JP2010153420A - Substrate processing apparatus, valve control method and program thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus wherein a valve opening and closing pattern can be written into a valve controller without requiring manpower, and logging a high-speed switching operation of valves can be logged. <P>SOLUTION: The substrate processing apparatus has: a valve controller 300 for controlling opening and closing operations of a plurality of valves; and a pattern creating device 302 for creating a valve switching pattern for setting the opening and closing state of the plurality of valves. The pattern creating device 302 writes the created valve switching pattern into an inner area of the valve controller, and stores it in a storage medium of the pattern creating device. The valve controller switches a plurality of valves based on the valve switching pattern 306 written into the inner area, writes the state of opening and closing of the plurality of valves at that time into the inner area of the valve controller, and stores it in the pattern creating device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, a valve control method, and a program thereof.

  This type of substrate processing apparatus includes a plurality of gas supply lines for supplying a plurality of types of gases into the processing chamber, and introduces gas into the processing chamber by opening and closing a plurality of valves attached to the plurality of gas supply lines. Process the substrate.

However, in such a substrate processing apparatus, when a valve is switched at high speed, a valve opening / closing pattern depending on the gas type is manually written in the internal area of the control apparatus, so that an additional gas type is formed. Or, according to the change, the valve opening / closing pattern must be added or changed manually.
Further, since it is difficult to divert the valve opening / closing pattern written in the control device to other control devices, it is necessary to write the valve opening / closing pattern for each control device manually.
Furthermore, the control cycle of the control controller that monitors the creation of process recipes and the state of the apparatus is 1 sec, and it is difficult to see the valve opening / closing switching status at a high speed of less than 1 sec on the operation screen connected to the control controller. Whether or not high-speed switching of the valve was normally performed could only be determined from the film formation result.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus, a valve control method, and a program thereof that can write a valve opening / closing pattern in a control device without human intervention and can log high-speed switching operation of the valve. is there.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, a processing chamber for processing a substrate, a plurality of gas supply lines for supplying a plurality of types of gases into the processing chamber, a plurality of valves provided in the plurality of gas supply lines, A control device that controls opening and closing operations of the plurality of valves; and a pattern creation device that creates a valve switching pattern for setting the opening and closing states of the plurality of valves, and the pattern creation device includes the created valve The switching pattern is written to the internal area of the control device, and the created valve switching pattern is stored in a storage medium of the pattern creation device, and the control device is configured to write the switching pattern to the internal area. The plurality of valves are switched based on a valve switching pattern, and the open / closed states of the plurality of valves at that time are controlled. Writes inside area of location, the substrate processing apparatus that is configured to store in a storage medium of the pattern generating apparatus the opening and closing states of the plurality of valves that are written to the internal area is provided.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a step of creating a valve switching pattern for setting an open / closed state of a plurality of valves by a pattern creation device, and the valve switching pattern created by the pattern creation device are Writing into an internal area of a control device that controls the opening and closing operation of the valve; storing the valve switching pattern created by the pattern creation device in a storage medium of the pattern creation device; and the internal area of the control device The step of switching the plurality of valves based on the valve switching pattern written in the step, the step of writing the open / closed states of the plurality of valves at that time in the internal area of the control device, and the internal area of the control device The pattern creating device displays the open / closed states of the plurality of valves written in Control method for a valve with a step stored in a storage medium is provided.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, the step of writing the valve switching pattern for setting the opening / closing states of the plurality of valves created by the pattern creation device in the internal area of the control device for controlling the opening / closing operation of the plurality of valves. Storing the valve switching pattern created by the pattern creation device in a storage medium of the pattern creation device, and the plurality of valves based on the valve switching pattern written in the internal area of the control device A step of writing the opening / closing states of the plurality of valves at that time in an internal area of the control device, and the pattern creation of the opening / closing states of the plurality of valves written in the internal area of the control device And storing the program in a storage medium of the apparatus. It is provided.

  According to the present invention, a valve opening / closing pattern can be written in the control device without manual intervention, and further, a high-speed switching operation of the valve can be logged.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of a processing furnace of a single-wafer type substrate processing apparatus (semiconductor manufacturing apparatus) 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a support base 206 that supports the substrate 200 is provided in a processing chamber 201 formed by the processing container 202. A susceptor 217 serving as a support plate for supporting the substrate 200 is provided on the support base 206. A heater 207 as a heating mechanism (heating means) is provided inside the support table 206, and the substrate 200 placed on the susceptor 217 is heated by the heater 207. The heater 207 is controlled by a temperature control unit (temperature control means) 253 so that the temperature of the substrate 200 becomes a predetermined temperature. The substrate 200 placed on the susceptor 217 is, for example, a semiconductor silicon wafer, a glass substrate, or the like.

  A rotation mechanism (rotation means) 267 is provided outside the processing chamber 201, and the substrate 200 on the susceptor 217 can be rotated by rotating the support base 206 in the processing chamber 201 by the rotation mechanism 267. ing. Further, an elevating mechanism (elevating means) 266 is provided outside the processing chamber 201, and the support base 206 can be moved up and down in the processing chamber 201 by the elevating mechanism 266. Note that the rotation mechanism 267 is not necessarily provided when the substrate 200 does not need to be rotated.

  A shower head 236 having a large number of gas outlets 240 is provided at the upper portion of the processing chamber 201 so as to face the susceptor 217. The shower head 236 includes a dispersion plate 236a that disperses the gas supplied therein, and a shower plate 236b that ejects the gas dispersed by the dispersion plate 236a into the processing chamber 201 in a shower shape. A first buffer space 236c is provided between the ceiling of the shower head 236 and the dispersion plate 236a, and a second buffer space 236d is provided between the dispersion plate 236a and the shower plate 236b.

  Outside the processing chamber 201, a first raw material supply source 250a that supplies a first raw material that is a liquid raw material and a second raw material supply source 250d that supplies a second raw material that is a liquid raw material are provided. A first liquid source supply pipe 232a is connected to the first source supply source 250a, and a second liquid source supply pipe 232d is connected to the second source supply source 250d. The first liquid source supply pipe 232a and the second liquid source supply pipe 232d are respectively connected via LMFCs (liquid mass flow controllers) 241a and 241d as liquid flow rate controllers (liquid flow rate control means) for controlling the liquid supply flow rate of the source material. The vaporizers 255a and 255d for vaporizing the raw material are connected. A first source gas supply pipe 232a ′ and a second source gas supply pipe 232d ′ are connected to the vaporizers 255a and 255d, respectively. The first source gas supply pipe 232a ′ and the second source gas supply pipe 232d ′ are These are connected to the shower head 236 through valves 243a and 243d, respectively. The first raw material supply source 250a, the first liquid raw material supply pipe 232a, the LMFC 241a, the vaporizer 255a, and the first raw material gas supply pipe 232a ′ constitute a first raw material supply system, and the second raw material supply source 250d, The second raw material supply pipe 232d, the LMFC 241d, the vaporizer 255d, and the second raw material gas supply pipe 232d ′ constitute a second raw material supply system. A raw material supply system is configured by the first raw material supply system and the second raw material supply system. As the raw material, for example, an organometallic material that is liquid at room temperature and normal pressure, that is, an organometallic liquid raw material is used.

In addition, an inert gas supply source 250 c that supplies an inert gas as a non-reactive gas is provided outside the processing chamber 201. An inert gas supply pipe 232c is connected to the inert gas supply source 250c, and an MFC as a flow rate controller (flow rate control means) for controlling the supply flow rate of the inert gas is provided in the middle of the inert gas supply pipe 232c. A (mass flow controller) 241c is provided. The inert gas supply pipe 232c is branched into three supply pipes on the downstream side of the MFC 241c. One of the branched supply pipes is connected to the first source gas supply pipe 232a ′ via the valve 243c, and the other one of the branched supply pipes is connected to the second source gas supply pipe 232d ′ via the valve 243e. The other one of the branched supply pipes is connected to an ozone gas supply pipe 232f described later via a valve 243j. An inert gas supply system is mainly configured by the inert gas supply source 250c, the inert gas supply pipe 232c, the MFC 241c, and the valves 243c, 243e, and 243j. As the inert gas, for example, Ar, He, N ₂ or the like is used. Note that the MFC 241c may be provided in each of three supply pipes.

  In the first source gas supply pipe 232a ′, the first source gas obtained by vaporizing the first source in the vaporizer 255a and the inert gas from the inert gas supply pipe 232c are mixed, and the second source gas supply pipe is supplied. In 232d ′, the second raw material gas obtained by vaporizing the second raw material in the vaporizer 255d and the inert gas from the inert gas supply pipe 232c are mixed and supplied to the shower head 236, respectively. . In addition, the supply of each gas can be controlled by opening and closing valves 243a, 243d, 243c, 243e, and 243j provided in the source gas supply pipes 232a ′ and 232d ′ and the inert gas supply pipe 232c, respectively. It has become.

In addition, an ozonizer 222 that generates ozone gas (O ₃ ) from oxygen gas (O ₂ ) is provided outside the processing chamber 201. An oxygen gas supply pipe 232 b is provided on the upstream side of the ozonizer 222. An oxygen gas supply source 250b is connected to the oxygen gas supply pipe 232b so as to supply oxygen gas to the ozonizer 222. The oxygen gas supply pipe 232b is provided with an MFC (mass flow controller) 241b and a valve 243b as a flow rate controller (flow rate control means) for controlling the supply flow rate of oxygen gas. The supply of oxygen gas can be controlled by opening and closing the valve 243b. An ozone gas supply pipe 232 f is provided on the downstream side of the ozonizer 222. The ozone gas supply pipe 232f is connected to the shower head 236 via a valve 243f, and supplies ozone gas generated by the ozonizer 222 to the shower head 236. Further, the supply of ozone gas can be controlled by opening and closing a valve 243f provided in the ozone gas supply pipe 232f. Note that a dilution oxygen gas supply pipe that supplies oxygen gas for diluting the ozone gas may be connected to the ozone gas supply pipe 232f. An ozone gas supply system is mainly configured by the oxygen gas supply source 250b, the oxygen gas supply pipe 232b, the valve 243b, the ozonizer 222, the ozone gas supply pipe 232f, and the valve 243f.

  A gas supply system is mainly constituted by the first raw material supply system, the second raw material supply system, the inert gas supply system, and the ozone gas supply system.

  An exhaust port 230 is provided in the lower side wall of the processing vessel 202, and a vacuum pump 246 serving as an exhaust device (exhaust means) and an exhaust pipe 231 communicating with a detoxification device (not shown) are connected to the exhaust port 230. Has been. The exhaust pipe 231 is provided with a pressure control unit (pressure control means) 254 such as an APC (Auto Pressure Controller) valve for controlling the pressure in the processing chamber 201 and a raw material recovery trap 251 for recovering the raw material. . A gas exhaust system is mainly configured by the exhaust port 230, the exhaust pipe 231, the vacuum pump 246, and the pressure control unit 254.

  A conductance plate 205 as a rectifying plate for adjusting the flow of gas supplied from the gas supply system via the shower head 236 is provided on the support table 206 in the processing chamber 201. The conductance plate 205 has an annular shape and is provided around the substrate. The gas supplied onto the substrate 200 via the shower head 236 flows outward in the radial direction of the substrate 200, passes over the conductance plate 205, and passes between the conductance plate 205 and the side wall (inner wall) of the processing vessel 202. The exhaust is exhausted from the exhaust port 230.

  Vent pipes (bypass pipes) 252a, 252c, and 252b are connected to the first source gas supply pipe 232a ′, the second source gas supply pipe 232d ′, and the ozone gas supply pipe 232f, respectively. The lower ends of the vent pipes 252a, 252c, and 252b are connected to the upstream side of the raw material recovery trap 251 of the exhaust pipe 231. Valves 243g, 243i, and 243h are provided on the vent pipes 252a, 252c, and 252b, respectively.

  A substrate transfer port 247 that is opened and closed by a gate valve 244 as a gate valve is provided on the side wall opposite to the exhaust port 230 of the processing container 202 so that the substrate 200 can be transferred into the processing chamber 201. It is configured.

  Substrates such as valves 243a to 243j, LMFCs 241a and 241d, MFCs 241b and 241c, temperature control unit 253, pressure control unit 254, vaporizers 255a and 255d, ozonizer 222, vacuum pump 246, rotation mechanism 267, lifting mechanism 266, gate valve 244, etc. Control of the operation of each unit constituting the processing apparatus is performed by a main controller 256 as a main control unit (main control means).

  Next, a method for forming (depositing) a thin film on a substrate as a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device (device) using the processing furnace having the configuration as shown in FIG. 1 will be described. In this embodiment, an organic metal liquid raw material that is liquid at room temperature is used to form a substrate on a substrate by a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method, particularly an MOCVD (Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) method, or an ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) method. A case where a thin film such as a metal oxide film is formed will be described. In the following description, the operation of each part constituting the substrate processing apparatus is controlled by the main controller 256.

  When the gate valve 244 is opened and the substrate transfer port 247 is opened with the support 206 lowered to the substrate transfer position, the substrate 200 is transferred into the processing chamber 201 by a substrate transfer machine (not shown) (substrate). Carrying-in process). After the substrate 200 is loaded into the processing chamber 201 and placed on a push-up pin (not shown), the gate valve 244 is closed. The support table 206 is raised from the substrate transfer position to the substrate processing position above it. Meanwhile, the substrate 200 on the push-up pin is picked up by the susceptor 217 and placed on the susceptor 217 (substrate placement step).

  When the support table 206 reaches the substrate processing position, the substrate 200 is rotated by the rotation mechanism 267. Note that if the substrate 200 does not need to be rotated, the substrate 200 may not be rotated. Further, the electric power supplied to the heater 207 is controlled by the temperature control unit 253, and the substrate 200 is uniformly heated so as to reach a predetermined processing temperature (substrate temperature increasing step, temperature adjusting step). At the same time, the inside of the processing chamber 201 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 246 and controlled to be a predetermined processing pressure by the pressure control unit 254 (pressure adjusting step). Note that the valves 243c, 243e, and 243j provided in the inert gas supply pipe 232c are always opened when the substrate is transported, when the temperature of the substrate is increased, and when the pressure is adjusted. An inert gas is always flowed into 201. Thereby, adhesion of particles and metal contaminants to the substrate 200 can be prevented.

When the temperature of the substrate 200 and the pressure in the processing chamber 201 reach a predetermined processing temperature and a predetermined processing pressure, respectively, and stabilize, the first source gas is supplied into the processing chamber 201. That is, the organometallic liquid raw material as the first raw material supplied from the first raw material supply source 250a, for example, Hf [OC (CH ₃ ) ₂ CH ₂ OCH ₃ ] ₄ (hereinafter abbreviated as Hf (MMP) ₄ ). However, the flow rate is controlled by the LMFC 241a through the first liquid source supply pipe 232a, and is supplied to the vaporizer 255a to be vaporized. The valve 243g is closed and the valve 243a is opened, and the vaporized first source gas is supplied onto the substrate 200 through the first source gas supply pipe 232a ′ and the shower head 236. At this time, 243c, 243e, and 243j are kept open. The first source gas and the inert gas are mixed in the first source gas supply pipe 232a ′ and guided to the shower head 236, and the first buffer space 236c, the dispersion plate 236a, the second buffer space 236d of the shower head 236, It is supplied in a shower form to the substrate 200 on the susceptor 217 via the shower plate 236b (first source gas supply step). The first source gas supplied to the substrate 200 is exhausted from the exhaust pipe 231. The first source gas is easily stirred by being diluted with an inert gas.

  After the first source gas is supplied for a predetermined time, the valve 243a is closed, and the supply of the first source gas to the substrate 200 is stopped. Also at this time, since the valves 243c, 243e, and 243j remain open, the supply of the inert gas into the processing chamber 201 is maintained. Note that the inert gas supplied into the processing chamber 201 is exhausted from the exhaust pipe 231. Thereby, the inside of the processing chamber 201 is purged with the inert gas, and the residual gas in the processing chamber 201 is removed (purge process).

  At this time, it is preferable to open the valve 243g and exhaust the first source gas from the vent pipe 252a so as not to stop the supply of the first source gas from the vaporizer 255a. Since it takes time until the vaporized raw material gas is stably supplied after the liquid raw material is vaporized, the process chamber 201 is bypassed without stopping the supply of the first raw material gas from the vaporizer 255a. In this case, in the next first source gas supply process, the first source gas can be stably supplied to the substrate 200 immediately by switching the flow.

After purging the processing chamber 201 for a predetermined time, the second source gas is supplied into the processing chamber 201. That is, the organometallic liquid raw material as the second raw material supplied from the second raw material supply source 250d, for example, Si [OC (CH ₃ ) ₂ CH ₂ OCH ₃ ] ₄ (hereinafter abbreviated as Si (MMP) ₄ ). However, the flow rate is controlled by the LMFC 241d through the second liquid source supply pipe 232d, and is supplied to the vaporizer 255d to be vaporized. The valve 243i is closed and the valve 243d is opened, and the vaporized second source gas is supplied onto the substrate 200 through the second source gas supply pipe 232d ′ and the shower head 236. At this time, the valves 243c, 243e, and 243j are kept open. The second source gas and the inert gas are mixed in the second source gas supply pipe 232d ′ and guided to the shower head 236, and the first buffer space 236c, the dispersion plate 236a, the second buffer space 236d of the shower head 236, It is supplied in a shower form to the substrate 200 on the susceptor 217 via the shower plate 236b (second source gas supply process). The second source gas supplied to the substrate 200 is exhausted from the exhaust pipe 231. Note that the second source gas is easily stirred by being diluted with an inert gas.

  After the second source gas is supplied for a predetermined time, the valve 243d is closed, and the supply of the second source gas to the substrate 200 is stopped. Also at this time, since the valves 243c, 243e, and 243j remain open, the supply of the inert gas into the processing chamber 201 is maintained. Note that the inert gas supplied into the processing chamber 201 is exhausted from the exhaust pipe 231. Thereby, the inside of the processing chamber 201 is purged with the inert gas, and the residual gas in the processing chamber 201 is removed (purge process).

  At this time, it is preferable to open the valve 243i and exhaust the second source gas from the vent pipe 252c so that the supply of the second source gas from the vaporizer 255d is not stopped. Since it takes time until the vaporized source gas is stably supplied after the liquid source is vaporized, the process chamber 201 is allowed to bypass without stopping the supply of the second source gas from the vaporizer 255d. In this case, in the next second source gas supply step, the second source gas can be immediately stably supplied to the substrate 200 simply by switching the flow.

After purging the processing chamber 201 for a predetermined time, ozone gas (O ₃ ) as an oxidant is supplied into the processing chamber 201. That is, the valve 243b is opened, and oxygen gas (O ₂ ) supplied from the oxygen gas supply source 250b passes through the oxygen gas supply pipe 232b, is flow-controlled by the MFC 241b, and is supplied to the ozonizer 222 to generate ozone gas. . After the ozone gas is generated, the valve 243h is closed and the valve 243f is opened. The ozone gas passes from the ozonizer 222 through the ozone gas supply pipe 232f, and the first buffer space 236c, the dispersion plate 236a, and the second buffer space 236d of the shower head 236. Then, it is supplied in a shower shape onto the substrate 200 via the shower plate 236b (oxidant supply step). The ozone gas supplied to the substrate 200 is exhausted from the exhaust pipe 231. Also at this time, the valves 243c, 243e, 243j remain open. At this time, the valve 243j may be closed.

  After the ozone gas is supplied for a predetermined time, the valve 243f is closed and the supply of the ozone gas to the substrate 200 is stopped. Also at this time, since the valves 243c, 243e, and 243j remain open, the supply of the inert gas into the processing chamber 201 is maintained. Note that the inert gas supplied into the processing chamber 201 is exhausted from the exhaust pipe 231. Thereby, the inside of the processing chamber 201 is purged with the inert gas, and the residual gas in the processing chamber 201 is removed (purge process).

  At this time, it is preferable not to stop the supply of ozone gas from the ozonizer 222 by opening the valve 243h and exhausting ozone gas from the vent pipe 252b. Since it takes time until the ozone gas is stably supplied after the ozone gas is generated, if the process chamber 201 is allowed to flow without stopping the supply of the ozone gas from the ozonizer 222, the next oxidizing agent In the supplying step, ozone gas can be stably supplied to the substrate 200 immediately by simply switching the flow.

  After purging the processing chamber 201 for a predetermined time, the valve 243g is closed and the valve 243a is opened again, and the vaporized first source gas is supplied onto the substrate 200 together with the inert gas through the shower head 236. Then, the first source gas supply process is performed.

By performing a cycle process in which the first source gas supply process, the purge process, the second source gas supply process, the purge process, the oxidant supply process, and the purge process as described above are performed as one cycle, and this cycle is repeated a plurality of times. A thin film having a predetermined thickness, for example, a HfSiO _x film (hafnium silicate film) can be formed on the substrate 200 (thin film forming step).

Note that the first source gas supply step and the second source gas supply step may be performed simultaneously. That is, the source gas supply process, the purge process, the oxidant supply process, and the purge process in which the first source gas supply process and the second source gas supply process are performed at the same time are set as one cycle, and the cycle process is repeated a plurality of times. Accordingly, a thin film having a predetermined thickness, for example, an HfSiO _x film may be formed on the substrate 200.

  After completion of the thin film formation process on the substrate 200, the rotation of the substrate 200 by the rotation mechanism 267 is stopped, and the processed substrate 200 is carried out of the processing chamber 201 in the reverse order of the substrate carrying-in process (substrate carrying-out process).

  In the case where the thin film forming step is performed by the CVD method, the processing temperature is controlled so as to be a temperature range in which the source gas is self-decomposed. In this case, in the raw material gas supply step, the raw material gas is thermally decomposed, and a thin film of about 1 to several tens of atomic layers is formed on the substrate 200. In the oxidizing agent supplying step, impurities such as C and H are removed from the thin film of about one to several tens of atomic layers formed on the substrate 200 by ozone gas.

  Further, when the thin film forming process is performed by the ALD method, the processing temperature is controlled so as to be a temperature range in which the source gas is not self-decomposed. In this case, the source gas is adsorbed on the substrate 200 in the source gas supply step. In the oxidant supply step, the raw material adsorbed on the substrate 200 reacts with ozone gas to form a thin film of less than one atomic layer on the substrate 200. At this time, impurities such as C and H to be mixed into the thin film can be desorbed by ozone gas.

In the processing furnace of the present embodiment, the processing conditions for processing the substrate by the CVD method are, for example, when forming an HfSiO _x film, processing temperature: 390 to 450 ° C., processing pressure: 50 to 400 Pa, first raw material (Hf (MMP) ₄ ) supply flow rate: 0.01 to 0.2 g / min, second raw material (Si (MMP) ₄ ) supply flow rate: 0.01 to 0.2 g / min, oxidizing agent (Ozone gas) supply flow rate: 100 to 3000 sccm is exemplified.

Further, as processing conditions for processing a substrate by the ALD method in the processing furnace of the present embodiment, for example, when a HfSiO _x film is formed, a processing temperature: 200 to 350 ° C., a processing pressure: 50 to 400 Pa, first raw material (Hf (MMP) ₄ ) supply flow rate: 0.01 to 0.2 g / min, second raw material (Si (MMP) ₄ ) supply flow rate: 0.01 to 0.2 g / min, oxidizing agent (Ozone gas) supply flow rate: 100 to 3000 sccm is exemplified.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view including the electrical system of the substrate processing apparatus 50 of FIG. 1 described above.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating configurations of the valve control device 300 and the pattern creation device 302.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the embodiment of the present invention, a valve control device 300 is connected to each of the valves 243a, 243b, 243c, 243d, 243e, 243f, 243g, 243h, 243i, and 243j.
Further, a controller 256 is connected to the valve control device 300, and an operation screen 308 is connected to the controller 256. That is, by checking the operation screen 308, the open / closed state of each valve can be confirmed.
In addition, a pattern creating device 302 is connected to the valve control device 300 via a cable 304. Here, the cable 304 is, for example, a LAN cable.

  The pattern creating apparatus 302 has a processing program 310. Furthermore, the pattern creating apparatus 302 includes a storage medium 312 that stores, for example, valve pattern files 314a and 314b and valve opening / closing state logging files 316a and 316b.

  That is, the pattern creation device 302 is a PC on which a storage medium such as a hard disk is mounted, for example, creates a plurality of valve switching patterns for setting the open / close states of a plurality of valves by the processing program 310, and creates the plurality of valve switching created. The patterns are collected into one file such as valve pattern files 314a and 314b, and arbitrarily stored in the storage medium 312. Further, the created valve switching pattern is written into the internal area 305 of the valve control device 300 via the cable 304. In addition, a plurality of valve switching patterns in the valve pattern files 314a and 314b stored in the storage medium 312 are edited.

FIG. 4 is a chart showing an example of a valve switching pattern created by the pattern creation device 302.
Columns 1 to n are pattern numbers. In the present embodiment, for example, the valve 1 is the valve 243a, the valve 2 is the valve 243b, and the valve 3 is the valve. 243c, valve 4 is valve 243d, valve 5 is valve 243e, valve 6 is valve 243f, valve 7 is valve 243g, valve 8 is valve 243h, valve 9 is valve 243i, and valve 10 is valve 243j.
Data 0 in FIG. 4 indicates a valve closed state, and data 1 indicates a valve open state.
Thus, for example, in pattern number 1, valve 1 is closed, valve 2 is closed, valve 3 is open, valve 4 is closed, valve 5 is closed, valve 6 is closed, and valve m is closed. In n, the valve 1 is open, the valve 2 is closed, the valve 3 is closed, the valve 4 is closed, the valve 5 is open, the valve 6 is closed, and the valve m is closed.

  The valve control device 300 is a PLC (programmable logic controller) that controls the opening and closing of the valve at a high speed based on the valve switching pattern written in the internal area 305. The switching pattern 306 and the valve opening / closing state 308 are written.

That is, when the control execution flag is ON and the valve switching control condition at high speed is satisfied, the valve control device 300 performs the valve control at a high speed based on the valve switching pattern 306 written in the internal area 305. Open / close control is performed, and the valve open / close state 308 is written in the internal area 305. Here, the writing of the valve opening / closing state 308 to the internal area 305 is performed when the valve opening / closing time ends and the valve pattern is switched.
The valve opening / closing state 308 written in the internal area 305 of the valve control device 300 is that the logging execution flag is ON and the logging medium satisfies the logging condition. The valve opening / closing state logging files 316a and 316b are stored.

Next, the valve switching method at high speed will be described.
For example, a control execution flag, a plurality of pattern numbers, and a valve opening / closing time of the pattern are transmitted to the valve control device 300 by a process recipe executed by an operation from the operation screen 308.
Then, when the control execution flag is ON in the valve control device 300, high-speed valve switching control is started, and the control execution flag is turned OFF or high-speed valve switching control of a plurality of transmitted pattern numbers is performed. Continue the valve switching control at high speed until the process is completed.
A valve switching pattern 306 for performing valve switching control at high speed takes out a valve switching pattern having a pattern number from the internal area 305 and performs valve opening / closing control for a valve opening / closing time.

Next, writing of the valve open / close state will be described.
When the control execution flag is ON in the valve control device 300, writing to the internal area 305 of the valve switching pattern is started from the pattern creation device 302 via the cable 304, and is the control execution flag turned OFF in the valve control device 300? The writing of the valve switching pattern to the internal area 305 is continued until the high-speed valve switching control of the transmitted plurality of pattern numbers is completed. The valve switching pattern is written to the internal area 305 when the valve switching pattern is switched.

Next, creation of the valve opening / closing state logging files 316a and 316b will be described.
When the logging execution flag is ON in the pattern creation device 302, when the valve switching control at high speed in the valve control device 300 ends (the control execution flag transitions from ON to OFF), at the high speed in the valve control device 300 Using the year / month / day / hour / minute / second at the start of valve switching control (the control execution flag transitions from OFF to ON) and the year / month / date / minute / second when the valve switching control at a high speed ends as file names, Created in the storage medium 312.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view including an electrical system of a conventional substrate processing apparatus 10 as a comparative example.
The substrate processing apparatus 50 in the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 has a processing program and a storage medium as compared with the conventional substrate processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 5, and a valve pattern file and a valve opening / closing state logging file are stored in the storage medium. The difference is that a pattern creating apparatus 302 configured to store is connected.

  That is, according to the present embodiment, by connecting the pattern creation device 302 to the valve control device 300, a plurality of valve switching patterns created in the pattern creation device 302 can be collected and stored in a file. The same valve switching pattern can be developed in a plurality of control devices, and the burden of manual input by the operator can be reduced. In addition, by checking the contents of the file stored in the file, it is possible to determine the valve pattern error before film formation. Further, by storing the high-speed valve switching control status logged by the valve control device 300 in a file of the pattern creation device 302, it is possible to confirm whether there is an error in the valve operation.

1 is an overall schematic view of a substrate processing apparatus used in an embodiment of the present invention. It is the schematic including the electric system of the substrate processing apparatus used by embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions in the valve | bulb control apparatus and pattern formation apparatus which are used by embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows an example of the valve | bulb switching pattern used by embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic including the electric system of the conventional substrate processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

50 Substrate processing apparatus 200 Substrate 201 Processing chambers 243a, 243b, 243c, 243d, 243e, 243f, 243g, 243h, 243i, 243j Valve 256 Controller 300 Valve control device 302 Pattern creation device 304 Cable 308 Operation screen

Claims (3)

A processing chamber for processing the substrate;
A plurality of gas supply lines for supplying a plurality of types of gases into the processing chamber;
A plurality of valves provided in the plurality of gas supply lines;
A control device for controlling opening and closing operations of the plurality of valves;
A pattern creating device for creating a valve switching pattern for setting the open / close state of the plurality of valves,
The pattern creation device is configured to write the created valve switching pattern in an internal area of the control device and to store the created valve switching pattern in a storage medium of the pattern creation device,
The control device performs switching of the plurality of valves based on the valve switching pattern written in the internal area, writes open / close states of the plurality of valves at that time in the internal area of the control device, and A substrate processing apparatus configured to store an open / close state of the plurality of valves written in an area in a storage medium of the pattern creating apparatus. Creating a valve switching pattern for setting the opening / closing states of a plurality of valves with a pattern creating device;
Writing the valve switching pattern created by the pattern creation device in an internal area of a control device that controls the opening and closing operations of the plurality of valves;
Storing the valve switching pattern created by the pattern creation device in a storage medium of the pattern creation device;
Switching the plurality of valves based on the valve switching pattern written in the internal area of the control device;
Writing the open / closed states of the plurality of valves at that time in an internal area of the control device;
Storing the open / closed states of the plurality of valves written in the internal area of the control device in a storage medium of the pattern creating device;
A method for controlling a valve. Writing a valve switching pattern for setting the opening and closing states of a plurality of valves created by the pattern creation device in an internal area of a control device that controls the opening and closing operations of the plurality of valves;
Storing the valve switching pattern created by the pattern creation device in a storage medium of the pattern creation device;
Switching the plurality of valves based on the valve switching pattern written in the internal area of the control device;
Writing the open / closed states of the plurality of valves at that time in an internal area of the control device;
Storing the open / closed states of the plurality of valves written in the internal area of the control device in a storage medium of the pattern creating device;
A computer program that executes

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