JP7458222B2 - Substrate processing equipment and method for identifying the source of foreign matter - Google Patents

Description

The disclosed embodiments relate to a substrate processing apparatus and a method for identifying the source of foreign matter.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a substrate processing apparatus that processes substrates such as semiconductor wafers (hereinafter also referred to as wafers), a technique for narrowing down the source of foreign matter attached to a wafer is known (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-188042

The present disclosure provides a technique that can narrow down the source of foreign matter attached to a wafer from a wide range.

A substrate processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a plurality of components used for a flow path through which a chemical liquid supplied to a substrate flows and a processing chamber that processes the substrate with the chemical liquid, and the plurality of components The component contains multiple isotopes of one element in two or more ratios.

According to the present disclosure, the source of foreign matter attached to a wafer can be narrowed down from a wide range.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a specific example of the configuration of the processing unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the piping configuration of the substrate processing system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the isotopic ratio of carbon contained in a plurality of components and a chemical solution according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the isotopic ratio of carbon contained in a plurality of components and a chemical solution according to Modification 1 of the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the isotope ratio of carbon contained in a plurality of components and a chemical solution according to Modification 2 of the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the carbon isotope ratios contained in a plurality of components and a chemical solution according to the third modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the carbon isotope ratios contained in a plurality of components and a chemical solution according to the fourth modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the isotopic ratio of carbon and oxygen contained in a plurality of components and a chemical solution according to Modification 5 of the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a substrate processing system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the isotope ratio of carbon contained in a plurality of components and gas according to the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for identifying the source of foreign matter, which is executed in the substrate processing system according to each embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a substrate processing apparatus and a method for identifying a source of foreign matter disclosed in the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described below. Furthermore, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic, and the dimensional relationship of each element, the ratio of each element, etc. may differ from reality. Furthermore, drawings may include portions with different dimensional relationships and ratios.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a substrate processing apparatus that processes a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter also referred to as a wafer), a technique for identifying the source of foreign matter attached to a wafer is known.

However, in the prior art, the composition of the material must be changed for each component, so if the composition of the material cannot be changed, it is difficult to narrow down the source of the foreign matter. That is, in the conventional technology, the range that can be narrowed down as a source of foreign matter is limited.

Therefore, there are expectations for a technology that can overcome the above-mentioned problems and narrow down the source of foreign matter attached to a wafer from a wide range.

<Summary of substrate processing system>
First, a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system 1 according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system 1 according to the first embodiment. Note that the substrate processing system 1 is an example of a substrate processing apparatus. In the following, in order to clarify the positional relationship, an X-axis, a Y-axis, and a Z-axis that are perpendicular to each other are defined, and the positive direction of the Z-axis is defined as a vertically upward direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing system 1 includes a loading/unloading station 2 and a processing station 3. The loading/unloading station 2 and the processing station 3 are provided adjacent to each other.

The loading/unloading station 2 includes a carrier placement section 11 and a transport section 12. On the carrier placement section 11, multiple carriers C are placed, each of which horizontally accommodates multiple substrates, in the first embodiment, semiconductor wafers W (hereafter referred to as wafers W).

The transport section 12 is provided adjacent to the carrier mounting section 11 and includes a substrate transport device 13 and a delivery section 14 inside. The substrate transfer device 13 includes a wafer holding mechanism that holds the wafer W. Further, the substrate transfer device 13 is capable of horizontal and vertical movement and rotation about a vertical axis, and uses a wafer holding mechanism to transfer the wafer W between the carrier C and the transfer section 14. conduct.

Processing station 3 is provided adjacent to transport section 12 . The processing station 3 includes a transport section 15 and a plurality of processing units 16. The plurality of processing units 16 are arranged side by side on both sides of the transport section 15 .

The transport unit 15 includes a substrate transport device 17 therein. The substrate transfer device 17 includes a wafer holding mechanism that holds the wafer W. Further, the substrate transfer device 17 is capable of horizontal and vertical movement and rotation about a vertical axis, and is capable of transferring wafers W between the transfer section 14 and the processing unit 16 using a wafer holding mechanism. I do.

The processing unit 16 performs predetermined substrate processing on the wafer W transported by the substrate transport device 17 .

The substrate processing system 1 also includes a control device 4 . The control device 4 is, for example, a computer, and includes a control section 18 and a storage section 19. The storage unit 19 stores programs that control various processes executed in the substrate processing system 1. The control unit 18 controls the operation of the substrate processing system 1 by reading and executing a program stored in the storage unit 19 . Details of the control device 4 will be described later.

Note that this program may be one that has been recorded on a computer-readable storage medium, and may be installed in the storage unit 19 of the control device 4 from the storage medium. Examples of computer-readable storage media include hard disks (HD), flexible disks (FD), compact disks (CD), magnetic optical disks (MO), and memory cards.

In the substrate processing system 1 configured as described above, first, the substrate transfer device 13 of the loading/unloading station 2 takes out the wafer W from the carrier C placed on the carrier mounting section 11, and receives the taken out wafer W. Place it on Watabe 14. The wafer W placed on the transfer section 14 is taken out from the transfer section 14 by the substrate transport device 17 of the processing station 3 and carried into the processing unit 16.

The wafer W carried into the processing unit 16 is processed by the processing unit 16, and then carried out from the processing unit 16 by the substrate transport device 17 and placed on the transfer section 14. Then, the processed wafer W placed on the transfer section 14 is returned to the carrier C of the carrier mounting section 11 by the substrate transfer device 13.

<Processing unit configuration>
Next, the configuration of the processing unit 16 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a specific configuration example of the processing unit 16 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the processing unit 16 includes a chamber 20, a substrate processing section 30, a liquid supply section 40, and a recovery cup 50.

The chamber 20 is an example of a processing chamber, and contains a substrate processing section 30, a liquid supply section 40, and a collection cup 50. A FFU (Fan Filter Unit) 21 is provided on the ceiling of the chamber 20. The FFU 21 creates a downflow within the chamber 20.

The substrate processing unit 30 includes a holding unit 31, a support unit 32, and a drive unit 33, and performs liquid processing on the placed wafer W. The holding unit 31 holds the wafer W horizontally. The support unit 32 is a member extending in the vertical direction, and its base end is rotatably supported by the drive unit 33, supporting the holding unit 31 horizontally at its tip. The drive unit 33 rotates the support unit 32 around the vertical axis.

The substrate processing section 30 rotates the holding section 31 supported by the supporting section 32 by rotating the supporting section 32 using the driving section 33, thereby rotating the wafer W held on the holding section 31. .

A holding member 311 that holds the wafer W from the side is provided on the upper surface of the holding section 31 included in the substrate processing section 30. The wafer W is held horizontally by the holding member 311 while being slightly spaced from the upper surface of the holding section 31 . Note that the wafer W is held by the holding unit 31 with the surface on which substrate processing is performed facing upward.

The liquid supply unit 40 supplies a processing fluid to the wafer W. The liquid supply unit 40 includes a nozzle 41, an arm 42 that horizontally supports the nozzle 41, and a rotation and lifting mechanism 43 that rotates and raises and lowers the arm 42.

The nozzle 41 is connected to a pipe 44, which is provided with a third valve 45. From the nozzle 41, various chemical liquids supplied via the chemical liquid supply unit 100, the pipe 44, and the third valve 45 are discharged as processing liquid. The piping configuration of the substrate processing system 1, including the chemical liquid supply unit 100, will be described later.

Although the processing unit 16 of the first embodiment is provided with one nozzle, the number of nozzles provided in the processing unit 16 is not limited to one. Further, in the processing unit 16 of the first embodiment, an example is shown in which the nozzle 41 is arranged above the wafer W (on the front side), but the nozzle 41 may be arranged below the wafer W (on the back side). good.

The collection cup 50 is disposed to surround the holding part 31, and collects the processing liquid scattered from the wafer W due to the rotation of the holding part 31. A drainage port 51 is formed at the bottom of the collection cup 50, and the processing liquid collected by the collection cup 50 is discharged from the drainage port 51 to the outside of the processing unit 16. In addition, an exhaust port 52 is formed at the bottom of the collection cup 50, which discharges the gas supplied from the FFU 21 to the outside of the processing unit 16.

<First embodiment>
Next, details of the substrate processing system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the piping configuration of the substrate processing system 1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the substrate processing system 1 according to the first embodiment includes a chemical liquid supply section 100 that supplies various chemical liquids as processing liquids to the processing unit 16.

The chemical liquid supply unit 100 includes, for example, a chemical liquid supply source 101, a first valve 102, piping 103, a tank 104, and a circulation line 105. That is, the chemical liquid supply section 100 has a flow path through which the chemical liquid supplied to the wafer W in the processing unit 16 flows, and includes a plurality of components used in this flow path.

A chemical liquid supply source 101 supplies a chemical liquid to a tank 104 via a first valve 102 provided in a pipe 103 . In the first embodiment, the chemical liquid supplied from the chemical liquid supply source 101 is an organic liquid, an inorganic liquid, or ultrapure water.

The organic liquid used as this chemical solution is, for example, IPA (IsoPropyl Alcohol), a monoethanolamine aqueous solution, or an ammonium fluoride aqueous solution. Inorganic liquids used as chemical solutions include, for example, sulfuric acid, aqueous ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, hydrogen fluoride, and phosphoric acid.

The tank 104 stores the chemical liquid supplied from the chemical liquid supply source 101. Further, the tank 104 is connected to the drain section DR. Thereby, the control unit 18 (see FIG. 1) can discharge the chemical liquid in the tank 104 to the drain part DR when exchanging the chemical liquid in the tank 104 or the like.

The circulation line 105 is a circulation line that exits the tank 104 and returns to the tank 104. The circulation line 105 includes, in order from the upstream side with respect to the tank 104, a pump 106, a heater 107, a filter 108, a flow meter 109, a constant pressure valve 110, a branch part 111, and a second valve 112. have

Pump 106 creates a circulating flow of chemical solution exiting tank 104 , passing through circulation line 105 and returning to tank 104 . The heater 107 raises the temperature of the chemical solution circulating in the circulation line 105. The filter 108 removes contaminants such as particles contained in the chemical solution circulating within the circulation line 105 .

The flow meter 109 measures the flow rate of the circulating flow of the chemical solution passing through the circulation line 105 . The constant pressure valve 110 adjusts the flow rate of the chemical liquid circulating through the circulation line 105 based on the flow rate of the chemical liquid measured by the flow meter 109 . A pipe 44 is branched from the branch portion 111 .

Here, in the first embodiment, a plurality of components used in the channel through which the chemical solution flows are made of resin such as PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) or PFA (tetrafluoroethylene/perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer). Consists of materials. That is, in the first embodiment, a plurality of components used in the channel through which the chemical solution flows are configured to include carbon atoms.

In addition, in the first embodiment, the nozzle 41 provided in the chamber 20 (see FIG. 2) in which the wafer W is treated with a chemical solution is made of a resin material such as PTFE or PFA. That is, in the first embodiment, the nozzle 41 that ejects the chemical solution onto the wafer W is made of a material that contains carbon.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the chemical liquid supplied by the chemical liquid supply unit 100 and discharged from the nozzle 41 is composed of an organic liquid such as IPA. That is, in the first embodiment, the chemical liquid itself contains carbon.

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the above-mentioned components and the chemical solution containing carbon contain carbon isotopes ¹² C and ¹³ C in different ratios. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the isotopic ratio of carbon contained in a plurality of components and a chemical solution according to the first embodiment.

As a result, in the first embodiment, if foreign matter is found adhering to a wafer W processed in the chamber 20, the source of the foreign matter can be narrowed down from a wide range as shown in FIG. 4 by analyzing the carbon isotope ratio contained in the foreign matter.

For example, if the isotope ratio of carbon contained in foreign matter attached to the wafer W is ¹² C = 97.9% and ¹³ C = 2.1%, based on FIG. can be considered to be the first valve 102.

In addition, if the carbon isotope ratio contained in the foreign matter adhering to the wafer W is the natural abundance ratio, this isotope ratio does not match any of the component parts or chemical solutions, so the source of such foreign matter can be considered to be other external factors.

As described above, in the first embodiment, foreign particles attached to the wafer W are prevented by containing isotopes of one element in different ratios in the component parts and the chemical liquid that include one element. It is possible to accurately narrow down the source of the occurrence from a wide range.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, by changing the isotope ratio of one element without changing the composition ratio of multiple elements, it is possible to limit which component is responsible for each element. The chemical properties of components and chemicals can be maintained.

In the first embodiment, various mass spectrometry methods can be used as a method for analyzing the isotope ratio of one element contained in a foreign substance. For example, in the first embodiment, nano-SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry), ToF (Time-of-Flight)-SIMS, ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma)-MS, etc. can be used. .

Note that in the first embodiment, it is preferable to use nano-SIMS as a method for analyzing the isotope ratio of one element contained in a foreign substance. By using a mass spectrometry method with high spatial resolution like this nano-SIMS, even when many small foreign particles (for example, several tens of nanometers) are attached to the wafer W, each foreign particle can be detected. The source can be narrowed down.

In addition, in the first embodiment, the isotope ratio of carbon contained in the plurality of components and the chemical solution shown in FIG. 4 is determined based on the binomial distribution from the number of carbon atoms contained in the assumed foreign material. good.

For example, the number of carbon atoms contained in PTFE having a diameter of 15 nm can be calculated as 46,653 from the density of such PTFE. Of these 46,653 carbon atoms, when the ratio is 1.07% (i.e., the natural abundance ratio), the number of ¹³ C atoms is calculated based on the binomial distribution with a probability of about 99.7% ( That is, the range is 435 to 566 (±3σ).

Therefore, in the first embodiment, the ratio of ¹³ C is set to 1.38% as a ratio different from the natural abundance ratio. As a result, the number of ¹³ C can be set in the range of 570 to 720 with a probability of about 99.7%, so that the number of ¹³ C can be prevented from exceeding the number in the case of natural abundance.

In the first embodiment, the ratio of ¹³ C is set to 1.73%, which is a ratio different from the case where ¹³ C is 1.38%. This makes it possible to set the number of ¹³ C in the range of 722 to 892 with a probability of about 99.7%, so that it is possible to avoid overlapping with the number when ¹³ C is 1.38%.

In this way, by determining the ratio of ^13C based on the binomial distribution, it is possible to prevent the measured value of the isotope ratio from being an intermediate value between the two ratios, so it is possible to more accurately identify foreign substances. The source can be narrowed down.

In the first embodiment, a method of incorporating ¹³ C in each component or chemical solution at a higher proportion than the natural abundance ratio is, for example, by using a raw material containing a large amount of ¹³ C (for example, chloroform, which is a raw material for PTFE). Each component may be manufactured using the following steps.

Furthermore, a chemical solution containing ¹³ C at a ratio higher than the natural abundance ratio may be produced by using a chemical solution composed of ¹³ C (for example, IPA composed of ¹³ C).

Note that in the first embodiment, the carbon isotope ratios contained in the plurality of components and the chemical solution are not limited to the example shown in FIG. 4 . FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the isotopic ratio of carbon contained in a plurality of components and a chemical solution according to Modification 1 of the first embodiment.

In the first embodiment, the above-mentioned components and chemical solutions do not need to contain carbon isotopes ¹² C and ¹³ C in different ratios, and as shown in FIG. 5, carbon isotopes ¹² C and ¹³ C It is sufficient to contain a plurality of (in this example, two types) ratios.

Also in the first modification, by analyzing the carbon isotope ratio contained in the foreign matter attached to the wafer W, the source of the foreign matter can be narrowed down from a wide range. In the first embodiment, the carbon isotopes ¹² C and ¹³ C may be contained in a ratio of three or more types.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the isotope ratio of carbon contained in a plurality of components and a chemical solution according to Modification 2 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, in Modification 2, the above-mentioned components containing carbon and a part of the chemical liquid (here, the chemical liquid) contain carbon isotopes at the same ratio as the natural abundance ratio. There is.

This makes it possible to narrow down the source of foreign matter adhering to the wafer W from a wide range, even if components and chemicals that contain carbon isotopes at the same proportion as the natural abundance ratio and are therefore inexpensive to manufacture can be used.

For example, as shown in Fig. 6, by adjusting the carbon isotope contained in a large amount of chemical solution to the same ratio as the natural abundance ratio, it is possible to narrow down the source of foreign matter attached to the wafer W at a relatively low cost. Can be done. Note that the member containing carbon isotopes in the same ratio as the natural abundance ratio is not limited to the chemical solution, and may be any of the above-mentioned components.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the isotope ratio of carbon contained in a plurality of components and a chemical solution according to Modification 3 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, in Modification 3, the chemical solution containing carbon contains the above-mentioned components and carbon isotopes in different ratios.

For example, as shown in Figure 7, a chemical solution containing carbon contains carbon isotopes in a ratio different from the natural abundance ratio, while all of the above-mentioned components naturally contain carbon isotopes. It is included in the same ratio as the abundance ratio.

Thereby, by analyzing the isotope ratio of carbon contained in the foreign matter attached to the wafer W, it is possible to narrow down whether the source of the foreign matter is the chemical solution or the above-mentioned component.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the isotope ratio of carbon contained in a plurality of components and a chemical solution according to Modification 4 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, in Modification 4, at least a portion of the above-mentioned components and the chemical solution contain ¹³ C at a lower ratio than the natural abundance ratio.

Even in this variant 4, by analyzing the carbon isotope ratio contained in the foreign matter adhering to the wafer W, the source of the foreign matter can be narrowed down from a wide range.

In Modification 4, a method of incorporating ¹³ C in each component or chemical solution at a ratio lower than the natural abundance ratio is, for example, by using a raw material containing a small amount of ¹³ C (for example, chloroform, which is a raw material for PTFE). Each component may be manufactured using the following steps.

Furthermore, a chemical solution containing ¹² C at a ratio higher than the natural abundance ratio (i.e., ^{13 C at a ratio lower than the natural abundance ratio) may be produced using a chemical solution containing 12 C} (for example, IPA containing ¹² C).

In the examples shown so far, two or more types of isotopes of one element are contained in a ratio, but two or more types of isotopes of two or more elements may be contained in a ratio of each of the two or more elements. Figure 9 is a diagram showing the isotope ratios of carbon and oxygen contained in multiple components and the chemical solution according to the fifth modification of the first embodiment.

When the components described above are constructed from PFA, they contain carbon and oxygen. Further, when the chemical solution is made of IPA, the chemical solution also contains carbon and oxygen.

In this way, when there are multiple elements that are commonly included in component parts or chemical solutions, the isotopes of these multiple elements (here, ¹² C, ¹³ C, and ¹⁶ O, ¹⁸ O) are each mixed in ratios of two or more types. It may also be included. In this case, by analyzing the isotope ratios of a plurality of elements contained in the foreign matter attached to the wafer W, the source of the foreign matter can be narrowed down from a wide range.

Note that in the example of Figure 9, two or more types of isotopes of two elements are contained in a ratio, but three or more types of isotopes of three or more elements may be contained in a ratio of two or more types.

<Second embodiment>
Next, the configuration of the substrate processing system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the substrate processing system 1 according to the second embodiment, and shows a case where the processing unit 16 is a gas processing device.

As shown in FIG. 10, the processing unit 16 according to the second embodiment includes a chamber 201, a mounting table 202, a temperature control mechanism 203, and a shower head 204. Chamber 201 is another example of a processing chamber, and has a sealed structure that accommodates wafer W.

The mounting table 202 places the wafer W in a horizontal state within the chamber 201 . The temperature control mechanism 203 cools or heats the wafer W placed on the mounting table 202 to adjust the temperature to a predetermined temperature.

Shower head 204 is provided on the ceiling of chamber 201 . A gas supply pipe 210 is connected to this shower head 204. A gas supply source 212 is connected to this gas supply pipe 210 via a valve 211, and a predetermined gas is supplied from the gas supply source 212 to the shower head 204.

The shower head 204 supplies gas supplied from the gas supply source 212 into the chamber 201 . Note that when the processing unit 16 is an etching device, the gas supplied from the gas supply source 212 is an etching gas such as CH ₃ F gas, CH ₂ F ₂ gas, CF ₄ gas, etc., for example.

An exhaust device 221 is connected to the bottom of the chamber 201 via an exhaust line 220. The pressure inside the chamber 201 is maintained at a reduced pressure state by the exhaust device 221.

Here, in the second embodiment, a plurality of components used in the flow path through which gas flows include a resin material such as PTFE or PFA. That is, in the embodiment, a plurality of components used in the flow path through which gas flows include carbon atoms.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the shower head 204 provided in the chamber 201 that processes the wafer W with gas is configured to include a resin material such as PTFE or PFA. That is, in the second embodiment, the shower head 204 that discharges gas onto the wafer W is configured to include carbon.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the gas supplied from the gas supply source 212 and discharged from the shower head 204 itself contains carbon as described above.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the above-mentioned components and gas containing carbon contain carbon isotopes ¹² C and ¹³ C in different ratios. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the isotope ratio of carbon contained in a plurality of components and gas according to the second embodiment.

Accordingly, in the second embodiment, when foreign matter is attached to the wafer W processed in the chamber 201, the source of the foreign matter can be identified by analyzing the isotope ratio of carbon contained in the foreign matter. The search can be narrowed down from a wide range as shown in FIG.

For example, if the isotope ratio of carbon contained in foreign matter attached to the wafer W is ¹² C = 97.9% and ¹³ C = 2.1%, based on FIG. can be considered to be the valve 211.

Furthermore, if the isotope ratio of carbon contained in the foreign matter adhering to the wafer W is the natural abundance ratio, this isotope ratio does not match any component or gas, so the source of the foreign matter may be other sources. It can be considered as an external factor.

In this manner, in the second embodiment, foreign particles attached to the wafer W are contained by containing isotopes of one element in different ratios in the component parts and the gas that contain one element. It is possible to accurately narrow down the source of the occurrence from a wide range.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, by changing the isotope ratio of one element without changing the composition ratio of multiple elements, it is possible to determine which component is attributable to each element. The chemical properties of components and gases can be maintained.

In addition, in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, it is sufficient that the carbon isotopes ¹² C and ¹³ C are contained in a ratio of two or more types, and the above-mentioned structure containing carbon Some of the components and gases may contain isotopes of carbon in proportions that are naturally occurring.

Further, in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the chemical solution containing carbon contains carbon isotopes in a ratio different from the natural abundance ratio, while all the above-mentioned components However, it may contain carbon isotopes in the same proportion as their natural abundance.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, at least a part of the above-mentioned components and gas may contain ¹³ C at a lower ratio than the natural abundance ratio, or 2 It is also possible to contain isotopes of two or more elements in a ratio of two or more types.

The substrate processing apparatus (substrate processing system 1) according to the first embodiment includes a flow path through which a chemical solution supplied to a substrate (wafer W) flows, and a processing chamber (chamber 20) that processes the substrate (wafer W) with the chemical solution. ). Further, the plurality of constituent parts contain a plurality of isotopes ( ¹² C, ¹³ C) of one element in a ratio of two or more types. Thereby, the source of foreign matter attached to the wafer W can be narrowed down from a wide range.

Further, in the substrate processing apparatus (substrate processing system 1) according to the first embodiment, the plurality of components and the chemical solution contain a plurality of isotopes ( ¹² C, ¹³ C) of one element in a ratio of two or more types. do. Thereby, the source of foreign matter attached to the wafer W can be narrowed down from a wider range.

The substrate processing apparatus (substrate processing system 1) according to the first embodiment also includes a flow path through which a chemical solution supplied to the substrate (wafer W) flows, and a processing chamber ( It includes a plurality of components used in the chamber 20). Further, the chemical solution contains multiple constituent parts and multiple isotopes ( ¹² C, ¹³ C) of one element in different ratios. This makes it possible to narrow down whether the source of foreign matter is a chemical solution or a component.

Further, in the substrate processing apparatus (substrate processing system 1) according to the first embodiment, the chemical liquid is an organic liquid. Thereby, the source of foreign matter attached to the wafer W can be narrowed down from a wider range.

Further, in the substrate processing apparatus (substrate processing system 1) according to the first embodiment, the chemical liquid is an inorganic liquid or ultrapure water. Thereby, the source of foreign matter attached to the wafer W can be narrowed down from a wide range.

The substrate processing apparatus (substrate processing system 1) according to the second embodiment includes a flow path through which gas is supplied to the substrate (wafer W), and a processing chamber (chamber 201) in which the substrate (wafer W) is processed with the gas. ). Further, the plurality of constituent parts contain a plurality of isotopes ( ¹² C, ¹³ C) of one element in a ratio of two or more types. Thereby, the source of foreign matter attached to the wafer W can be narrowed down from a wide range.

Further, in the substrate processing apparatus (substrate processing system 1) according to the second embodiment, the plurality of components and the gas contain a plurality of isotopes ( ¹² C, ¹³ C) of one element in a ratio of two or more types. do. Thereby, the source of foreign matter attached to the wafer W can be narrowed down from a wider range.

Further, the substrate processing apparatus (substrate processing system 1) according to the second embodiment includes a flow path through which a gas supplied to the substrate (wafer W) flows, and a processing chamber ( It includes a plurality of components used in the chamber 201). The gas also contains multiple components and multiple isotopes of an element ( ¹² C, ¹³ C) in different proportions. This makes it possible to narrow down whether the source of foreign matter is gas or a component.

Further, in the substrate processing apparatus (substrate processing system 1) according to each embodiment, the plurality of isotopes are ¹² C and ¹³ C. Thereby, when using a highly chemically resistant resin material as a component, the source of foreign matter attached to the wafer W can be narrowed down from a wide range.

Further, in the substrate processing apparatus (substrate processing system 1) according to each embodiment, the plurality of components contain a plurality of isotopes ( ¹² C, ¹³ C) of one element in different ratios. Thereby, the source of the foreign matter attached to the wafer W can be narrowed down from a wide range with high precision.

In the substrate processing apparatus (substrate processing system 1) according to each embodiment, the components contain two or more types of isotopes ( ¹² C, ¹³ C and ¹⁶ O, ¹⁸ O) of the elements in a ratio of each of the isotopes. This makes it possible to narrow down the source of the foreign matter adhering to the wafer W from a wide range.

<Processing Procedure>
Next, a procedure of the process according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the foreign matter source identification process executed in the substrate processing system 1 according to each embodiment.

First, the user analyzes the isotope ratio of one element contained in the foreign matter attached to the wafer W processed by the substrate processing system 1 (step S101). In step S101, the user may use a secondary ion mass spectrometry method such as nano-SIMS or ToF-SIMS, or a mass spectrometry method such as ICP-MS or TPD (Temperature Programmed Desorption)-MS.

Then, the user narrows down the source of the foreign matter based on the analyzed isotope ratio of the foreign matter (step S102), and completes the process.

The method for identifying the source of foreign matter according to each embodiment includes a step of analyzing the isotope ratio of one element (step S101) in the above-mentioned substrate processing apparatus (substrate processing system 1) and a step of narrowing down the source of the foreign matter (step S102). This makes it possible to narrow down the source of the foreign matter adhering to the wafer W from a wide range.

Further, in the foreign matter source identification method according to each embodiment, the step of analyzing (step S101) is performed by secondary ion mass spectrometry or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Thereby, the source of the foreign matter attached to the wafer W can be narrowed down from a wide range with high accuracy.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, in the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the present disclosure is applied to the chamber 201 that performs an etching process on a wafer W, but the present disclosure is not limited to an apparatus that performs an etching process on a wafer W. The present disclosure may be applied to a device that performs.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example is shown in which ¹² C and ¹³ C are used as isotopes, but the isotopes used are not limited to ¹² C and ¹³ C.

In each of the above embodiments, the entire component may be made of a material with a different isotope ratio of one element, or only the surface of the component that comes into contact with the chemical solution or gas may have an isotope ratio of one element. may be made of different materials.

The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. Indeed, the embodiments described above may be implemented in various forms. Moreover, the above-described embodiments may be omitted, replaced, or modified in various forms without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

W wafer (an example of a substrate)
1 Substrate processing system (an example of substrate processing equipment)
16 Processing unit 18 Control section 20, 201 Chamber (an example of a processing chamber)

Claims (10)

A plurality of components used for a flow path through which a chemical solution supplied to the substrate flows and a processing chamber for processing the substrate with the chemical solution,
The plurality of constituent parts contain a plurality of isotopes of one element in a ratio of two or more types,
The plurality of components and the chemical liquid contain a plurality of isotopes of one element in a ratio of two or more types.
Substrate processing equipment. A plurality of components used for a flow path through which a chemical solution supplied to the substrate flows and a processing chamber for processing the substrate with the chemical solution,
The chemical solution contains the plurality of constituent parts and a plurality of isotopes of one element in different ratios. The substrate processing apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the chemical liquid is an organic liquid. A plurality of components used for a flow path through which a gas supplied to the substrate flows and a processing chamber for processing the substrate with the gas,
The plurality of constituent parts contain a plurality of isotopes of one element in a ratio of two or more types,
The plurality of components and the gas contain a plurality of isotopes of one element in a ratio of two or more types.
Substrate processing equipment. A plurality of components used for a flow path through which a gas supplied to the substrate flows and a processing chamber for processing the substrate with the gas,
The gas contains the plurality of components and a plurality of isotopes of one element in different ratios. 6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of isotopes are ¹² C and ¹³ C. 7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of components contain a plurality of isotopes of one element in different ratios. 8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of components contain a plurality of isotopes of a plurality of elements in a ratio of two or more kinds. It includes a plurality of components used for a flow path through which a chemical solution to be supplied to a substrate flows and a processing chamber that processes the substrate with the chemical solution, and the plurality of component parts include a plurality of isotopes of one element. In a substrate processing apparatus containing two or more types of
analyzing the isotope ratio of one element contained in the foreign matter attached to the substrate;
Narrowing down the source of the foreign matter based on the isotope ratio;
A method for identifying the source of foreign matter, including The method for identifying a source of foreign matter according to claim 9 , wherein the step of analyzing is performed by secondary ion mass spectrometry or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

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