JPH09228045A - Controller of substrate processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To immediately recognize locating of abnormality occurrence, etc., if the abnormality occurs in a controller of a substrate processing device having an on source and evaporating source. SOLUTION: This controller of the substrate processing device is equipped with a detector 26 for detecting the condition of carious kinds of monitor targets within the substrate processing device, voice information memory means (an abnormality information memory 43) in which abnormality alarming voice information for every abnormality item of each monitor target is written, a voice information selecting means (CPU 40) for reading out the abnormality alarming voice information on a patient abnormality item of the monitor target, in which abnormality occurs, from the voice information memory means in accordance with detection results of a condition detecting means and a loudspeaker 44 for outputting an abnormality alarming voice of the pertinent abnormality item by processing the abnormality alarming voice information read out from the voice information memory means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control apparatus for a substrate processing apparatus, which is equipped with an ion source and an evaporation source and performs substrate processing such as thin film formation and ion implantation by ion irradiation and vapor deposition, and more particularly to an abnormality notification thereof. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a substrate processing apparatus for performing thin film formation and ion implantation (modification) of a substrate by using both ion irradiation and vapor deposition under vacuum has become popular in the field of substrate processing such as thin film formation. is there.

This substrate processing apparatus is formed by providing one or a plurality of ion sources for generating an ion beam and evaporation sources for vapor deposition, depending on the application.

For example, in the case of being used as an ion vapor deposition thin film formation (IVD) apparatus, a vapor deposition material adhered to a substrate (substrate) is struck into the substrate by ion beam irradiation, and at the same time, the compound is deposited on the substrate surface by the ions and the vapor deposition material. Is formed and a thin film is formed on the substrate. At that time, two ion sources are provided in total for the purpose of improving the adhesion of the film and controlling crystallization.

When used as a so-called composite ion beam film forming apparatus that combines the IVD method and ion beam sputtering (IBS), a target is sputtered by an ion beam to form vapor deposition particles (sputtered particles). In addition to the above-mentioned two ion sources, an ion source for sputtering is also provided.

In the case of the simplest construction in which one ion source and one evaporation source are provided, the main device (vacuum device) is provided.
Are formed substantially as shown in FIG.

The main apparatus shown in FIG. 6 is formed by providing, for example, a bucket type or Kauffman type ion source 3 using a hot filament 2 in a lower portion of a vacuum container 1.
The filament 2 in the housing 4 is heated by the filament power source 5 to emit thermoelectrons.

At this time, a rare gas, oxygen gas or the like is introduced from the gas inlet 6 into the housing 4, and an arc power supply 7 is applied between the cathode formed by the filament 2 and the anode formed by the housing 4 to generate plasma. Is generated, and this plasma is confined in the housing 4 by the magnetic field formed by the magnets 8 at the peripheral portion of the housing 4 and has a high density.

Further, an ion beam 14 of argon ions or the like is extracted from the plasma into the upper processing chamber 13 by the extraction electrode group 12 formed by the acceleration electrode 9, the deceleration electrode 10 and the ground electrode 11.

The acceleration electrode 9 is connected to the positive electrode of the acceleration power source 16 via the high resistance 15, the deceleration electrode 10 is connected to the negative electrode of the deceleration power source 17, and the negative electrode of the acceleration power source 16 and the positive electrode of the deceleration power source 17 are grounded. The filament power source 5 and the negative electrode of the arc power source 7 are connected to the positive electrode of the acceleration power source 16.

Next, an evaporation source 18 using a crucible is provided in the processing chamber 13, and a required evaporation substance such as titanium or silicon is heated by the evaporation source 18 and its evaporated material 19 is discharged upward.

Then, the ion beam 14 and the vaporized substance 19 fly to a base (substrate) 23 attached to a water-cooled rotary holder 22 through an opening 21 at the center of a shielding partition plate 20, and at this time, In the case of the IVD device, the evaporation material 19 attached to the surface (lower surface) of the substrate 23 is struck into the inside of the substrate 23 by the irradiation of the ion beam 14, and at the same time, the ions of the ion beam 14 and the evaporation material 19 are absorbed into the substrate 23. A compound is formed on the surface of, and a thin film is formed on the substrate 23.

The amount of current of the ion beam 14 and the thickness of the thin film are detected and measured by an ion current monitor 24 or the like provided near the opening 21, and the measurement result of this monitor 24 is displayed on the ammeter 25. It The inside of the vacuum container 1 is evacuated by a rotary pump and a cryopump and kept in vacuum.

By the way, this type of substrate processing apparatus is provided with a control device formed of a microcomputer or the like, and this control device separately controls ion irradiation and vapor deposition to improve the processing characteristics. Further, in order to improve the productivity and the like, in many cases, operating conditions are preset in the control device and automatic operation is performed.

In the case of this automatic operation, vacuum evacuation is carried out, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-281722 (C21C 7 /
00), the evacuation device is controlled according to the degree of vacuum in the vacuum container, and the ion irradiation is performed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-145637 (H01J 37/3).
As described in 17), it is performed by controlling various voltages of the ion source according to an automatic start-up algorithm according to ion implantation conditions and the like.

Further, in the case of performing automatic operation, in order to monitor and detect the occurrence of an abnormality in various places in the substrate processing apparatus, it is notified.
As shown in FIG. 7, the control device includes a detection unit 26 forming a state monitoring means, a sequencer controller 27 to which the output of the detection unit 26 is transmitted, and a processing unit 28 having a microcomputer configuration having a function of displaying an abnormality notification. Prepare

Then, the detecting section 26 uses the ion source power source sensor section 29 to supply the respective power sources 3, 7, 16, 17 of the ion source 3.
Voltage, current, etc. of the evaporation source 18 are detected, and the evaporation source sensor unit 30 detects the voltage, current, etc. of power supply to the evaporation source 18.

Further, a vacuum sensor unit 31 including a vacuum gauge,
The vacuum state of the vacuum container 1 and the like are detected by a valve sensor unit 32 and a vacuum pump sensor unit 33 that collect contact signals of various valve devices.

Further, the cooling device sensor unit 34 detects the state of cooling water (pure water) circulating in the rotary holder 22, and the monitor type sensor unit 35 detects the state of other various monitors.

Next, various detection signals of the detection unit 26 are
For example, the sequencer controller 27 converts the detection signal into an address signal corresponding to the signal content and transmits the address signal to the processing unit 28.

When the sequencer controller 27 has an interlock function of automatic stop, the sequencer controller 27 determines the presence or absence of an abnormality from the address of each detection signal after conversion, and if any abnormality occurs, a recovery operation is performed. The operation of the main device is automatically stopped via the processing unit 28 until the above is performed.

On the other hand, the processing unit 28, based on the transmitted signals of the respective addresses, the ion source 3, the evaporation source 18, the vacuum mechanism,
Monitor the presence or absence of abnormalities in each monitoring target such as the cooling mechanism,
Determine the monitoring target where the error occurred.

If, for example, an abnormality of the ion source 3 occurs, the acceleration power source 1 is detected from the signal of the address indicating the abnormality.
6, the abnormal item of the deceleration power supply 17, the arc power supply 7, the defect of the filament 4, the disconnection, etc. of the ion source 3 is grasped to identify the abnormal item.

When displaying the abnormality notification on the screen, C
The display on the display unit 36 having the RT monitor configuration is controlled, and conventionally,
One column of the monitoring target or the like is displayed on the screen, and the display color of the target in which an abnormality has occurred on the screen or the abnormality item thereof is changed from green indicating normality to red to notify the occurrence of abnormality.

Instead of providing the display unit 36 having a CRT monitor configuration, a display unit having a lamp display configuration is provided, and for example, a red lamp is provided for each monitoring target or abnormality item on this display unit, and an object in which an abnormality has occurred. Alternatively, the lamp of the item is turned on to notify the occurrence of the abnormality. In addition, a buzzer sound is output at the same time as the screen display or the lamp is turned on to notify the occurrence of an abnormality.

[0026]

In the case of the control device for the conventional substrate processing apparatus described above, even when an operator constantly monitors the display screen of the display unit 36, when an abnormality occurs, the corresponding abnormal item is detected. However, there is a problem in that it is not possible to immediately read and read the location of the abnormality and the like quickly. There is also a problem that appropriate measures cannot be taken promptly when an abnormality occurs.

That is, since this type of substrate processing apparatus has an ion source and an evaporation source, the number of objects to be monitored is large, and the number of abnormal items is extremely large.

For example, when thin film formation and ion implantation are performed, an operator needs to monitor at least vacuum control and ion source operation status control at the same time, and vacuum deposition, sputtering and ion irradiation are performed simultaneously. In some cases, it is necessary to monitor the operating conditions of the evaporation source and the sputtering, and it is also necessary to monitor the loading and unloading of the substrate, increasing the number of monitoring targets and abnormal items.

Therefore, as in the conventional control device, one column of the monitoring target or the like is displayed on the display unit 36, and the display color of the target or the abnormal item in which the abnormality occurs is changed from green to red to indicate the abnormality. To notify the occurrence, as shown in FIG. 8, a large number of monitoring targets or abnormal items are displayed on the display screen 36 ′ of the display unit 36, each of which has a small display area, and the abnormal target or its target is displayed. Even if the display color of the abnormal item changes, it is easy to overlook this change and it is not possible to immediately know where the failure has occurred.

Note that FIG. 8 shows a case where the abnormal item is displayed in a single column, and “ion source”, “vacuum”, and “other” in the figure are monitoring targets, and “acceleration” displayed below them. ，
"Deceleration", etc. are abnormal items.

When only one column of the monitoring target is displayed, only the monitoring target in which the abnormality has occurred can be known from the change in the display color, and it takes more time to grasp the location where the abnormality has occurred.

As the number of ion sources and evaporation sources increases,
The number of monitoring targets and abnormal items increases, and it becomes difficult to understand the monitoring targets and abnormal items in which an abnormality has occurred.

Also, instead of displaying on the screen, the number of lamps, etc. becomes extremely large when the monitoring target or the abnormal item in which an abnormality has occurred due to lighting of a lamp or the like is displayed to notify the occurrence of the abnormality. In addition, it is not possible to quickly grasp the location of failure.

Conventionally, regardless of the method of displaying the abnormality notification, the worker must always monitor the display, which is problematic in terms of automation and labor saving.

When the buzzer sound is output at the same time as the screen display, the lamp lighting display, etc., it is possible to know the occurrence of the abnormality by the buzzer sound, and it is not necessary to constantly monitor the display, but the location of the abnormality is It is not possible to know without looking at the display screen, lamp lighting, etc. In this case as well, it is not possible to quickly grasp the location of the abnormality.

Next, conventionally, the location of the abnormality can be grasped from the notification of the occurrence of the abnormality, but the method of coping with the abnormality that has occurred is judged by the knowledge and experience of the worker himself. Since there are many, it is difficult for the worker to accurately understand the abnormality coping method for all items.

Therefore, when an abnormality occurs, it is extremely difficult to take appropriate measures promptly based on the grasp of the occurrence location. For example, when the occurrence of some abnormality is displayed and the operation of the apparatus is stopped. In addition, if the worker does not know how to deal with the problem, the device remains stopped, the operation cannot be restored, and in some cases, there is a possibility that it may develop into a more serious failure.

Since this type of substrate processing apparatus is equipped with a vacuum pumping apparatus, a device to which a high pressure is applied, etc., in order to perform ion irradiation particularly under vacuum, there is no abnormality in vacuum or abnormality in ion source. Immediate action is required.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to immediately grasp the place where an abnormality occurs when an abnormality occurs, and further to make it possible to take appropriate measures promptly. To do.

[0040]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the case of the control apparatus for a substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, a state detecting means for detecting the state of various monitored objects in the substrate processing apparatus, and The abnormality information voice information of the relevant abnormality item of the monitoring target in which the abnormality has occurred from the voice information storage means in which the abnormality notification voice information is written for each abnormality item of the monitoring target and the detection result of the state detection means And a voice notification unit for processing the abnormality notification voice information read from the voice information storage unit and outputting the abnormality notification voice of the corresponding abnormal item.

Therefore, when an abnormality occurs, the voice information selection means reads the abnormality notification voice information of the relevant abnormal item of the monitoring target where the abnormality has occurred from the voice information storage means based on the detection result of the state detection means, and the abnormality is detected. The notification sound is output from the sound notification means, and the position where the abnormality occurs can be immediately grasped by the notification sound without constantly monitoring the display screen as in the conventional case.

Furthermore, in order to promptly deal with the abnormality that has occurred, the countermeasure information storage means in which the display information of a series of abnormality countermeasure guidance of each abnormality item is written, and the countermeasure information storage means according to the detection result of the state detection means are used. A series of abnormality handling guidance for the corresponding abnormal item is processed by processing the handling information selecting means for reading the display information of each abnormality handling guidance of the corresponding abnormality item and the display information of each abnormality handling guidance read from the handling information storage means. It is preferable to include a display notifying unit that displays one or several according to the change of the display screen.

In this case, based on the detection result of the state detecting means, the countermeasure information selecting means reads out the display information of the series of abnormality countermeasure guidance of the corresponding abnormal item from the countermeasure information storing means, and the series of information is one or several pieces. The screen is displayed on the display / informing means so as to be easy to see, and appropriate measures can be taken promptly according to the screen display.

[0044]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the control device, in which the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 7 denote the same or corresponding parts.

The control device of FIG. 1 is the processing unit 2 of FIG.
Instead of 8, a processing unit 37 of a microcomputer configuration having a function of CRT display notification and voice notification of abnormality occurrence
Is provided.

In this processing unit 37, a common bus 38 is connected to the sequencer controller 27 via an interface 39,
The detection signals of the states of various monitored objects in the substrate processing apparatus detected by the detection unit 26 forming the state detection means are converted by the sequencer controller 27 into, for example, a signal of an address corresponding to the signal content, and the processed signal is sent to the processing unit 37. Is transmitted. In addition,
The signal output by the sequencer controller 27 has a different address depending on whether the contact signal of the sensor is on or off.

Next, the processing section 37 includes the CPU 40, the ROM 41 as the program memory, the RAM 42 as the working memory, and the abnormality information memory 4 of the ROM or the RAM forming the voice information storage means and the coping information storage means.
3, a speaker 44 forming a voice notifying means and a CRT monitor 45 forming a display notifying means are provided, and the CPU 40 constantly executes the abnormality monitoring processing programs of FIGS. 2 and 3 held in the program memory 41.

When the occurrence of any abnormality is detected from the address signal transmitted in step S1 of this program, the voice information selection means and abnormality notification selection means of the CPU 40 operate in step S2, and both selection means are transmitted. Error information memory 43
The corresponding abnormality notification voice information and the abnormality notification information are read from.

That is, in the abnormality information memory 43, each address has an abnormality such as a filament disconnection of each monitored object such as the power supply state, vacuum state, cooling state, etc. of the ion source 3 and the evaporation source 18 in FIG. 6, power supply failure, water shortage, etc. There is a one-to-one correspondence with the items, and the abnormality notification voice information, the abnormality notification display information, and the display information of a series of handling guidance are written in advance in the area of each address.

Each address of the abnormality information memory 43 corresponds to the address signal of each abnormality item transmitted from the sequencer controller 27 on a one-to-one basis. For example, the signal of the address "1" indicates the cooling water (monitoring target). If the signal indicates a temperature abnormality (abnormality item), the abnormality information memory 4 is transmitted by this signal.
The notification voice information and the notification display information of the temperature abnormality of the cooling water are read from the area of address "1" of 3.

Further, the abnormality notification voice information read in step S3 is processed into a voice signal, and this voice signal is supplied to the speaker 44, and from the speaker 44, for example, an abnormality "the temperature of the cooling water has risen too much" is detected. The notification voice is output at the same time when the abnormality occurs.

Further, the process proceeds from step S3 to step S4 via step S4, and the notification display information is processed into a display signal by this step S5. Based on this display signal, the CRT monitor 45 displays, for example, "the temperature of the cooling water. Abnormal "
Is displayed on the screen.

Then, until an operation for returning to normal is performed to return to normal, the process returns to step S3 through step S6, and the output of the abnormality notification voice and the abnormality notification display are repeated.

At this time, since the occurrence of the abnormality and the place of occurrence of the abnormality are informed by voice at the same time as the occurrence of the abnormality, the worker does not constantly monitor the display monitor and the like as in the conventional case, and moreover, the number of display screens is large. It is possible to immediately grasp what abnormality has occurred without searching for an item whose display color or the like has changed from the displayed item. When an abnormality occurs, the device operation is stopped by the sequencer controller 27 as in the conventional case.

Next, the CRT monitor 45 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, an icon 46 of a display selection button of a method for coping with an abnormality that has occurred is displayed on the upper part of the display screen 45 ′, and a worker selects this icon 46 by mouse clicking or the like to display the coping method. Is selected, step S in FIG.
4 to step S7 of FIG.

First, in step S8, the CPU
The countermeasure information selecting means of 40 operates, and the selecting means displays a series of abnormality countermeasure guidance information of the temperature abnormality of the cooling water from the area of address "1" of the abnormality information memory 43 based on the transmitted address signal. Read out.

At this time, the CRT monitor 4 displays the abnormality countermeasure guidance.
CRT in consideration of screen dimensions, etc. for easy display on 5.
The number of abnormality coping guidance displayed at one time on the monitor 45 is set (limited) to one or several in advance, and the read display information of the series of abnormality coping guidance is divided into set numbers and each of the abnormality coping guidance is set to one. Form the screen of the page.

Then, in step S9, the display signal of the screen of the first page is supplied to the CRT monitor 45, and the first page of the guidance for handling the abnormal temperature of the cooling water is displayed on the screen of the monitor 45, for example.

This screen display is, for example, as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5. FIG. 4 shows a case where three pieces of abnormality countermeasure guidance are displayed, and FIG. 5 shows a case where one abnormality countermeasure guidance is displayed. .

Then, the guidance for coping with the temperature abnormality of the cooling water is as follows:
Since it prompts three inspections (surveys) of water flow rate, water stains, and insufficient cooling, the number of items is small.
All are displayed on the page, and in this case, the displayed page cannot be changed (display screen cannot be changed).

Further, in the case of FIG. 5, since one is displayed at a time, the number of display pages is three. In this case, the display page can be changed, and the display page instructing the change of the display screen can be changed. The front and rear selection symbols 47a and 47b are displayed simultaneously.

When the first abnormality countermeasure guidance screen is displayed, the process returns from step S9 to step S3, and thereafter,
The process proceeds from step S7 to step S10, and unless a change of the display screen (change of display page) is instructed by a mouse click on the selection symbols 47a and 47b, the step S
The process moves from 10 to step S11, and in step S3 and step S11, the abnormality notification voice is output and the abnormality countermeasure guidance screen on the same display page is displayed.

Furthermore, after confirming the instruction displayed on the abnormality countermeasure guide screen, for example, "Check the cooling device of the cooling water and check if the flow rate of water is insufficient" of FIG. When the selection symbol 47a is selected by clicking the mouse or the like, the process proceeds from step S10 to step S12, and the display screen changes to the abnormality coping guidance screen on the next page.

When the selection symbol 47b is selected,
The display screen returns to the previous error countermeasure guidance screen. And
By performing necessary confirmations in sequence according to the display of the error countermeasure guidance screen, the operator can take the most appropriate measures for the abnormality that occurred without the need to know how to handle it, and the equipment can be restored. Can be done quickly.

When the device returns to normal, the processing unit 37 is notified of the normal return by a keyboard operation or the like.
At this time, the process proceeds from step S6 to step S13, the abnormality notification is reset, and the output of the abnormality notification voice, the display of the abnormality notification, and the display of the abnormality countermeasure guidance screen are finished.
Then, returning from step S13 to step S3, the detection of the next abnormality is started.

Therefore, even if the number of ion sources and evaporation sources increases and the number of monitored items and abnormal items increases, the location of the abnormality can be immediately grasped by voice notification and the abnormality displayed on the screen can be dealt with. The guidance allows rapid and appropriate action to be taken and significantly improves the performance of such substrate processing equipment.

By the way, the processing unit 37 and the like may have any configuration, for example, the voice information storage unit and the coping information storage unit may be formed by a storage medium such as a memory or the like, and the display notification unit may be used. It may be formed by a liquid crystal monitor or the like.

Further, the abnormality countermeasure guide screen may have any configuration as long as it is a screen for easily displaying a series of abnormality countermeasure guides one by one or several. Further, for example, the processing unit 3
Needless to say, the sequencer controller 27 may be omitted by providing the sequencer controller 27 with an interlock function for stopping the operation of the sequencer controller 27.

[0069]

The present invention has the following effects. First, when some abnormality occurs, based on the detection result of the state detection means, the voice information selection means reads the abnormality notification voice information of the relevant abnormal item of the monitoring target in which the abnormality has occurred from the voice information storage means, and outputs the abnormality notification voice. Is output from the voice notifying means, and the point of occurrence of an abnormality can be immediately grasped by this notifying voice without constantly monitoring the display screen as in the conventional case, and the control performance of this type of substrate processing apparatus can be improved. This is remarkably improved, and in particular, the greater the number of ion sources and evaporation sources and the greater the number of objects to be monitored, the greater the effect.

Further, when the countermeasure information storage means, the countermeasure information selection means, and the display notification means are also provided, the countermeasure information selection means, based on the detection result of the state detection means, deals with a series of abnormality of the corresponding abnormal item from the countermeasure information storage means. The display information of the guidance is read out, and at this time, a series of information is divided into one or several pieces and is displayed on the display / informing means in an easy-to-see manner, and appropriate measures can be promptly taken according to the display on the display. The control performance of the processing device is further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a partial flowchart for explaining the operation of FIG.

FIG. 3 is another part of the flowchart for explaining the operation of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a display screen of abnormality countermeasure guidance in FIG. 1.

5 is an explanatory diagram of another example of the display screen of the abnormality countermeasure guidance of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a main device of the substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a conventional example.

8 is an explanatory diagram of a notification screen when an abnormality occurs in FIG. 7. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 Ion source 18 Evaporation source 26 Detecting section as state detecting means 40 CPU forming voice information selecting means, countermeasure information selecting means 43 Voice information storing means, abnormality information memory as countermeasure information storing means 44 Speaker as voice notifying means 45 CRT monitor as display notifying means

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A controller for a substrate processing apparatus having an ion source and an evaporation source for performing substrate processing such as thin film formation and ion implantation by ion irradiation and vapor deposition. State detection means for detecting, voice information storage means in which abnormality notification voice information is written for each abnormality item of each monitoring target, and monitoring in which an abnormality has occurred from the voice information storage means according to the detection result of the state detection means A voice information selection unit for reading the abnormality notification voice information of the target abnormal item, and a voice for processing the abnormality notification voice information read from the voice information storage unit to output the abnormality notification voice of the corresponding abnormal item. A controller for a substrate processing apparatus, comprising: an informing unit. 2. A countermeasure information storage unit in which display information of a series of abnormality countermeasure guidance is written for each abnormal item, and each abnormality countermeasure guide of the corresponding abnormal item from the countermeasure information storage unit according to the detection result of the state detection unit. Handling information selecting means for reading the display information of, and processing of the display information of each abnormality handling guidance read from the handling information storage means, and a series of abnormality handling guidance of the corresponding abnormal item is displayed according to the change of the display screen. The control device for a substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display notifying unit that displays one or several display units.