JP7460411B2 - Substrate processing equipment and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method.

In the process of manufacturing semiconductor devices, various processes are performed on semiconductor wafers using a substrate processing apparatus. For example, as a substrate processing apparatus, an etching apparatus that adjusts the thickness of a semiconductor wafer to a target thickness is known. For example, an etching apparatus supplies a processing liquid to a semiconductor wafer to etch the semiconductor wafer.

An etching apparatus may be equipped with a thickness measuring device. The thickness measuring device measures the thickness of a semiconductor wafer. An etching apparatus equipped with a thickness measuring device terminates the etching process when the measurement value (measured thickness) measured by the thickness measuring device during the etching process indicates the target value (target thickness).

However, there is variation on the surface of a semiconductor wafer, and the values measured by a thickness measuring device vary depending on the measurement location. Therefore, semiconductor processing equipment is required to have the function of determining a value (representative value) to be compared with the target thickness from among the values measured by the thickness measuring device.

Patent Document 1 proposes an apparatus for optically measuring the thickness of a slice or wafer made of a semiconductor material by interferometry. Specifically, Patent Document 1 proposes an apparatus that measures the thickness of a slice or wafer made of a semiconductor material when the slice or wafer of the semiconductor material is mechanically processed. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for determining an actual value (representative value) from among measured values.

Special Publication No. 2013-531227

However, in order to manufacture a semiconductor device with more sufficient performance, it is necessary to change the process for determining the representative value depending on the conditions. For example, it is necessary to change the process for determining the representative value depending on the type of semiconductor device to be manufactured. In contrast, in the device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the process for determining the representative value cannot be changed depending on conditions.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method that can change the process for determining a representative value depending on conditions.

A substrate processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention processes a substrate. The substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate holding unit, a substrate rotating unit, a processing liquid supply unit, a measurement unit, and a control unit. The substrate holding unit holds the substrate horizontally. The substrate rotating unit rotates the substrate and the substrate holding unit together around a central axis extending in the up-down direction. The processing liquid supply unit supplies the processing liquid to the substrate. The measurement unit measures the thickness of the substrate and generates a measurement signal indicating the measurement result. The control unit causes the measurement unit to measure the thickness of the substrate while the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating together with the substrate holding unit, and obtains a plurality of measurement values based on the measurement signal. The control unit obtains a representative value from the measurement values based on a predetermined condition. The measurement unit extracts a value included in a predetermined thickness range from each value indicating the measured thickness of the substrate, and generates the measurement signal. The predetermined thickness range is set to a range excluding a value including a thickness of a liquid film of the processing liquid.

In one embodiment, the control unit generates histogram data indicating the frequency of the measurement values based on the measurement values, and extracts the top n frequencies (n is a positive integer) from the frequencies. The control unit obtains the representative value from the measurement values included in the top n frequencies based on the predetermined condition.

In one embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus further includes a storage unit that stores a trained model. The control unit drives the substrate rotation unit to rotate the unprocessed substrate, which is the substrate before it is processed, together with the substrate holding unit. The control unit causes the measurement unit to measure the thickness of the unprocessed substrate, and obtains a plurality of initial measurement values based on the measurement signal. The control unit generates initial histogram data indicating the frequency of the initial measurement values based on the initial measurement values. The control unit uses the trained model to determine the top n from the initial histogram data. The trained model is generated by learning the initial histogram data and the top n as learning data.

In one embodiment, the trained model is generated by training the initial histogram data, the top n histograms, and a device type as training data. The device type indicates the type of device manufactured using the substrate.

In one embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus further includes a memory unit that stores a trained model. The control unit drives the substrate rotation unit to rotate the unprocessed substrate, which is the substrate before it is processed, together with the substrate holding unit. The control unit causes the measurement unit to measure the thickness of the unprocessed substrate, and obtains a plurality of initial measurement values based on the measurement signal. The control unit generates initial histogram data indicating the frequency of the initial measurement values based on the initial measurement values. The control unit uses the trained model to determine the specified condition from the initial histogram data. The trained model is generated by learning the initial histogram data and the specified condition as learning data.

In one embodiment, the trained model is generated by training the initial histogram data, the predetermined conditions, and a device type as training data. The device type indicates the type of device to be manufactured using the substrate.

In one embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus further includes an input unit for inputting the predetermined conditions.

In one embodiment, the predetermined condition includes a first condition and a second condition. The first condition indicates a condition for obtaining the maximum value of the measurement values as the representative value. The second condition indicates a condition for obtaining the minimum value of the measurement values as the representative value.

In one embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus further includes an input unit for inputting a device type. The device type indicates the type of device to be manufactured using the substrate. The control unit determines the predetermined conditions based on the device type.

In one embodiment, the device type includes a first device and a second device. The first device refers to a device having electrodes on both sides of the device. The second device refers to a device having electrodes on only one side of the device. The predetermined conditions include a first condition and a second condition. The first condition refers to a condition for obtaining a maximum value of the measured values as the representative value. The second condition refers to a condition for obtaining a minimum value of the measured values as the representative value. When the device type refers to the first device, the control unit obtains the representative value based on the first condition. When the device type refers to the second device, the control unit obtains the representative value based on the second condition.

In one embodiment, the measurement unit measures the thickness of the substrate at a fixed position. The measurement signal indicates the thickness of the substrate along the circumferential direction of the substrate.

In one embodiment, the control unit obtains the plurality of measurement values each time the substrate rotates once.
A substrate processing apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention processes a substrate. The substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate holding section, a substrate rotation section, a processing liquid supply section, a measurement section, a control section, and a storage section. The substrate holding section holds the substrate horizontally. The substrate rotating section rotates the substrate and the substrate holding section together about a central axis extending in the vertical direction. The processing liquid supply section supplies a processing liquid to the substrate. The measurement unit measures the thickness of the substrate and generates a measurement signal indicating the measurement result. The control unit causes the measuring unit to measure the thickness of the substrate when the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating together with the substrate holding unit, and performs a plurality of measurements based on the measurement signal. Get the value. The storage unit stores a trained model. The control unit generates histogram data indicating a frequency of the measured value based on the measured value. The control unit extracts the top n frequencies (n is a positive integer) from among the frequencies. The control unit acquires a representative value from among the measured values included in the top n frequencies based on a predetermined condition. The control unit drives the substrate rotating unit to rotate the unprocessed substrate, which is the substrate before being processed, together with the substrate holding unit. The control unit causes the measurement unit to measure the thickness of the unprocessed substrate, and obtains a plurality of initial measurement values based on the measurement signal. The control unit generates initial histogram data indicating a frequency of the initial measurement value based on the initial measurement value. The control unit determines the top n items from the initial histogram data using the learned model. The learned model is generated by learning the initial histogram data and the top n items as learning data.
A substrate processing apparatus according to yet another aspect of the present invention processes a substrate. The substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate holding section, a substrate rotation section, a processing liquid supply section, a measurement section, a control section, and a storage section. The substrate holding section holds the substrate horizontally. The substrate rotating section rotates the substrate and the substrate holding section together about a central axis extending in the vertical direction. The processing liquid supply section supplies a processing liquid to the substrate. The measurement unit measures the thickness of the substrate and generates a measurement signal indicating the measurement result. The control unit causes the measuring unit to measure the thickness of the substrate when the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating together with the substrate holding unit, and performs a plurality of measurements based on the measurement signal. Get the value. The storage unit stores a trained model. The control unit generates histogram data indicating a frequency of the measured value based on the measured value. The control unit extracts the top n frequencies (n is a positive integer) from among the frequencies. The control unit acquires a representative value from among the measured values included in the top n frequencies based on a predetermined condition. The control unit drives the substrate rotating unit to rotate the unprocessed substrate, which is the substrate before being processed, together with the substrate holding unit. The control unit causes the measurement unit to measure the thickness of the unprocessed substrate, and obtains a plurality of initial measurement values based on the measurement signal. The control unit generates initial histogram data indicating a frequency of the initial measurement value based on the initial measurement value. The control unit determines the predetermined condition from the initial histogram data using the learned model. The learned model is generated by learning the initial histogram data and the predetermined conditions as learning data.
A substrate processing apparatus according to yet another aspect of the present invention processes a substrate. The substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate holding section, a substrate rotation section, a processing liquid supply section, a measurement section, and a control section. The substrate holding section holds the substrate horizontally. The substrate rotating section rotates the substrate and the substrate holding section together about a central axis extending in the vertical direction. The processing liquid supply section supplies a processing liquid to the substrate. The measurement unit measures the thickness of the substrate and generates a measurement signal indicating the measurement result. The control unit causes the measuring unit to measure the thickness of the substrate when the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating together with the substrate holding unit, and performs a plurality of measurements based on the measurement signal. Get the value. The control unit acquires a representative value from among the measured values based on a predetermined condition. The predetermined conditions include a first condition and a second condition. The first condition indicates a condition for obtaining the maximum value of the measured values as the representative value. The second condition indicates a condition for obtaining the minimum value of the measured values as the representative value.
A substrate processing apparatus according to yet another aspect of the present invention processes a substrate. The substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate holding section, a substrate rotation section, a processing liquid supply section, a measurement section, a control section, and an input section. The substrate holding section holds the substrate horizontally. The substrate rotating section rotates the substrate and the substrate holding section together about a central axis extending in the vertical direction. The processing liquid supply unit supplies a processing liquid to the substrate. The measurement unit measures the thickness of the substrate and generates a measurement signal indicating the measurement result. The control unit causes the measuring unit to measure the thickness of the substrate when the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating together with the substrate holding unit, and performs a plurality of measurements based on the measurement signal. Get the value. The input unit inputs the type of device. The control unit acquires a representative value from among the measured values based on a predetermined condition. The device type indicates the type of device manufactured using the substrate. The control unit determines the predetermined condition based on the type of the device.

A substrate processing method according to one aspect of the present invention includes the steps of: having a substrate holder hold a substrate horizontally; rotating the substrate and the substrate holder together around a central axis extending in the vertical direction; supplying a processing liquid to the substrate while rotating; having a measuring unit measure the thickness of the substrate while the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating together with the substrate holder, and having the measuring unit generate a measurement signal; acquiring a plurality of measurement values based on the measurement signal; and acquiring a representative value from the measurement values based on a predetermined condition. In the step of having the measuring unit generate the measurement signal, the measuring unit extracts values included in a predetermined thickness range from each value indicating the measured thickness of the substrate to generate the measurement signal. The predetermined thickness range is set to a range excluding a value including a thickness of a liquid film of the processing liquid.
A substrate processing method according to another aspect of the present invention includes the steps of: having a substrate holding unit hold a substrate horizontally; rotating the substrate and the substrate holding unit together about a central axis extending in a vertical direction; before the substrate is processed, having a measurement unit measure a thickness of the substrate rotating together with the substrate holding unit and causing the measurement unit to generate a first measurement signal; acquiring a plurality of initial measurement values based on the first measurement signal; generating initial histogram data indicating the frequency of the initial measurement values based on the initial measurement values; and selecting the top n (n is positive) values from the initial histogram data using a trained model. The method includes the steps of: determining a value of n in a frequency domain (n is an integer number including n), supplying a treatment liquid to the rotating substrate, causing the measurement unit to measure the thickness of the substrate while the treatment liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating integrally with the substrate holder and causing the measurement unit to generate a second measurement signal, acquiring a plurality of measurement values based on the second measurement signal, generating histogram data indicating the frequencies of the measurement values based on the measurement values, extracting the top n frequencies from the frequencies, and acquiring a representative value from the measurement values included in the top n frequencies based on a predetermined condition. The trained model is generated by training the initial histogram data and the top n frequencies as training data.
A substrate processing method according to yet another aspect of the present invention includes the steps of: having a substrate holding unit hold a substrate horizontally; rotating the substrate and the substrate holding unit together about a central axis extending in a vertical direction; before the substrate is processed, having a measurement unit measure a thickness of the substrate rotating together with the substrate holding unit and causing the measurement unit to generate a first measurement signal; acquiring a plurality of initial measurement values based on the first measurement signal; generating initial histogram data indicating frequencies of the initial measurement values based on the initial measurement values; and determining predetermined conditions from the initial histogram data using a trained model. The method includes the steps of: determining a thickness of the substrate based on the first measurement signal; supplying a treatment liquid to the substrate while the treatment liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating integrally with the substrate holder; causing the measurement unit to measure the thickness of the substrate while the treatment liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating integrally with the substrate holder and causing the measurement unit to generate a second measurement signal; acquiring a plurality of measurement values based on the second measurement signal; generating histogram data indicating the frequencies of the measurement values based on the measurement values; extracting the top n frequencies (n is a positive integer) from the frequencies; and acquiring a representative value from the measurement values included in the top n frequencies based on the predetermined condition. The trained model is generated by training the initial histogram data and the predetermined condition as training data.
A substrate processing method according to yet another aspect of the present invention includes the steps of: having a substrate holding section hold a substrate horizontally; rotating the substrate and the substrate holding section together about a central axis extending in the up-down direction; supplying a processing liquid to the substrate while rotating; having a measuring section measure a thickness of the substrate while the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating together with the substrate holding section, and causing the measuring section to generate a measurement signal; acquiring a plurality of measurement values based on the measurement signal; and acquiring a representative value from the measurement values based on a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition includes a first condition and a second condition. The first condition indicates a condition for acquiring a maximum value from the measurement values as the representative value. The second condition indicates a condition for acquiring a minimum value from the measurement values as the representative value.
A substrate processing method according to yet another aspect of the present invention includes the steps of: inputting a type of device, determining predetermined conditions based on the type of device, having a substrate holder hold the substrate horizontally, rotating the substrate and the substrate holder integrally about a central axis extending in the vertical direction, supplying a processing liquid to the substrate during rotation, having a measuring section measure the thickness of the substrate while the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating integrally with the substrate holder and causing the measuring section to generate a measurement signal, obtaining a plurality of measurement values based on the measurement signal, and obtaining a representative value from the measurement values based on the predetermined conditions. The type of device indicates the type of device manufactured using the substrate.

According to the substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method according to the present invention, the process for determining the representative value can be changed depending on the conditions.

1 is a schematic diagram of a substrate processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram of a processing unit included in a substrate processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the substrate. (a) is a side view of the first substrate. (b) is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of the first substrate. 1A is a side view of a second substrate, and FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the second substrate. (a) is a plan view showing measurement position determination processing. (b) is a plan view showing the thickness measurement process. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which light is emitted from the thickness measuring section toward the substrate. (a) is a cross-sectional view schematically showing reflected light generated on the first substrate. (b) is a cross-sectional view schematically showing reflected light generated on the second substrate. It is a figure which shows the filtering process by a thickness measuring device. 1A is a graph showing a histogram of the data of the measured values for one rotation of the substrate, FIG. 1B is a graph showing another histogram of the data of the measured values for one rotation of the substrate, and FIG. 1C is a graph showing another histogram of the data of the measured values for one rotation of the substrate. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control device. (a) is a diagram showing an example of an input screen. (b) is a diagram showing another example of the input screen. 3 is a flowchart showing processing by a control unit included in the substrate processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart showing processing by a control unit included in the substrate processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a flow of a thickness determination process. It is a figure showing the flow of representative value acquisition processing. It is a figure which shows the flow of the modification of thickness determination processing. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control device included in a substrate processing apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart showing a process performed by a control unit included in a substrate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a flow of a condition setting process. 10 is a flowchart showing a process performed by a control unit included in the substrate processing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. 7 is a flowchart showing processing by a control unit included in a substrate processing apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of the top n determination process. 7 is a flowchart showing processing by a control unit included in a substrate processing apparatus according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another graph in which data of measured values for one rotation of the substrate is converted into a histogram.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings (Figs. 1 to 25). However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment. Note that where the explanation overlaps, it may be omitted as appropriate. Also, in the drawings, the same or equivalent parts are given the same reference symbols and explanations will not be repeated.

The "substrate" to be processed by the substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method according to the present invention can be a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a photomask, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for a plasma display, a substrate for an FED (Field Emission Display), a substrate for an optical disk, a substrate for a magnetic disk, and a substrate for a magneto-optical disk. In the following, the present embodiment will be described mainly using a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for processing a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer as an example, but the substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method according to the present invention can be similarly applied to various substrates other than the semiconductor wafers mentioned above. Furthermore, the shape of the substrate is not limited to a disk shape, and the substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method according to the present invention can be applied to substrates of various shapes.

[Embodiment 1]
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 17. First, a substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the substrate processing apparatus 100. The substrate processing apparatus 100 processes a substrate W. More specifically, the substrate processing apparatus 100 is a single-wafer type apparatus that processes the substrates W one by one.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 100 includes a plurality of processing units 1, a fluid cabinet 100A, a plurality of fluid boxes 100B, a plurality of load ports LP, an indexer robot IR, a center robot CR, A control device 101 is provided.

Each of the load ports LP accommodates a plurality of stacked substrates W. The indexer robot IR transports the substrate W between the load port LP and the center robot CR. The center robot CR transports the substrate W between the indexer robot IR and the processing unit 1. Note that a mounting table (pass) on which the substrate W is temporarily placed is provided between the indexer robot IR and the center robot CR, and a mounting table (pass) is provided between the indexer robot IR and the center robot CR. It is also possible to adopt an apparatus configuration in which the substrate W is transferred indirectly.

Each of the processing units 1 supplies a processing liquid to the upper surface 501 of the substrate W (see FIG. 4(a)) to process the upper surface 501 of the substrate W. More specifically, each of the processing units 1 performs an etching process to adjust the thickness of the substrate W to a target thickness.

The plurality of processing units 1 form a plurality of towers TW (four towers TW in FIG. 1) arranged so as to surround the center robot CR in plan view. Each tower TW includes a plurality of processing units 1 (three processing units 1 in FIG. 1) stacked one above the other.

Fluid cabinet 100A accommodates processing liquid. Each fluid box 100B corresponds to one of the plurality of towers TW. The processing liquid in the fluid cabinet 100A is supplied to all processing units 1 included in the tower TW corresponding to the fluid box 100B via one of the fluid boxes 100B.

In this embodiment, the processing liquid includes a chemical solution and a rinsing liquid. The chemical solution is an etching solution. The upper surface 501 of the substrate W (see FIG. 4(a)) is etched with an etching solution. Examples of the etching solution include hydrofluoric nitric acid (a mixture of hydrofluoric acid (HF) and nitric acid (HNO ₃ )), hydrofluoric acid, buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF), ammonium fluoride, and HFEG (a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and ethylene glycol). ) or phosphoric acid (H ₃ PO ₄ ). The rinsing liquid is, for example, deionized water, carbonated water, electrolyzed ionized water, hydrogen water, ozone water, or hydrochloric acid water with a diluted concentration (for example, about 10 ppm to 100 ppm).

Next, the control device 101 will be explained. The control device 101 controls the operation of each part of the substrate processing apparatus 100. For example, the control device 101 controls the load port LP, indexer robot IR, and center robot CR. Control device 101 includes a control section 102 and a storage section 103.

The control unit 102 has a processor. For example, the control unit 102 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). Alternatively, the control unit 102 may have a general-purpose computing device.

The memory unit 103 stores data and computer programs. The data includes recipe data. The recipe data includes information indicating a plurality of recipes. Each of the plurality of recipes specifies the processing content and processing procedure for the substrate W.

Storage unit 103 has a main storage device. The main storage device is, for example, a semiconductor memory. The storage unit 103 may further include an auxiliary storage device. The auxiliary storage device includes, for example, at least one of a semiconductor memory and a hard disk drive. Storage unit 103 may include removable media. The control unit 102 controls the operation of each unit of the substrate processing apparatus 100 based on the computer program and data stored in the storage unit 103.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment will be further described. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the processing unit 1 included in the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the processing unit 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the processing unit 1 includes a chamber 2, a spin chuck 3, a spin motor unit 5, a nozzle movement mechanism 6, a thickness measurement unit 8, a probe movement mechanism 9, a plurality of guards 10 (two guards 10 in FIG. 2), a first nozzle 41, and a second nozzle 71. The substrate processing apparatus 100 also includes an etching liquid supply unit 4 and a rinsing liquid supply unit 7. The etching liquid supply unit 4 has a first supply pipe 42, and the rinsing liquid supply unit 7 has a second supply pipe 72. The control device 101 (control unit 102) controls the spin chuck 3, the spin motor unit 5, the nozzle movement mechanism 6, the thickness measurement unit 8, and the probe movement mechanism 9.

The chamber 2 has a substantially box shape. The chamber 2 includes a substrate W, a spin chuck 3, a spin motor section 5, a nozzle moving mechanism 6, a plurality of guards 10, a thickness measuring section 8, a probe moving mechanism 9, a first nozzle 41, a second nozzle 71, and a first supply pipe. 42 and a portion of the second supply piping 72.

The spin chuck 3 holds the substrate W horizontally. The spin chuck 3 is an example of a substrate holding unit. Specifically, the spin chuck 3 has a spin base 33. The spin base 33 is substantially disk-shaped and holds the substrate W horizontally. The spin chuck 3 is, for example, a Bernoulli chuck.

The spin motor unit 5 rotates the substrate W and the spin chuck 3 together about the first rotation axis AX1. The first rotation axis AX1 extends in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, the first rotation axis AX1 extends substantially vertically. The first rotation axis AX1 is an example of a central axis, and the spin motor section 5 is an example of a substrate rotation section. Specifically, the spin motor section 5 rotates the spin base 33 around the first rotation axis AX1. Therefore, the spin base 33 rotates around the first rotation axis AX1. As a result, the substrate W held by the spin chuck 3 rotates about the first rotation axis AX1.

Specifically, the spin motor section 5 includes a motor main body 51, a shaft 53, and an encoder 55. Shaft 53 is coupled to spin base 33. The motor body 51 rotates the shaft 53. As a result, the spin base 33 rotates.

The encoder 55 detects the rotation speed of the substrate W and outputs a signal indicating the rotation speed of the substrate W (hereinafter referred to as a “rotation speed signal”) to the control device 101. Specifically, the rotational speed signal is input to the control unit 102. The control unit 102 detects the timing at which the substrate W makes one rotation based on the rotational speed signal.

The first nozzle 41 supplies the processing liquid to the substrate W. Specifically, the first nozzle 41 supplies the etching liquid to the substrate W from above the substrate W. Specifically, the first nozzle 41 discharges the etching liquid toward the rotating substrate W. The first nozzle 41 is an example of a processing liquid supply section. The etching liquid supply unit 4 supplies an etching liquid to the first nozzle 41 . Specifically, the etching liquid is supplied to the first nozzle 41 via the first supply pipe 42. The first supply pipe 42 is a tubular member through which the etching solution flows.

The nozzle movement mechanism 6 moves the first nozzle 41 in a substantially horizontal direction. More specifically, the nozzle movement mechanism 6 moves the first nozzle 41 in a circumferential direction centered on the second rotation axis AX2 that is aligned in a substantially vertical direction. As the first nozzle 41 moves, it ejects the etching liquid toward the substrate W. The first nozzle 41 is sometimes referred to as a scan nozzle.

Specifically, the nozzle moving mechanism 6 includes a nozzle arm 61, a first rotating shaft 63, and a first drive section 65. The nozzle arm 61 extends substantially horizontally. The first nozzle 41 is arranged at the tip of the nozzle arm 61. Nozzle arm 61 is coupled to first rotation shaft 63 . The first rotating shaft 63 extends substantially vertically. The first drive unit 65 rotates the first rotation shaft 63 about the second rotation axis AX2, and rotates the nozzle arm 61 about the first rotation axis 63 along a substantially horizontal plane. As a result, the first nozzle 41 moves along a substantially horizontal plane. Specifically, the first nozzle 41 moves around the first rotation axis 63 along the circumferential direction centered on the second rotation axis AX2. The first drive unit 65 includes, for example, a stepping motor. Alternatively, the first drive unit 65 may include a motor and a speed reducer.

The second nozzle 71 supplies a rinse liquid to the substrate W from above the substrate W. Specifically, the second nozzle 71 discharges the rinsing liquid toward the rotating substrate W. The rinse liquid supply section 7 supplies the second nozzle 71 with the rinse liquid. Specifically, the rinsing liquid is supplied to the second nozzle 71 via the second supply pipe 72. The second supply pipe 72 is a tubular member through which the rinsing liquid flows. The second nozzle 71 discharges the rinse liquid in a stationary state. The second nozzle 71 is sometimes referred to as a fixed nozzle. Note that the second nozzle 71 may be a scan nozzle.

Each guard 10 has a generally cylindrical shape. The multiple guards 10 receive the etching liquid and rinsing liquid discharged from the substrate W.

The thickness measuring section 8 measures the thickness of the substrate W and generates a measurement signal indicating the measurement result. Specifically, the measurement signal (measurement result) indicates the thickness value of the substrate W. The thickness measurement unit 8 measures the thickness of the substrate W in a non-contact manner. The measurement signal is input to the control device 101 (control unit 102). The thickness measuring section 8 is an example of a measuring section.

The thickness measuring section 8 measures the thickness of the substrate W by, for example, spectroscopic interferometry. Specifically, the thickness measuring section 8 includes an optical probe 81, a signal line 83, and a thickness measuring device 85. Optical probe 81 has a lens. The signal line 83 optically connects the optical probe 81 and the thickness measuring device 85. The signal line 83 includes, for example, an optical fiber. The thickness measuring device 85 has a light source and a light receiving element. The light emitted from the light source of the thickness measuring device 85 is emitted to the substrate W via the signal line 83 and the optical probe 81. The light reflected by the substrate W is received by the light receiving element of the thickness measuring device 85 via the optical probe 81 and the signal line 83. The thickness measuring device 85 analyzes the light received by the light receiving element and calculates the thickness of the substrate W. Thickness measuring device 85 generates a measurement signal indicating the calculated thickness value.

The probe moving mechanism 9 moves the optical probe 81 in a substantially horizontal direction. Specifically, the probe moving mechanism 9 moves the optical probe 81 along the circumferential direction centered on the third rotation axis AX3 along the substantially vertical direction.

Specifically, the probe moving mechanism 9 includes a probe arm 91, a second rotation shaft 93, and a second drive section 95. Probe arm 91 extends substantially horizontally. An optical probe 81 is arranged at the tip of the probe arm 91. Probe arm 91 is coupled to second rotation shaft 93 . The second rotating shaft 93 extends substantially vertically. The second drive unit 95 rotates the second rotation shaft 93 about the third rotation axis AX3, and rotates the probe arm 91 about the second rotation axis 93 along a substantially horizontal plane. As a result, the optical probe 81 moves along a substantially horizontal plane. Specifically, the optical probe 81 moves around the second rotation axis 93 along the circumferential direction centered on the third rotation axis AX3. The second drive unit 95 includes, for example, a stepping motor. Alternatively, the second drive section 95 may include a motor and a speed reducer.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, the substrate W to be processed by the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the substrate W. FIG. 4(a) is a side view of the first substrate W1. FIG. 4A further shows a part of the side surface of the first substrate W1 in an enlarged manner. FIG. 4(b) is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of the first substrate W1. FIG. 5(a) is a side view of the second substrate W2. FIG. 5A further shows a part of the side surface of the second substrate W2 in an enlarged manner. FIG. 5(b) is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of the second substrate W2. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the substrate W includes a first substrate W1 and a second substrate W2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the substrate W includes a plurality of chip regions RS. Each of the chip regions RS is provided with a structure that becomes a semiconductor device. Specifically, after performing the etching process on the substrate W using the substrate processing apparatus 100 and the substrate processing method of this embodiment, a semiconductor product (device) is obtained by further performing some post-processing. Can be done. The post-processing includes a process of cutting out each chip region RS by dicing the substrate W.

Next, the first substrate W1 will be described with reference to FIG. 4(a) and FIG. 4(b). As shown in FIG. 4(a), the first substrate W1 has an upper surface 501 and a lower surface 601. The lower surface 601 of the first substrate W1 includes a plurality of trenches 620. In other words, a plurality of steps are formed in the lower surface 601 of the first substrate W1. The plurality of trenches 620 are formed in the first substrate W1 by performing a pre-processing on the first substrate W1 before performing an etching process using the substrate processing apparatus 100 and substrate processing method of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4(b), the first substrate W1 has a film to be processed TG and a device structure layer 630. The film to be processed TG is the substrate body. For example, the film to be processed TG is a semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate is, for example, a silicon substrate. The device structure layer 630 is located below the film to be processed TG. In other words, the device structure layer 630 is formed on the lower surface 601 side of the first substrate W1. The device structure layer 630 is formed on the first substrate W1 by performing other pre-processing on the first substrate W1 before performing the etching process using the substrate processing apparatus 100 and substrate processing method of this embodiment.

The upper surface 501 of the first substrate W1 is constituted by the upper surface of the film TG to be processed. The film TG to be processed is the target of etching processing by the substrate processing apparatus 100 and substrate processing method of this embodiment. The upper surface 501 of the first substrate W1 corresponds to the back surface of the semiconductor product. The lower surface 601 of the first substrate W1 corresponds to the front surface of the semiconductor product. Therefore, the substrate processing apparatus 100 and substrate processing method of this embodiment are responsible for the process of etching the back surface of the semiconductor product in the manufacturing process of the semiconductor product.

The film to be processed TG has a lower surface 502. The device structure layer 630 is a portion of the first substrate W1 that is below the lower surface 502 of the film to be processed TG. The lower surface 502 of the film to be processed TG corresponds to the interface between the film to be processed TG and the device structure layer 630.

The lower surface 601 of the first substrate W1 is formed by the lower surface of the device structure layer 630. The trench 620 is a groove that deepens from the lower surface 601 toward the upper surface 501 of the first substrate W1. The trench 620 has a bottom surface 621. The bottom surface 621 of the trench 620 is closer to the upper surface 501 of the first substrate W1 than the interface between the device structure layer 630 and the film to be processed TG (the lower surface 502 of the film to be processed TG). In other words, the portion of the trench 620 on the bottom surface 621 side is formed in the film to be processed TG.

The thickness measuring unit 8 described with reference to FIG. 2 measures the thickness d of the film TG to be processed. The thickness d of the film TG to be processed includes a first thickness d1 and a second thickness d2. The first thickness d1 is the thickness from the upper surface 501 (upper surface of the film TG to be processed) of the first substrate W1 to the lower surface 502 of the film TG to be processed. The second thickness d2 is the thickness from the upper surface 501 (upper surface of the film TG to be processed) of the first substrate W1 to the bottom surface 621 of the trench 620. The first thickness d1 is greater than the second thickness d2.

The control unit 102 described with reference to FIG. 1 acquires a measurement value indicating the value of the first thickness d1 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the "first measurement value") and a measurement value indicating the value of the second thickness d2 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the "second measurement value") based on the measurement signal during the etching process. Then, the control unit 102 acquires a representative value from one of the first and second measurement values based on predetermined conditions, and determines whether the representative value matches the target value dtg. When the representative value matches the target value dtg, the control unit 102 ends the etching process on the first substrate W1 currently being processed.

Next, the second substrate W2 will be described with reference to Figures 5(a) and 5(b). As shown in Figure 5(a), the second substrate W2 has an upper surface 501 and a lower surface 601, similar to the first substrate W1. Unlike the first substrate W1, the second substrate W2 does not have a trench 620 formed therein.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the second substrate W2 has a processing target film TG and a device structure layer 630, like the first substrate W1. Unlike the first substrate W1, the second substrate W2 does not have the trench 620 formed therein, so the thickness d of the film to be processed TG of the second substrate W2 is one type, unlike the first substrate W1. Specifically, the thickness d of the film to be processed TG of the second substrate W2 is the thickness from the upper surface 501 (upper surface of the film to be processed TG) of the first substrate W1 to the lower surface 502 of the film to be processed TG (the first thickness d1 ) is shown.

The control unit 102 described with reference to FIG. 1 acquires a measurement value (first measurement value) indicating the value of the first thickness d1 based on the measurement signal during the etching process. Then, the control unit 102 obtains a representative value from the first measurement value based on a predetermined condition, and determines whether the representative value matches the target value dtg. When the representative value matches the target value dtg, the control unit 102 ends the etching process on the second substrate W2 that is currently being processed.

The upper surface of the film TG to be processed (upper surface 501 of the substrate W) may be ground before performing the etching process by the substrate processing apparatus 100 and substrate processing method of this embodiment. In this case, a damaged layer is generated on the upper surface (upper surface 501) of the film TG to be processed. The substrate processing apparatus 100 and substrate processing method of this embodiment can remove the damaged layer generated on the upper surface (upper surface 501) of the film TG to be processed by the etching process.

Here, we will explain the semiconductor product manufactured from the substrate W. The semiconductor product includes a first device and a second device. The first device is a device having electrodes on both sides. The second device is a device having an electrode on only one of the two sides.

The first device is, for example, a power device. The power device has a pair of electrodes. For example, the power device has a pair of electrodes, such as a pair of a source electrode and a drain electrode, a pair of an emitter electrode and a collector electrode, or a pair of an anode electrode and a cathode electrode. One of the pair of electrodes is formed in the device structure layer 630 described with reference to FIG. 4(b) and FIG. 5(b). The other of the pair of electrodes is formed on the upper surface 501 of the substrate W (upper surface of the film TG to be processed) after the thickness d of the film TG to be processed is reduced to the target thickness (target value dtg) by the substrate processing apparatus 100 and the substrate processing method of this embodiment. By not setting the target value dtg too high, it is possible to prevent the electrical resistance of the power device from becoming excessive. Also, by not setting the target value dtg too low, it is possible to prevent the withstand voltage of the power device from becoming insufficient.

The second device is a non-power device. Non-power devices include, for example, image sensor devices, memory devices, and logic devices. Image sensor devices, memory devices, and logic devices have electrodes on only one side.

Next, the measurement position determination process and the thickness measurement process will be described with reference to FIG. 6(a) and FIG. 6(b). FIG. 6(a) is a plan view showing the measurement position determination process. FIG. 6(b) is a plan view showing the thickness measurement process.

First, the measurement position determination process will be explained with reference to FIG. 6(a). The measurement position determination process is a process for determining the thickness measurement position P for the substrate W (film to be processed TG). The control unit 102 described with reference to FIG. 1 controls the thickness measurement unit 8 and the probe moving mechanism 9 to determine the measurement position P before performing the etching process. The measurement position determination process is performed while the substrate W is rotating.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6(a), when determining the measurement position P, the optical probe 81 moves so that the movement trajectory of the optical probe 81 forms an arcuate trajectory TJ in plan view. do. The trajectory TJ passes through the edge portion EG of the substrate W and the center portion CT of the substrate W. The edge portion EG indicates the peripheral portion of the substrate W. The optical probe 81 emits light toward the substrate W (film to be processed TG) while moving between the center CT and the edge EG of the substrate W in plan view. As a result, the distribution (profile) of the thickness d of the film to be processed TG in the radial direction RD of the substrate W is measured. Hereinafter, the thickness d of the film to be processed TG in the radial direction RD of the substrate W may be referred to as "thickness in the radial direction RD."

The control unit 102 described with reference to FIG. 1 determines the measurement position P based on the distribution of thickness in the radial direction RD. For example, the control unit 102 calculates the average value of the thickness in the radial direction RD and identifies the thickness in the radial direction RD that corresponds to the average value. The control unit 102 then determines the position in the radial direction RD where the identified thickness was measured as the measurement position P. Alternatively, the control unit 102 may extract the minimum, median, or maximum value from the distribution of thickness in the radial direction RD instead of the average value.

Next, the thickness measurement process will be explained with reference to FIG. 6(b). The thickness measurement process is performed during the etching process. As shown in FIG. 6(b), the optical probe 81 is placed at the measurement position P during the execution of the thickness measurement process. In other words, the position of the optical probe 81 is fixed at the measurement position P during the execution of the thickness measurement process.

The thickness measurement unit 8 measures the thickness of the substrate W (thickness d of the film TG to be processed) at a measurement position P (a fixed position) during the etching process. The substrate W rotates during the etching process. Therefore, the thickness measurement unit 8 measures the thickness of the substrate W along the circumferential direction CD of the substrate W (thickness d of the film TG to be processed). As a result, the measurement signal indicates a distribution profile (distribution) of the thickness of the substrate W (thickness d of the film TG to be processed) in the circumferential direction CD of the substrate W. Hereinafter, the thickness d of the film TG to be processed in the circumferential direction CD of the substrate W may be referred to as the "thickness in the circumferential direction CD."

The control unit 102 described with reference to FIG. 1 obtains a representative value based on the thickness distribution in the circumferential direction CD, and determines whether the representative value matches the target value dtg. More specifically, the control unit 102 obtains the thickness distribution in the circumferential direction CD based on the measurement signal each time the substrate W rotates once, based on the rotation speed signal described with reference to FIG. 2. Then, the control unit 102 obtains a representative value from the thickness distribution in the circumferential direction CD. In other words, the control unit 102 obtains a representative value from the measurement values for one rotation of the substrate W.

In this embodiment, the control unit 102 determines the measurement position P based on the thickness distribution in the radial direction RD, but the measurement position P may be a predetermined position. In this case, the measurement position determination process described with reference to FIG. 6(a) is omitted.

Next, the thickness measuring unit 8 will be described with reference to Figures 7 to 9. Figure 7 is a diagram showing a state in which light L is emitted from the thickness measuring unit 8 toward the substrate W. Figure 8(a) is a cross-sectional view that shows a schematic representation of the reflected light (first reflected light R1 to fourth reflected light R4) generated in the first substrate W1. Figure 8(b) is a cross-sectional view that shows a schematic representation of the reflected light (first reflected light R1, second reflected light R2, and fourth reflected light R4) generated in the second substrate W2.

As shown in FIG. 7, light L is emitted from the optical probe 81 toward the upper surface 501 of the substrate W. As a result, the light L is incident on the upper surface 501 of the substrate W (the upper surface of the film TG to be processed).

As shown in FIG. 8(a), light L is incident on the upper surface 501 (upper surface of the film TG to be processed) of the first substrate W1, causing reflected light to be generated on the first substrate W1. The reflected light includes a first reflected light R1 to a fourth reflected light R4.

The first reflected light R1 indicates light reflected from the upper surface of the film TG to be processed (upper surface 501 of the substrate W). The second reflected light R2 indicates light reflected from the lower surface 502 of the film TG to be processed (interface between the film TG to be processed and the device structure layer 630). The third reflected light R3 indicates light reflected from the bottom surface 621 of the trench 620. Since the thickness measurement process is performed during the etching process, a liquid film EF of the etching liquid is formed on the upper surface 501 of the first substrate W1. The fourth reflected light R4 indicates light reflected from the liquid surface of the liquid film EF. In addition, if the device structure layer 630 includes a semiconductor layer, the semiconductor layer may be an epitaxial layer formed on the lower surface 502 of the film TG to be processed. Since the film TG to be processed (semiconductor layer) and the epitaxial layer (semiconductor layer) have different refractive indices, etc., reflected light (second reflected light R2) is generated at the interface between the film TG to be processed and the device structure layer 630.

The thickness measuring device 85 described with reference to FIG. 2 measures a third thickness d3 and a fourth thickness d4 in addition to the first thickness d1 and the second thickness d2 based on the reflected light from the first substrate W1. do. Further, the thickness measuring device 85 measures the fifth thickness.

Specifically, the thickness measuring device 85 measures the first thickness d1 based on the first reflected light R1 and the second reflected light R2. The thickness measuring device 85 measures the second thickness d2 based on the first reflected light R1 and the third reflected light R3.

The third thickness d3 is the thickness from the liquid surface of the liquid film EF to the upper surface 501 of the first substrate W1 (the upper surface of the film to be processed TG). The thickness measuring device 85 measures the third thickness d3 based on the first reflected light R1 and the fourth reflected light R4. The fourth thickness d4 is the thickness from the liquid surface of the liquid film EF to the lower surface 502 of the film to be processed TG. The thickness measuring device 85 measures the fourth thickness d4 based on the second reflected light R2 and the fourth reflected light R4. The fifth thickness is the thickness from the liquid surface of the liquid film EF to the bottom surface 621 of the trench 620. The thickness measuring device 85 measures the fifth thickness based on the third reflected light R3 and the fourth reflected light R4.

As shown in FIG. 8(b), light L is incident on the upper surface 501 (upper surface of the film TG to be processed) of the second substrate W2, causing reflected light to be generated in the second substrate W2. The reflected light includes the first reflected light R1, the second reflected light R2, and the fourth reflected light R4 described with reference to FIG. 8(a). The thickness gauge 85 described with reference to FIG. 2 measures the third thickness d3 and the fourth thickness d4 in addition to the first thickness d1 based on the reflected light from the second substrate W2. The measurements of the first thickness d1, the third thickness d3, and the fourth thickness d4 have been described with reference to FIG. 8(a), and therefore will not be described here.

Figure 9 is a diagram showing the filtering process by the thickness measurement unit 8 (thickness measurement device 85). In detail, Figure 9 shows graph HG1, which is a histogram of the thickness data measured by the thickness measurement device 85 described with reference to Figure 2. Graph HG1 is a bar graph. In Figure 9, the horizontal axis indicates the measured thickness value. In other words, the horizontal axis indicates the thickness value measured by the thickness measurement device 85. The vertical axis indicates the frequency (occurrence frequency).

As shown in FIG. 9, the measured thickness includes the value of the thickness d of the film to be processed TG, as well as the value of the thickness of the film other than the film to be processed TG. The thickness values other than the film to be processed TG include, for example, the third thickness d3, the fourth thickness d4, and the fifth thickness described with reference to FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b).

In this embodiment, the thickness gauge 85 described with reference to FIG. 2 extracts measurement values within an effective range (specific thickness range) from among the thickness measurement values, and generates a measurement signal. The effective range is set in advance based on the thickness of the substrate W. Alternatively, the thickness gauge 85 may determine the effective range based on the measured thickness value. For example, the thickness gauge 85 extracts the measurement value with the highest frequency from among the measurement values, and determines a predetermined range centered on that measurement value as the effective range. The thickness gauge 85 may generate a measurement signal indicating all the measured thickness values. In this case, the control unit 102 determines the effective range based on the measurement signal. Then, the control unit 102 extracts measurement values within the effective range (specific thickness range) from among the thickness values indicated by the measurement signal.

Next, the representative value acquisition process executed by the control unit 102 will be described with reference to Figures 10(a) to 10(c). The representative value acquisition process is a process for acquiring a representative value from among the thickness values (measured values) measured by the thickness measurement unit 8.

The control unit 102 obtains a plurality of measured values (values of the thickness d of the film to be processed TG) based on the measurement signal. Specifically, a measurement value for one rotation of the substrate W is obtained based on the measurement signal. Then, the control unit 102 acquires a representative value to be compared with the target value dtg from among the measured values for one rotation of the substrate W. More specifically, the control unit 102 creates a histogram of the measured values for one rotation of the substrate W, and generates histogram data indicating the frequency of the measured values. Then, the control unit 102 extracts the top n frequencies (n is a positive integer) from among the frequencies indicated by the histogram data, and extracts the top n frequencies from among the measured values included in the top n frequencies under a predetermined condition. Obtain representative values based on Hereinafter, the measured values included in the top n frequencies may be referred to as "selected measured values."

FIG. 10A is a diagram showing a graph (graph HG2) in which data of measurement values for one rotation of the substrate W is converted into a histogram. FIG. 10(b) is a diagram showing another graph (graph HG3) in which data of measured values for one rotation of the substrate W is converted into a histogram. FIG. 10(c) is a diagram showing another graph (graph HG4) in which data of measured values for one rotation of the substrate W is converted into a histogram.

Graphs HG2 to HG4 are line graphs. In Fig. 10(a) to Fig. 10(c), the horizontal axis indicates the measured thickness value. Specifically, the horizontal axis indicates the measured value for one rotation of the substrate W. The vertical axis indicates the frequency (occurrence frequency).

Specifically, FIG. 10(a) shows the measurement results for the first substrate W1. The histogram data (graph HG2) shown in FIG. 10A indicates that the frequency of the first thickness d1 is smaller than the frequency of the second thickness d2. That is, the ratio of the light reflected from the bottom surface 621 of the trench 620 (third reflected light R3) is larger than the ratio of the light reflected from the lower surface 502 of the film to be processed TG (first reflected light R1). In other words, the ratio of the opening area of the trench 620 to the area of the lower surface 601 of the first substrate W1 is relatively high.

Figure 10(b) shows the measurement results for the first substrate W1. The histogram data (graph HG3) shown in Figure 10(b) indicates that the frequency of the first thickness d1 is greater than the frequency of the second thickness d2. In other words, this indicates that the proportion of light reflected from the bottom surface 621 of the trench 620 (third reflected light R3) is smaller than the proportion of light reflected from the lower surface 502 of the film to be processed TG (first reflected light R1). In other words, this indicates that the proportion of the opening area of the trench 620 to the area of the lower surface 601 of the first substrate W1 is relatively low.

Figure 10(c) shows the measurement results for the second substrate W2. Therefore, the histogram data (graph HG4) shown in Figure 10(c) shows only the frequency of the first thickness d1.

The control unit 102 extracts the top n frequencies (n is a positive integer) from among the frequencies indicated by the histogram data. The top n items are determined in advance. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 10(a) to 10(c), the top n values are set such that the measured values of the first thickness d1 and the second thickness d2 are included in the frequency of the top n pieces. It is predetermined according to the state of the substrate W before the etching process.

The control unit 102 acquires a representative value from among the measurement values (measurement values of the selection targets) included in the top n frequencies based on a predetermined condition. Specifically, the predetermined condition includes a first condition and a second condition. The first condition indicates a condition for acquiring the maximum value of the measurement values of the selection targets as the representative value. The second condition indicates a condition for acquiring the minimum value of the measurement values of the selection targets as the representative value. If the predetermined condition is the first condition, the control unit 102 acquires the maximum value of the first thickness d1 as the representative value. If the predetermined condition is the second condition, the control unit 102 acquires the minimum value of the second thickness d2 as the representative value.

In this embodiment, the predetermined conditions further include a third condition. When the predetermined condition is the third condition, the control unit 102 extracts the maximum value of the measurement values to be selected, sets a predetermined range centered on the maximum value, and selects the values included in the predetermined range. The median value of the measured values is acquired as the representative value. Therefore, similarly to the first condition, for the third condition, a representative value is selected from among the first thicknesses d1. The predetermined range is predetermined. Note that when acquiring the median value, the control unit 102 may acquire the median value by sorting the measured values included in a predetermined range in descending order.

Next, the control device 101 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 11, 12(a), and 12(b). FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device 101. As shown in FIG. 11, the control device 101 further includes an input section 104 and a display section 105.

The input unit 104 accepts an input operation by the worker and outputs information indicating the input content to the control unit 102. The input unit 104 includes, for example, a touch panel and a pointing device. The touch panel is disposed, for example, on the display surface of the display unit 105. The input unit 104 and the display unit 105 constitute, for example, a graphical user interface.

In this embodiment, the input unit 104 receives an input operation for inputting a predetermined condition. Specifically, the operator uses the input unit 104 to perform an operation to select any one of the first to third conditions. As a result, information indicating that one of the first to third conditions has been selected as the predetermined condition is input to the control unit 102. The control unit 102 acquires a representative value based on the selected condition (input condition).

Display unit 105 displays various information. In this embodiment, the display unit 105 displays an input screen G that accepts input operations of predetermined conditions by the operator. The display unit 105 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (electroluminescence) display.

Next, with reference to FIG. 12(a), the input screen G displayed by the display unit 105 will be described. FIG. 12(a) is a diagram showing an example of the input screen G. FIG. 12(b) is a diagram showing another example of the input screen G. The input screen G is used for inputting conditions for selecting a representative value. Hereinafter, the input screen G shown in FIG. 12(a) will be referred to as the "first input screen G1," and the input screen G shown in FIG. 12(b) will be referred to as the "second input screen G2."

As shown in FIG. 12(a), the first input screen G1 displays radio buttons 700 and an OK button 704. The OK button 704 is a button for confirming the information registered in the first input screen G1, and when the worker operates the input unit 104 to input an instruction to press the OK button 704, the information registered in the first input screen G1 is confirmed and input to the control unit 102.

The radio button 700 includes a first condition selection field 701, a second condition selection field 702, and a third condition selection field 703. The operator can operate the input unit 104 to select one of the first condition (maximum value), the second condition (minimum value), and the third condition (median value).

When the operator inputs an instruction to press the OK button 704 with the first condition (maximum value) selected, the first condition is set as the predetermined condition. As a result, the control unit 102 acquires the maximum value from among the measured values of the selection target as a representative value every time the substrate W rotates once during the etching process.

When the operator inputs an instruction to press the OK button 704 with the second condition (minimum value) selected, the second condition is set as the predetermined condition. As a result, the control unit 102 acquires the minimum value from among the measured values of the selection target as a representative value every time the substrate W rotates once during the etching process.

When the third condition (median) is selected and the operator inputs an instruction to press the OK button 704, the third condition is set as the predetermined condition. As a result, the control unit 102 extracts the maximum value from among the measurement values to be selected each time the substrate W rotates once during the etching process, sets a predetermined range centered on that maximum value, and obtains the median value from among the measurement values included in the predetermined range as a representative value.

For example, if the semiconductor product manufactured from the substrate W is a power device, the operator sets the first condition as the predetermined condition. By setting the first condition as the predetermined condition, the maximum value of the measured values to be selected becomes the representative value, so it is possible to avoid insufficient withstand voltage of the power device. Further, according to the present embodiment, by setting the first condition as the predetermined condition, a representative value is acquired from among the first thicknesses d1. Therefore, the thickness of the film to be processed TG from the lower surface 502 can be set to the target thickness (target value dtg). As a result, the thickness d of the film to be processed TG is less likely to become excessive than when the thickness from the bottom surface 621 of the trench 620 is set to the target thickness (target value dtg). Therefore, it is possible to avoid an excessive increase in the electrical resistance of the power device due to the excessive thickness of the film to be processed TG.

Alternatively, if the semiconductor product manufactured from the substrate W is a power device, the operator may set the third condition as the predetermined condition. By setting the third condition as a predetermined condition, a representative value is acquired from the first thickness d1, so as with the first condition, there may be problems such as insufficient withstand voltage of the power device and processing target film TG. It is possible to avoid excessive electrical resistance of the power device due to the excessive thickness of the power device.

When the semiconductor product manufactured from the substrate W is a non-power device, the operator sets the second condition as the predetermined condition. By setting the second condition as the predetermined condition, the minimum value of the measured values to be selected becomes the representative value, so it is possible to avoid excessive electrical resistance of the non-power device. Further, according to the present embodiment, by setting the second condition as the predetermined condition, the representative value is acquired from the second thickness d2. Therefore, the thickness of the trench 620 from the bottom surface 621 can be set to the target thickness (target value dtg). As a result, the thickness d of the target film TG is less likely to become too small than when the thickness from the lower surface 502 of the target film TG is set to the target thickness (target value dtg). Therefore, it is possible to avoid insufficient withstand voltage of non-power devices due to an excessively small thickness of the film to be processed TG.

Next, the second input screen G2 will be described with reference to FIG. 12(b). The display unit 105 may display the second input screen G2 shown in FIG. 12(b) instead of the first input screen G1 described with reference to FIG. 12(a).

As shown in FIG. 12(b), the second input screen G2 displays a radio button 710 and an OK button 704. The function assigned to the OK button 704 is the same as that of the OK button 704 described with reference to FIG. 12(a), and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

The radio button 710 includes a power device selection field 711 and a non-power device selection field 712. The operator can operate the input unit 104 to input the type of semiconductor product (device) to be manufactured from the substrate W. Specifically, one of a power device and a non-power device can be selected as the device type.

When a power device is selected as the device type and the operator inputs an instruction to press the OK button 704, the control unit 102 determines the predetermined condition as the first condition. As a result, the control unit 102 acquires the maximum value from among the measurement values to be selected as a representative value each time the substrate W rotates once during the etching process.

When the operator inputs an instruction to press the OK button 704 with a non-power device selected as the device type, the control unit 102 determines the predetermined condition as the second condition. As a result, the control unit 102 acquires the minimum value from among the measured values of the selection target as a representative value every time the substrate W rotates once during the etching process.

When a power device is selected as the device type and the worker inputs an instruction to press the OK button 704, the control unit 102 may set a predetermined condition as the third condition.

Next, the substrate processing method of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 17. The substrate processing method of this embodiment is performed by the substrate processing apparatus 100 described with reference to Figures 1 to 12. Figures 13 to 16 are flow charts showing processing by the control unit 102 provided in the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment.

The processes shown in FIGS. 13 to 16 are started when the operator operates the input unit 104 to instruct the start of the etching process of the substrate W. When the operator operates the input unit 104 to instruct the start of etching processing of the substrate W, the display unit 105 displays the input screen G described with reference to FIGS. 11, 12(a), and 12(b). Display. Specifically, the display unit 105 displays the first input screen G1 described with reference to FIG. 12(a) or the second input screen G2 described with reference to FIG. 12(b). The operator sets predetermined conditions via the first input screen G1 or the second input screen G2 (step S1).

For example, when the first input screen G1 is displayed, the worker operates the input unit 104 to select one of the first to third conditions. As a result, the control unit 102 sets one of the first to third conditions as the predetermined condition. When the second input screen G2 is displayed, the worker operates the input unit 104 to select a powered device or a non-powered device as the device type. As a result, the control unit 102 sets the first condition or the second condition as the predetermined condition. Alternatively, the control unit 102 sets the third condition or the second condition as the predetermined condition.

After setting the specified conditions, the control unit 102 controls the indexer robot IR and the center robot CR to load the substrate W into the chamber 2 of the processing unit 1 (step S2). The loaded substrate W is held by the spin chuck 3.

When the spin chuck 3 holds the substrate W, the control section 102 controls the spin motor section 5 to rotate the substrate W together with the spin chuck 3 (step S3).

Based on the rotation speed signal, the control unit 102 determines whether the rotation speed of the substrate W is stable at a predetermined value. When the rotation speed of the substrate W is stable at a predetermined value, the control unit 102 controls the thickness measurement unit 8 and the probe movement mechanism 9 to determine the measurement position P, as described with reference to FIG. 6(a) (step S4).

When the measurement position P is determined, the control unit 102 fixes the position of the optical probe 81 at the measurement position P, and then controls the etching liquid supply unit 4 to direct the etchant from the first nozzle 41 toward the upper surface 501 of the substrate W. An etching solution is supplied (step S5). Specifically, the control unit 102 opens a valve provided in the first supply pipe 42.

When the supply of the etching solution starts, the control unit 102 determines whether the thickness d of the film TG to be processed has reached the target thickness based on the measurement signal from the thickness measurement unit 8 (step S6).

When the control unit 102 determines that the thickness d of the film TG to be processed has reached the target thickness, as shown in FIG. 14, it controls the etching liquid supply unit 4 to stop the supply of the etching liquid from the first nozzle 41 to the upper surface 501 of the substrate W (step S7). Specifically, the control unit 102 closes the valve provided in the first supply pipe 42.

After stopping the supply of the etching liquid, the control unit 102 controls the rinsing liquid supply unit 7 to supply the rinsing liquid from the second nozzle 71 toward the upper surface 501 of the substrate W (step S8). Specifically, the control unit 102 opens a valve provided in the second supply pipe 72. By supplying the rinsing liquid to the upper surface 501 of the substrate W, the etching liquid is removed from the upper surface 501 of the substrate W. Specifically, the etching liquid is swept away from the substrate W by the rinsing liquid and is discharged around the substrate W. As a result, the etching liquid film on the substrate W is replaced with a rinsing liquid film covering the entire upper surface of the substrate W.

After replacing the etching liquid on the substrate W with the rinsing liquid, the control unit 102 increases the rotation speed of the spin motor unit 5 to dry the substrate W (step S9). Specifically, the rotation speed of the substrate W is increased to be higher than the rotation speed during the etching process and the rinsing process. As a result, a large centrifugal force is applied to the rinsing liquid on the substrate W, and the rinsing liquid adhering to the substrate W is shaken off around the substrate W. In this way, the rinsing liquid is removed from the substrate W, and the substrate W is dried.

After a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of high-speed rotation of the substrate W, the control unit 102 stops the operation of the spin motor unit 5, thereby stopping the rotation of the substrate W (step S10). As a result, the drying process ends. When the drying process ends, the substrate W is released from the spin chuck 3, and the center robot CR transports the substrate W out of the chamber 2.

When the drying process is completed, the control unit 102 determines whether or not a predetermined number of substrates W has been processed (step S11). If the control unit 102 determines that the scheduled number of substrates W has been processed (Yes in step S11), the processing shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 ends. On the other hand, if the control unit 102 determines that the scheduled number of substrates W has not been processed yet (No in step S11), the processes from step S2 shown in FIG. 13 are executed again.

Next, the thickness determination process (step S6) will be explained with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the flow of the thickness determination process (step S6).

As shown in FIG. 15, when the thickness determination process is started, the control unit 102 obtains a representative value from the measurement values for one rotation of the substrate W (step S61).

After acquiring the representative value, the control unit 102 determines whether the acquired representative value is less than or equal to the target value dtg (step S62). If the control unit 102 determines that the representative value is less than or equal to the target value dtg (Yes in step S62), the process moves to step S7 shown in FIG. 14.

On the other hand, if the control unit 102 determines that the representative value is not equal to or less than the target value dtg (No in step S62), it acquires a representative value from the measurement values for the next rotation of the substrate W (step S61). Therefore, the control unit 102 acquires a representative value and compares it with the target value dtg every time the substrate W rotates until the representative value becomes equal to or less than the target value dtg.

Next, the representative value acquisition process (step S61) will be described with reference to FIG. 16. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the flow of the representative value acquisition process (step S61).

As shown in FIG. 16, when the representative value acquisition process is started, the control unit 102 controls the measurement value (multiple measurement values) for one rotation of the substrate based on the measurement signal (measurement result) input from the thickness measurement unit 8. ) is acquired (step S611).

When the control unit 102 acquires the measured values (multiple measured values) for one rotation of the substrate, the control unit 102 generates histogram data by converting the acquired multiple measured values into a histogram (step S612).

After generating the histogram data, the control unit 102 extracts the top n frequencies based on the frequency distribution indicated by the histogram data, as described with reference to FIGS. 10(a) to 10(c). Step S613).

When the control unit 102 extracts the top n frequencies, it acquires a representative value from the measurement values included in the top n frequencies based on the conditions set in the condition setting process (step S1) as described with reference to Figures 10(a) to 10(c) (step S614).

When the control unit 102 acquires the representative value, the process of the control unit 102 moves to the process of step S62 shown in FIG. 15.

Next, a modified example of the thickness determination process (step S6) will be described with reference to FIG. 17. However, detailed descriptions of the same processes as those described with reference to FIG. 15 will be omitted.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a flow of a modification of the thickness determination process (step S6). The control unit 102 may refer to FIG. 15 and execute the thickness determination process shown in FIG. 17 instead of the thickness determination process.

As shown in FIG. 17, when the thickness determination process is started, the control unit 102 acquires the current representative value X1 (step S61). Upon acquiring the current representative value X1, the control unit 102 determines whether a value obtained by subtracting the current representative value X1 from the previous representative value X0 (hereinafter referred to as "difference value") is smaller than zero. (Step S63). Note that the previous representative value X0 is stored in the storage unit 103.

If the control unit 102 determines that the difference value is not smaller than zero (No in step S63), that is, if the difference value is greater than or equal to zero, it acquires the current representative value X1 again (step S61).

When the control unit 102 determines that the difference value is smaller than zero (Yes in step S63), it determines whether or not the difference value is larger than a predetermined value D (step S64). When the control unit 102 determines that the difference value is not larger than the predetermined value D (No in step S63), that is, when the difference value is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value D, it acquires the current representative value X1 again (step S61).

If the control unit 102 determines that the difference value is larger than the predetermined value D (Yes in step S64), it sets the currently acquired representative value X1 as the previous representative value X0 (step S65). Specifically, the control unit 102 causes the storage unit 103 to store the currently acquired representative value X1 as the previous representative value X0.

After setting the current representative value X1 as the previous representative value X0, the control unit 102 determines whether the current representative value X1 is equal to or less than the target value dtg (step S62).

The modified example of the thickness determination process has been described above with reference to FIG. 17. According to the thickness determination process shown in FIG. 17, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the etching process will stop in a state where the thickness d of the film to be processed TG has not reached the target thickness. In other words, it is possible to increase the possibility that the thickness d of the film to be processed TG can reach the target thickness.

Specifically, in the etching process, the thickness d of the film to be processed TG decreases over time. On the other hand, the fact that the difference value is greater than or equal to zero (No in step S63) indicates that the thickness d of the film to be processed TG has not decreased. Therefore, if the difference value is greater than or equal to zero, there is a possibility that the selection of the representative value was inappropriate. Further, the fact that the difference value is smaller than the predetermined value D (No in step S64) indicates that the amount of decrease in the thickness d of the film to be processed TG is smaller than the expected amount of decrease. Therefore, if the difference value is smaller than the predetermined value D, there is a possibility that the selection of the representative value was inappropriate.

Therefore, if a representative value that makes the difference value equal to or greater than zero, or a representative value that makes the difference value smaller than a predetermined value D is used to determine whether the thickness d of the film TG to be processed has reached the target thickness, there is a possibility that the etching process will be stopped before the thickness d of the film TG to be processed has reached the target thickness.

In contrast, according to the thickness determination process shown in FIG. 17, when the control unit 102 obtains a representative value that makes the difference value equal to or greater than zero, or a representative value that makes the difference value smaller than the predetermined value D, it obtains the current representative value X1 again. This reduces the possibility that the etching process will stop before the thickness d of the film TG to be processed has reached the target thickness.

Above, the first embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 17. According to this embodiment, the process of determining the representative value can be changed according to the conditions. Specifically, when the condition is the first condition, the control unit 102 acquires the maximum value of the measurement values of the selection target as the representative value. When the condition is the second condition, the control unit 102 acquires the minimum value of the measurement values of the selection target as the representative value. Furthermore, when the condition is the third condition, the control unit 102 extracts the maximum value of the measurement values of the selection target, sets a predetermined range centered on the maximum value, and acquires the median value of the measurement values included in the predetermined range as the representative value. Thus, according to this embodiment, the thickness d of the processing target film TG can be made more appropriate according to the type and characteristics of the semiconductor product manufactured from the substrate W, the contents of the processing (pre-processing) performed on the substrate W before the etching processing by the substrate processing apparatus 100 and substrate processing method of this embodiment, and the contents of the processing (post-processing) performed on the substrate W after the etching processing by the substrate processing apparatus 100 and substrate processing method of this embodiment.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 18 to Fig. 20. However, only differences from the first embodiment will be described, and explanations of the same matters as in the first embodiment will be omitted. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the control unit 112 determines the predetermined conditions using the trained model 200.

Figure 18 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device 101 provided in the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment 2. As shown in Figure 18, the control device 101 includes a control unit 112, a memory unit 113, an input unit 104, and a display unit 105.

Control unit 112 has a processor. The control unit 112 includes, for example, a CPU or an MPU. Alternatively, the control unit 112 includes a general-purpose computing machine. The control unit 112 may further include an NCU (Neural Network Processing Unit).

The memory unit 113 has a main memory device. The memory unit 113 may further have an auxiliary memory device. The memory unit 113 may include a removable medium. The control unit 112 controls the operation of each part of the substrate processing apparatus 100 based on the computer programs and data stored in the memory unit 113.

In this embodiment, the storage unit 113 stores the learned model 200. The learned model 200 is generated by learning initial histogram data and predetermined conditions as learning data. Here, the initial histogram data is data obtained by converting the distribution (profile) of the thickness of the substrate W (thickness d of the film to be processed TG) before etching into a histogram. Specifically, the data is a histogram of the thickness distribution in the circumferential direction CD, similar to the histogram data generated during the etching process.

More specifically, the trained model 200 is generated by learning initial histogram data and predetermined conditions (any of the first to third conditions) actually set for the initial histogram data. Ru. Specifically, the trained model 200 learns a training data set with initial histogram data as a feature and a predetermined condition as an objective variable, finds a certain rule from the training data set, It is generated by generating a model that expresses the rule. Note that the learning method is, for example, one of supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, reinforcement learning, and deep learning.

Before performing the etching process, the control unit 112 controls the thickness measurement unit 8 to generate initial histogram data, inputs the initial histogram data to the trained model 200 as an explanatory variable, and causes the trained model 200 to output a predetermined condition (one of the first to third conditions), which is the objective variable.

Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 18 to 20. Figures 19 and 20 are flow charts showing the processing by the control unit 112 provided in the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment. However, detailed description of the same processing as that described with reference to Figures 13 to 17 will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 19, in the second embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the processing performed by the control unit 112 does not include a process for setting the conditions selected by the worker (step S1). On the other hand, the processing performed by the control unit 112 includes a condition determination process (step S12).

After determining the measurement position P, the control unit 112 executes a condition determination process (step S12). The condition determination process is a process of determining conditions for obtaining representative values. After determining the conditions for obtaining the representative value, the control unit 112 controls the etching liquid supply unit 4 to supply the etching liquid from the first nozzle 41 toward the upper surface 501 of the substrate W (step S5). Note that the processing from step S6 onwards is the same as the processing described with reference to FIG. 14, so the description thereof will be omitted.

Figure 20 is a diagram showing the flow of the condition setting process (step S12). At the start of the condition setting process, the optical probe 81 is placed at the measurement position P. As shown in Figure 20, when the condition setting process starts, the control unit 112 causes the thickness measurement unit 8 to measure the thickness of the substrate W (thickness of the film TG to be processed) before the etching process, and acquires measurement values (multiple measurement values) for one rotation of the substrate based on the measurement signal (measurement result) input from the thickness measurement unit 8 (step S121). Hereinafter, the measurement values acquired by the control unit 112 before the etching process are referred to as "initial measurement values".

When the control unit 112 acquires multiple initial measurement values, it creates a histogram of the acquired multiple initial measurement values to generate initial histogram data indicating the frequency of the initial measurement values (step S122).

After generating the initial histogram data, the control unit 112 uses the trained model 200 to determine a predetermined condition (one of the first to third conditions) from the initial histogram data (step S123). Specifically, the control unit 112 inputs the initial histogram data as an explanatory variable to the trained model 200, and from the trained model 200, sets a predetermined condition (any one of the first condition to the third condition) as the objective variable. ) is output. Once the predetermined conditions are determined, the process moves to step S5 shown in FIG. 19.

Embodiment 2 of the present invention has been described above with reference to FIGS. 18 to 20. According to this embodiment, it is possible to omit the work of setting conditions by the operator.

In this embodiment, the memory unit 113 stores the trained model 200 in advance, but the control unit 112 may generate the trained model 200 and store it in the memory unit 113. In this case, the memory unit 113 stores an inference program and a learning program in advance. Specifically, each time the control unit 112 processes a substrate W, the control unit 112 acquires initial histogram data and a predetermined condition (any of the first condition to the third condition) that is actually set for the initial histogram data as a learning data set, and trains the learning program. As a result, trained parameters are output from the learning program. The control unit 112 generates the trained model 200 by incorporating the trained parameters into the inference program.

[Embodiment 3]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 18, 20, and 21. However, differences from the first and second embodiments will be described, and descriptions of the same matters as the first and second embodiments will be omitted. The third embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments in that initial histogram data and information indicating the type of device are input to the trained model 200 as explanatory variables. The type of device indicates the type of semiconductor product (device) manufactured from the substrate W. The type of device includes a power device and a non-power device.

In this embodiment, the learned model 200 is generated by learning initial histogram data, device type, and predetermined conditions as learning data.

More specifically, the trained model 200 is generated by learning the initial histogram data, a predetermined condition (any of the first to third conditions) that is actually set for the initial histogram data, and the type of device manufactured from the substrate W from which the initial histogram data was obtained. Specifically, the trained model 200 can be generated by learning a training dataset in which the initial histogram data and the device type are used as features and the predetermined condition is used as an objective variable, finding certain rules from the training dataset, and generating a model that expresses the rules.

Before the etching process is performed, the control unit 112 acquires information indicating the type of device via the input unit 104. Then, before the etching process is performed, the control unit 112 controls the thickness measurement unit 8 to generate initial histogram data, inputs the initial histogram data and the type of device as explanatory variables to the trained model 200, and causes the trained model 200 to output a predetermined condition (any of the first to third conditions) that is the objective variable.

Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 18, 20, and 21. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing processing by the control unit 112 included in the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment. However, detailed description of the same processes as those described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 17 and FIGS. 19 to 20 will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 21, in the third embodiment, unlike the second embodiment, the process executed by the control unit 112 includes a process of setting the type of device selected by the worker (step S13). For example, the control unit 112 causes the display unit 105 to display the second input screen G2 described with reference to FIG. 12(b), thereby allowing the worker to select the type of device.

In the condition determination process (step S12), the control unit 112 generates initial histogram data (steps S121 and S122 in FIG. 20) as in the second embodiment, and uses the learned model 200 to generate the initial histogram data and A predetermined condition (any of the first condition to third condition) is determined based on the type of device (step S123 in FIG. 20).

Note that the processing from step S6 onwards is the same as the processing described with reference to FIG. 14, so the description thereof will be omitted.

The third embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to Figs. 18, 20, and 21. This embodiment eliminates the need for the operator to set conditions.

[Embodiment 4]
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 18, 22, and 23. However, matters that are different from Embodiments 1 to 3 will be explained, and descriptions of matters that are the same as Embodiments 1 to 3 will be omitted. The fourth embodiment differs from the first to third embodiments in that the control unit 112 uses the trained model 200 to determine the "top n".

In this embodiment, the trained model 200 is generated by learning the initial histogram data and the top n values as training data. More specifically, the trained model 200 is generated by learning the initial histogram data and the top n values actually set for the initial histogram data. Specifically, the trained model 200 can be generated by learning a training data set in which the initial histogram data is used as a feature and the top n values are used as objective variables, finding certain rules from the training data set, and generating a model that expresses the rules. The training method is, for example, any one of supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, reinforcement learning, and deep learning.

Before performing the etching process, the control unit 112 controls the thickness measurement unit 8 to generate initial histogram data, inputs the initial histogram data to the trained model 200 as an explanatory variable, and causes the trained model 200 to output the top n values, which are the objective variable.

Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 18, 22, and 23. 22 and 23 are flowcharts showing processing by the control unit 112 included in the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment. However, detailed description of the same processes as those described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 17 and FIGS. 19 to 21 will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 22, in the fourth embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the processing executed by the control unit 112 includes processing for setting conditions selected by the operator (step S1). The process executed by the control unit 112 further includes a process for determining the top n items (step S14).

After determining the measurement position P, the control unit 112 executes a process for determining the top n positions (step S14). The top n determining process is a process of determining the top n values based on the initial histogram data. After determining the top n values, the control unit 112 controls the etching liquid supply unit 4 to supply the etching liquid from the first nozzle 41 toward the upper surface 501 of the substrate W (step S5). Note that the processing from step S6 onwards is the same as the processing described with reference to FIG. 14, so the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the flow of the top n determination process (step S14). Note that the optical probe 81 is placed at the measurement position P at the start of the process of determining the top n items. As shown in FIG. 23, when the process for determining the top n items starts, the control unit 112 causes the thickness measuring unit 8 to measure the thickness of the substrate W before the etching process (thickness d of the film to be processed TG), and performs the thickness measurement. A plurality of initial measurement values are acquired based on the measurement signal (measurement result) input from the unit 8 (step S141).

Upon acquiring the plurality of initial measurement values, the control unit 112 generates initial histogram data by converting the plurality of acquired initial measurement values into a histogram (step S142).

When the control unit 112 generates the initial histogram data, it uses the trained model 200 to determine the top n values from the initial histogram data (step S143). Specifically, the control unit 112 inputs the initial histogram data to the trained model 200 as explanatory variables, and causes the trained model 200 to output the top n values, which are the objective variables. Once the top n values have been determined, the process proceeds to step S5 shown in FIG. 19.

Embodiment 4 of the present invention has been described above with reference to FIGS. 18, 22, and 23. According to this embodiment, the operator can omit the task of determining the top n items.

Note that in this embodiment, the storage unit 113 stores the trained model 200 in advance, but the control unit 112 may generate the trained model 200 and store it in the storage unit 113. In this case, the storage unit 113 stores the inference program and the learning program in advance. Specifically, each time the control unit 112 processes the substrate W, the control unit 112 acquires initial histogram data and the top n values actually set for the initial histogram data as a learning data set. and have the learning program learn it. As a result, learned parameters are output from the learning program. The control unit 112 generates the learned model 200 by incorporating the learned parameters into the inference program.

[Embodiment 5]
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 18, 23, and 24. However, matters that are different from Embodiments 1 to 4 will be explained, and descriptions of matters that are the same as Embodiments 1 to 4 will be omitted. The fifth embodiment differs from the first to fourth embodiments in that initial histogram data and information indicating the type of device are input to the learned model 200 as explanatory variables.

In this embodiment, the learned model 200 is generated by learning initial histogram data, device type, and top n values as learning data.

More specifically, the trained model 200 is generated by learning the initial histogram data, the top n values actually set for the initial histogram data, and the type of device manufactured from the substrate W from which the initial histogram data was obtained. Specifically, the trained model 200 can be generated by learning a training data set in which the initial histogram data and the device type are used as features and the top n values are used as objective variables, finding certain rules from the training data set, and generating a model that expresses the rules.

Before the etching process is performed, the control unit 112 acquires information indicating the type of device via the input unit 104. Then, before the etching process is performed, the control unit 112 controls the thickness measurement unit 8 to generate initial histogram data, inputs the initial histogram data and the type of device as explanatory variables to the trained model 200, and causes the trained model 200 to output the top n values, which are the objective variable.

Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 18, 23, and 24. FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing processing by the control unit 112 included in the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment. However, detailed description of the same processes as those described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 17 and FIGS. 19 to 23 will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 21, in the fifth embodiment, unlike the fourth embodiment, the processing executed by the control unit 112 includes a process for setting the type of device selected by the worker (step S13).

In the process of determining the top n values (step S14), the control unit 112 generates initial histogram data (steps S141 and S142 in FIG. 23) in the same manner as in embodiment 4, and determines the top n values from the initial histogram data and the device type using the trained model 200 (step S143 in FIG. 23).

Note that the processing from step S6 onwards is the same as the processing described with reference to FIG. 14, so the description thereof will be omitted.

Embodiment 5 of the present invention has been described above with reference to FIGS. 18, 23, and 24. According to this embodiment, the operator can omit the task of determining the top n items.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings (FIGS. 1 to 24). However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit thereof. Further, the plurality of components disclosed in the above embodiments can be modified as appropriate. For example, some of the components shown in one embodiment may be added to the components of another embodiment, or some of the components shown in one embodiment may be configured. Elements may be deleted from the embodiment.

The drawings mainly schematically show each component in order to facilitate understanding of the invention, and the thickness, length, number, spacing, etc. of each illustrated component may vary depending on the convenience of drawing. The above image may differ from the actual one. Further, the configuration of each component shown in the above embodiment is an example, and is not particularly limited, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made without substantially departing from the effects of the present invention. .

For example, in the embodiment described with reference to Figures 1 to 24, the spin chuck 3 was a Bernoulli chuck, but the type of spin chuck 3 is not particularly limited as long as it is configured to hold the substrate W horizontally. For example, the spin chuck 3 may be a vacuum chuck. If the spin chuck 3 is a vacuum chuck, a protective film may be provided on the upper surface of the spin base 33. If a protective film is provided on the upper surface of the spin base 33, the spin chuck 3 (vacuum chuck) sucks the substrate W through the protective film.

Further, in the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 24, when measuring the thickness d of the film to be processed TG, the optical probe 81 was fixed at the measurement position P (fixed position); The optical probe 81 may be moved when measuring the thickness d of the target film TG. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6A, the optical probe 81 moves so that the thickness measurement position for the film to be processed TG forms an arcuate trajectory TJ in plan view.

Specifically, when measuring the thickness d of the film to be processed TG, the optical probe 81 emits light toward the film to be processed TG while moving between the center CT and edge EG of the substrate W in a planar view. As a result, the thickness d of the film to be processed TG is measured at each measurement position included in the locus TJ. Each measurement position corresponds to a radial position of the substrate W. Therefore, the thickness measurement process measures the distribution of the thickness d of the film to be processed TG in the radial direction RD of the substrate W.

Furthermore, in the embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 24, the top n frequencies are extracted from the histogram data, but as shown in FIG. good. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing another graph (graph HG5) in which data of measured values for one rotation of the substrate W is converted into a histogram. Graph HG5 is a bar graph. In FIG. 25, the horizontal axis indicates the measured value of thickness. Specifically, the horizontal axis indicates the measured value for one rotation of the substrate W. The vertical axis indicates frequency (occurrence frequency).

As shown in FIG. 25, the control units 102 and 112 may extract frequencies equal to or greater than a predetermined value PV from among the frequencies indicated by the histogram data. Specifically, the predetermined value PV is predetermined according to the state of the substrate W before the etching process so that the measured values of the first thickness d1 and the second thickness d2 are included in the frequency equal to or greater than the predetermined value PV.

The first input screen G1 described with reference to FIG. 12(a) allows the worker to select conditions using radio buttons (radio button 700), but the interface for selecting conditions is not limited to radio buttons. For example, the worker may select conditions using a pull-down menu. Similarly, the second input screen G2 described with reference to FIG. 12(b) allows the worker to select a device type using radio buttons (radio button 710), but the interface for selecting a device type is not limited to radio buttons. For example, the worker may select a device type using a pull-down menu.

The present invention is useful in the field of processing substrates.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Processing unit 3 Spin chuck 4 Etching liquid supply unit 5 Spin motor unit 7 Rinse liquid supply unit 8 Thickness measurement unit 9 Probe movement mechanism 41 First nozzle 71 Second nozzle 81 Optical probe 85 Thickness measurement device 100 Substrate processing apparatus 101 Control device 102 Control unit 103 Memory unit 104 Input unit 105 Display unit 112 Control unit 113 Memory unit 200 Learned model P Measurement position TG Processing target film W Substrate

Claims (21)

A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate,
a substrate holder that holds the substrate horizontally;
a substrate rotating unit that rotates the substrate and the substrate holding unit together about a central axis that extends in a vertical direction;
a processing liquid supply unit for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate;
a measurement unit that measures the thickness of the substrate and generates a measurement signal indicative of the measurement result;
a control unit that causes the measurement unit to measure a thickness of the substrate while the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate that rotates integrally with the substrate holding unit, and acquires a plurality of measurement values based on the measurement signal;
The control unit acquires a representative value from the measurement values based on a predetermined condition,
the measurement unit extracts a value included in a predetermined thickness range from each value indicating the measured thickness of the substrate, and generates the measurement signal;
The predetermined thickness range is set to a range excluding a value including a thickness of a liquid film of the processing liquid . The control unit is
generating histogram data indicating a frequency of the measurement values based on the measurement values;
Extracting the top n frequencies (n is a positive integer) from the frequencies;
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: acquiring the representative value from among the measurement values included in the top n frequencies based on the predetermined condition. Further comprising a storage unit for storing the trained model,
The control unit is
driving the substrate rotation unit to rotate the unprocessed substrate, which is the substrate before being processed, together with the substrate holding unit;
causing the measurement unit to measure a thickness of the unprocessed substrate, and acquiring a plurality of initial measurement values based on the measurement signal;
generating initial histogram data indicative of frequencies of the initial measurements based on the initial measurements;
determining the top n from the initial histogram data using the trained model;
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the trained model is generated by training the initial histogram data and the top n histogram data as training data. The trained model is generated by training the initial histogram data, the top n, and a device type as training data,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the device type indicates a type of a device manufactured using the substrate. further comprising a storage unit for storing the trained model,
The control unit includes:
driving the substrate rotation unit to rotate the unprocessed substrate, which is the substrate before being processed, together with the substrate holding unit;
causing the measurement unit to measure the thickness of the unprocessed substrate, and obtaining a plurality of initial measurement values based on the measurement signal;
generating initial histogram data indicating a frequency of the initial measurement value based on the initial measurement value;
determining the predetermined condition from the initial histogram data using the learned model;
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the learned model is generated by learning the initial histogram data and the predetermined conditions as learning data. The learned model is generated by learning the initial histogram data, the predetermined condition, and the device type as learning data,
6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the device type indicates the type of device manufactured using the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising an input section for inputting the predetermined conditions. The predetermined condition is:
a first condition for acquiring a maximum value among the measurement values as the representative value;
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: a second condition for acquiring a minimum value of the measurement values as the representative value. further comprising an input section for inputting the type of device,
The device type indicates the type of device manufactured using the substrate,
The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control unit determines the predetermined condition based on the type of the device. the types of devices include a first device having electrodes on both sides of the device and a second device having electrodes on only one side of the device;
The predetermined condition is:
a first condition for acquiring a maximum value among the measurement values as the representative value;
a second condition for acquiring a minimum value of the measurement values as the representative value,
When the type of the device indicates the first device, the control unit acquires the representative value based on the first condition;
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the control unit obtains the representative value based on the second condition when the type of the device indicates the second device. The measuring unit measures a thickness of the substrate at a fixed position,
The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the measurement signal indicates a thickness of the substrate along a circumferential direction of the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the control unit obtains the plurality of measured values each time the substrate makes one rotation. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate,
a substrate holder that holds the substrate horizontally;
a substrate rotating unit that rotates the substrate and the substrate holding unit together about a central axis that extends in a vertical direction;
a processing liquid supply unit that supplies processing liquid to the substrate;
a measurement unit that measures the thickness of the substrate and generates a measurement signal indicating the measurement result;
a control unit that causes the measurement unit to measure a thickness of the substrate while the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate that rotates integrally with the substrate holder, and acquires a plurality of measurement values based on the measurement signal;
A storage unit that stores trained models;
Equipped with
The control unit includes:
Generate histogram data indicating the frequency of the measured value based on the measured value,
Extracting the top n frequencies (n is a positive integer) from among the frequencies,
A representative value is obtained from the measurement values included in the top n frequencies based on a predetermined condition;
The control unit is
driving the substrate rotation unit to rotate the unprocessed substrate, which is the substrate before being processed, together with the substrate holding unit;
causing the measurement unit to measure a thickness of the unprocessed substrate, and acquiring a plurality of initial measurement values based on the measurement signal;
generating initial histogram data indicative of frequencies of the initial measurements based on the initial measurements;
determining the top n from the initial histogram data using the trained model;
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the trained model is generated by training the initial histogram data and the top n histogram data as training data. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate,
a substrate holder that holds the substrate horizontally;
a substrate rotating unit that rotates the substrate and the substrate holding unit together about a central axis that extends in a vertical direction;
a processing liquid supply unit for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate;
a measurement unit that measures the thickness of the substrate and generates a measurement signal indicative of the measurement result;
Control that causes the measurement unit to measure the thickness of the substrate while the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate that rotates together with the substrate holding unit, and acquires a plurality of measured values based on the measurement signal. Department and
A memory unit that stores the trained model;
Equipped with
The control unit is
Generate histogram data indicating the frequency of the measured value based on the measured value,
Extracting the top n frequencies (n is a positive integer) from the frequencies;
A representative value is obtained from the measurement values included in the top n frequencies based on a predetermined condition;
The control unit includes:
driving the substrate rotation unit to rotate the unprocessed substrate, which is the substrate before being processed, together with the substrate holding unit;
causing the measurement unit to measure a thickness of the unprocessed substrate, and acquiring a plurality of initial measurement values based on the measurement signal;
generating initial histogram data indicating a frequency of the initial measurement value based on the initial measurement value;
determining the predetermined condition from the initial histogram data using the learned model;
A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the trained model is generated by training the initial histogram data and the specified conditions as training data. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate,
a substrate holder that holds the substrate horizontally;
a substrate rotation unit that rotates the substrate and the substrate holding unit together around a central axis extending in the vertical direction;
a processing liquid supply unit that supplies processing liquid to the substrate;
a measurement unit that measures the thickness of the substrate and generates a measurement signal indicating the measurement result;
Control that causes the measuring unit to measure the thickness of the substrate while the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate that rotates together with the substrate holding unit, and acquires a plurality of measured values based on the measurement signal. Department and
Equipped with
The control unit acquires a representative value from the measurement values based on a predetermined condition,
The predetermined condition is:
a first condition for obtaining the maximum value of the measured values as the representative value;
a second condition for acquiring a minimum value among the measurement values as the representative value;
Substrate processing equipment, including: A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate,
a substrate holder that holds the substrate horizontally;
a substrate rotating unit that rotates the substrate and the substrate holding unit together about a central axis that extends in a vertical direction;
a processing liquid supply unit for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate;
a measurement unit that measures the thickness of the substrate and generates a measurement signal indicating the measurement result;
Control that causes the measuring unit to measure the thickness of the substrate while the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate that rotates together with the substrate holding unit, and acquires a plurality of measured values based on the measurement signal. Department and
Input section for entering the device type
Equipped with
The control unit acquires a representative value from the measurement values based on a predetermined condition,
the type of device indicates a type of device to be manufactured using the substrate,
In the substrate processing apparatus, the control unit determines the predetermined condition based on the type of the device. a step of horizontally holding the substrate on the substrate holding unit;
rotating the substrate and the substrate holder together about a central axis extending in a vertical direction;
applying a treatment liquid to the rotating substrate;
a step of causing a measurement unit to measure a thickness of the substrate while the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating integrally with the substrate holder, and causing the measurement unit to generate a measurement signal;
obtaining a plurality of measurements based on the measurement signals;
and acquiring a representative value from among the measurement values based on a predetermined condition;
A substrate processing method, in which, in the process of causing the measurement section to generate the measurement signal, the measurement section extracts a value included in a predetermined thickness range from each value indicating the measured thickness of the substrate to generate the measurement signal, and the predetermined thickness range is set to a range excluding values including a thickness of a liquid film of the processing liquid . a step of horizontally holding the substrate on the substrate holding unit;
a step of rotating the substrate and the substrate holding part together around a central axis extending in the vertical direction;
Before the substrate is processed, causing a measuring unit to measure the thickness of the substrate that rotates together with the substrate holding unit, and causing the measuring unit to generate a first measurement signal;
obtaining a plurality of initial measurements based on the first measurement signal;
generating initial histogram data indicative of a frequency of the initial measurements based on the initial measurements;
determining the top n values (n is a positive integer) from the initial histogram data using a trained model;
supplying a processing liquid to the rotating substrate;
causing the measurement unit to measure a thickness of the substrate while the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating integrally with the substrate holder, and causing the measurement unit to generate a second measurement signal;
obtaining a plurality of measurements based on the second measurement signals;
generating histogram data indicating a frequency of the measurement values based on the measurement values;
extracting the top n frequencies from the frequencies;
a step of obtaining a representative value from among the measured values included in the top n frequencies based on a predetermined condition;
including;
A substrate processing method, wherein the trained model is generated by learning the initial histogram data and the top n histogram data as training data. a step of holding the substrate horizontally in the substrate holding section;
rotating the substrate and the substrate holder together about a central axis extending in a vertical direction;
Before the substrate is processed, causing a measuring unit to measure the thickness of the substrate that rotates together with the substrate holding unit, and causing the measuring unit to generate a first measurement signal;
obtaining a plurality of initial measurements based on the first measurement signal;
generating initial histogram data indicative of a frequency of the initial measurements based on the initial measurements;
determining a predetermined condition from the initial histogram data using the trained model;
applying a treatment liquid to the rotating substrate;
causing the measurement unit to measure a thickness of the substrate while the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating integrally with the substrate holder, and causing the measurement unit to generate a second measurement signal;
obtaining a plurality of measurement values based on the second measurement signal;
generating histogram data indicating a frequency of the measurement values based on the measurement values;
extracting the top n frequencies (n is a positive integer) from among the frequencies;
obtaining a representative value from the measurement values included in the top n frequencies based on the predetermined condition;
Including,
A substrate processing method, in which the trained model is generated by learning the initial histogram data and the specified conditions as training data. a step of holding the substrate horizontally in the substrate holding section;
a step of rotating the substrate and the substrate holding part together around a central axis extending in the vertical direction;
applying a treatment liquid to the rotating substrate;
a step of causing a measurement unit to measure a thickness of the substrate while the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating integrally with the substrate holder, and causing the measurement unit to generate a measurement signal;
obtaining a plurality of measurements based on the measurement signals;
obtaining a representative value from the measured values based on a predetermined condition;
including;
The predetermined conditions are:
a first condition for obtaining the maximum value of the measured values as the representative value;
a second condition for acquiring a minimum value among the measurement values as the representative value;
A method for processing a substrate, comprising: inputting a device type;
determining a predetermined condition based on the type of the device;
a step of holding the substrate horizontally in the substrate holding section;
rotating the substrate and the substrate holder together about a central axis extending in a vertical direction;
applying a treatment liquid to the rotating substrate;
a step of causing a measurement unit to measure a thickness of the substrate while the processing liquid is being supplied to the substrate rotating integrally with the substrate holder, and causing the measurement unit to generate a measurement signal;
obtaining a plurality of measurements based on the measurement signals;
obtaining a representative value from among the measurement values based on the predetermined conditions;
Including,
A substrate processing method, wherein the device type indicates a type of a device manufactured using the substrate.

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