JP2985342B2 - Operation control device for plasma processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation control device of a plasma processing apparatus for performing a process such as film formation and etching on a semiconductor wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an ECR (Electron Cyclotron Resonance) is used as a plasma CVD apparatus and a plasma etching apparatus used for processing a semiconductor wafer.
A plasma processing apparatus of the form is used. As is well known, such an ECR plasma processing apparatus is connected to a vacuum processing chamber for performing wafer processing, and includes a plasma generating means including a microwave generation power supply, a microwave waveguide, a solenoid coil, an RF power supply, a source gas supply means, a vacuum It is provided with an exhaust unit and a wafer transfer unit.

On the other hand, as an operation control method of such an ECR plasma processing apparatus, a personal computer is conventionally used, and a plasma generating means, a raw material gas supply means, a vacuum exhaust means, a wafer transfer means of the plasma processing apparatus are provided via a dedicated input / output card. Is directly controlled by a personal computer. Also, a compiled machine language format is generally used for the control program used in this case.

[0004]

However, the conventional operation control system described above has the following problems in operation. That is, if the operation control program is partially modified after the operation of the plasma processing apparatus, it is necessary to modify the source program of the personal computer and then compile and link again. Take it. Also, since the program is modified using the shared resources of the personal computer, unexpected side-effects of the program modification include a runaway exceeding the expected range or a part of the program becoming inoperable. May cause Furthermore, since the operation of the plasma processing apparatus must be completely stopped during the program correction work, downtime associated with stopping and starting increases, and the operation rate of the plasma processing apparatus decreases. The most frequently modified programs are input / output levels related to various power supplies,
There are changes in I / DO (DI stands for digital input, DO stands for digital output), fine adjustment of various PID control constants, slight changes in the wafer transfer procedure, and the like.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems caused by the conventional operation control method, greatly reduces downtime due to a partial modification of a program, and further improves reliability by minimizing side effects of the modification. It is an object of the present invention to provide an operation control device for a plasma processing apparatus that can achieve the above.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an operation control device for a plasma processing apparatus, comprising: a microwave power supply, a solenoid power supply,
A process system programmable controller for controlling the F power supply and the source gas supply means, an exhaust system programmable controller for controlling the vacuum evacuation means, a transfer system programmable controller for controlling the wafer transfer means,
The personal computer for general control is connected to each of the programmable controllers via a communication line.

In the above operation control device, the operating system of the personal computer includes:
It is preferable to set at least an abnormal processing task, an operation control task, and a data processing task for constantly monitoring the plasma processing apparatus, and manage the tasks so that the respective testers are processed in parallel in a time-division manner.

Further, a multi-chamber type plasma processing apparatus in which a plurality of vacuum processing chambers are combined is provided with a plasma generating means provided for each vacuum processing chamber and a dedicated control programmable controller individually corresponding thereto. Can be implemented.

[0009]

In the operation control device described above, various programmable controllers are operated in parallel according to a command from a personal computer. In this case, the operation of the operation control device is programmed in advance so that a communication word is determined for each function and executed. Then, in response to a request from the outside, each programmable controller determines whether or not it can be executed based on the operation status of the plasma processing apparatus, performs OK or NG answer, and furthermore, if necessary, transmits operation information such as completion of wafer processing. Notify the personal computer.

In addition, the above-mentioned power supply input / output level change,
Partial program modification work such as a change in the wafer transfer procedure is performed for each programmable controller. In this case, unlike a personal computer, the program correction in the programmable controller to be corrected does not require the compile work like the correction of the source program, and requires only the correction of the corrected part. Can be processed. In addition, by dividing the programmable controller into each control system for the plasma processing apparatus as described above, there is no risk of interference and runaway between controllers, and the side effects of correction can be minimized. Become. Further, the program may be partially modified only for the programmable controller to be modified. Since the other programmable controllers can be continuously operated, it is not necessary to stop the plasma processing apparatus each time. No downtime is required and the operating rate is greatly improved.

For a personal computer that controls each programmable controller, an operation control task, an abnormality monitoring / processing task, a data processing task, and a screen / keyboard input / output processing task are provided in an operation system, and a multitasking is performed in a time-division manner. By performing the processing, for example, when modifying operation control, it is possible to respond only by modifying and compiling the source program of the target task and linking between the tasks. It is convenient to keep it to the minimum range. Further, by managing each task so as to be processed in parallel in a time-sharing manner, for example, if the data processing task is started during continuous processing of wafers by automatic operation, data processing, retrieval of past data, and the like can be performed in real time.
Further, by providing the abnormality monitoring task independently of the operation control, the trouble of providing the monitoring program everywhere in the operation control program at the time of creating the operation control program is relieved.

On the other hand, when the same wafer processing is performed by a multi-chamber type plasma processing apparatus in which a plurality of vacuum processing chambers are combined, a dedicated control program corresponding to the plasma generating means provided for each vacuum processing chamber. Providing a controller is advantageous in that the reliability of operation control can be improved, and the same program can be applied to each programmable controller.

[0013]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, 1 is a microwave power supply (2.45 GHz, 1500
W) 2 is impedance matching means, 3 is a microwave waveguide, 4 is a plasma generation chamber, 5 is a solenoid coil, 6 is a solenoid power supply, 7 is a vacuum processing chamber, 8 is a wafer holding base, and 9 is RF Power supply (400 KHz), 10 is a vacuum preparatory chamber for wafer transfer, 11 is a door valve provided in the vacuum preparatory chamber 10, 12 is a handling robot for loading and unloading wafers between the vacuum preparatory chamber 10 and the vacuum processing chamber 7, 1
2a is a drive motor of the robot, 13 is an evacuation vacuum pump connected to the vacuum preparatory chamber 10, and 14 and 15 are vacuum processing chambers 7.
The exhaust vacuum pumps 16 and 17 are mass flow controllers for adjusting the supply flow rate of the source gas, and constitute a main body of the ECR plasma processing apparatus and its peripheral devices. In addition, the vacuum preparatory chamber 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes a square shape, which is provided with door valves 11 on four sides thereof, and three vacuum processing chambers 7 are connected to three sides around the vacuum preparatory chamber 10 as a core to constitute a multi-chamber type plasma processing apparatus. Is possible.

On the other hand, an operation control device for the plasma processing apparatus includes a process system programmable controller (P) 18, an exhaust system programmable controller (V) 19, a transfer system programmable controller (H) 20, and these programmable controllers and data. And a personal computer 22 connected via a communication line (communication capacity 5 Mbit / sec) 21. Here, the process system programmable controller (P) 18 includes components of plasma generation means such as the microwave power supply 1, impedance matching means 2, solenoid power supply 6, and RF power supply 9 described above, and mass flow as source gas supply means. It controls and manages the controller 16 and the valves attached thereto. Further, the exhaust system programmable controller (V) 19 is connected to the vacuum processing chamber 7 and the vacuum preparatory chamber 10.
3, 14, 15 and valves and the like attached to these vacuum pumps are controlled and managed. Further, the transfer system programmable controller (H) 20 is provided with the door valve 1 of the vacuum preliminary chamber.
1, for controlling and managing the wafer transfer robot 12 and the like. Note that the programmable controller 19
In addition to the functions of controlling and managing the exhaust system, it also has a function of detecting an abnormality of the plasma processing apparatus and performing the same processing. The personal computer 22 controls the operation of the entire plasma processing apparatus through the programmable controllers 18, 19 and 20 according to instructions from the operator.

The plasma processing apparatus may be operated in a manual operation mode, an exhaust / transport automatic start mode,
An automatic operation mode program is prepared. Here, the manual operation mode is based on the individual power supply, pump,
This is a real-time operation mode that enables individual operations of various devices such as valves. When an operator key-in to the personal computer 22, the personal computer 22 causes the programmable controllers 18, 19, and 2 to operate.
0, a request for state transition of the control target corresponding to each programmable controller is issued, and each programmable controller performs an interlock check whether or not the instruction can be executed, and then executes the instruction if normal. ,
If abnormal, the reason is notified to the operator via the personal computer 22. In the automatic start-up mode of the exhaust and transport, the programmable controllers 19 and 20 of the exhaust and transport systems are activated by the key-in of the operator, and their programs are executed. Further, in the automatic operation mode, an operator sequentially executes an operation program registered as a recipe to automatically perform a wafer process process.

The operating system of the personal computer 22 is provided with tasks such as recipe creation, editing mode, and logging data output mode as data processing modes in addition to the operation modes described above. The time-division processing method enables automatic operation and automatic start-up operation.

Each programmable controller has
In addition to the above-mentioned operation mode, the status of the controlled device under its control is monitored to determine whether an abnormality has occurred.
(Every 0 msec), and when an abnormality is detected, the emergency action is immediately performed on the device to be controlled, and at the same time, the other programmable controllers are notified of the abnormality. Is designed to execute the corresponding processing.

[0018]

As described above, in the operation control apparatus for a plasma processing apparatus according to the present invention, the operation of the plasma processing apparatus is controlled by combining centralized management by a personal computer and distributed control by each programmable controller. In addition, various functions can be realized at high speed and with high reliability compared to the conventional control method in which the operation of the plasma processing apparatus is directly controlled only by a personal computer. further,
It is possible to shorten the time required to correct programs during operation, thereby reducing downtime due to shutdown and startup, and significantly improving the operation rate of plasma processing equipment. The advantage in the above is also obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system flow diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 18 Process Programmable Controller 19 Exhaust System Programmable Controller 20 Transport System Programmable Controller 21 Communication Line 22 Personal Computer

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A plasma generating means connected to a vacuum processing chamber;
An operation control device of an ECR plasma processing apparatus provided with a source gas supply unit, a vacuum exhaust unit, and a wafer transfer unit, wherein a microwave power source, a solenoid power source, an RF power source, and a source gas supply are constituent elements of the plasma generation unit. A process system programmable controller for controlling the means, an exhaust system programmable controller for controlling the vacuum evacuation means, a transfer system programmable controller for controlling the wafer transfer means, and a general control system connected to each of these programmable controllers via a communication line. An operation control device for a plasma processing apparatus, comprising: a personal computer. 2. The operation control device according to claim 1, wherein
An operating system of a personal computer is provided with at least an abnormal processing task, an operation control task, and a data processing task for constantly monitoring a plasma processing apparatus, and the respective testers are processed in parallel in a time-division manner. Operation control device for processing equipment. 3. The operation control device according to claim 1, wherein
A plasma processing apparatus comprising: a multi-chamber plasma processing apparatus in which a plurality of vacuum processing chambers are combined; and a plasma generating means provided for each vacuum processing chamber and a dedicated control programmable controller corresponding to each plasma processing apparatus. Operation control device of the device.