JPH0536579A - Automatic treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an apparatus wherein an operating error can be reduced irrespective of the mastery degree of an operator by installing the following: a display means which outputs display screens whose contents are different so as to correspond to a treatment state; a plurality of kinds of input switches, for operation use, which are installed so as to correspond to the individual display screens; and the like. CONSTITUTION:The title apparatus is provided with the following: a control file 2 which stores a control program used to control a device 1 to be controlled; an output device 4 which outputs the treatment state of the device 1 to be controlled; and an input device 4 which designates the treatment content of the device 1 to be controlled. The device 1 to be controlled is controlled by using a central processing unit 3 on the basis of the control program. The automatic treatment apparatus is provided with the following: a display means which outputs display screens whose contents are different so as to correspond to its treatment state; a plurality of kinds of input switches, for operation use, which are installed so as to correspond to the contents of said individual display screens: and a control means which changes over or changes one part or all of said input switches for operation use so as to correspond to the contents of the display screens which are output to the output device 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a processing technique for promoting automation of work, and in particular, it is used for externally controlling a controlled device by programming and giving an appropriate instruction to an operator according to the control content. And effective technology.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in the manufacture of semiconductor devices,
2. Description of the Related Art An apparatus for processing a semiconductor wafer by irradiating the semiconductor wafer with a finely focused ion beam is used. This is a FIB (Focused Ion Beam) apparatus. For details of this type of FIB device, see, for example, SPIE vol.632.
"Electron beam, X ray, and ion beam
Technique For Sub-micrometer Lithography (Electron-Beam, X-Ray, & Ion-BeamTechnique F
or Submicrometer Lithogrghies) ”V (1986),
85-92.

The FIB device described in this document is
It is mainly composed of a control file, an input / output device, a central processing unit, and a processing chamber. The control file, the input / output device, the central processing unit, and the processing chamber control interface constitute a control unit. Here, the control file stores various pattern processing data. As will be described later, this pattern processing data includes control contents,
It is composed of condition data. The input device is provided to specify a predetermined pattern processing data from a plurality of pattern processing data. That is, the pattern processing data is changed and designated for each semiconductor wafer and process to be mounted in the processing chamber. The central processing unit reads the pattern processing data from the control file based on the instruction from the input device, and controls the processing in the processing chamber based on the read pattern processing data. The output device also outputs the processing status in the processing chamber and the contents of the input data.

Next, the structure of the pattern processing data described in the above document will be described. The data structure for irradiating a specified amount of an ion beam on a specified position on a semiconductor wafer has a minimum unit of 1/1000 (μ
As m), the X coordinate and the Y coordinate are consecutive 64 bits (b
It) is used for display. X
The coordinates and the Y coordinate are displayed using 32 bits each.

In addition, in the first to eighth columns of FIG. 8, processing conditions such as a code for specifying, a processing width, and a dose amount are registered in bit correspondence. As described above, the pattern processing data of the FIB device is composed of a combination of data structures and information on the semiconductor wafer to be processed. The information related to the semiconductor wafer is composed of the size of the semiconductor chip, the alignment mark coordinates on the semiconductor chip, and the like.

By thus forming the pattern processing data of the FIB device, it becomes possible for the designer of the semiconductor integrated circuit to specify the processing conditions of various processes.

On the other hand, the FIB device is operated by an operator. The operator executes various operations based on the work schedule. The work schedule table describes, for example, the type of pattern data to be drawn for each processing step corresponding to each semiconductor wafer, the type of semiconductor wafer to be drawn in a processing chamber at a predetermined time, and the like. . The operator is the type of semiconductor wafer sent,
The completed treatment process is determined, and the required treatment at that stage is designated from the input device based on the work schedule.

[0008] Further, the operation of these operators, that is, the contents of the work schedule are specified and, on the premise of the expert knowledge of the semiconductor integrated circuit, the processing conditions corresponding to each semiconductor wafer are specified, and the adjustment conditions of the ion beam device are specified. With respect to, also from the input device.

[0009]

However, the inventor of the present invention has found that the prior art described in the above document has the following problems.

That is, in the case of the above-mentioned FIB device,
The information to be input from the input device is not only information on processing in the processing chamber, but also the contents of the engineering work schedule, the specification of processing conditions corresponding to each semiconductor wafer based on the expertise of semiconductor integrated circuits, the ion beam Specifying the adjustment conditions for the device. That is, the operator of the apparatus requires not only a certain simple operation for processing a semiconductor wafer using the input device but also various specialized knowledge in some cases.

Further, the FIB device has conventionally been provided with a plurality of control monitors and complicated operation input switches for controlling the same. When multiple people use this device, it becomes difficult to reduce operational errors. In particular,
When processing a semiconductor device that often performs only a specific operation, it causes an operation error. If a complicated operation can be performed as in the conventional apparatus, the operator often mistakes the operation of the apparatus. In a manufacturing device such as a semiconductor device or an inspection device, although such an operation error is not allowed, the occurrence frequency thereof is relatively high, which is an important issue. That is, it is required to prevent an operation error from occurring.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of reducing operation errors regardless of the skill level of the operator.

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

[0014]

Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, a typical one will be briefly described as follows.
It is as follows.

That is, a control file that stores a control program for controlling the controlled device, an output device that outputs the processing state of the controlled device, and an input device that specifies the processing content of the controlled device. An automatic processing device capable of controlling the controlled device by a central processing device based on the control program, displaying means for outputting a display screen having different contents to the output device in accordance with the processing state; A plurality of types of operation input switches provided corresponding to the contents of the display screen, and switching or modification of some or all of the operation input switches according to the contents of the display screen output to the output device. And a control means for performing it.

[0016]

According to the above-mentioned means, the output screen and the operation input switch corresponding to the output screen can be changed according to the proficiency of the person who uses the automatic processing apparatus, the stability of the apparatus, the specifications of the sample to be manufactured or the sample to be inspected, etc. Some or all are controlled to be switched or changed.

For example, depending on the skill level of the person using the device,
The output screen element and the operation input switch element are classified and divided into about three stages, and the operation range of the device and the output screen content are set and changed. As a result, operating errors of the device can be minimized. That is, by changing the combination of the output screen element and the operation input switch element according to the improvement of the skill level of the person who uses the apparatus, it is possible to eliminate the operation error.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each drawing showing the embodiment of the present invention,
Since the same reference numerals are used for those having the same function, duplicate description will be omitted. Further, an example in which the present invention is applied to an electron beam exposure apparatus is shown below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

The electron beam exposure apparatus of this embodiment uses a controlled device (for example, a processing chamber) 1, a control file 2 (for example, data such as an integrated circuit pattern), and a central processing unit (for example, a workstation). In the following, it will be referred to as a CPU) 3, an input / output device (for example, a keyboard or a mouse for an input relationship, a display device such as a CRT for an output relationship) 4, a storage device 5, a system bus 6 (for example, Etherbus), a general-purpose I / O. O interface 7, control I / O interface 8 (for example, drive control of vacuum equipment, wafer table drive mechanism, etc.), and communication I / O
Each of the interfaces 9 (for communication with the outside through a dedicated line or a telephone line) is configured.

The control file 2, the CPU 3, the input / output device 4, the storage device 5, the system bus 6, and the plurality of control I.
Each of the I / O interface 8 and the communication I / O interface 9 constitutes a control unit. The control file 2, the storage device 5, the general-purpose I / O interface 7, and the control I / O interface 8 are connected to the CPU 3 via the system bus 6. Also, control I /
The controlled device 1 is connected to each of the O interfaces 8.

The control file 2 stores a plurality of drawing data (data including pattern data, exposure position data, exposure condition data, etc.) that define processing contents in the controlled device 1. Input from the input / output device 4 is input to the CPU 3 via the general-purpose I / O interface 7 and the system bus 6. The CPU 3 reads drawing data from the control file 2 via the system bus 6 in response to an input from the input / output device 4. Then, based on the drawing data, the controlled device 1 is controlled via the system bus 6 and the control I / O interface 8. The CPU 3 outputs the processing state of the controlled device 1 to the input / output device 4 via the system bus 6 and the general-purpose I / O interface 7. The information output to the input / output device 4 is, for example, an image and characters displayed on the CRT. Therefore, the operator can confirm the processing state in the controlled device 1 by recognizing the image and the character information. Further, the CPU 3 is capable of multitask processing, and can perform the above-mentioned input / output processing while controlling the controlled device 1.

The input / output device 4 is composed of, for example, an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and an output device such as a CRT. In this output device, an operation switch corresponding to each display content is installed on the CRT screen (a transparent member that does not affect the reading of the display screen, and its output is taken into the input / output device 4). ) Has been. The storage device 5 is also connected to the CPU 3 via the system bus 6. The storage device 5 stores output screen information and information for switching some or all of the operation input switches corresponding to the output screen information according to the skill level of the person who uses the device, the stability of the device, the specifications of the semiconductor wafer, and the like. ing. The storage device 5 is composed of, for example, a semiconductor memory.

The control program of the CPU 3 reads the information stored in the storage device 5 into the CPU 3 via the system bus 6 in accordance with the processing state of the controlled device 1, and reads the read information from the input / output device 4. Output to. In addition, according to the information stored in the storage device 5, the input / output device 4
Information input from the CPU 3 is transmitted via the system bus 6 to the CPU 3.
Read in to define the processing contents of the controlled device 1. That is, this control program has a function of converting a plurality of output screen information stored in the storage device 5 and corresponding operation input switch information into a file and freely selecting the file.

With the above functions, for example, the output screen elements and the operation input switch elements are classified into three stages according to the proficiency level of the person who uses the apparatus, and the operation range of the apparatus and the contents of the output screen are divided. Can be set and allowed to change. By changing the combination of the output screen element and the operation input switch element according to the improvement of the skill level of the person who uses the device, the operation error is eliminated. This is because the above-mentioned three-step classification can be roughly divided into an operator of the semiconductor manufacturing line, a process engineer, and a maintenance service person of the device when the user of the device is classified. Due to the above-mentioned function, the controlled device 1 that is optimal for each
A device having a control screen and an input switch can be used. Further, the contents of the output screen and the operation input switch classified into the above-mentioned three stages can be changed according to the skill level of the operator of the apparatus so that more complicated operation can be performed.

FIG. 2 is a file configuration diagram showing the configuration of the overall control file for electron beam exposure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, it comprises a control file of drawing data for controlling the controlled device 1, a control file of the input / output device, and a command string indicating conditional branching. The control file and the conditional branch of the input / output device are stored in the storage device 5 of FIG.

The control file is designated by designating a file for controlling the controlled device 1, that is, designating predetermined drawing data from a plurality of drawing data to draw an integrated circuit pattern on the semiconductor wafer, or drawing. Start the program for processing such as electron beam adjustment of the device. In the control condition designation, the control condition of the input / output device is designated. That is, which data file among the plurality of output screen data files stored in the storage device 5 and the corresponding operation input switch data file is used is specified. Thereby, the input / output from the input / output device and the controlled device 1 are correlated. In addition, conditional branching is based on which data file among multiple output screen data files and corresponding operation input switch data files depending on the skill level of the user of the device, the stability of the device, and the specifications of the semiconductor wafer. Specify whether to use.

The screen control file having such a structure has a hierarchical structure similar to a computer programming language in order to facilitate the creation of data and facilitate the modification of data. Moreover, all the constituent elements such as commands and data that constitute each file are described using ASCII characters. With this configuration, it is easy for the operator to change the file data, and the operator does not need a high level of programming knowledge.

The conditional branch is, for example, IF, variable 1,
The format of the discriminant, variable 2, control condition designation 1, ELSE, control condition designation 2 is used. Here, the variable is a string of numbers from 0 to 9. Also, the discriminant is described including =, <,>, etc. used in arithmetic operations.

In the above equation, when the variable 1, the discriminant, and the variable 2 are satisfied, the control condition designation 1 is set. Therefore, the input / output control screen designated by the control condition designation 1 is output, and the input is accepted in accordance with the control condition designation 1 to control the controlled device 1.

Next, a method of making the control of the controlled device 1 correspond to the operation of the operator by the CPU will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the screen control file is read, and conditional branching is performed according to the proficiency of the person who uses the device, the stability of the device, the specifications of the sample (product to be inspected). First, the screen control file is read (step 31), and when the reading is completed, the proficiency of the user, the stability of the device (for example, source reduction), and the specifications of the sample (product to be inspected or inspected) (eg, , Pattern, etc.) to determine the conditional branch (step 3
2). When the conditional branch is judged, the control condition designation i is designated (step 33), and the input of the input / output i is accepted accordingly (step 34). By designating the control condition, a part or all of the output screen and the corresponding operation input switch are switched to make the changed input / output.
Further, the control file designation i (that is, generation of the control command file of the controlled device 1 corresponding to the input / output file) is performed according to the input / output (step 35), and the control i of the controlled device 1 is determined based on this. It is executed (step 36). Thereafter, similarly, steps 37 to 41 regarding the designated content j are executed, and when the processing for all the conditional branches is completed (step 42), the screen control file reading processing and the conditional branch determination processing are completed.

FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7 show examples of control screens associated with the control of the electron beam exposure apparatus according to the present invention. The control screen is divided into a plurality of areas for displaying the states of the drawing devices and a plurality of operation switch areas.

FIG. 4 is an example of an input screen associated with the display of the operating state of the drawing apparatus. In the display screen, for example, a block diagram display 10 of the drawing apparatus, a wafer cassette diagram display 1
1, information display 12 such as drawing conditions, device abnormality display 13,
An apparatus calibration flow chart display 14, lot information 15, input conditions 16, wafer flow display 17, drawing state diagram display 18, apparatus control information display 19, computer information display 20, pre-drawing preparation information display 21 and the like are displayed.

The processing status of the drawing apparatus is displayed in the status display area. The status display may be different depending on the case, such as the operator, the status of the apparatus, and the sample. Basically, since it is possible to draw automatically, it may be sufficient if the presence or absence of abnormality is displayed. This is a case where the drawing apparatus is in a stable operation state and it is sufficient if the drawn wafer can be confirmed by another inspection apparatus or the like. For example, when displaying the state of the drawing device on the screen, by displaying a pattern of an alarm lamp on the screen when the drawing device comes to an abnormal stop or the like, and having a function of lighting (or blinking) yellow or red, The abnormality of the drawing device can be easily recognized.

When the block diagram display 10 of the drawing apparatus and the wafer cassette diagram display 11 are output together on the screen, the display size of the wafer cassette diagram display 11 is displayed to be at least twice as large as that of the block diagram display 10. The processing status is displayed to make the contents easy to understand. On the other hand, when the electron beam of the drawing apparatus is not stable, more detailed status display of the drawing apparatus is required.

In the input switch area, an arrow displayed on the screen is normally operated by pressing a button switch at a designated place using an input device such as a mouse. On the control screen like this example, the operation range is usually limited without being output.

Further, the calibration flow displayed on the apparatus calibration flow chart display 14 includes weekly, daily, lot-based,
Calibration is performed for each wafer. That is, regarding the stability of the apparatus, the calibration is performed by dividing into stable items and unstable items, and the time required for the calibration is shortened.

FIG. 5 is a display screen diagram in which a part of FIG. 4 is omitted and enlarged. That is, the device calibration flow chart display 14
Is not displayed, and the block diagram display of the drawing device is displayed in the area 10
Is enlarged and displayed. In this way, the enlarged display simplifies the screen display for an operator who is unfamiliar with the handling of the apparatus, and can reduce the operation error accordingly.

FIG. 6 is a control screen view displayed when manually adjusting the electron beam column of the drawing apparatus.

The switch displays 22 for device adjustment on this screen can be masked respectively. As a result, the adjustment range of the device can be expanded as the user gets used to the device.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the control screen when the icon switch 23 of the XY stage shown in FIG. 6 is selected, and the stage bit map 24 is displayed at the center.

With such a display, it becomes possible to move the XY stage to an arbitrary position and confirm it.

Although the present invention has been specifically described based on the embodiments, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Yes.

For example, in this embodiment, an electron beam exposure apparatus is shown as an example, but the present invention can be applied to other computer controllable automatic processing apparatuses.

Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which one CPU is configured has been shown, but the present invention provides, for example, a CPU for input / output control separately, and the CPU centrally controls this. You can also

[0048]

The effects obtained by the typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.
It is as follows.

That is, a control file that stores a control program for controlling the controlled device, an output device that outputs the processing state of the controlled device, and an input device that specifies the processing content of the controlled device. An automatic processing device capable of controlling the controlled device by a central processing device based on the control program, displaying means for outputting a display screen having different contents to the output device in accordance with the processing state; A plurality of types of operation input switches provided corresponding to the contents of the display screen, and switching or modification of some or all of the operation input switches according to the contents of the display screen output to the output device. Since the control means for performing the operation is provided, the operation error of the device can be extremely reduced. For example, if the combination of the output screen element and the operation input switch element is changed according to the improvement of the skill of the person who uses the apparatus, the operation error can be eliminated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a file configuration diagram showing a configuration of an overall control file for electron beam exposure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control example of a controlled device.

FIG. 4 is a screen diagram showing an example of an input screen associated with the display of the operating state of the drawing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a display screen diagram in which a part of FIG. 4 is omitted and enlarged.

FIG. 6 is a control screen view displayed when manually adjusting the electron beam column of the drawing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a screen view showing an example of a control screen when the icon switch of the XY stage shown in FIG. 6 is selected.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a file structure of a conventional electron beam drawing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Controlled device 2 control file 3 CPU 4 I / O device 5 storage devices 6 system bus 7 General-purpose I / O interface 8 Control I / O interface 9 I / O interface for communication 10 Drawing device block diagram display 11 Wafer cassette diagram display 12 Information display such as drawing conditions 13 Device error display 14 Device calibration flow chart display 15 lot information 16 input conditions 17 Wafer flow display 18 Drawing status diagram display 19 Device control information display 20 Computer information display 21 Display information before drawing 22 Switch display 23 Icon switch 24 stage bitmap

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A control file for storing a control program for controlling a controlled device, an output device for outputting a processing state of the controlled device, and an input device for designating a processing content of the controlled device. An automatic processing device capable of controlling the controlled device by a central processing device based on the control program, wherein the display means outputs a display screen having different contents corresponding to the processing state to the output device;
A plurality of types of operation input switches provided corresponding to the contents of each display screen, and switching of some or all of the operation input switches corresponding to the contents of the display screen output to the output device, or An automatic processing device, comprising: a control means for making a change. 2. The switching or changing of the display screen and the corresponding operation input switch associated with the screen output process of the processing state of the controlled device and the input process of the process content designation is familiar to a person who uses the device. 2. The automatic processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the automatic processing apparatus is performed according to at least one of the degree, the stability of the apparatus, the specifications of the sample to be manufactured or inspected. 3. The output processing of the processing state screen of the manufacturing apparatus or the inspection apparatus and the input processing of the processing content are performed from the input device via the central processing unit or another central processing unit online connected to the central processing unit. The automatic processing device according to claim 1, wherein the automatic processing device performs input and output to the output device. 4. The automatic processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for changing or changing the operation procedure of the apparatus while switching or changing the display screen and the operation input switch corresponding thereto. 5. The automatic processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the switching or changing is performed based on specifications of a sample to be manufactured or inspected. 6. The automatic processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the automatic processing apparatus is an electron beam drawing apparatus. 7. A control file for storing a control program for controlling the controlled device, a display device for displaying a processing state of the controlled device, and an input device for designating a processing content of the controlled device. An automatic processor capable of controlling the controlled device by a central processing unit based on the control program, wherein a block diagram of the device and a display size of a sample to be manufactured or inspected are displayed on the display device. At the same time, the display size of the sample is made larger than that of the block diagram and displayed. 8. A control file for storing a control program for controlling the controlled device, a display device for displaying a processing state of the controlled device, and an input device for designating a processing content of the controlled device. An automatic processor capable of controlling the controlled device by a central processing unit based on the control program, displaying the processing state and indicating an alarm on the same screen in response to the occurrence of an abnormality in the device. An automatic processing device characterized by displaying a design. 9. The automatic processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the design is a warning color, and a display means for continuously lighting or blinking the design is provided.