JPS6316618A - Control of semiconductor diffusion furnace - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate effective control of tubes by a method wherein the respective tubes are operated in accordance with specific control information specified by describing functions of a common recipe and 1st, 2nd and 3rd tables. CONSTITUTION:A control system is constituted by a common recipe 101 in which the fundamental control information common to respective tubes and 1st, 2nd and 3rd tables 1111, 1112 and 1113 in which the control information characteristic of the 1st tube is described. The 1st table 1111 has the describing function such that the name of output gas is converted into open/close of the respective valves and open/close of the respective valves is converted into ON/ OFF in accordance with the specification of the polarizations of the valves, i.e. normal open/normal close. The 2nd table 1112 has the describing function such that the name of output gas and flow of the gas is converted into a control valve number and the open degree of the valve in accordance with the specification of the flow control valve and the specification of connection. The 3rd table 1113 has the describing function such that control information related to the temperature information of the tubes, i.e. the correction information of the predetermined value for a temperature regulator and the monitored value of the temperature in the tubes, is described.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to an improvement in a method of controlling a tube in a semiconductor diffusion furnace.

<Prior Art> An overview of a conventional control method will be explained based on FIG. 1
．． ~ITL has n semiconductor diffusion furnaces, and each diffusion furnace has 3 tubes 2+11212+21~2m+ +
It has 2xxxa 2u.

3-3TL are line controllers compatible with semiconductor diffusion furnaces 11-ITL, which supply operation signals to each of the three tubes, collect process data, and perform sequence control of gas supply valves, gas flow rate, and temperature control. Feedback 1III control functions such as port loader control,
It has functions such as automatic door control and monitoring of process data such as temperature.

41 to 47L are operation panels corresponding to the line controllers 31 to 37L, and are used to issue and process operation signals to each line controller, such as starting a tube control sequence, manual operation of a boat loader and automatic door, and emergency stop. It has the function of receiving data and displaying process progress status.

5 is a management-level control device using a microcomputer, which is connected to each line controller through communication lines 6G and 1, and collects process data from each line controller and downloads recipes containing control information for each tube. do.

7 is a man-machine interface for exchanging information with the control device 5, which displays the operating status of the semiconductor diffusion furnace, maintains the register, monitors process data, displays production history, displays tube temperature trends, operates temperature setting timer, Executes correction operations for temperature monitor values.

8 is a file means using a magnetic disk, a floppy disk, etc., and a recipe file corresponding to each tube,
A production history file is stored, and the recipe file is read by the control device 5 in nine accesses, and the contents of the file are maintained by the man-machine interface 7 via the control device.

With this configuration, the operation of the tubes in each semiconductor diffusion furnace is controlled by sequence control, feedback control, monitoring, etc. based on the control information described in the recipe corresponding to each tube downloaded from the control device 5 to the line controller. executed.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> Tube control is based on the control information written in the corresponding register, but even when it is desired to perform the same or extremely similar control for multiple tubes, each tube Due to differences in the polarity of valves and detailed configurations, and differences in hardware level configurations such as partial repairs and modifications, the control patterns for each tube will differ at the specific control level.

Therefore, recipes corresponding to each tube must be defined and maintained separately with detailed control level information. Therefore, if you want to prepare a large number of recipes with different basic sequences, you will need a register equal to the product of the number of tubes and the number of basic sequences, and as the number of recipes increases, the cost of the file means will increase, and recipe management will be difficult. It has the disadvantage of becoming complicated.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a control system that solves such recipe management problems and enables efficient tube control.

Means for Solving Problems〉 In a plurality of semiconductor diffusion furnaces each having a plurality of diffusion tubes, a common recipe file is provided for each tube in each diffusion furnace, and a method corresponding to this common recipe file is provided. The first table description ma converts the name of the gas to be opened and closed supplied for each tube into the corresponding valve opening/closing signal, and the output gas salt whose flow rate is controlled and the flow rate specifications are written for each valve corresponding to each gas and its opening. It is equipped with a second table description function for converting into a temperature signal, and a third table description function for correcting temperature settings and monitor values in each tube. It is operated based on unique control information specified by the third table description function.

According to the present invention, basic sequence information common to tubes in a semiconductor diffusion furnace is defined in a common recipe, and control information specific to each tube describes information on valves that are opened and closed in response to gas. The first table contains the valve opening information of the gas whose flow rate is controlled by the name of the gas whose flow rate is controlled.
The table is defined by a third table in which temperature control information is described, and only basic control information common to tubes is managed by the recipe.

<Example> The present invention will be explained in detail based on FIG. Description of the same components as those described in the prior art will be omitted.

The characteristic part of the present invention lies in the structure of the control information file for a specific tube shown in the control 115. For example, when looking at the first tube, there is a common recipe 101 in which basic control information common to the tubes is described, and The first section describes control information unique to the tube. 2nd 3rd table 11+
+, 111z.

1113, and these are downloaded as control information for the first tube to the line controller of the semiconductor diffusion furnace including the first tube via the communication line 6.

Figure 2 shows an example of the overall structure of the file.
Recipe file group 101, 102, which is commonly used for all tubes and describes basic control information for each type of operation.
・Table group 111.112 provided for each tube corresponding to 107L and each recipe file.
...consists of 11 turtles.

Taking table 11+ as an example, the contents of each table are as follows: In the first table 1111, the output gas name is converted to open/off for each valve, and the open/close of each valve is changed to the polarity of the valve, that is, normal oven, normally closed. 0 according to specifications
It has a description function to convert to N10FF.

The second table 1112 is a description v! of converting the name of the gas to be output and its gas flowmeter into the υ control valve number and valve opening according to the specifications and connection specifications of the flow control valve. Has A ability.

The third table 1113 has a function of describing control information regarding the concentration information of the tube, that is, setting values for the temperature controller and correction information for the monitor value of the wetness inside the tube.

Next, in the third part, the tube control procedure will be explained. When a download request for a recipe to be used is generated from the tube operation panel in step (2), the register and file are searched from the recipe file group and read into the memory in the control device in step (2).

In step (2), the recipe data regarding opening and closing of the valve is converted using the description contents of the first table of the used tubes read from the file means.

In step (2), recipe data regarding flow rate control is converted using the description contents of the second table of tubes to be used read from the file means.

In step (2), the recipe data regarding temperature control is converted using the description contents of the third table of the used tubes read from the file means.

In step (2), the recipe data converted according to the description contents of each table is downloaded to the control 0 function of the tube in use, and in step (2), υ110 of the tube in use is executed.

<Effects of the Invention> As explained above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be expected.

(1) Since a large number of cash registers can be shared and used online by a plurality of tubes, a large amount of man-hours required to develop recipes for each tube can be saved.

(2) From the perspective of each tube, the number of recipes that can be used online can be increased.

(3) By writing detailed hardware information specific to a tube in a table, there is no need for maintenance to change recipe files for additions or changes to specifications of valves, flow control valves, piping, etc.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a control device to which the method of the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a diagram explaining the contents of a recipe file and a table, and FIG. 3 is a diagram explaining the operation. 11~ITL...Semiconductor diffusion furnace 2...Tube 3,~3TL...Line controller 41~4T
L...Operation panel 5...Control device 6...
Communication line 7...Man-machine interface 8...
・File means 9...Printer 101-10
7L...Fig. 1 No. 31! !

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a plurality of semiconductor diffusion furnaces each having a plurality of diffusion tubes, there is a common recipe file provided in common to each tube in each diffusion furnace, and the supply is opened and closed for each tube in accordance with this common recipe file. A first table description function that converts gas names into corresponding valve opening/closing signals, and a second table description function that converts the name and flow rate specification of the output gas whose flow rate is controlled into each valve corresponding to each gas and its opening signal. and a third table description function that corrects temperature settings and monitor values in each tube, and each tube has a unique control specified by the common recipe and the first, second, and third table description functions. A method for controlling a semiconductor diffusion furnace, characterized in that it is operated based on information.