KR100606191B1 - Apparatus for inspecting an equipment for processing a substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

In an apparatus for inspecting a substrate processing apparatus, the substrate has the same shape as the substrate to be loaded into the apparatus for processing the substrate in the same manner as the substrate to be loaded, and is disposed on the stage for supporting the substrate. A base plate is provided. On the base plate is provided an image acquisition unit comprising an image sensor and a lens for acquiring image information of a still image or moving image of the inside of the apparatus. In order to photograph the inside of the substrate processing apparatus at various angles, the image acquisition unit is connected to a steering unit provided to adjust the steering direction of the lens. In this way, by combining the base plate having a substrate shape and the image acquisition unit whose steering direction is adjustable, the inside of all kinds of substrate processing apparatuses can be visually inspected.

Description

Apparatus for inspecting an equipment for processing a substrate}

1 is a configuration diagram for explaining an apparatus for inspecting a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is put into the substrate processing apparatus.

2 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for inspecting a substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

100, 300: inspection apparatus 110, 310: base plate

120, 320: image acquisition unit 122: image sensor
124 lens 126 steering unit

130: first wireless transmission and reception unit 140, 340: lighting unit

150, 350: power supply unit 160: second wireless transmission and reception unit

170, 370: central processing unit 372: signal line

180, 380: display unit 190, 390: memory unit

200: plasma etching apparatus 210: process chamber

220: upper electrode 222: through hole

230: lower electrode

The present invention relates to an apparatus for inspecting a substrate processing apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus for inspecting a substrate processing apparatus into which a substrate to be processed is put.

In general, a semiconductor device includes a fab process for forming an electrical circuit on a silicon wafer used as a semiconductor substrate, an electrical die sorting (EDS) process for examining electrical characteristics of the semiconductor devices formed in the fab process, Each of the semiconductor devices is manufactured through a package assembly process for encapsulating and individualizing the epoxy resins.

In the fab process, various layers such as a silicon dioxide layer, a polysilicon layer, an aluminum layer, a copper layer, and the like are deposited on a semiconductor substrate, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and physical vapor deposition. It is formed by performing processes such as vapor deposition (PVD), thermal oxidation, ion implantation, ion diffusion, and the like. The layers are formed into patterns having electrical properties by performing an etching process using a plasma etchant.

In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus performing the above unit processes, the semiconductor production is stopped and the apparatus is cleaned according to the cleaning cycle of each apparatus.

For example, reaction by-products and process residues generated during the etching process in the dry etching apparatus using the plasma form unnecessary deposits on the surface of the process chamber. The deposits can act as a source of contamination that causes defects in the semiconductor substrate and should be cleaned to remove the deposits.

By periodically cleaning the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus as described above, defects of the semiconductor apparatus are removed in advance to improve the reliability of the semiconductor apparatus, but the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus must be stopped, thereby lowering the device operating efficiency and the productivity of the semiconductor apparatus. Therefore, the worker is often required to readjust the cleaning cycle of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in order to maximize productivity without losing reliability.

To reschedule the cleaning cycle, the degree of contamination of the device over time or number of runs should be checked. The contamination test method is an indirect method of comparing particles deposited on a semiconductor substrate before and after the process, but it is preferable to directly monitor the contamination inside the apparatus.

In the meantime, in the process of performing the process in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a process parameter of the apparatus may be changed to improve the yield and solve the defect. Due to the slight change in the environment inside the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, there is a possibility that the process proceeds abnormally. At this time, it is required to check with the naked eye in order to accurately grasp the phenomenon inside the process chamber.

Therefore, the development of the technology which an operator can visually inspect the internal state of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus easily is calculated | required.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for visually inspecting an interior of a substrate processing apparatus by installing an image acquisition unit on a base plate which is loaded into an apparatus for processing a substrate and disposed on a stage for supporting the substrate. To provide.

An apparatus for inspecting a substrate processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, the substrate to be loaded so as to be loaded into the apparatus for processing the substrate in the same manner as the substrate to be processed is loaded. A base plate disposed on a stage for supporting the substrate and an image sensor installed on the base plate to acquire image information of a still image or a moving image of the inside of the apparatus; And a steering unit connected to the image acquisition unit including a lens and configured to adjust a steering direction of the lens to photograph the inside of the device at various angles.

An apparatus for inspecting a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed on the base plate and converts the image information about the inside of the apparatus obtained by the image acquisition unit into a high frequency (high frequency) signal to wireless A first wireless transmission / reception unit for transmitting and receiving a control signal for controlling the operation of the image acquisition unit, and wirelessly receiving the high frequency signal transmitted by the first wireless transmission / reception unit from outside the apparatus to the image information. And a second wireless transmit / receive unit for reconverting and transmitting the control signal, and a central processing unit, coupled to the second wireless transmit / receive unit, for processing the image information and generating the control signal.

An apparatus for inspecting a substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a central processing unit for generating a control signal for controlling the operation of the image acquisition unit and processing the image information outside the apparatus; The apparatus may further include a signal line connecting the image acquisition unit and the central processing unit to transfer the image information and the control signal.

Therefore, the internal state of the substrate processing apparatus can be easily inspected by entering the base plate having the image acquisition unit into the substrate processing apparatus and then controlling the image acquisition unit outside the substrate processing apparatus.

Hereinafter, the apparatus for inspecting the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited or limited by the following examples.

First embodiment

1 is a block diagram for explaining an apparatus for inspecting a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is put into the substrate processing apparatus.

Referring to FIG. 1, an apparatus 100 for inspecting a substrate processing apparatus includes a base plate 110. The base plate 110 may have the same shape as a predetermined substrate to be processed in the substrate processing apparatus. Alternatively, the area of the base plate 110 may be smaller than the area of the substrate to be processed.

That is, the base plate 110 may be loaded into the substrate processing apparatus by a transfer module including a robot arm for transferring the substrate provided in the substrate processing apparatus, and may be disposed on a stage for supporting the substrate. It may be formed of a material.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the substrate processing apparatus is a plasma etching apparatus 200 using plasma, and the base plate 110 is formed in the shape of a semiconductor wafer. Alternatively, the substrate processing apparatus may be used to manufacture a liquid crystal panel, wherein the base plate 110 may be formed in the shape of a liquid crystal glass substrate for a liquid crystal display (LCD).

The plasma etching apparatus 200 includes a process chamber 210 for performing a predetermined processing process on a semiconductor substrate. An upper electrode 220 is formed above the process chamber 210 to form a plasma by applying a high frequency voltage to the reaction gas. A plurality of through holes 222 are formed in the upper electrode 220 to uniformly supply the process gas contained in the buffer space (not shown) into the process chamber 210.

In addition, the plasma etching apparatus 200 includes a lower electrode 230 for supporting the semiconductor wafer and adjusting the behavior of the process plasma to guide the process plasma to the surface of the semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor wafer is transported to the process chamber 210 by a robot arm (not shown) provided in the plasma etching apparatus 200 and seated on the lower electrode 230.

Therefore, the apparatus 100 for inspecting the substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention does not require a separate entry member or a manual operation by an operator, and into the plasma etching apparatus 200 by a general wafer loading method. Can be entered.

The image acquisition unit 120 is mounted on the base plate 110. For example, the image acquisition unit 120 may acquire a still image or a moving image inside the process chamber 210 as a camera using a charge coupled device (CCD) sensor 122.

Specifically, the image acquisition unit 120 includes a lens 124, a CCD sensor 122, an analog / digital converter (not shown), an image processing chip (not shown), and the like. do. The lens 122 uses an aspherical lens that can reduce spherical aberration and make the camera size small. In addition, the steering unit 126 is connected to the image acquisition unit 120 and freely adjusts the steering direction of the lens 122. For example, the image acquisition unit 120 may be disposed at the center of the base plate 110 to freely photograph the upper surface or sidewall of the process chamber 210 while changing the steering direction. Alternatively, a plurality of lenses may be fixed on the base plate 110 at different photographing angles. Accordingly, the same imaging channels as the number of lenses may be configured to photograph the inside of the process chamber 210 at various angles.

As described above, since the camera 120 using the CCD sensor 122 has a short focal length, that is, the distance between the lens 124 and the CCD sensor 122, the same method as that of the semiconductor wafer may be achieved by using a technology capable of minimizing the focal length. The thickness of the apparatus 100 for inspecting the substrate processing facility having the shape may be minimized.

The inside of the process chamber 210 is converted into analog information, which is an electrical signal, by the CCD sensor, and the A / D converter may generate an image image by converting the analog information into digital information of 0 and 1. The image processing chip performs color correction, outline enhancement, noise reduction, and gamma correction to produce a clear image. It also controls motors such as auto focus, exposure, and zoom. The memory unit 190 may be mounted on the base plate 110 to store image information about the inside of the process chamber 210 acquired by the image acquisition unit 120.

The image acquisition unit 120 may be configured as a camera or an infrared camera using a complementary matel oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor instead of the camera using the CCD sensor. The CMOS sensor has a faster decoding speed and uses less power than the CCD sensor, making the entire system of the image acquisition unit 120 smaller.

The image acquisition unit 120 may photograph the inside of the process chamber 210 using light in the process chamber 210 such as plasma or the illumination unit 140 mounted on the base plate 110. have. In detail, the lighting unit 140 may be a xenon lamp, a halogen lamp, a light-emitting diode lamp, or the like. desirable. However, when the image acquisition unit 120 is an infrared camera, the illumination unit 140 may use a multi-wave light source that shines a wave in the infrared region.

Subsequently, a power supply unit 150 may be provided on the base plate 110 to supply power to the image acquisition unit 120 and the lighting unit 140. Specifically, the power supply unit 150 is preferably configured using a micro battery.

Meanwhile, the apparatus 100 for inspecting the substrate processing facility includes a display unit 180 through which an operator can visually check an image inside the process chamber 210. In order to observe the inside of the process chamber 210 as described above, the apparatus 100 for inspecting the substrate processing equipment has to be entered into the closed process chamber 210. Therefore, a method of transmitting the image information acquired by the image acquisition unit 120 to the outside of the substrate processing facility using a wireless transmission and reception means, and remotely adjusting the image acquisition unit 120 using a predetermined external device. I use it.

The first wireless transmission / reception unit 130 connected to the image acquisition unit 120 is mounted on the base plate 110. In detail, the first wireless transmission / reception unit 130 converts the image information inside the process chamber 210 acquired by the image acquisition unit 120 into a high frequency signal to transmit / receive a second wireless transmission / reception outside the substrate processing apparatus 200. Wirelessly transmit to unit 160.

For example, the wireless transmission and reception may use a Bluetooth scheme. Bluetooth refers to a standard for transmitting and receiving data using radio waves without a signal connection line. Bluetooth uses high frequency, such as 2.4GHz, and the transmission speed is fast and can be transmitted regardless of obstacles. In addition, the current Bluetooth technology extends the effective range of transmission, allowing data exchange with devices up to 10 meters away. First of all, since the wireless transceiver using Bluetooth can be miniaturized and power consumption is very low, it is suitable for mounting on the thin wafer-shaped base plate 110.

Subsequently, the second wireless transmission / reception unit 160 functions to receive the high frequency signal transmitted by the first wireless transmission / reception unit 130, reconvert it into the image information, and output the image information.

The central processing unit 170 processes the image information and generates a control signal for controlling the operation of the image acquisition unit 120. The central processing unit 170 is connected to a display unit 180 that receives image information inside the process chamber 210 captured by the image acquisition unit 120 and outputs a visible image. Therefore, the operator can visually check the state inside the process chamber 210 with the display unit 180.

The operator uses the setting device (not shown) connected to the central processing unit 170 to closely observe the state inside the process chamber 210 with the display unit 180 of the image acquisition unit 120. You can control the operation. For example, motors such as shooting direction, auto focusing, exposure, zoom, and the like can be controlled. The process of transmitting the control signal to the image acquisition unit 120 will be described briefly as follows.

The control signal generated by the central processing unit 170 by the operator's setting device operation is input to the second wireless transmission / reception unit 160, converted into a high frequency signal, and wirelessly transmitted to the first wireless transmission / reception unit 130. The high frequency signal is converted into the control signal by the first radio transceiver unit 130 and transmitted to the image acquisition unit 120 to control the operation of the image acquisition unit 120.

The second wireless transceiver 160 and the central processing unit 170 may be provided in the display unit 180 itself so as to be integrally formed with the display unit 180.

Therefore, the apparatus 100 for inspecting the substrate processing equipment can be used independently without any connection, so that the work for inspecting the substrate processing equipment can be conveniently performed.

Meanwhile, after loading the device 100 for inspecting the substrate processing apparatus into a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using plasma such as the plasma etching apparatus 200, the plasma is generated while the process gas is not added, thereby generating plasma during the process. It may have other uses, such as observing the appearance and movement of the.

Second embodiment

2 is a configuration diagram illustrating an apparatus 300 for inspecting a substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, an image acquisition unit 320, a memory unit 390, an illumination unit 340, and a power supply unit 350 are mounted on the base plate 310, and are separated from the base plate 310 in the center. The processing unit 370 and the display unit 380 are configured. The elements as described above have similar functions to those previously described with reference to FIG. 1, and thus, further detailed description thereof will be omitted.

However, unlike the first embodiment, the image acquisition unit 320 and the central processing unit 370 are directly connected by wire by a signal line 372 such as a connection cable. Therefore, the image information of the process chamber acquired by the image acquisition unit 320 and the control signal generated by the central processing unit 370 may be transmitted by the signal line 372.

On the other hand, when the signal line 372 is used instead of the wireless transmission / reception units 130 and 160 of the first embodiment, a production cost is reduced, and a still image or a moving image captured by the image acquisition unit 320 may be viewed. It has the advantage of displaying a fast and accurate image.

By using the apparatus for inspecting the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention as described above, it is possible to easily inspect the internal state such as the contamination state of the process chamber without visually disassembling the substrate processing apparatus.

Therefore, the operator can easily perform the operation of checking the internal state of the substrate processing apparatus to adjust the cleaning cycle of the substrate processing apparatus. Alternatively, the process in which the machining process is performed in the substrate processing apparatus may be monitored in real time. As a result, the reliability and productivity of the semiconductor device may be improved.

As described above, although described with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art will be variously modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below. And can be changed.

Claims (9)

A base plate having the same shape as the substrate to be loaded into the apparatus for processing the substrate in the same manner as the substrate to be loaded, and disposed on a stage for supporting the substrate. ; An image acquisition unit installed on the base plate and including an image sensor and a lens for obtaining image information of a still image or a moving image of the inside of the apparatus; And And a steering part connected to the image acquisition unit and configured to adjust a steering direction of the lens in order to photograph the inside of the device at various angles. The apparatus for inspecting a substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a semiconductor wafer or a liquid crystal glass substrate for a liquid crystal display. delete The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the base plate has a smaller area than the substrate. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image acquisition unit is a charge coupled device (CCD) camera, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera, or an infrared camera. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a memory unit mounted to the base plate for storing the image information. According to claim 1, The base plate is installed, and converts the image information about the inside of the device obtained by the image acquisition unit to a high frequency (high frequency) signal for wireless transmission, and controls the operation of the image acquisition unit A first wireless transmitting and receiving unit for receiving a control signal for A second wireless transmission / reception unit for wirelessly receiving the high frequency signal transmitted by the first wireless transmission / reception unit outside the substrate processing apparatus, reconverting to the image information, and transmitting the control signal; And And a central processing unit coupled to the second wireless transmitting / receiving unit, for processing the image information and generating the control signal. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a central processing unit for generating a control signal for controlling an operation of the image acquisition unit outside the substrate processing apparatus and processing the image information; And And a signal line connecting said image acquisition unit and said central processing unit, said signal line for conveying said image information and a control signal. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a display unit which receives the image information and outputs a visible image.

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