KR20040066964A - Apparatus and method for managing reticle coordinates of stepper - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An exposure apparatus for managing a reticle coordinates system is provided to prevent an input error in a process step and electronically inspect a step for forming an alignment mark in use and the kinds of marks by displaying an established picture for establishing information of a reticle coordinates system and by editing and storing the information of the reticle coordinates system. CONSTITUTION: A key input unit(14) is prepared. A control unit(12) receives a reticle coordinates value for a wafer alignment from the key input unit and performs an exposure process. A storage unit(18) stores the information of the reticle coordinates system for processing at least one alignment corresponding to the exposure apparatus(10) or a semiconductor device. A display unit(16) outputs an establishing picture for editing the information of the reticle coordinates system. The control unit controls the established picture to be displayed during a process or at the request of an operator.

Description

Exposure apparatus and method for managing a reticle coordinate system {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING RETICLE COORDINATES OF STEPPER}

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus in a semiconductor manufacturing process, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for setting and managing reticle coordinate system information of an exposure apparatus.

As circuit patterns become finer due to the higher integration of semiconductor devices, management of various parameters affecting the circuit patterns becomes more stringent. In particular, the photolithography process directly affects the fine pattern among semiconductor manufacturing processes.

In general, a photolithography process involves applying a photoresist on a wafer to form a circuit pattern on the wafer, exposing the applied photoresist to transfer the circuit pattern formed on the reticle, and developing a series of exposed photoresists. The process will be carried out. Here, the photolithography process proceeds using an exposure apparatus (for example, a stepper).

The exposure apparatus reduces the circuit pattern formed on the reticle through the projection lens while moving the wafer vertically and horizontally, and exposes each shot area on the wafer. The exposure apparatus in such a photolithography process aligns the reticle with the reticle stage, aligns the wafer with the wafer stage, and then aligns the reticle with the wafer for exposure. Therefore, the alignment of reticles and wafers is very tightly controlled in the photolithography process.

For example, in the exposure apparatus, a stepper and a stepper of a step and repeat method that expose a circuit pattern of a reticle through a projection lens in turn in each shot region of a wafer are frequently used.

The stepper generally processes the alignment process using a wafer alignment coordinate system and a reticle alignment coordinate system. The stepper detects and exposes the position of each alignment key (or alignment mark) formed corresponding to each shot region on the wafer.

In the above-described conventional exposure apparatus, the operator prints a sheet of the reticle coordinate system having coordinate values of the reticle alignment mark to be used for the stepper operation for the alignment process, and visually confirms directly from the printed reticle coordinate system. In this case, the reticle coordinates are input manually.

In this case, there is a high possibility of input error of the alignment mark of the operator, and if there is no printed reticle coordinate system, there is a problem in that it is not possible to confirm the alignment mark formed at any process step using only the coordinate value of the currently input alignment mark.

In addition, the reticle coordinate system sheet has a respective reticle coordinate system for each semiconductor device and each manufacturer model of the exposure apparatus, and thus, it is very inconvenient to input and confirm the reticle coordinate values manually.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problem, and to provide an apparatus and method for setting and managing reticle coordinate system information for an alignment process in response to a semiconductor device or an exposure apparatus.

In particular, the present invention provides an exposure apparatus and method for displaying a setting screen for setting reticle coordinate system information during a process of an exposure apparatus or at the request of an operator.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an exposure apparatus for managing a reticle coordinate system according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a setting screen for inputting a reticle coordinate system of the exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 1; FIG. And

3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of an exposure apparatus for setting and managing a reticle coordinate system according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

2: wafer 10: exposure apparatus

12: control unit 14: key input unit

16 display unit 18 storage unit

20: light sensor 22: reticle

24: projection lens 26: wafer stage

28: drive unit

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, an exposure apparatus, which is a semiconductor manufacturing facility, includes a key input unit, a control unit which receives a reticle coordinate value for alignment of a wafer from the key input unit, and controls to perform an exposure process; And a storage unit for storing reticle coordinate system information for processing at least one alignment corresponding to the exposure apparatus or the semiconductor device, and a display unit for outputting a setting screen for editing the reticle coordinate system information. The setup screen is controlled to be displayed during the request of the operator. The setting screen is provided to input a shot selection on a wafer, a type selection of a reticle alignment mark, and a reticle coordinate value.

According to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, a method for managing a reticle coordinate system of the exposure apparatus, the method comprising: displaying a setting screen for inputting the reticle coordinate system information corresponding to the exposure apparatus or the semiconductor device; Selecting a shot on a wafer on the setting screen, selecting a type of alignment mark, checking the reticle coordinate system information, inputting a coordinate value, and storing the input reticle coordinate information. The step of displaying the setting screen is opened automatically by the process proceeding procedure or at the request of the operator.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the exposure apparatus displays a setting screen for setting the reticle coordinate system information for the alignment process, and edits and stores the reticle coordinate system information, thereby preventing an input miss during input at the process step, and using The work history such as the formation step of the alignment mark in progress, the kind of the mark, and the like can be confirmed electronically.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an exposure apparatus for managing a reticle coordinate system according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the exposure apparatus 10 includes a novel control unit 12, a storage unit 18, a key input unit 14, and a display unit 16. The exposure apparatus 10 includes components of a typical exposure apparatus, for example, an optical sensor 20, a reticle 22, a projection lens 24, a wafer stage 26, and a driver 28.

The optical sensor 20 measures the alignment of the reticle alignment mark formed on the reticle 22 and the wafer alignment mark formed on the wafer 2 through the electron beam. The wafer stage 26 is driven by the driver 28 to move the wafer 2 mounted on the upper and lower sides up and down.

The storage unit 18 receives a job file under control of the controller 12 and stores various reticle coordinate system information (for example, shot information, mark type, and reticle coordinate values) corresponding to the semiconductor device and the exposure apparatus. ) To save. The shot information includes index coordinate values of the selected shot and the number of the selected shot, and the mark type includes information for selecting the types of various reticle alignment marks corresponding to the manufacturer of the exposure apparatus. . Types of marks are provided in various ways by manufacturers (eg, ASML, Nikon, Kenon, etc.). For example, ASML's marks include PM, XPA, XPA-X, SPM-X, SPM-XS and SPM-YS.

The display unit 16 displays a setting screen (30 in FIG. 2) for setting the reticle coordinate system information. In addition, the display unit 16 displays the alignment state of the wafer 2 detected by the optical sensor 20 and whether the alignment process is in error.

The controller 12 controls the overall operation and alignment process of the exposure apparatus 10 and operates the driver 28. In addition, the control unit 12 includes various control modes for processing the alignment process of the exposure apparatus 10, and corresponds to the optical sensor 20 or the driving unit in response to various commands and data input through the key input unit 14. 28) to output the control signal.

Specifically, in the alignment control operation of the exposure apparatus 10 according to the present invention, when the wafer 2 is loaded on the wafer stage 26, an alignment process is performed. At this time, the controller 12 controls to display the window screen 30 for setting information on the reticle coordinate system of the exposure apparatus 10. Subsequently, the operator inputs setting information of the reticle coordinate system to be aligned through the window screen 30 using the key input unit 14. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the shot selection 32 on the wafer, the kind selection 34 on the mark, and the coordinates on the reticle coordinate system are checked to directly input the coordinate values 36 of the X and Y axes. .

In addition, the reticle coordinate system information is applied to each semiconductor device in the same manner, and when an operator sets a reticle coordinate system of a new semiconductor device, an operator may directly input it through the setting screen.

Subsequently, when a shot to be aligned is set, the controller 12 stores the set reticle coordinate system information in the storage unit 18 and controls the exposure apparatus 10 to perform a photolithography process on the wafer 2. do.

Therefore, the exposure apparatus 10 displays a setting screen 30 for setting the reticle coordinate system information for the alignment process, and edits and stores the reticle coordinate system information to prevent an input miss during input at the process step. In addition, the operation history such as the formation step and mark type of the reticle alignment mark currently in use can be checked electronically through the setting screen.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for setting and managing a reticle coordinate system for alignment process processing of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This procedure is a program that the control unit 12 processes and is stored in the storage unit 18.

Referring to the drawing, the controller 12 displays a setting screen 30 for setting reticle coordinate system information for the alignment process in step S40. This can be done sequentially by a specific procedure during the photolithography process or opened at the request of the operator.

In step S42, data for selecting a shot on the wafer loaded on the wafer stage 26 is input from the key input unit 14, and in step S44, data for selecting the type of mark is received. In operation S46, the operator checks the reticle coordinate system and receives the directly input reticle coordinate value.

Subsequently, the reticle coordinate system information set in step S48 is stored in the storage unit 18. Therefore, the stored reticle coordinate system information may be applied to perform an alignment process or to output a report for confirming the reticle coordinate system information.

For example, when the wafer 2 is loaded on the wafer stage 26 to perform the alignment process, the controller 12 drives the wafer stage 26 to fix the loaded wafer 2 to a desired position. Perform Subsequently, the wafer stage 26 is moved in the X and Y axis directions to perform search alignment, and again, fine alignment is performed while the wafer stage 26 is finely moved in the X and Y axis directions with a more precise amount of change.

The operator inputs a reticle coordinate value for alignment through the key input unit 14, and the display unit 16 of the exposure apparatus 10 displays coordinates of the shot. Therefore, the control unit 12 outputs a control signal for performing an alignment process for the shot corresponding to the input coordinate value to execute the correct alignment of the loaded wafer 2.

As described above, the exposure apparatus of the present invention displays a setting screen for setting the reticle coordinate system information for the alignment process, and edits and stores the reticle coordinate system information, thereby preventing an input miss during input at the process step. The work history of the alignment mark being used, the kind of mark, etc. can be confirmed electronically.

The exposure apparatus of the present invention automatically opens the setting screen according to the process progress procedure or opens at the request of the operator to set or confirm the reticle coordinate system information for the alignment process, thereby displaying the reticle coordinate system information on the work screen of the exposure apparatus. You can enter or confirm.

In addition, the exposure apparatus of the present invention can set and manage reticle coordinate system information regardless of various semiconductor devices or devices of various manufacturers.

Claims (3)

In the exposure apparatus which is a semiconductor manufacturing facility: A key input unit; A control unit which receives a reticle coordinate value for alignment of the wafer from the key input unit and controls the exposure process to be performed; A storage unit for storing reticle coordinate system information for processing at least one alignment corresponding to the exposure apparatus or the semiconductor device; A display unit configured to output a setting screen for editing the reticle coordinate system information; And the controller controls the setting screen to be displayed during the process or at the request of an operator. The method of claim 1, And the setting screen is configured to input a shot selection on a wafer, a type selection of a reticle alignment mark, and a reticle coordinate value. In the method for managing the reticle coordinate system of the exposure apparatus: Displaying a setting screen for inputting reticle coordinate system information corresponding to the exposure apparatus or the semiconductor device; Selecting a shot on a wafer on the setting screen, selecting a type of alignment mark, checking the reticle coordinate system information, and inputting coordinate values; And storing the input reticle coordinate information.