the process cannot be completed, the semiconductor device product will be manufactured and a defective product will be manufactured despite the problem with the reticle. There is a possibility.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, in the inspection process of the reticle incorporated in the exposure process automated by the control system 10, a warning is given to the operator when the exposure process to the dummy wafer is not successful and the process cannot be completed. The technique to display is illustrated.

  The case where the exposure process to the dummy wafer is not successful and the process cannot be completed is, for example, a state where a dummy wafer lot made of a wafer jig containing the dummy wafer is not installed in the wafer stocker 2 of the exposure processing mechanism M. In addition, for example, when some mechanical abnormality that prevents the exposure processing mechanism M itself from performing the exposure processing occurs, or when the reticle used for the processing is not installed in the reticle stocker 3 of the exposure processing mechanism M, In this state, the exposure process cannot be completed. In the method illustrated in the second embodiment, the control system 10 issues a warning that can be confirmed by the operator when detecting a state where the exposure processing step cannot be completed as described above.

  Here, the warning that can be confirmed by the operator is, for example, as shown below.

  First, by displaying on the control monitor, which is a display means for performing control of the control system 10 and checking the current status, which is normally used by the worker, that the exposure process is in trouble, the worker Warns by means that can be recognized visually. This makes it easier for workers working near the exposure processing mechanism M to recognize the abnormal state.

  Secondly, an automatic e-mail stating that the exposure processing process is malfunctioning is automatically directed to information processing means such as mobile communication terminals such as personal computers and mobile phones that are normally used by workers. By transmitting, a warning is given by means that the operator can visually recognize. The transmission destination can be prepared in advance, for example, registered in the control system 10. Further, a warning may be given by means that the operator can recognize by tactile sense, for example, by vibration of vibration means such as a small motor. This makes it easier for workers who are not working near the exposure processing mechanism M to recognize the abnormal state.

  Third, for example, warning by means that the operator can visually recognize, such as turning on, blinking, or turning off the signal tower (status indicator lamp), or means that the worker can recognize by hearing, such as a buzzer sound. is there. This makes it easier for an operator who is not looking at a control monitor or the like in the vicinity of the exposure processing mechanism M and who is in a situation where the electronic mail automatically distributed from the control system 10 cannot be viewed to recognize the abnormal state. .

  As described above, in the technique exemplified in the second embodiment, in the automatic exposure processing step using the exposure processing mechanism M, when an abnormality that cannot complete the step occurs, the control system 10 detects and an immediate worker The system to notify is set. Thereby, the throughput of the routine of the exposure process in the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device can be improved. In addition, the manufacturing yield of the semiconductor device can be improved by avoiding a delay in the automated inspection process. In other words, the technique exemplified in the second embodiment can improve the productivity of the semiconductor device from the viewpoint of yield, throughput, manufacturing cost, and the like.

  As mentioned above, the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the exposure wafer mechanism 4 is provided for the exposure processing mechanism M. However, according to the study of the present inventor, photoresist coating, exposure processing, and development processing are performed in-line. There is also a mechanism, and in this case, it can be considered that the loading wafer port 4 is at the head of the inline and the loading reticle port 6 is at the rear.

  The present invention can be applied to the semiconductor industry required for information processing, for example, in personal computers and mobile devices.

It is explanatory drawing of the exposure process mechanism used for the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device which is one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the exposure process process of the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device which is one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the inspection process of the reticle of the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device which is one embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Processing chamber 2 Wafer stocker 3 Reticle stocker 4 Wafer port for carrying in 5 Wafer port for carrying out 6 Reticle port for carrying in 7 Reticle port for carrying out 8 Conveying device 9 External transport device 10 Control system M Exposure processing mechanism

Claims (5)

(A) applying a photoresist film to the main surface of a plurality of semiconductor wafers subjected to a desired treatment;
(B) preparing a plurality of wafer jigs accommodated for each of the plurality of semiconductor wafers to be subjected to equivalent exposure processing, and installing the wafer jig in an exposure processing mechanism;
(C) preparing a plurality of reticles having exposure processing conditions in a state that can be recognized by the control means by the detection means provided in the exposure processing mechanism, and installing the reticle in the exposure processing mechanism;
(D) a step of assigning the wafer jig to a processing chamber in which exposure processing is not performed among a plurality of processing chambers provided in the exposure processing mechanism in accordance with processing priority, and transporting the wafer jig by a transport device;
(E) identifying the plurality of semiconductor wafers transported in the step (d), recognizing the reticle having the exposure processing conditions that match the conditions to be processed, and assigning the reticle to the processing chamber; The step of transferring the reticle to the assigned processing chamber by the transfer device at the same time or before the step (d);
(F) a step of performing desired exposure processing on the plurality of semiconductor wafers using the reticle by an exposure apparatus provided in the processing chamber;
(G) After the step (f), the plurality of semiconductor wafers are accommodated in the wafer jig, and the wafer jig and the reticle are withdrawn from the processing chamber by the transfer device;
(H) After the step (g), with respect to the processing chamber that is not subjected to exposure processing, the wafer jig that accommodates the plurality of semiconductor wafers having the highest processing priority at that time is the target. And (d) to (g),
The exposure processing conditions included in the reticle include inspection processing conditions for inspecting the reticle itself,
In the step (d), a processing plan is created based on the processing priority and the in-process status of the exposure processing mechanism, and the wafer jig is transferred by the transfer device according to the processing plan,
When the control means recognizes that the inspection process condition is met, in the step (d), the control means assigns the wafer jig containing a plurality of inspection semiconductor wafers, Performing the steps (e) to (g),
By inspecting the plurality of semiconductor wafers for inspection, confirm the presence or absence of abnormality in the reticle,
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein when an abnormality is detected in the reticle, the steps (a) to (h) are repeated except the reticle. In the manufacturing method of the semiconductor device according to claim 1,
The processing conditions for inspection of the reticle have inspection start conditions, and the inspection start conditions are conditions for a cycle for performing inspection, conditions for the number of semiconductor wafers subjected to exposure processing since the previous inspection, or exposure for the first time. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, characterized in that it is a condition of an elapsed time from a time point used for processing. In the manufacturing method of the semiconductor device of Claim 1 or 2,
The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein the control means issues a warning that can be confirmed by an operator when detecting a state in which the steps (d) to (h) cannot be completed. In the manufacturing method of the semiconductor device according to claim 3,
The state in which the steps (d) to (h) cannot be completed is a state in which the wafer jig containing the plurality of inspection semiconductor wafers is not installed in the exposure processing mechanism, and a mechanical state in the exposure processing mechanism. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, characterized in that an abnormal condition has occurred or the reticle used for processing is not installed in the exposure processing mechanism. In the manufacturing method of the semiconductor device according to claim 3 or 4,
The warning that can be confirmed by the worker is a warning that the worker can recognize by visual, auditory, or tactile sense.

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