KR20230137123A - Substrate processing apparatus and method of operating the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a process chamber having a plurality of reaction spaces formed therein, a plurality of substrate supports installed in the process chamber to respectively support a plurality of substrates within the plurality of reaction spaces, and , a plurality of gas injection units installed in the process chamber to face each of the plurality of substrate supports to inject process gas into the plurality of reaction spaces, and RF for forming a plasma atmosphere in the plurality of reaction spaces. A plurality of plasma power supply units each connected to the plurality of gas injection units to supply power, respectively, RF powers connected to RF electrodes in the plurality of substrate supports and provided through the plurality of gas injection units, and a plurality of RF powers provided through the plurality of gas injection units. A plurality of impedance adjusters capable of adjusting impedance matching between the substrate supports, receiving impedance values of the plurality of substrate supports, and adjusting the impedance values to reduce the deviation of the plasma atmosphere within the plurality of reaction spaces. Therefore, it may include a control unit that tunes the control values of the plurality of impedance adjustment units.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus and method of operating the same}

The present invention relates to the manufacture of semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to a substrate processing apparatus and operating method for the manufacture of semiconductor devices.

In order to manufacture semiconductor devices, various substrate processing processes are performed in a substrate processing apparatus in a vacuum atmosphere. For example, processes such as loading a substrate into a process chamber and depositing a thin film on the substrate or etching the thin film may be performed. The substrate is supported on a substrate supporter installed in the process chamber, and process gas may be injected into the substrate through a gas injection unit installed on top of the substrate supporter. Furthermore, this substrate processing device can use RF power to create a plasma atmosphere in the process chamber.

Recently, in order to increase the productivity of substrate processing, a substrate processing device that simultaneously processes a plurality of substrates by forming a plurality of reaction spaces in a process chamber has been used. However, complex factors such as structural factors between reaction spaces within the process chamber and variations in hardware modules combined therewith may cause imbalance in the transfer of RF powers between reaction spaces. For example, depending on the difference in impedance values of the substrate supports, there is a difference in the RF power transmitted to the substrate supports, resulting in a difference in the plasma environment. Accordingly, an imbalance in RF power transmission to substrates occurs between reaction spaces, and the quality deviation of thin films formed on substrates in reaction spaces increases, reducing process reliability.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a substrate processing device and a method of operating the same that can increase process reliability by reducing the deviation of RF powers transmitted to substrate supports in a plurality of reaction spaces. . However, these tasks are illustrative and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

A substrate processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention for solving the above problem includes a process chamber having a plurality of reaction spaces formed therein, and a plurality of substrates installed in the process chamber to support each of the plurality of substrates within the plurality of reaction spaces. A plurality of substrate supports, a plurality of gas injection units installed in the process chamber opposite each of the plurality of substrate supports to inject process gas into the plurality of reaction spaces, and a plasma in the plurality of reaction spaces. A plurality of plasma power supplies each connected to the plurality of gas injection units to supply RF powers for forming an atmosphere, each connected to RF electrodes in the plurality of substrate supports and provided through the plurality of gas injection units. A plurality of impedance adjusters capable of adjusting impedance matching between RF powers and the plurality of substrate supports, receiving impedance values of the plurality of substrate supports, and reducing the deviation of the plasma atmosphere within the plurality of reaction spaces. To this end, it may include a control unit that tunes control values of the plurality of impedance adjustment units according to the impedance values.

According to the substrate processing apparatus, each of the plurality of impedance adjustment units includes at least one variable capacitor, and the control unit changes the capacitance value of the at least one variable capacitor to match the impedance of each of the plurality of impedance adjustment units. It can be tuned.

According to the substrate processing apparatus, the control unit uses stress change data of the thin film according to a change in the impedance value of each of the plurality of substrate supports and stress change data of the thin film according to the capacitance value of the at least one variable capacitor, The capacitance value of the at least one variable capacitor may be tuned according to the impedance value of each of the plurality of substrate supports to reduce variation in the plasma atmosphere within the plurality of reaction spaces.

According to the substrate processing apparatus, the control unit may tune the capacitance value of the at least one variable capacitor according to the imaginary part of the impedance value of each of the plurality of substrate supports.

According to the substrate processing apparatus, the control unit receives stage impedance values measured at the upper part of the plurality of reaction spaces before adjusting the control values of the plurality of impedance adjustment units, and determines that the deviation of the stage impedance values is within a management range. In this case, the control values of the plurality of impedance adjustment units can be tuned.

According to the substrate processing apparatus, the control unit may determine the plurality of reaction spaces to be in an inspection state when a deviation of the stage impedance values is outside a management range.

According to the substrate processing apparatus, the control unit determines whether the real part deviation of the stage impedance values is within a first management range, determines whether the imaginary part deviation is within a second management range, and determines whether the real part deviation is within the first management range. If it is outside, the RF lines between the plurality of plasma power sources and the plurality of gas injection units are determined to be in an inspection state, and if the imaginary part deviation is outside the second management range, the RF lines between the plurality of gas injection units are determined to be in an inspection state. It can be judged by the inspection status.

According to another aspect of the present invention for solving the above problem, a method of operating the substrate processing apparatus includes a process chamber having a plurality of reaction spaces formed therein, and a plurality of substrates each supported within the plurality of reaction spaces. A plurality of substrate supports installed in the process chamber, a plurality of gas injection units installed in the process chamber to face each of the plurality of substrate supports to inject process gas into the plurality of reaction spaces, and A plurality of plasma power units each connected to the plurality of gas injection units to supply RF powers for forming a plasma atmosphere in the reaction spaces, each connected to the RF electrodes in the plurality of substrate supports and the plurality of gas injection units Operation of a substrate processing device including a plurality of impedance adjusting units capable of adjusting impedance matching between RF powers provided through the units and the plurality of substrate supports, and a control unit tuning control values of the plurality of impedance adjusting units. A method, comprising: receiving impedance values of the plurality of substrate supports from the control unit; controlling values of the plurality of impedance adjusting units according to the impedance values to reduce variation in plasma atmosphere within the plurality of reaction spaces; It includes the step of the control unit controlling the plurality of impedance adjustment units to tune.

According to the operating method of the substrate processing apparatus, each of the plurality of impedance adjustment units includes at least one variable capacitor, and in the step of controlling the plurality of impedance adjustment units, the controller controls each of the plurality of substrate supports. Using the stress change data of the thin film according to the change in the impedance value and the stress change data of the thin film according to the capacitance value of the at least one variable capacitor, the plurality of substrates are used to reduce the deviation of the plasma atmosphere within the plurality of reaction spaces. The capacitance value of the at least one variable capacitor can be tuned according to the impedance value of each of the support parts.

According to the method of operating the substrate processing apparatus, prior to controlling the plurality of impedance adjustment units, the method includes monitoring stage impedance values measured at upper portions of the plurality of reaction spaces, wherein the control unit monitors the stage impedance value. If the deviation is within the management range, the step of controlling the plurality of impedance adjustment units may be performed.

According to the substrate processing apparatus and its operating method according to an embodiment of the present invention as described above, the impedance adjustment units are tuned according to the impedance values of the substrate supports in the reaction spaces to reduce process deviation between reaction spaces, thereby improving the process. Quality can be improved. Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited by this effect.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a flowchart showing a method of operating a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a method for monitoring stage impedance values in the operation method of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing thin film stress according to impedance values of substrate supports in a substrate processing apparatus and method of operating the same according to embodiments of the present invention.
Figure 5 is a graph showing thin film stress according to the control value of the impedance adjuster in the substrate processing apparatus and operating method according to embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing adjustment of impedance adjusters according to impedance values of substrate supports in a substrate processing apparatus and method of operating the same according to embodiments of the present invention.

Hereinafter, various preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached 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 into various other forms, and the scope of the present invention is as follows. It is not limited to examples. Rather, these embodiments are provided to make the present disclosure more faithful and complete and to fully convey the spirit of the present invention to those skilled in the art. Additionally, the thickness and size of each layer in the drawings are exaggerated for convenience and clarity of explanation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to drawings that schematically show ideal embodiments of the present invention. In the drawings, variations of the depicted shape may be expected, for example, depending on manufacturing technology and/or tolerances. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the specific shape of the area shown in this specification, but should include, for example, changes in shape resulting from manufacturing.

Figure 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 , the substrate processing apparatus 100 may include a process chamber 110, a plurality of gas injection units 120, a plurality of substrate supports 130, and a plurality of plasma power sources 140. .

The process chamber 110 may have a plurality of reaction spaces 112 formed therein. For example, the reaction spaces 112 may be spaced apart within the process chamber 110 and may be formed to have substantially the same or similar structure. The reaction spaces 112 may define a space for processing the substrates S. In some embodiments, reaction spaces 112 may be arranged within the process chamber 110 to communicate with each other.

The reaction spaces 112 may be arranged within the process chamber 110 to share at least some of the external utilities, for example, arranged in a matrix or arranged in a row. The number of reaction spaces 112 may be appropriately selected considering productivity and process uniformity.

More specifically, the process chamber 110 is configured to maintain airtightness as a whole, and has an entrance for loading or unloading the substrates 50 into or from the reaction spaces 112 and an opening and closing thereof. It may include a gate structure (not shown) to do this. The process chamber 110 may be provided in various shapes, and may include, for example, a side wall portion and a cover portion located on top of the side wall portion, for example, a top lead.

Additionally, a common exhaust 152 may be connected to the process chamber 110 such that it is commonly connected to the reaction spaces 112 . For example, the common exhaust portion 152 may be commonly connected to the exhaust port at the bottom of the reaction spaces 112. Accordingly, the process gas in the reaction spaces 112 can be exhausted through the common exhaust part 152, and further, the common exhaust part 152 is a vacuum pump (not shown) to adjust the degree of vacuum in the reaction spaces 112. ) can be connected to.

Gas injection units 120 may be installed in the process chamber 110 to inject process gas into the reaction spaces 112 . For example, the gas injection units 120 may be installed in the process chamber 110 to face the substrate supports 130 . Each gas injection unit 120 may be installed on the upper part of the process chamber 110 constituting the reaction space 112 to spray process gas on the substrate S seated on the substrate support 130. .

For example, each gas injection unit 120 includes an inlet through which the process gas is introduced, a blocker plate for dispersing the process gas passing through the inlet, and an inlet for injecting the process gas into the reaction space 112. It may include a distribution plate for. The structure of the gas injection units 120 may be modified in various ways and is not limited to this structure.

In some embodiments, each gas injection unit 120 may have various shapes, such as a shower head shape or a nozzle shape. When the gas injection units 120 are in the form of a shower head, the gas injection units 120 may each be coupled to the process chamber 110 in a form that partially covers the upper part of the process chamber 110. For example, the gas injection units 120 may be arranged to be spaced apart from the cover or side wall of the process chamber 110 .

Additionally, a gas supply line 122 may be provided to commonly supply process gas to the gas injection units 120. For example, the gas supply line 122 may be branched and commonly connected to the gas injection units 120. Valves (not shown) that can open and close the supply of process gas may be inserted in the gas supply line 122. A plurality of gas supply lines 122 may be installed depending on the type of process gas. In this case, each gas supply line 122 may be branched and connected to the gas injection units 120. In some embodiments, each gas supply line 122 may be separately connected to the gas injection units 120.

Substrate supports 130 may be installed in the process chamber 110 to support each of the substrates S within the reaction spaces 112 . For example, the substrate supports 130 may be installed in the process chamber 110 to face the gas injection units 120, respectively. Furthermore, each substrate supporter 130 may include a heater 182 therein for heating the substrate S. For example, the heater power supply unit 180 is connected to the heater 182 to apply power to the heater 182, and additionally, an RF filter 185 may be interposed between the heater 182 and the heater power supply unit 180. You can.

The shape of the top plate of each substrate support unit 130 generally corresponds to the shape of the substrate S, but is not limited to this and may be provided in a variety of shapes larger than that of the substrate S so that the substrate S can be stably seated. In one example, the shaft of each substrate support unit 130 may be connected to an external motor (not shown) to enable raising and lowering, and in this case, a bellows pipe (not shown) may be connected to maintain airtightness. Furthermore, since each substrate support portion 130 is configured to place the substrate S thereon, it may also be called a substrate seating portion, a susceptor, etc.

Additionally, RF electrodes 135 for receiving RF power may be installed within the substrate supports 130, respectively. RF power transmitted from the process chamber 110 to the gas injection units 120 may be guided to the ground through the RF electrodes 135. In this regard, each RF electrode 135 may be called a ground electrode. In some embodiments, the RF electrodes 135 may be used as electrostatic electrodes to secure the substrates S onto the substrate supports 130 . In this case, an electrostatic power supply unit may be connected to each RF electrode 135 in a branched manner from the ground unit.

The plasma power sources 140 may be respectively connected to the gas injection units 120 to supply RF powers for forming a plasma atmosphere in the reaction spaces 112 within the process chamber 110 . For example, each plasma power source 140 may include at least one RF power source to apply at least one radio frequency (RF) power to the corresponding reaction space 112 . For example, each plasma power source 140 may be connected to apply RF power to the corresponding gas injection unit 120, and in this case, each gas injection unit 120 may be called a power supply electrode or an upper electrode.

In some embodiments, each plasma power source 140 may include a high frequency (HF) power source and/or a low frequency (LF) power source. For example, the high frequency (HF) power source may be an RF power source with a frequency range from 5 MHz to 60 MHz, optionally from 13.56 MHz to 27.12 MHz. The low frequency (LF) power source may be an RF power source with a frequency range of 100 kHz to 5 MHz, optionally 300 kHz to 600 kHz.

Additionally, a plurality of impedance matching units 146 may be connected between the plasma power sources 140 and the gas injection units 120, respectively. The RF power supplied from each plasma power source 140 can be appropriately impedance matched between each plasma power source 140 and each gas injection unit 120 through the corresponding impedance matching unit 146. In this case, the process chamber It can be effectively transmitted to the process chamber 110 without being reflected at 110 and returning.

For example, each impedance matching unit 146 may be composed of a series or parallel combination of two or more selected from the group of resistors, inductors, and capacitors. Furthermore, each impedance matching unit 146 may adopt at least one variable capacitor or capacitor array switching structure so that its impedance value can be varied according to the frequency of RF power and process conditions.

The plurality of impedance adjustment units 160 may be respectively connected to the RF electrodes 135 within the substrate supports 130. Impedance adjusters 160 may be connected between the RF electrodes 135 and the ground portion to adjust impedance matching between the RF powers provided through the gas injection portions 120 and the substrate supports 130. Accordingly, the control values of the impedance adjusters 160 may be adjusted to adjust the impedance matching of the RF power between the gas injection unit 120 and the substrate supports 130.

For example, each of the impedance adjustment units 160 may include at least one variable capacitor C1. The impedance adjusters 160 may change the actual impedance of the substrate supports 130 viewed from the gas injection unit 120 by changing the capacitance value of the variable capacitor C1. In this case, the control value of the impedance adjusters 160 may be the capacitance value of the variable capacitor C1. For example, the capacitance value of the variable capacitor C1 may be continuously changed by changing the electrode position, or the multi-stage capacitance may be changed by the operating axis in a multi-stage structure.

In some embodiments, the impedance adjusters 160 may further serve as a filter that passes RF power received to the RF electrodes 135. For example, the impedance adjusters 160 may include a high-frequency pass filter and/or a low-frequency pass filter individually or in parallel to pass the high-frequency current and/or low-frequency current received by the RF electrodes 135. there is. More specifically, the impedance adjusters 160 may further include at least one inductor and/or at least one fixed capacitor in addition to the variable capacitor C1.

The controller 190 may control the impedance adjusters 160 to reduce process variation between the reaction spaces 112. For example, the control unit 190 receives the impedance values of the substrate supports 130 and adjusts the control values of the impedance adjusters 160 according to the impedance values to reduce the deviation of the plasma atmosphere within the reaction spaces 110. It can be tuned. The impedance values of the substrate supports 130 may differ due to manufacturing tolerances, etc., and the impedance values can be obtained through the self-reported reports of the substrate supports 130 or by direct measurement.

In some embodiments, the control unit 190 may change the capacitance value of the variable capacitor C1 to tune the impedance matching of each of the impedance adjustment units 160. For example, the control unit 190 controls the quality change tendency of the thin film formed on the substrate supports 130 according to changes in the impedance values of the substrate supports 130 and the variable capacitor C1 of the impedance adjusters 160. ), the capacitance values of the variable capacitors C1 of the impedance adjusters 160 can be set to compensate for the difference in impedance values of the substrate supports 130 through the tendency of thin film quality change according to the change in capacitance value. .

More specifically, the control unit 190 uses the stress change data of the thin film according to the change in the impedance value of each of the substrate supports 130 and the stress change data of the thin film according to the capacitance value of the variable capacitor C1 to respond. The capacitance value of the variable capacitor C1 can be tuned according to the impedance value of each of the substrate supports 130 to reduce the deviation of the plasma atmosphere within the spaces 112.

Meanwhile, the impedance value may be composed of a real part and an imaginary part, and the difference in the real part may be affected by interference, contact, or junction abnormality of the RF lines 142, and the difference in the imaginary part may be influenced by the matching or movement characteristics of RF power. can affect. Considering this, in some embodiments, the control unit 190 may tune the capacitance value of the variable capacitor C1 according to the imaginary part of the impedance value of each of the substrate supports 130.

Accordingly, the difference in plasma atmosphere caused by the difference in impedance values of the substrate supports 130 is compensated by tuning the control value of the impedance adjusters 160, thereby reducing the process deviation between the reaction spaces 112. For example, quality deviation of thin films deposited on the substrates S in the reaction spaces 112 can be reduced, thereby improving process reliability.

In some embodiments, the control unit 190 may first check the management status of the process chamber 110 before adjusting the control values of the impedance adjusters 160. For example, the control unit 190 determines that the reaction chambers 110 are in a normal state when the deviation of the stage impedance values measured at the upper part of the reaction spaces 112 is within the management range and controls the substrate supports 130. ) The control values of the impedance adjusters 160 can be tuned according to the impedance values.

If the deviation of the stage impedance values is outside the management range, the control unit 190 may determine the process chamber 110, for example, the reaction spaces 112, to be in an inspection state. For example, it may be determined that there is a problem in the upper part of the reaction spaces 112, for example, there is a connection problem with the gas injection units 120, or there is a problem with the RF lines 142 connected to the gas injection units 120. It may be judged that something is wrong. In this way, when the process chamber 110, for example, the reaction spaces 112, is determined to be in an inspection state, the stage impedance values are changed after reconnecting the gas injection units 120 or reconfirming the connection of the RF lines 142. You can check the deviation again.

For example, stage impedance values can be measured on the reaction spaces 112 by fixedly installing or temporarily placing the measuring device 162 on the reaction spaces 112 . In some embodiments, stage impedance values can be measured by placing a network analyzer with measurement device 162 on the reaction spaces 112.

As above, by monitoring and maintaining the deviation of stage impedance values before impedance tuning, variables due to component attachment issues in addition to differences in impedance values of the substrate supports 130 can be removed or reduced. For example, in order to regularly inspect the process chamber 110, such as the reaction spaces 112, or perform repair work on the reaction spaces 112, the gas injection units 120 are disassembled and reassembled. In this case, issues such as equipment assembly can be checked in advance by first monitoring the stage impedance values.

For example, the above-described substrate processing apparatus 100 may be used as a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) device to form a thin film on the substrate S.

Below, a method of operating the substrate processing apparatus 100 will be described.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operating method of the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a method for monitoring stage impedance values in the operating method of FIG. 2 .

Referring to FIG. 2, the operating method of the substrate processing apparatus 100 includes a step of receiving impedance values of the substrate supports 130 from the control unit 190 (S10) and operating the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the impedance values of the substrate supports 130. It may include controlling the impedance adjusting units 160 (S30).

As described above, the step S30 of controlling the impedance adjusters 160 controls the impedance adjusters 160 according to the impedance values of the substrate supports 130 to reduce the deviation of the plasma atmosphere within the reaction spaces 112. ) can be tuned. For example, in the step S30 of controlling the impedance adjustment units 160, the control unit 190 determines the stress change data of the thin film according to the change in the impedance value of each of the substrate supports 130 and the capacitance value of the variable capacitor. Using the stress change data of the thin film, the capacitance value of the variable capacitor can be tuned according to the impedance value of each of the substrate supports 130.

In some embodiments, the method of operating the substrate processing apparatus 100 may include monitoring stage impedance values of the reaction spaces 112 (S20) before controlling the impedance adjusters 160 (S30). You can. Furthermore, if the deviation of the stage impedance values is within the management range, the control unit 190 performs a step of controlling the impedance adjustment units 160, and if it is outside the management range, the control unit 190 controls the process chamber 110, such as the reaction spaces 112. ) can be judged by the inspection status.

For example, the control unit 190 may determine whether the real part deviation of the stage impedance values is within a first management range and determine whether the imaginary part deviation is within the second management range. Subsequently, if the real part deviation is outside the first management range, the control unit 190 determines the RF lines 142 between the plasma power sources 140 and the gas injection units 120 to be in an inspection state, and the imaginary part deviation is outside the first management range. If it is outside the second management range, the combination of the gas injection units 120 may be determined to be in an inspection state.

Below, the step (S20) of monitoring stage impedance values will be described in more detail.

Referring to FIG. 3, according to the step S20 of monitoring stage impedance values, a step S21 of measuring stage impedance values at the upper part of the reaction spaces 112 may be performed. The control unit 190 can receive these stage impedance values.

This may be followed by a step (S22) of determining whether the real part deviation (△R) of the stage impedance values is smaller than the first deviation (△R1). If the determination result is positive, a step (S23) of determining whether the imaginary part deviation (△X) is smaller than the 2-1 deviation (△ S25) and the step of measuring stage impedance values (S21) may be followed sequentially.

If the judgment result of step S23 is positive, the response spaces 112 are judged to be normal (S24), and if negative, it is determined whether the imaginary part deviation (△X) is greater than the 2-2 deviation (△X2). Step S26 may follow. If the determination result of step S26 is positive, the gas injection units 120 are checked, and if negative, the RF lines 142 are checked (S25) and the stage impedance values are measured (S21) sequentially. It can lead to

According to the above, the first management range for the real part deviation (△R) is a range smaller than the first deviation (△R1), and the second management range for the imaginary part deviation (△X) is the 2-2 deviation. It may be a range equal to or smaller than (△X2). However, for the second management range, a third management range smaller than the 2-1 deviation (△X1) may be again distinguished.

In some embodiments, the first deviation may be 0.2 ohm, the 2-1st deviation may be 0.4 ohm, and the 3-1st deviation may be 0.8 ohm. However, this is an example and may change depending on the process chamber 110, for example, the reaction spaces 112.

Hereinafter, a method for tuning the impedance of the impedance adjusters 160 will be described through an exemplary experimental example of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing thin film stress according to impedance values of substrate supports in a substrate processing apparatus and method of operating the same according to embodiments of the present invention. In FIG. 4 , the substrate supports 130 of FIG. 1 are indicated as heaters, and the reaction spaces 112 of FIG. 1 are indicated as reaction spaces (STG1, STG2, STG3, and STG4).

Referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the thin film stress varies depending on the impedance deviation of the heaters A and B in the reaction spaces (STG1, STG2, STG3, and STG4), for example, the deviation of the imaginary part. For example, in the reaction spaces (STG1, STG2, STG3, STG4), the thin film stress deviation has a rate of change of about 1 MPa/0.1 ohm to about 1.25 MPa/0.1 ohm with respect to the imaginary part deviation of the impedance of the heaters (A, B). It can be seen that it represents .

Figure 5 is a graph showing thin film stress according to the control value of the impedance adjuster in the substrate processing apparatus and operating method according to embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, it can be seen that the thin film stress changes as the electrode position of the variable capacitor in the impedance adjusting units 160 is adjusted. More specifically, it can be seen that the thin film stress change shows a change rate of about -1.4 MPa/0.1% with respect to the electrode position change.

Therefore, by combining the results of FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, it can be seen that the electrode position change approximately shows a change rate of about -0.1%/0.1 ohm with respect to the impedance deviation of the heaters A and B.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing adjustment of impedance adjustment units according to impedance values of substrate supports in a substrate processing apparatus and method of operating the same according to embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, among the reaction spaces (STG1, STG2, STG3, STG4), for the reaction space (STG2) where the impedance (imaginary part) of the heater is the highest, the impedance (imaginary part) deviation is within the 2-1 management range. The electrode position was not adjusted for the reaction space (STG1), but the electrode position was changed for the other reaction spaces (STG3 and STG4) by considering the above-mentioned change rate. As described above, the change in electrode position for impedance deviation can be obtained by referring to a change rate of approximately -0.1%/0.1 ohm.

According to the above-described substrate processing apparatus 100 and its operating method, when processing the substrates S, the difference in plasma atmosphere due to the difference in impedance values of the substrate supports 130 is adjusted to the control value of the impedance adjusters 160. By tuning and compensating, process deviation between the reaction spaces 112 can be reduced. For example, quality deviation, such as stress difference, of thin films deposited on the substrates S in the reaction spaces 112 can be reduced, thereby improving process reliability.

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

100: substrate processing device
110: Process chamber
112: reaction space
120: gas injection unit
130: substrate support
135: RF electrode
140: Plasma power unit
160: Impedance adjustment unit
190: Control unit

Claims (10)

A process chamber with a plurality of reaction spaces formed therein;
a plurality of substrate supports installed in the process chamber to respectively support a plurality of substrates within the plurality of reaction spaces;
a plurality of gas injection units installed in the process chamber to face each of the plurality of substrate supports to spray process gas into the plurality of reaction spaces;
a plurality of plasma power sources respectively connected to the plurality of gas injection units to supply RF powers for forming a plasma atmosphere in the plurality of reaction spaces;
a plurality of impedance adjustment units each connected to RF electrodes in the plurality of substrate supports and capable of adjusting impedance matching between the RF powers provided through the plurality of gas injection units and the plurality of substrate supports; and
A control unit that receives impedance values of the plurality of substrate supports and tunes control values of the plurality of impedance adjusters according to the impedance values to reduce variation in the plasma atmosphere within the plurality of reaction spaces,
Substrate processing equipment. According to claim 1,
Each of the plurality of impedance adjustment units includes at least one variable capacitor,
The control unit tunes the impedance matching of each of the plurality of impedance adjustment units by changing the capacitance value of the at least one variable capacitor.
Substrate processing equipment. According to claim 1,
The control unit uses stress change data of the thin film according to a change in the impedance value of each of the plurality of substrate supports and stress change data of the thin film according to the capacitance value of the at least one variable capacitor, to Tuning the capacitance value of the at least one variable capacitor according to the impedance value of each of the plurality of substrate supports to reduce the deviation of the plasma atmosphere,
Substrate processing equipment. According to claim 3,
The control unit tunes the capacitance value of the at least one variable capacitor according to the imaginary part of the impedance value of each of the plurality of substrate supporting parts. According to claim 1,
The control unit receives stage impedance values measured at the upper part of the plurality of reaction spaces before adjusting the control values of the plurality of impedance adjustment units, and when the deviation of the stage impedance values is within a management range, the plurality of impedance adjustment units Tuning the control value of
Substrate processing equipment. According to claim 5,
The control unit determines the process chamber to be in an inspection state when the deviation of the stage impedance values is outside the management range.
Substrate processing equipment. According to claim 5,
The control unit determines whether the real part deviation of the stage impedance values is within the first management range and the imaginary part deviation is within the second management range. If the real part deviation is outside the first management range, the plurality of plasma power sources Determining the inspection status for the RF lines between the plurality of gas injection units, and determining the inspection status for the combination of the plurality of gas injection units when the imaginary part deviation is outside the second management range,
Substrate processing equipment. A process chamber with a plurality of reaction spaces formed therein;
a plurality of substrate supports installed in the process chamber to respectively support a plurality of substrates within the plurality of reaction spaces;
a plurality of gas injection units installed in the process chamber to face each of the plurality of substrate supports to spray process gas into the plurality of reaction spaces;
a plurality of plasma power sources each connected to the plurality of gas injection units to supply RF powers for forming a plasma atmosphere in the plurality of reaction spaces;
a plurality of impedance adjustment units each connected to RF electrodes in the plurality of substrate supports and capable of adjusting impedance matching between the RF powers provided through the plurality of gas injection units and the plurality of substrate supports; and
In a method of operating a substrate processing apparatus including a control unit that tunes control values of the plurality of impedance adjustment units,
Receiving impedance values of the plurality of substrate supports from the control unit; and
Comprising the step of the control unit controlling the plurality of impedance adjusting units to tune control values of the plurality of impedance adjusting units according to the impedance values to reduce the deviation of the plasma atmosphere within the plurality of reaction spaces,
Method of operating a substrate processing device. According to claim 8,
Each of the plurality of impedance adjustment units includes at least one variable capacitor,
In the step of controlling the plurality of impedance adjustment units, the control unit controls the stress change data of the thin film according to the change in the impedance value of each of the plurality of substrate supports and the stress change of the thin film according to the capacitance value of the at least one variable capacitor. Using data, tuning the capacitance value of the at least one variable capacitor according to the impedance value of each of the plurality of substrate supports to reduce the deviation of the plasma atmosphere within the plurality of reaction spaces.
Method of operating a substrate processing device. According to claim 8,
Before controlling the plurality of impedance adjusters, it includes monitoring stage impedance values measured at the top of the plurality of reaction spaces,
The control unit performs the step of controlling the plurality of impedance adjustment units when the deviation of the stage impedance values is within a management range.
Method of operating a substrate processing device.