KR20230055824A - Apparatus for processing substrate and method of processing substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

According to one aspect of the present invention, a substrate processing device comprises: a process chamber with a reaction space formed therein; substrate support installed in the process chamber, and a substrate seated therein; a gas injection unit installed in the process chamber opposite to the substrate support to inject a process gas to the substrate; a gas supply unit including a filled tank for supplying the process gas, and a valve coupled to a gas line connecting the fill tank and the gas injection unit to control the flow of the process gas; and a control unit for monitoring and controlling the gas supply unit. The control unit determines whether the operation delay time of the valve obtained during an operation of the gas supply unit is within a set time range, and determines whether the pressure of the fill tank obtained during an operation of the gas supply unit is within a set pressure range, and thus, sets a self-improvement program for the operation of the valve or instructs replacement of the valve. Therefore, operational efficiency can increase.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method {Apparatus for processing substrate and method of processing substrate}

The present invention relates to semiconductor technology, and more particularly to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method.

Substrates such as semiconductor wafers are processed by various substrate processing apparatuses. For example, the substrate processing apparatus may be used to form a thin film on a substrate or to etch a thin film on a substrate. Such a substrate processing apparatus may deposit a thin film or etch a thin film using a process gas.

As the pattern of a semiconductor device is gradually refined, the thickness of a thin film is reduced and control in units of atomic layers is required. Accordingly, thin film deposition using atomic layer deposition (ALD) is widely used. In the case of such an atomic layer deposition apparatus, since gas supply is supplied in very short pulses, valve control for gas supply is important.

In the past, the opening and closing operation of the valve is simply monitored, and the valve is repaired or replaced when it is out of the standard range. Therefore, there is a problem in that the device goes down during valve replacement and the operating efficiency of the device decreases. In addition, when a problem such as a sensor for monitoring the valve occurs, a loss is generated by replacing the valve unnecessarily.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method capable of increasing operational efficiency by reducing unnecessary valve replacement. However, these tasks are illustrative, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereby.

A substrate processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a process chamber in which a reaction space is formed, a substrate support installed in the process chamber and on which a substrate is seated, and a process gas sprayed to the substrate to face the substrate support. A gas dispensing unit installed in the process chamber, a fill tank for supplying the process gas, and a valve coupled to a gas line connecting the fill tank and the gas dispensing unit to control the flow of the process gas A gas supply unit comprising a gas supply unit, and a control unit for monitoring and controlling the gas supply unit, wherein the control unit determines whether an operation delay time of the valve obtained during operation of the gas supply unit is within a set time range and determines whether the gas supply unit is within a set time range. It is determined whether the pressure of the fill tank obtained during the operation of the supply unit is within a set pressure range, and a self-improvement program for the operation of the valve is set or replacement of the valve is instructed.

According to the substrate processing apparatus, the controller may use a difference between an opening delay time and a closing delay time of the valve as the operation delay time.

According to the substrate processing apparatus, the control unit sets a self-improvement program for the operation of the valve when it is determined that the operation delay time is out of the set time range and the pressure of the fill tank is within the set pressure range. and when it is determined that the operation delay time is outside the set time range and the pressure of the fill tank is outside the set pressure range, an alarm for replacing the valve may be generated.

According to the substrate processing apparatus, the self-improvement program for the operation of the valve may include setting an offset time for an open set time or a close set time to compensate for a difference between the open delay time and the close delay time. .

According to the substrate processing apparatus, the operation delay time of the valve and the pressure of the fill tank may be obtained while atomic layer deposition is performed on the substrate.

According to a substrate processing method according to another aspect of the present invention, a process chamber in which a reaction space is formed, a substrate support installed in the process chamber and on which a substrate is seated, and a substrate opposing the substrate support to inject process gas to the substrate. A valve coupled to a gas dispensing unit installed in the process chamber, a fill tank for supplying the process gas, and a gas line connecting the fill tank and the gas dispensing unit to control the flow of the process gas. A substrate processing method using a substrate processing apparatus, comprising a gas supply unit and a control unit for monitoring and controlling the gas supply unit, comprising: an operation delay time of the valve obtained during operation of the gas supply unit through the control unit; It is determined whether it is within this set time range and whether the pressure of the fill tank obtained during the operation of the gas supply unit is within the set pressure range, so that a self-improvement program for the operation of the valve is set or the valve is replaced. Includes instructing

According to the substrate processing method, the control unit may use a difference between an opening delay time and a closing delay time of the valve as the operation delay time.

According to the substrate processing method, in the step of setting the self-improvement program or instructing replacement of the valve, it is determined that the operation delay time is out of the set time range, and the pressure of the fill tank is within the set pressure range. setting a self-improvement program for the operation of the valve, and replacing the valve when it is determined that the operation delay time is out of the set time range and the pressure of the fill tank is outside the set pressure range It may include generating an alarm.

According to the substrate processing method, the self-improvement program for the operation of the valve may include setting an offset time for an open set time or a close set time to compensate for a difference between the open delay time and the close delay time. .

According to one embodiment of the present invention made as described above, it is possible to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method capable of increasing operational efficiency by reducing unnecessary replacement of valves and performing self-improvement. Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited by these effects.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2A to 2C are schematic diagrams showing operating characteristics of valves according to cases of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1 .
3 is a graph showing an operation delay time of a valve corresponding to the case of FIG. 2B.
4 is a graph showing operating characteristics of a valve for explaining a self-improving operation of a valve according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a graph showing an operation delay time of a valve before and after a self-improvement operation according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a graph showing a change in pressure of a fill tank according to a feeding time of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1 .

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

The embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art, and the following examples may be modified in many different forms, and the scope of the present invention is as follows It is not limited to the examples. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the spirit of the invention to those skilled in the art. In addition, the thickness or size of each layer in the drawings is exaggerated for convenience and clarity of explanation.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to drawings schematically showing ideal embodiments of the present invention. In the drawings, variations of the depicted shape may be expected, depending on, for example, manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances. Therefore, embodiments of the inventive concept should not be construed as being limited to the specific shape of the region shown in this specification, but should include, for example, a change in shape caused by manufacturing.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a substrate processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a substrate processing apparatus 100 may include a process chamber 110 , a gas injection unit 120 , a substrate support 130 , a gas supply unit 140 and a control unit 150 .

The process chamber 110 may include a reaction space 112 therein. For example, the process chamber 110 is configured to be airtight and may be connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) through an exhaust port to exhaust process gases in the reaction space 112 and adjust the degree of vacuum in the reaction space 112. can

The process chamber 110 may be provided in various shapes, and may include, for example, a body portion having an opening formed thereon and a cover portion covering the opening. Furthermore, the process chamber 110 may include a gate (not shown) that can be opened and closed to move the substrate S.

The gas dispensing unit 120 may be installed in the process chamber 110 to inject process gas to the substrate S. The gas injection unit 120 may supply process gas supplied from the outside of the process chamber 110 to the reaction space 112 . For example, the gas dispensing unit 120 may be installed to face the substrate support 130 so as to spray a process gas to the substrate S seated on the substrate support 130 . The gas dispensing unit 120 includes at least one inlet hole formed on the upper side or side to receive process gas from the outside, and a plurality of inlet holes formed downward facing the substrate S to inject process gas onto the substrate S. It may include injection holes of.

For example, the gas spraying unit 120 may have various shapes such as a shower head shape and a nozzle shape. When the gas dispensing unit 120 is in the form of a shower head, the gas dispensing unit 120 may be part of the process chamber 110 in a form that partially covers the top of the process chamber 110 .

The substrate support 130 is installed in the process chamber 110 and the substrate S may be seated thereon. For example, the substrate support 130 may be installed in the reaction space 112 of the process chamber 110 so that the substrate S is seated thereon. Also, the substrate support 130 may be installed in the process chamber 110 to face the gas spraying unit 120 . The shape of the substrate support 130 generally corresponds to the shape of the substrate (S), but is not limited thereto and may be provided in various shapes larger than the substrate (S) so as to stably seat the substrate (S).

In one example, the substrate support 130 may be connected to an external motor (not shown) so as to be able to move up and down, and in this case, a bellows pipe (not shown) may be connected to maintain airtightness. Furthermore, since the substrate support 130 is configured to place the substrate S thereon, it may also be referred to as a substrate seating unit or a susceptor.

Optionally, the substrate support 130 may include a heater (not shown) for heating the substrate S therein. The heater may receive power from a separate power source outside the process chamber 110 .

Furthermore, the substrate support 130 may further include an electrostatic electrode (not shown) in order to apply electrostatic force to the substrate S and fix it thereon. In this case, the electrostatic electrode may receive DC power from a constant power power supply unit (not shown).

Optionally, when the substrate processing apparatus 100 uses plasma, a plasma power supply unit (not shown) may be connected to the gas dispensing unit 120 to supply power for forming a plasma atmosphere into the process chamber 110 . there is. For example, the plasma power supply unit may be connected to apply RF power to the gas dispensing unit 120 . In this case, the gas injection unit 120 may be called a power supply electrode or an upper electrode.

The gas supplier 140 may supply process gas to the reaction space 112 of the process chamber 110 . For example, the gas supply unit 140 may be connected to the gas dispensing unit 120 to supply process gas to the reaction space 112 through the gas dispensing unit 120 . The gas supply unit 140 may include at least one gas line 142 , at least one valve 144 , and at least one fill tank 146 .

The fill tank 146 may supply process gas to the process chamber 110 through the gas line 142 . For example, the fill tank 146 may include a vaporizer that receives and vaporizes the source liquid and discharges a process gas, for example, a source gas. A pressure sensor (not shown) may be coupled to the fill tank 146 to measure the pressure of the process gas.

The process gas supplied from the fill tank 146 may be a source gas required for processing the substrate S. For example, the source gas may be a precursor gas required for depositing a thin film on the substrate S. More specifically, when a thin film is deposited using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD), a source gas reacts with a reaction gas (not shown) to form a metal or insulating film on the substrate S.

The gas line 142 may refer to a gas pipe connected from the fill tank 146 to the gas ejection unit 120 . In some embodiments, the gas line 142 may be understood to further include a portion connected from a source supply unit (not shown) to the fill tank 146 .

In some embodiments, one or more additional gas lines (not shown) may be further connected to the gas dispensing unit 120 to supply a reaction gas, a purge gas, and the like in addition to the source gas.

The valve 144 may be connected to the gas line 142 connecting the fill tank 146 and the gas injection unit 120 to control the flow of process gas. For example, the valve 144 may periodically repeat opening and closing operations to supply process gas in a pulsed manner.

A sensor (not shown) for detecting an opening/closing operation of the valve 144 may be coupled to the valve 144 . For example, the sensor may include a fiber sensor for measuring the degree of opening and closing of the valve 144 . Such a sensor may monitor the opening or closing operation of the valve 144 to monitor whether the valve 144 normally operates and/or whether the operation is delayed. For example, since the valve 144 operates within a range of several seconds to several milliseconds (ms) during time-division atomic layer deposition, it is necessary to monitor the operating delay time of the valve 144 . The sensor may measure an opening delay time and a closing delay time as an operation delay time of the valve 144 .

In some embodiments, when the gas line 142 and additional gas lines are connected to the gas injector 120, a valve assembly may be coupled onto the gas injector 120, and the valve 144 may be coupled to the valve assembly. may be included in

The control unit 150 may monitor and control the gas supply unit 140 . In some embodiments, the control unit 150 is understood as a central processing unit or microcontrol unit that controls the substrate processing apparatus 100 by controlling the process chamber 110, the gas injection unit 120, and the substrate support 130 as a whole. It could be.

The controller 150 may monitor the valve 144 and/or the fill tank 146 to determine self-improvement of the valve 144 or replacement of the valve 144 . For example, the control unit 150 determines whether the operation delay time of the valve 144 obtained during the operation of the gas supply unit 140 is within a set time range, and the fill tank 146 obtained during the operation of the gas supply unit 140 By determining whether the pressure of the valve 144 is within the set pressure range, a self-improvement program for the operation of the valve 144 may be set or replacement of the valve 144 may be instructed.

Hereinafter, operation characteristics of the valve 144 and control of the valve 144 using the same will be described in more detail.

2A to 2C are schematic diagrams showing operating characteristics of valves according to cases of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1 .

As shown in FIG. 2A , in the case of case 1, the valve 144 may be immediately opened at the set opening time t1 and immediately closed at the set closing time t2. Case 1 is only an ideal case, and delay time may occur during actual operation.

As shown in FIG. 2B, in the case of case 2, the valve 144 is opened at a time t12 when the opening delay time a elapses from the development set time t1 of the valve 144, and the closing set time ( The valve 144 may be closed at a time t22 when the closing delay time b elapses from t2). In this case, the opening delay time (a) and the closing delay time (b) are not the same, which may cause a problem in the operation of the valve 144.

As shown in FIG. 2C , in the case of case 3, the valve 144 is opened at a time t12 when the opening delay time a elapses from the development set time t1 of the valve 144, and the closing set time ( The valve 144 may be closed at a time t21 when the closing delay time b elapses from t2). In the case of case 3, the opening delay time (a) and the closing delay time (b) may be the same. In this case, although not ideal, there may be no problem in the operation of the valve 144.

Therefore, it may be meaningful to monitor the difference between the opening delay time and the closing delay time during operation of the valve 144 . For example, the control unit 150 may use a difference between an opening delay time and a closing delay time of the valve 144 as an operation delay time.

The control unit 150 may primarily determine whether the valve 144 normally operates based on information about the operation delay time of the valve 144 . For example, when the operation delay time is out of a set time range, the control unit 150 may determine that action on the valve 144 is necessary. For example, the setting time range may be set to a predetermined range in consideration of the operation delay time, and the action for the valve 144 may be setting a self-improvement program for the valve 144 or replacing the valve 144. there is.

More specifically, in the case of FIG. 3, it can be seen that a deviation occurs between the open delay time and the close delay time, and the deviation is as large as 4.3 ms. This deviation may be determined to be out of the set time range. In this case, if there are no other problems with the valve 144, rather than replacing the valve 144, a self-improvement program can be set to compensate for this time deviation.

For example, a self-improvement program for the operation of valve 144 may include setting an offset time relative to the open set time or close set time to compensate for the difference between the open delay time and the close delay time. can In some embodiments, the controller 150 may include a programmable logic circuit (PLC) for setting the offset time.

As shown in FIG. 4 , when the closing delay time b is greater than the opening delay time a, the difference between the closing time t21 and the closing set time t2 (t21-t2) is the opening delay time a ), the closing setting time t2 can be extended by the offset time t22-t21. In this case, since the valve 144 is opened at time t11 and closed at time t21, the open time can be maintained for the same time as in the case of FIG. 2C. Furthermore, the closing delay time can be understood as a value obtained by subtracting the original closing setting time t2 from the closing time t21 in consideration of the offset time.

As shown in FIG. 5 , after setting the offset, the closing delay time may be similar to the opening delay time by considering the offset time.

Therefore, even if an operation delay occurs in the valve 144, by performing a self-improvement program for the valve 144, replacement of the valve 144 is not required, so that the process can be performed without the substrate processing apparatus 100 being down. , operational efficiency of the substrate processing apparatus 100 may be improved.

Meanwhile, if the self-improvement program is performed based only on the operation delay time of the valve 144, it may be difficult to distinguish a case where a hardware problem occurs in the valve 144 or the sensor within the valve 144. Accordingly, this problem can be compensated for by additionally monitoring the pressure of the fill tank 146 while monitoring the operation delay time of the valve 144 . For example, when the pressure of the fill tank 146 is within a normal range, a self-improvement program may be performed, and when the pressure of the fill tank 146 is out of the normal range, the valve 144 may be replaced.

As shown in FIG. 5, it can be seen that the pressure in the filter tincture 146 changes when the feeding time of the filter tincture 146 is changed. Therefore, if an error occurs in the sensor that detects the operation delay of the valve 144 and the feeding time of the fill tank 146 changes, the pressure of the fill tank 146 changes, so the pressure change of the fill tank 146 is added. If it is monitored as an enemy, it is possible to determine whether the valve 144 is out of order.

More specifically, when it is determined that the operation delay time of the valve 144 is out of the set time range and the pressure of the fill tank 146 is within the set pressure range, the control unit 150 controls the operation of the valve 144. You can set up a self-improvement program for Furthermore, the controller 150 may generate an alarm for replacing the valve 144 when it is determined that the operation delay time of the valve 144 is out of a set time range and the pressure of the fill tank 146 is outside the set pressure range. .

In some embodiments, the operating delay time of the valve 144 and the pressure of the fill tank 146 may be obtained while atomic layer deposition is performed on the substrate S. Furthermore, the operation delay time and pressure may be obtained as a process result for each substrate (S) or as an average value of process results for a lot including a plurality of substrates (S).

Meanwhile, in the substrate processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention using the above-described substrate processing apparatus 100, the operation delay time of the valve 144 obtained during the operation of the gas supply unit 140 is set through the control unit 150. It is determined whether the pressure of the fill tank 146 obtained during the operation of the gas supply unit 144 is within the set pressure range, and a self-improvement program for the operation of the valve 144 is set or the valve Instructing replacement of (144).

In some embodiments, setting a self-improvement program or instructing replacement of the valve may include determining that an operation delay time is out of a set time range and the pressure of the fill tank 146 is within a set pressure range. Setting a self-improvement program for the operation of (144), and alarming replacement of the valve 144 when it is determined that the operation delay time is outside the set time range and the pressure of the fill tank 146 is outside the set pressure range It may include a step of generating.

According to the substrate processing apparatus 100 and the substrate processing method using the same, the operation delay time of the valve 144 and the pressure of the fill tank 146 are monitored together to perform a self-improvement program for the valve 144 and the valve 144. It can be performed by selecting the replacement 146 of . Accordingly, since there is no need to unconditionally replace the valve 144 when an error occurs in the valve 144 , operating efficiency of the substrate processing apparatus 100 may be improved.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, this is merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

100: substrate processing device
110: process chamber
120: gas injection unit
130: substrate support
140: gas supply unit
150: control unit

Claims (10)

a process chamber in which a reaction space is formed;
a substrate support installed in the process chamber and on which a substrate is seated;
a gas injection unit installed in the process chamber to face the substrate support to inject process gas to the substrate;
a gas supply unit including a fill tank for supplying the process gas, and a valve coupled to a gas line connecting the fill tank and the gas ejection unit to control the flow of the process gas; and
And a control unit for monitoring and controlling the gas supply unit,
The control unit determines whether the operation delay time of the valve obtained during the operation of the gas supply unit is within a set time range, and determines whether the pressure of the fill tank obtained during the operation of the gas supply unit is within a set pressure range, setting a self-improvement program for the operation of the valve or directing the replacement of the valve;
Substrate processing device. According to claim 1,
The control unit uses the difference between the opening delay time and the closing delay time of the valve as the operation delay time.
Substrate processing device. According to claim 2,
The control unit,
Setting a self-improvement program for the operation of the valve when it is determined that the operation delay time is outside the set time range and the pressure of the fill tank is within the set pressure range,
Substrate processing device. According to claim 2,
The control unit,
generating an alarm for replacing the valve when it is determined that the operation delay time is out of the set time range and the pressure of the fill tank is outside the set pressure range;
Substrate processing device. According to claim 2,
The self-improvement program for the operation of the valve comprises setting an offset time for the open set time or the close set time to compensate for the difference between the open delay time and the close delay time.
Substrate processing device. a process chamber in which a reaction space is formed;
a substrate support installed in the process chamber and on which a substrate is seated;
a gas injection unit installed in the process chamber to face the substrate support to inject process gas to the substrate;
a gas supply unit including a fill tank for supplying the process gas, and a valve coupled to a gas line connecting the fill tank and the gas ejection unit to control the flow of the process gas; and
A substrate processing method using a substrate processing apparatus including a control unit for monitoring and controlling the gas supply unit,
Through the control unit, it is determined whether the operation delay time of the valve obtained during the operation of the gas supply unit is within a set time range and whether the pressure of the fill tank obtained during the operation of the gas supply unit is within a set pressure range, Setting a self-improvement program for the operation of the valve or instructing replacement of the valve.
Substrate processing method. According to claim 6,
The control unit uses the difference between the opening delay time and the closing delay time of the valve as the operation delay time.
Substrate processing method. According to claim 7,
The step of setting the self-improvement program or instructing replacement of the valve,
Setting a self-improvement program for the operation of the valve when it is determined that the operation delay time is outside the set time range and the pressure of the fill tank is within the set pressure range.
Substrate processing method. According to claim 7,
The step of setting the self-improvement program or instructing replacement of the valve,
Generating a valve replacement alarm when it is determined that the operation delay time is out of the set time range and the pressure of the fill tank is outside the set pressure range,
Substrate processing method. According to claim 7,
The self-improvement program for the operation of the valve comprises setting an offset time for the open set time or the valve set time to compensate for the difference between the open delay time and the close delay time.
Substrate processing method.

Images