TW202238770A - Examination method of plasma processing apparatus characterized by accurately performing the measurement of the particles on the wafer to be examined - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an examination method of a plasma processing apparatus, which can accurately perform the measurement of the particles on the wafer to be examined. The examination method of the plasma processing apparatus of the embodiment includes: the step that uses the delivering part to deliver the wafer to be examined from the second chamber to the first chamber; the step that supplies gas to the interior of the second chamber after the delivery of using the delivering part to deliver the wafer to be examined into the first chamber is finished; the step that performs a plasma process of the wafer to be examined in the first chamber; the step that uses the delivering part to deliver the wafer to be examined from the first chamber to the second chamber; the step that supplies gas to the interior of the second chamber after the delivery of using the delivering part to deliver the wafer to be examined into the second chamber is finished; and the step that performs a measurement on the particles attached to the wafer to be examined and delivered out of the second chamber.

Description

Inspection method of plasma treatment equipment

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an inspection method of a plasma processing device.

The drying process using plasma is used, for example, in the manufacture of microstructures. For example, in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, flat panel displays, and photomasks, various plasma treatments such as etching, ashing, and damage removal are performed.

The plasma treatment device for performing such plasma treatment is provided with, for example, a process chamber for performing plasma treatment on the object to be processed, a transfer chamber connected to the process chamber through a gate valve, and a transfer chamber installed inside the transfer chamber. And the transfer manipulator that transfers the processed objects between the process chamber and the like. In addition, in order to maintain the pressure-reduced gas atmosphere inside the transfer chamber, a load-lock chamber connected to the transfer chamber via a gate valve may also be provided.

In the plasma treatment device, plasma treatment is performed in a process chamber. When the plasma treatment is repeated, particles derived from the reaction product produced by the plasma treatment may be generated. When the generated particles fall to the surface of the object to be processed and adhere to the surface of the object to be processed, the yield will decrease.

Additionally, particles are not necessarily generated only within the process chamber. For example, it is generated by the action of the transfer robot in the transfer chamber, or it is mixed in when the processed objects are carried into the load lock chamber from the external space, or it is generated by the opening and closing of the gate valves connecting the chambers.

Therefore, it is necessary to start the treatment after confirming whether or not particles are generated before treating the treated object. Alternatively, when it is found that a defect due to particles has occurred, it is necessary to find out in which chamber the particles are generated. Therefore, for the inspection of the state in the processing chamber, there is known a method in which an inspection wafer different from the product wafer is transported to the processing chamber as the inspection object, and the particles on the inspection wafer are processed. Measurement is performed to check the state of the processing chamber (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

However, when the state in the inspection chamber is inspected, it may not be possible to accurately measure the particles on the inspection wafer. Therefore, it is desired to develop a technology capable of accurately measuring particles on an inspection wafer when inspecting the state in the chamber. [Prior art literature] [Patent Document]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-179528

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an inspection method of a plasma processing apparatus that can accurately measure particles on an inspection wafer when inspecting the state in a chamber.

[Technical means to solve the problem] The inspection method of the plasma processing apparatus according to the embodiment is an inspection method of the plasma processing apparatus including: a first chamber, which maintains a relatively high pressure decompressed gas environment, and can place a processing object inside. The first exhaust part can depressurize the inside of the first chamber to a predetermined pressure; the plasma generation part can generate the plasma; the first gas supply part can supply the gas to the first chamber. The process gas is supplied inside and for the region where the plasma is generated; the second chamber is connected to the first chamber through a gate valve, and can maintain a relatively high pressure decompressed gas environment; the conveying part is arranged in the second chamber. The interior of the chamber is capable of transporting the object to be processed between the first chamber and the second exhaust unit, which is capable of depressurizing the interior of the second chamber to a predetermined pressure; the second gas supply unit, A gas can be supplied to the inside of the second chamber; and a controller can control the conveyance unit, the second exhaust unit, and the second gas supply unit. The inspection method of the plasma processing apparatus includes a first particle measurement step including: carrying out inspection wafers from the second chamber to the first chamber by the transfer unit. During the conveyance of the second chamber, the step of controlling the second exhaust unit so that the pressure inside the second chamber becomes substantially equal to the pressure inside the first chamber; a step of controlling the second gas supply unit to supply the gas into the second chamber when the transfer of the inspection wafer to the first chamber is completed; a step of performing plasma processing in the first chamber; when the inspection wafer is transferred from the first chamber to the second chamber by the transfer unit, controlling the second row an air part, a step of making the pressure inside the second chamber substantially equal to the pressure inside the first chamber; when the transfer of the chamber is completed, controlling the second gas supply unit to supply the gas into the second chamber; Round particles are measured in steps.

[Effect of the invention] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an inspection method of a plasma processing apparatus capable of accurately measuring particles on an inspection wafer when inspecting a state in a chamber.

FIG. 1 is a layout diagram illustrating a plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The details of each unit of the plasma processing apparatus 1 will be described later. First, the inventors of the present invention found the following through experiments using the plasma processing apparatus 1 . That is, the inventors of the present invention confirmed the presence or absence of particles inside the plasma processing apparatus 1 . More specifically, the present inventors measured the particles in each of the load-lock unit 5 , the processing unit 6 , and the transfer unit 7 using the inspection wafer 100 a.

Therefore, the number of particles adhering to the inspection wafer 100 a inside the transfer unit 7 may be greater than the number of particles adhering to the inspection wafer 100 a inside the processing unit 6 . Usually, the number of particles adhering to the processing unit 6 increases. In the case of measuring the particles inside the processing unit 6 , the inspection wafer 100 a needs to pass through the inside of the transfer unit 7 . That is, when particles are generated inside the transfer unit 7 , the particles should also adhere to the inspection wafer 100 a used for measuring the particles inside the processing unit 6 .

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention also performed the measurement of the particles inside the transfer unit 7 several times. Then, it was found that the number of particles adhering to the inspection wafer 100 a may increase or not increase compared with the processing unit 6 , and the measurement of the particles may not be performed accurately.

The inventors of the present invention have diligently investigated the inspection wafer 100a in which the number of adhered particles is increased. Then, it was found that water marks were formed on the surface of the inspection wafer 100a. That is, water marks are recognized as particles and counted. When finding out where particles are generated, if water marks are mistaken for particles, the location of particle generation cannot be accurately determined. Alternatively, there is a possibility that the productivity of the device may be lowered by performing maintenance on parts that do not require maintenance.

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention investigated the components of water marks. Then it was found out that the main component of the water mark was C ₁₆ H ₃₀ O ₄ . As a result of diligent investigation of the above-mentioned C ₁₆ H ₃₀ O ₄ , it was found that it is a component of a sealing member for preventing gas from flowing into each of the load-lock unit 5 , the processing unit 6 , and the transfer unit 7 .

Figure 2 is the vapor pressure curve of C ₁₆ H ₃₀ O ₄ . C ₁₆ H ₃₀ O ₄ is a component contained in a large amount in sealing members such as O-rings. Note that points B1 and B2 in FIG. 2 are measured values, and dotted lines in FIG. 2 are approximate curves based on points B1 and B2.

In the region on the lower side of the vapor pressure curve, the components of C ₁₆ H ₃₀ O ₄ are easily evaporated, and in the region on the upper side of the vapor pressure curve, the components of C ₁₆ H ₃₀ O ₄ are not easily evaporated. For example, if the temperature inside the delivery part 7 is set to 50°C, then when the value of the pressure inside the delivery part 7 is lower than the value of the pressure at which the vapor pressure curve of FIG. 2 intersects the scale line of 50°C, The components of C ₁₆ H ₃₀ O ₄ evaporate easily. _On the contrary, when the pressure value inside the delivery part ₇ is higher _than the value of the pressure at which the vapor pressure curve in FIG. .

That is, when the particle measurement of the delivery part 7 is performed, if the pressure inside the delivery part 7 is in the upper region of the vapor pressure curve, release of components of the sealing member can be suppressed.

In other words, since the inside of the processing unit 6 is exposed to plasma, the processing unit 6 may be heated from 80°C to about 100°C. In such a case, since the delivery part 7 is connected to the processing part 6, the temperature of the delivery part 7 also rises to about 50 degreeC - 70 degreeC.

According to the vapor pressure curve in FIG. 2 , after the object to be processed 100 is transported to the inside of the processing unit 6, if the pressure inside the delivery unit 7 is set at 5×10 ^-3 Pa or more, even if the temperature of the delivery unit 7 is 50°C Left or right, the evaporation of C ₁₆ H ₃₀ O ₄ components can also be suppressed.

However, depending on the type of plasma treatment, treatment conditions, etc., the temperature of the transfer portion 7 may further increase. As a result of studies conducted by the inventors of the present invention, the following first knowledge was obtained: if the pressure inside the transfer portion 7 is set at 1×10 ⁻¹ Pa or more, even if the type of plasma treatment or treatment conditions are changed, the plasma treatment can be performed. Evaporation of components of C ₁₆ H ₃₀ O ₄ is almost eliminated.

In other words, the sealing member used in the processing unit 6 is the same as the sealing member used in the transfer unit 7 . In addition, the pressure inside the processing part 6 is maintained at such a pressure that the components of the sealing member can evaporate during periods other than the plasma processing. Therefore, the component of the sealing member evaporates and is released into the processing unit 6 , which may adhere to the processed object 100 . However, the inventors conducted diligent investigations and found that the probability of internal contamination (evaporated sealing member components) adhesion in the transfer portion 7 is higher than that of the processing portion 6 .

As a result of research by the inventors of the present invention, it is considered that the reason for this is that the process gas is introduced into the processing part 6 in order to perform the plasma treatment, so the pollutants (components of the evaporated sealing member) are discharged from the processing part together with the process gas. 6's internal discharge. That is, the following second insight has been obtained: even if the pressure inside the transfer portion 7 is set to be below the pressure at which the components of the sealing member can evaporate, by introducing gas into the transfer portion 7, contamination (the amount of the evaporated sealing member) can be suppressed. component) attached to the treatment 100.

Originally, as described above, in order to suppress the release of components of the sealing member, it is preferable that the pressure inside the transfer portion 7 also be a pressure included in the upper region of the vapor pressure curve during conveyance. However, when plasma processing is performed on the processed object 100 in the processing part 6, in order to eliminate the influence of residual gas, the pressure inside the processing part 6 is set to be between 1×10 ^-3 Pa and 5×10 ^-3 Pa. Introduce process gas after pressure. When the object to be processed 100 is transported to the processing unit 6, when the pressure inside the transfer unit 7 becomes a pressure (for example, 1×10 ⁻¹ Pa) included in the region on the upper side of the vapor pressure curve, the gas from the transfer unit 7 flows into the processing part 6, and the pressure of the processing part 6 rises to the same level as the pressure inside the transfer part 7.

When the pressure of the processing unit 6 rises to the same level as the pressure in the upper region of the vapor pressure curve, the time to wait for the pressure to drop to a predetermined value becomes longer, and the processing time of the processing unit 6 becomes longer. In addition, there is a possibility that particles may fly inside the processing part 6 due to the pressure difference between the pressure inside the transfer part 7 and the pressure inside the processing part 6 . Therefore, when the processed object 100 is delivered between the delivery unit 7 and the processing unit 6 , the pressure of the delivery unit 7 is temporarily set to be a pressure included in the lower region of the vapor pressure curve.

The inventors of the present invention have found from the above-mentioned first and second findings that if the pressure inside the delivery part 7 is placed in the upper region of the vapor pressure curve before and after the conveyance of the processed object 100, the composition of the sealing member will be suppressed. Simultaneously with the release, the pollutants (components of the evaporated sealing member) can be suppressed from adhering to the object to be processed 100 .

When performing the inspection of the plasma processing apparatus 1 , it is preferable to perform the inspection under the same conditions as the actual processing of the object 100 to be processed by the plasma processing apparatus 1 . The inventors of the present invention discovered an inspection method for accurately measuring particles based on the first and second findings, and completed the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be illustrated with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each drawing, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected to the same component, and detailed description is abbreviate|omitted suitably.

FIG. 1 is a layout diagram illustrating a plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1 , the plasma processing apparatus 1 includes, for example, a controller 2 , a storage unit 3 , a transport unit 4 , a load-lock unit 5 , a processing unit 6 , and a transfer unit 7 .

The controller 2 includes, for example, a computing unit such as a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), and a storage unit such as a memory. The controller 2 is, for example, a computer or the like. The controller 2 controls the operation of each element provided in the plasma processing apparatus 1 based on, for example, a control program stored in a storage unit.

The storage unit 3 stores the processed objects 100 in a stacked shape (multi-stage shape), for example. The storage unit 3 is, for example, a so-called pod or a front-opening unified pod (Front-Opening Unified Pod, FOUP) as a front-opening carrier. However, the accommodating part 3 is not limited to illustration, What is necessary is just as long as the object to be processed 100 can be accommodated. At least one storage part 3 may be provided.

The transport unit 4 is provided between the storage unit 3 and the load-lock unit 5 . The transport unit 4 transports and delivers the processed object 100 between the storage unit 3 and the load-lock unit 5 . In this case, the conveyance part 4 conveys and delivers the processed object 100 in the environment of the pressure (for example, atmospheric pressure) higher than the pressure at the time of plasma processing. The conveying unit 4 is, for example, a conveying robot having an arm holding the object to be processed 100 .

The load-lock unit 5 is provided between the conveyance unit 4 and the delivery unit 7 . The load-lock unit 5 transfers the processed object 100 between the transfer unit 4 and the transfer unit 7 having different gas atmosphere pressures. Therefore, the load lock unit 5 includes a chamber 51 , an exhaust unit 52 , and a gas supply unit 53 .

The chamber 51 has an airtight structure capable of maintaining a depressurized gas environment at a relatively high pressure. An opening for loading and unloading the processed object 100 is provided on the side wall of the chamber 51 . Moreover, the gate valve 51a which opens and closes an opening is provided. The chamber 51 is connected to the chamber 71 (corresponding to an example of the second chamber) of the transfer unit 7 via the gate valve 51 a.

The exhaust unit 52 exhausts the inside of the chamber 51 so that the pressure inside the chamber 51 reaches a degree of vacuum substantially equal to the pressure inside the chamber 71 of the transfer unit 7 . The exhaust unit 52 may include, for example, a turbo molecular pump (Turbo Molecular Pump, TMP), a pressure control unit (auto pressure controller (Auto Pressure Controller, APC)), and the like. It should be noted that the attained vacuum degrees are substantially equal, and the difference between the attained vacuum degrees of the pressures inside the chamber 51 and the chamber 71 is within 5×10 ⁻² Pa.

The gas supply unit 53 supplies gas into the chamber 51 so that the pressure inside the chamber 51 becomes substantially equal to the pressure of the conveyance unit 4 . The gas to be supplied can be, for example, air, nitrogen, or the like.

The processing unit 6 performs plasma processing on the object to be processed 100 in a gas environment with a relatively high pressure and reduced pressure. The processing unit 6 may be, for example, a plasma processing device such as a plasma etching device, a plasma ashing device, a sputtering device, or a plasma chemical vapor deposition (Chemical Vapor Deposition, CVD) device. In this case, the method of generating plasma is not particularly limited, and for example, plasma may be generated using high frequency, microwaves, or the like. However, the type of plasma processing apparatus and the method of generating plasma are not limited to the illustrations. That is, the processing unit 6 may perform the plasma processing on the object to be processed 100 in a relatively large-pressure depressurized gas environment.

In addition, the number of processing units 6 is also not particularly limited. It is only necessary to provide at least one processing unit 6 . When a plurality of processing units 6 are installed, the same type of plasma processing apparatus may be installed, or different types of plasma processing apparatus may be installed. In addition, when a plurality of plasma processing apparatuses of the same type are installed, the processing conditions may be different or the same.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of the processing unit 6 . The processing unit 6 illustrated in FIG. 3 is an inductively coupled plasma processing device. That is, it is an example of a plasma processing apparatus that generates a plasma product from process gas G using plasma P excited and generated by high-frequency energy, and processes the object 100 to be processed.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the processing unit 6 includes, for example: a chamber 61 (equivalent to an example of a first chamber), a mounting portion 62, an antenna 63, a high-frequency power supply 64a, a high-frequency power supply 64b, and a gas supply unit 65 (equivalent to an example of a first chamber). An example of the first gas supply unit), the exhaust unit 66 (corresponding to an example of the first exhaust unit), and the like.

The chamber 61 has, for example, a substantially cylindrical shape with a bottom, and has an airtight structure capable of maintaining a depressurized gas atmosphere at a relatively high pressure. In the upper part of the chamber 61, a transmissive window 61a is provided in an airtight manner. The transmission window 61a has a plate shape and can be formed of a material that has a high transmittance to high-frequency energy and is not easily etched during plasma treatment. The transmission window 61a can be formed of a dielectric material such as quartz, for example.

An opening 61b for carrying in and carrying out the processed object 100 is provided on the side wall of the chamber 61 . Moreover, the gate valve 61c which opens and closes the opening 61b is provided. The chamber 61 is connected to the chamber 71 of the delivery part 7 via the gate valve 61c.

The loading unit 62 is provided inside the chamber 61 . The object to be processed 100 is placed on the upper surface of the placing unit 62 . In this case, the object to be processed 100 may be placed directly on the upper surface of the placement unit 62 , or may be placed on the placement unit 62 via a support member (not shown). In addition, a holding device such as an electrostatic chuck may be provided on the mounting portion 62 .

The antenna 63 supplies high-frequency energy (electromagnetic energy) to a region where the plasma P is generated inside the chamber 61 . Plasma P is generated by high-frequency energy supplied to the inside of the chamber 61 . For example, the antenna 63 supplies high-frequency energy to the inside of the chamber 61 through the transmission window 61a.

The high-frequency power supply 64a is electrically connected to the antenna 63 via a matching unit 64a1. The matching unit 64a1 is provided with a matching circuit and the like for matching the impedance on the high-frequency power source 64a side and the impedance on the plasma P side. The high-frequency power supply 64a is a power supply for generating plasma P. That is, the high-frequency power supply 64 a is provided to generate the plasma P by generating a high-frequency discharge inside the chamber 61 . The high-frequency power supply 64 a applies high-frequency power having a frequency of about 100 KHz to 100 MHz to the antenna 63 . In the present embodiment, the antenna 63 and the high-frequency power supply 64a serve as a plasma generation unit that generates plasma P.

The high-frequency power supply 64b is electrically connected to the mounting portion 62 via a matching unit 64b1. The matching unit 64b1 is provided with a matching circuit and the like for matching the impedance of the high-frequency power supply 64b side and the impedance of the plasma P side. The high-frequency power supply 64 b controls the energy of ions introduced into the object to be processed 100 placed on the mounting unit 62 . The high-frequency power supply 64 b applies high-frequency power having a relatively low frequency (for example, 13.56 MHz or less) suitable for introducing ions to the mounting portion 62 .

The gas supply unit 65 supplies the process gas G to a region where the plasma P is generated inside the chamber 61 through the flow rate control unit 65 a. The flow rate control unit 65 a can be, for example, a mass flow controller (Mass Flow Controller, MFC) or the like. For example, the gas supply part 65 may be connected to the side wall of the chamber 61 in the vicinity of the transmission window 61a.

The process gas G is appropriately selected according to the type of processing, the material of the processing surface of the object to be processed 100 , and the like. For example, in the case of etching, the process gas G containing fluorine atoms such as CF ₄ or CF ₃ may be used to generate highly reactive radicals. In this case, the process gas G may be, for example, a gas containing only fluorine atoms, or a mixed gas of a gas containing fluorine atoms and a rare gas.

The exhaust unit 66 decompresses the inside of the chamber 61 to a predetermined pressure. The exhaust unit 66 may be, for example, a turbomolecular pump (TMP). The exhaust part 66 may be connected to the bottom surface of the chamber 61 via the pressure control part 66a. The pressure control unit 66 a controls the inside of the chamber 61 to a predetermined pressure based on the output of a pressure gauge (not shown) that detects the pressure inside the chamber 61 . The pressure control unit 66 a may be, for example, an automatic pressure controller (APC: Auto Pressure Controller) or the like.

When plasma processing is performed on the object 100 to be processed, the inside of the chamber 61 is decompressed to a predetermined pressure by the exhaust unit 66, and a predetermined amount of process gas is supplied from the gas supply unit 65 to the region where the plasma P is generated inside the chamber 61. Gas G (eg, CF ₄ etc.). On the other hand, a predetermined high-frequency power is applied to the antenna 63 from the high-frequency power source 64a, and electromagnetic energy is radiated into the chamber 61 through the transmission window 61a. Further, high frequency power of predetermined power is applied from high frequency power supply 64 b to mounting portion 62 on which object to be processed 100 is placed, thereby forming an electric field that accelerates ions from plasma P toward object to be processed 100 .

The plasma P is generated by the electromagnetic energy radiated into the chamber 61 , and the process gas G is excited and activated by the generated plasma P to generate plasma products such as neutral active species and ions. Then, by supplying the generated plasma product to the processed object 100 , plasma treatment is performed on the processed object 100 .

In addition, although the inductively coupled plasma (Inductively Coupled Plasma, ICP) processing apparatus was demonstrated as an example of a processing part above, a processing part is not limited to these plasma processing apparatuses. For example, the processing part may be a capacitively coupled plasma (Capacitively Coupled Plasma, CCP) processing device (for example, a parallel plate type (Reactive Ion Etching (RIE)) device) or the like. Alternatively, it may also be a microwave-excited plasma treatment device (for example, a remote plasma device (Chemical Dry Etching (CDE) device), a surface wave plasma (Surface Wave Plasma, SWP) device, etc. In addition, Known techniques can be applied to the basic structure of other plasma processing apparatuses, and thus detailed descriptions are omitted.

Next, the transfer unit 7 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1 , the transfer unit 7 is disposed between the processing unit 6 and the load-lock unit 5 . The transfer unit 7 transfers the processed object 100 between the processing unit 6 and the load-lock unit 5 .

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view for illustrating the transfer portion 7 . In addition, FIG. 4 is an A-A sectional view of the transfer portion 7 in FIG. 1 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the transfer unit 7 includes: a chamber 71, a transfer unit 72, an exhaust unit 73 (corresponding to an example of a second exhaust unit), and a gas supply unit 74 (corresponding to an example of a second gas supply unit). ).

The chamber 71 has an airtight structure capable of maintaining a depressurized gas environment at a relatively high pressure. The chamber 71 is connected to the chamber 61 via the gate valve 61c.

The transport unit 72 is provided inside the chamber 71 . The transport unit 72 transfers the processed object 100 between the processing unit 6 and the load-lock unit 5 . For example, the transport unit 72 transports (carries in and out) the processed object 100 with the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 . The conveyance unit 72 can be, for example, a conveyance robot (for example, a articulated robot) having an arm that holds the object to be processed 100 .

The exhaust unit 73 decompresses the inside of the chamber 71 to a predetermined pressure. The exhaust part 73 can be connected to the bottom surface of the chamber 71 via the pressure control part 66a, for example. The exhaust portion 73 may be, for example, the same as the exhaust portion 66 described above. The pressure control unit 66 a controls the pressure inside the chamber 71 to a predetermined pressure based on the output of a pressure gauge (not shown) that detects the pressure inside the chamber 71 .

Here, as described above, the process gas G used in the plasma treatment includes, for example, a highly reactive gas such as a gas containing fluorine atoms. When the highly reactive gas flows from the interior of the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 to the interior of the chamber 71 of the delivery unit 7, the highly reactive gas may react with the components exposed to the interior of the chamber 71 to generate pollutants. Yu.

In addition, by-products generated during plasma processing may adhere to the inner wall of the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 or elements exposed inside the chamber 61 . Therefore, if an airflow flowing from the inside of the chamber 61 of the processing part 6 toward the inside of the chamber 71 of the transfer part 7 is formed, the by-products peeled off from the inner wall of the chamber 61 of the processing part 6, etc. will be released along with the airflow. There is a risk of intrusion into the chamber 71 of the delivery part 7 . The by-products intruding into the chamber 71 of the transfer unit 7 become pollutants to the processed object 100 .

Therefore, when the processed object 100 is carried into or unloaded from the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6, the exhaust unit 73 cooperates with the pressure control unit 66a installed in the chamber 71 to The pressure inside the chamber 71 is made substantially equal to the pressure inside the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 . For example, the pressure inside the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 can be set to about 1×10 ^-3 Pa to 1×10 ^-2 Pa.

In this case, the pressure inside the chamber 71 of the transfer unit 7 is substantially equal to the pressure inside the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6, which means that the pressure inside the chamber 71 is at the same pressure as the pressure inside the chamber 61. to a range of a pressure 5×10 ⁻² Pa higher than the same pressure as the pressure inside the chamber 61 . In this way, it is possible to effectively suppress the intrusion of highly reactive gas or by-products into the chamber 71 of the transfer portion 7 .

In addition, if the pressure inside the chamber 71 is too high, due to the air flow from the chamber 71 toward the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6, the by-products attached to the inner wall of the chamber 61 are peeled off, or the by-products float on the surface. The interior of the chamber 61 is at risk. Therefore, when carrying in and carrying out the processed object 100 from the processing unit 6 , the pressure inside the chamber 71 is preferably set at about 8×10 ⁻³ Pa to 5×10 ⁻² Pa. In addition, the pressure inside the chamber 71 of the transfer unit 7 is determined to be slightly higher than the pressure inside the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 within the above pressure range.

The pressure control of the chamber 71 can be performed by the exhaust part 73 and the pressure control part 66a, but it is difficult to rapidly increase the reduced pressure. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the delivery part 7 of this embodiment is provided with the gas supply part 74. As shown in FIG. The gas supply part 74 supplies the gas G1 to the inside of the chamber 71 via the flow rate control part 74a. The flow control unit 74a can be, for example, a mass flow controller (MFC) or the like.

The gas G1 may be, for example, a gas that does not easily react with the object to be processed 100 or elements exposed to the inside of the chamber 71 . For example, the gas G1 may be a rare gas such as nitrogen or argon, or a mixed gas thereof.

In addition, the gas G1 is supplied to control the pressure inside the chamber 71 , and the control amount of the pressure is also small, so the amount of the gas G1 supplied to the inside of the chamber 71 is small. For example, the flow rate of the gas G1 is not less than 10 sccm and not more than 1000 sccm.

The processed object 100 is transported from the storage unit 3 to the inside of the processing unit 6 via the load-lock unit 5 and the transfer unit 7 . The processed object 100 conveyed to the inside of the processing unit 6 is subjected to plasma processing. The plasma-treated object 100 is returned to the storage unit 3 via the load-lock unit 5 and the transfer unit 7 . Then, the next processed object 100 is similarly subjected to plasma processing. Through the plasma processing apparatus 1 performing the above-mentioned operations, the processing of the processed object 100 proceeds.

In addition, if the plasma treatment is repeated, there is a possibility that particles derived from the reaction product generated by the plasma treatment may be generated. When the generated particles fall to the surface of the object to be processed and adhere to the surface of the object to be processed, the yield will decrease.

Additionally, particles are not necessarily generated only within the process chamber. For example, it is generated by the action of the transfer robot in the transfer chamber, or it is mixed in when the processed objects are carried into the load lock chamber from the external space, or it is generated by the opening and closing of the gate valves connecting the chambers.

Therefore, it is necessary to periodically check whether or not particles are generated in the plasma processing apparatus 1 .

Next, an inspection method of the plasma processing apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 5 is a timing chart for illustrating the supply of gas G1 during the inspection of the plasma processing apparatus including the first particle measurement step. In addition, when executing the particle measurement step, the operator operates an input device such as an operation panel of the controller 2 to switch the control mode of the plasma processing apparatus 1 to the inspection mode (particle measurement mode). In the inspection mode, an action corresponding to the inspection object can also be selected. For example, it is possible to select the operation of performing the particle measurement of the processing unit 6 , the operation of performing the particle measurement of the transfer unit 7 , and the like. The example in FIG. 5 is an example in which the operation for performing particle measurement by the processing unit 6 is selected.

T1 in FIG. 5 is the timing at which loading of the processed object 100 from the chamber 71 of the transfer unit 7 to the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 starts. T2 in FIG. 5 is the timing at which the unloading of the processed object 100 from the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 to the chamber 71 of the transfer unit 7 starts.

When there is no object 100 to be processed, the plasma processing apparatus 1 is in a standby state. When the plasma processing apparatus 1 is in the standby state, the inside of the chamber 51 of the load-lock unit 5 is exhausted by the exhaust unit 52 to maintain a pressure of about 1×10 ^-2 Pa to 1×10 ^-1 Pa. pressure. In this embodiment, it is, for example, 5×10 ^-2 Pa. The pressure inside the chamber 71 of the delivery unit 7 is maintained at a pressure of 5×10 ⁻³ Pa or higher which suppresses the evaporation of components of C ₁₆ H ₃₀ O ₄ . Specifically, the controller 2 controls the pressure control unit 66a attached to the chamber 71 so that the pressure inside the chamber 71 becomes 5×10 ⁻ Pressure above ³ Pa. The inside of the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 is exhausted by the exhaust unit 66 to maintain a pressure of 1×10 ⁻³ Pa to 1×10 ⁻² Pa. In this embodiment, it is, for example, 1×10 ^-3 Pa.

When the plasma processing apparatus 1 is inspected, the pressure inside the chamber 51 of the load-lock unit 5 is exhausted so that the pressure inside the chamber 51 becomes the same pressure as the atmospheric pressure. The transfer unit 4 takes out the inspection wafer 100 a inside the storage unit 3 and carries it into the chamber 51 of the load-lock unit 5 ( FIG. 5 ( 1 )). That is, the controller 2 controls the transfer unit 4 to take out the inspection wafer 100 a from the storage position of the inspection wafer stored in advance in the storage unit 3 by switching to the inspection mode.

After the inspection wafer 100 a is carried into the chamber 51 , the chamber 51 is depressurized. After the inside of the chamber 51 is decompressed to a predetermined pressure, the gas G1 is supplied from the gas supply unit 74 to the inside of the chamber 71 so that the pressure inside the chamber 71 becomes 1×10 ⁻¹ Pa or more. In addition, the predetermined pressure is a pressure of 1×10 ^-2 Pa or more and less than 1×10 ^-1 Pa. In this embodiment, it is, for example, 5×10 ^-2 Pa. When the pressure inside the chamber 51 and the pressure inside the chamber 71 reach the above-mentioned pressure, the gate valve 51a is opened. Then, the inspection wafer 100 a is carried into the chamber 71 by the transfer unit 72 (( 2 ) in FIG. 5 ).

The chamber 51 communicates with the space outside the plasma processing apparatus 1 . Therefore, the air in the external space is taken into the chamber 51 when the inspection wafer 100 a is transported. The air in the external space may contain water vapor or particles. By setting the pressure inside the chamber 71 higher than the pressure inside the chamber 51 , it is possible to suppress the inflow of water vapor or particles from the chamber 51 into the chamber 71 .

After the inspection wafer 100a is transferred into the chamber 71, the gate valve 51a is closed. When the gate valve 51a is closed, the supply of the gas G1 to the inside of the chamber 71 is stopped. In addition, the reduced pressure inside the chamber 51 is maintained. When the pressure inside the chamber 71 reaches, for example, 5×10 ^-2 Pa, the gate valve 61c is opened. Then, the inspection wafer 100 a is carried into the chamber 61 by the transfer unit 72 ( T1 in FIG. 5 ).

In the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 , a plasma product is generated from a highly reactive gas using plasma, and the processing object 100 is processed. Therefore, highly reactive gas may remain inside the chamber 61 or by-products generated during plasma processing may adhere to the inner wall of the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 or the like. If the pressure inside the chamber 71 is substantially equal to the pressure inside the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 , it is possible to suppress the intrusion of highly reactive gas or by-products into the chamber 71 of the transfer unit 7 .

After the inspection wafer 100a is carried into the chamber 61, the gate valve 61c is closed. The period from opening the gate valve 61c to closing the gate valve 61c is defined as a carrying-in period T1a of the inspection wafer 100a. When the gate valve 61c is closed, the gas G1 is supplied from the gas supply part 74 to the inside of the chamber 71 . Thus, the pressure inside the chamber 71 is maintained at 1×10 ⁻¹ Pa or higher.

After reducing the pressure inside the chamber 61 to a predetermined pressure, the gas supply unit 65 is controlled to supply the process gas G until the pressure inside the chamber 61 becomes a pressure for plasma processing. The pressure for plasma treatment is about 1×10 ^-1 Pa to 10 Pa. In this embodiment, it is 1 Pa, for example. In addition, the so-called predetermined pressure is 1×10 ^-3 Pa to 1×10 ^-2 Pa.

After the pressure inside the chamber 61 reaches the pressure for plasma processing, a high-frequency voltage is applied from the high-frequency power source 64 a to the antenna 63 to generate plasma P. Then, the plasma P is maintained for the same time as the time for processing the object 100 to be processed.

After the plasma treatment is completed, the application of the high-frequency voltage from the high-frequency power source 64a and the supply of the process gas G are stopped. The inside of the chamber 61 is decompressed to a pressure of 1×10 ^-3 Pa to 1×10 ^-2 Pa. In the present embodiment, the pressure inside the chamber 61 is reduced to, for example, 1×10 ⁻³ Pa.

When the pressure inside the chamber 61 reaches 1×10 ⁻³ Pa, the supply of the gas G1 from the gas supply unit 74 is stopped. Then, when the pressure inside the chamber 71 becomes, for example, 5×10 ⁻² Pa, the gate valve 61 c is opened. The inspection wafer 100 a is carried out from the chamber 61 by the transfer unit 72 ( T2 in FIG. 5 ).

After the inspection wafer 100 a is transferred into the chamber 71 by the transfer unit 72 , the gate valve 61 c is closed. The period from opening the gate valve 61c to closing the gate valve 61c is defined as a carry-out period T2a of the inspection wafer 100a. After the unloading period T2a, the gas G1 is supplied from the gas supply unit 74 to the inside of the chamber 71 .

When the pressure inside the chamber 71 becomes 1×10 ⁻¹ Pa or higher, the gate valve 51 a is opened, and the inspection wafer 100 a is transferred to the chamber 51 by the transfer unit 72 ( FIG. 5 ( 4 )).

After the inspection wafer 100a is transferred into the chamber 51, the gate valve 51a is closed. In the transfer unit 7 , the supply of the gas G1 to the inside of the chamber 71 is stopped. The pressure inside the chamber 71 is maintained at 1×10 ⁻² Pa or more by reducing the exhaust volume of the exhaust unit 73 by the pressure control unit 66 a attached to the chamber 71 . Alternatively, the pressure inside the chamber 71 is maintained at 1×10 ⁻² Pa or higher by adjusting the flow rate of the gas G1 . In the load lock unit 5 , the inside of the chamber 51 is exhausted so that the pressure inside the chamber 51 is atmospheric pressure. After the pressure inside the chamber 51 has reached the same level as the atmospheric pressure, the inspection wafer 100a is taken out from the inside of the chamber 51 by the transfer unit 4, and stored in the original storage position of the storage unit 3 ((5) in FIG. ). Then, the number of particles adhering to the inspection wafer 100a was measured. For example, the inspection wafer 100a is transported to a particle measuring device (not shown) with the inspection wafer 100a placed in the storage unit 3, and the number of particles adhering to the inspection wafer 100a is measured by the particle measuring device.

As described above, during the loading period T1a of the inspection wafer 100a after T1 and the unloading period T2a of the inspection wafer 100a after T2, the pressure of the delivery part 7 is temporarily set to be included in the vapor pressure curve of FIG. 2 . pressure in the area of the underside. Specifically, when the gate valve 61 c is opened, the gas inside the chamber 71 flows into the processing unit 6 . Therefore, the pressure inside the chamber 71 is reduced to be substantially equal to the pressure inside the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 (eg, 1×10 ⁻³ Pa, which is a predetermined pressure immediately before plasma processing). Therefore, in the carrying-in period T1a and the carrying-out period T2a, the components of the sealing member evaporate and are released into the inside of the chamber 71 . In addition, "approximately equal" at this time means that the pressure inside the chamber 71 is from the same pressure as the pressure inside the chamber 61 to 5×10 ^-2 Pa higher than the pressure equal to the pressure inside the chamber 61 . range of pressure.

However, after the carry-in period T1a and the carry-out period T2a pass, the gate valve 61c closes between the chamber 71 of the transfer unit 7 and the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 . Then, the gas G1 is supplied into the chamber 71 of the delivery part 7 through the gas supply part 74 so that the pressure inside the chamber 71 is 5×10 ⁻³ Pa or higher, preferably 1×10 ⁻¹ Pa or higher. Therefore, evaporation of components of the sealing member can be suppressed.

In addition, even if the pressure inside the chamber 71 of the transfer unit 7 and the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 is set below the pressure at which the components of the sealing member can evaporate, the contamination can be suppressed by introducing gas into the transfer unit 7. (The evaporated sealing member component) adheres to the inspection wafer 100 a. The insides of the chamber 71 and the chamber 61 are exhausted so as to maintain a predetermined depressurized gas environment. The exhaust speed (L/min) of the exhaust unit 73 and the exhaust unit 66 is determined. Then, when the gas G1 is supplied into the chamber 71 and the chamber 61 , the pressure in the chamber 71 rises, and the amount of the discharged gas G1 per unit volume increases. As a result, it appears that the inside of the chamber is exhausted according to the amount of the supplied gas G1. That is, through the exhaust gas, pollutants can be discharged together with the gas G1.

As described above, it is possible to suppress the contamination that causes water marks from adhering to the inspection wafer 100a. Therefore, water traces can be prevented from being mistaken for particles, so that particles can be accurately measured.

In addition, as can be seen from FIG. 5 , the period during which the pressure inside the chamber 71 is reduced to a pressure equal to or lower than the pressure at which the components serving as the sealing member can evaporate, that is, the pressure inside the chamber 61 of the processing unit 6 can be shortened. . Therefore, evaporation of components of the sealing member can be suppressed.

In order to measure the number of particles adhering to the wafer 100a for inspection, in the case where there is no process object 100 inside the chamber 71 for a long time, the pressure control unit 66a installed in the chamber 71 may be controlled so that The exhaust volume of the exhaust portion 73 is reduced. By reducing the exhaust volume of the exhaust unit 73, the amount of the gas G1 required to bring the pressure inside the chamber 71 to 1×10 ⁻² Pa or higher can be reduced. Note that the period of time in which the process object 100 is not present inside the chamber 71 continues is, for example, the time from when the supply of the gas G1 is stopped until the pressure inside the chamber 71 becomes 1×10 ⁻² Pa.

The inspection method of the plasma processing apparatus 1 including the first particle measurement step of measuring particles is performed using the gas G1 supply method shown in FIG. When particles are detected, the plasma processing apparatus 1 is inspected using the gas G1 supply method shown in FIG. 6 .

FIG. 6 is a timing chart for illustrating the supply of gas G1 during the inspection of the plasma processing apparatus including the second particle measurement step. FIG. 6 exemplifies the supply of gas G1 when the inspection wafer 100 a is transported to the delivery unit 7 and returned to the load lock unit 5 without being transported to the inside of the processing unit 6 . That is, the example in FIG. 6 is an example in which the operation of performing the particle measurement of the transfer unit 7 is selected in the inspection mode.

(1) in FIG. 6 is the same as (1) in FIG. 5 , and (2) in FIG. 6 is the same as (2) in FIG. 5 , and thus description thereof will be omitted. After the inspection wafer 100a is transferred into the chamber 71, the gate valve 51a is closed. The inspection wafer 100 a stays in the chamber 71 for several tens of seconds, for example. In order to approach the conditions for actually processing the object to be processed 100 , it is preferable that the time during which the inspection wafer 100 a stays in the chamber 71 is the same as the time during which the plasma processing is performed by the processing unit 6 . While the inspection wafer 100 a stays inside the chamber 71 , the supply of the gas G1 from the gas supply unit 74 is maintained.

After the inspection wafer 100 a stays inside the chamber 71 for tens of seconds, the gate valve 51 a is opened, and the inspection wafer 100 a is transferred to the chamber 51 by the transfer unit 72 ( FIG. 6 ( 4 )).

After the inspection wafer 100a is transferred into the chamber 51, the gate valve 51a is closed. In the transfer unit 7 , the supply of the gas G1 to the inside of the chamber 71 is stopped. The pressure inside the chamber 71 is maintained at 1×10 ⁻² Pa or more by reducing the exhaust volume of the exhaust unit 73 by the pressure control unit 66 a attached to the chamber 71 . In the load lock unit 5 , the inside of the chamber 51 is exhausted so that the pressure inside the chamber 51 is atmospheric pressure. When the pressure inside the chamber 51 becomes equal to the atmospheric pressure, the inspection wafer 100 a is taken out from the chamber 51 by the transfer unit 4 and stored in the storage unit 3 (( 5 ) in FIG. 6 ). Then, the number of particles adhering to the inspection wafer 100 a is measured by a particle measuring device (not shown).

The gas G1 is supplied into the chamber 71 of the transfer unit 7 through the gas supply part 74 so that the pressure inside the chamber 71 is set to 5×10 ⁻³ Pa or higher, preferably 1×10 ⁻¹ Pa or higher. Therefore, evaporation of components of the sealing member can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress contamination causing water marks from adhering to the inspection wafer 100a. Therefore, water traces can be prevented from being mistaken for particles, so that particles can be accurately measured.

The inspection method of the plasma processing apparatus 1 including the second particle measurement step of measuring particles is performed using the gas G1 supply method shown in FIG. In case particles are detected, cleaning of the interior of the loadlock 5 is started.

After cleaning the inside of the load-lock unit 5, the inspection method of the plasma processing apparatus 1 using the supply method of the gas G1 shown in FIG. 6 is carried out. If particles are detected again during the inspection, cleaning of the inside of the transfer unit 7 is started.

The above procedure can be performed, for example, by the controller 2 controlling the transfer unit 72 , the exhaust unit 73 , and the gas supply unit 74 . For example, the controller 2 controls the exhaust unit 73 so that the pressure inside the chamber 71 is substantially equal to the pressure inside the chamber 61 when the transfer unit 72 transfers (in and out) the inspection wafer 100a. For example, when the transfer of the inspection wafer 100 a by the transfer unit 72 is completed, the controller 2 controls the gas supply unit 74 to supply the gas G1 into the chamber 71 . For example, the controller 2 makes the pressure inside the chamber 71 higher than the pressure inside the chamber 61 by supplying the gas G1. For example, the controller 2 controls the pressure inside the chamber 71 to be above 5×10 ⁻³ Pa, preferably above 1×10 ⁻¹ Pa by supplying the gas G1.

In addition, as described above, the inspection method of the plasma processing apparatus according to the present embodiment may include the following steps. A method for inspecting a plasma processing device, the plasma processing device comprising: a first chamber, which maintains a relatively high pressure decompressed gas environment, and can place a processed object inside; a first exhaust part, which can place the The inside of the first chamber is decompressed to a predetermined pressure; the plasma generating unit can generate the plasma; the first gas supply unit can supply the first gas to the inside of the first chamber and the region where the plasma is generated. process gas; the second chamber is connected to the first chamber through a gate valve, and can maintain a relatively high pressure decompressed gas environment; the conveying part is arranged inside the second chamber, and can The process object is transported between the first chambers; the second exhaust unit can depressurize the inside of the second chamber to a predetermined pressure; the second gas supply unit can supply the gas to the inside of the second chamber. gas; and a controller capable of controlling the conveyance unit, the second exhaust unit, and the second gas supply unit. The inspection method of the plasma processing apparatus includes a first particle measurement step including: carrying out inspection wafers from the second chamber to the first chamber by the transfer unit. During the conveyance of the second chamber, the step of controlling the second exhaust unit so that the pressure inside the second chamber becomes substantially equal to the pressure inside the first chamber; a step of controlling the second gas supply unit to supply the gas into the second chamber when the transfer of the inspection wafer to the first chamber is completed; a step of performing plasma processing in the first chamber; when the inspection wafer is transferred from the first chamber to the second chamber by the transfer unit, controlling the second row an air part, a step of making the pressure inside the second chamber substantially equal to the pressure inside the first chamber; when the transfer of the chamber is completed, controlling the second gas supply unit to supply the gas into the second chamber; Round particles are measured in steps. For example, the method may further include the step of supplying the gas to the second chamber to achieve a predetermined depressurized state when the inspection wafer is transferred from the outside to the second chamber via a load lock. Thereafter, the inspection wafer is transferred from the load lock to the second chamber. For example, a second particle measurement step is further included, the second particle measurement step includes: when transferring the inspection wafer from the outside to the second chamber through the load lock, transferring the wafer to the second chamber After the gas is supplied to the chamber to become a predetermined depressurized state, the step of transferring the inspection wafer from the load lock to the second chamber; After the wafer for inspection is transported by the second chamber, the step of keeping the wafer for inspection in the second chamber; not transferring the wafer for inspection to the first chamber, but from the second chamber a step of transporting the chamber to the load lock; and a step of measuring particles attached to the inspection wafer. For example, the first particle measuring step is carried out, and when the particles are detected, the second particle measuring step is carried out. For example, the second particle detection step is carried out, and when no particles are detected, the first particle detection step is carried out. For example, by supplying the gas, the pressure inside the second chamber is made to be 5×10 ⁻³ Pa or higher. In addition, since the content of each step can be made the same as what was mentioned above, detailed description is abbreviate|omitted.

The present embodiment has been exemplified above. However, the present invention is not limited to these descriptions. Embodiments obtained by appropriately adding design changes to the above-described embodiments by those skilled in the art are included in the scope of the present invention as long as they have the characteristics of the present invention. For example, the shape, size, material, arrangement, number, etc. of each element included in the plasma processing apparatus 1 are not limited to the examples, and can be changed as appropriate. In addition, each element contained in each embodiment described above can be combined as much as possible, and an embodiment obtained by combining these is included in the scope of the present invention as long as it has the characteristics of the present invention.

The inspection method of the plasma processing apparatus 1 is not limited to the above. For example, when a defect originating from particles occurs in a subsequent step, the inspection of the plasma processing apparatus 1 may first be carried out by the inspection method of the plasma processing apparatus 1 using the gas G1 supply method shown in FIG. 6 . In case particles are detected during the inspection, cleaning of the interior of the load lock 5 is carried out. Then, after cleaning the inside of the load-lock unit 5 , the inspection method of the plasma processing apparatus 1 using the supply method of the gas G1 shown in FIG. 6 is carried out. If particles are detected again during the inspection, cleaning of the inside of the transfer unit 7 is started.

In addition, when no particles are detected in the first inspection of FIG. 6 , particles are generated somewhere between the transfer unit 7 and the processing unit 6 . In this case, the following inspection may be performed before the inspection of the plasma processing apparatus 1 using the gas G1 supply method shown in FIG. 5 .

For example, the gas supply unit 65 may be controlled so that the process gas G is supplied into the chamber 61 until the pressure becomes a plasma processing pressure, and then the inspection wafer 100 a is returned to the transfer unit 7 . For example, the inspection wafer 100 a may be returned to the transfer unit 7 after the inspection wafer 100 a is carried into the chamber 61 . Thus, it is possible to specify the location where particles are generated.

In this embodiment, the pressure control unit 66a attached to the chamber 71 performs control so that the pressure inside the chamber 71 is maintained at 5×10 ⁻³ Pa or more. However, it is not limited to this. For example, the exhaust unit 73 may be formed by combining a turbomolecular pump and a dry pump, and an exhaust port connected to the dry pump may be provided at the bottom of the chamber 71 . When there is no processed product 100 inside the chamber 71 for a long time, the inside of the chamber 71 may be exhausted by using a dry pump. Alternatively, the exhaust unit 73 may be stopped after reaching 5×10 ^-3 Pa.

1: Plasma treatment device 2: Controller 3: storage department 4. 72: Transfer Department 5:Load interlock part 6: Processing Department 7: Transfer Department 51, 61, 71: chamber 51a, 61c: gate valve 52, 66, 73: exhaust part 53, 65, 74: gas supply part 61a: transmission window 61b: opening 62: loading part 63: Antenna 64a, 64b: high frequency power supply 64a1, 64b1: matchers 65a, 74a: flow control part 66a: Pressure Control Department 100: Disposal B1, B2: point G: Process gas G1: gas P: Plasma T1, T2: Timing T1a: during move-in T2a: during moving out

FIG. 1 is a layout diagram illustrating an example of a plasma processing apparatus according to this embodiment. Figure 2 is the vapor pressure curve of C ₁₆ H ₃₀ O ₄ . Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a processing unit. Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view for illustrating an example of a transfer portion. FIG. 5 is a timing chart for illustrating gas supply during inspection of a plasma processing apparatus including a first particle measurement step. FIG. 6 is a timing chart for illustrating gas supply during inspection of a plasma processing apparatus including a second particle measurement step.

T1, T2: Timing

T1a: during move-in

T2a: during moving out

51, 61, 71: chamber

74: Gas supply part

Claims (6)

An inspection method of a plasma processing device, the plasma processing device comprising: The first chamber maintains a relatively high pressure and decompressed gas environment, and can place processed objects inside; a first exhaust part capable of decompressing the inside of the first chamber to a predetermined pressure; a plasma generating unit capable of generating the plasma; a first gas supply unit capable of supplying a process gas to the inside of the first chamber and to a region where the plasma is generated; The second chamber is connected to the first chamber via a gate valve, capable of maintaining a decompressed gas environment with a relatively high pressure; a conveying unit, disposed inside the second chamber, capable of conveying the object to be processed between the first chamber and the first chamber; a second exhaust part capable of depressurizing the inside of the second chamber to a predetermined pressure; a second gas supply unit capable of supplying gas to the inside of the second chamber; and a controller capable of controlling the transfer unit, the second exhaust unit, and the second gas supply unit, and the inspection method of the plasma processing apparatus includes a first particle measurement step, The first particle determination step comprises: When the wafer for inspection is transferred from the second chamber to the first chamber by the transfer unit, the second exhaust unit is controlled so that the pressure inside the second chamber becomes the step of substantially equalizing the pressure inside said first chamber; When the transfer of the inspection wafer to the first chamber by the transfer unit is completed, the second gas supply unit is controlled to supply the gas into the second chamber. step; performing a plasma treatment in the first chamber into which the inspection wafer is loaded; When the wafer for inspection is transferred from the first chamber to the second chamber by the transfer unit, the second exhaust unit is controlled so that the pressure inside the second chamber becomes the step of substantially equalizing the pressure inside said first chamber; When the transfer of the inspection wafer to the second chamber by the transfer unit is completed, the second gas supply unit is controlled to supply the gas into the second chamber. steps; and a step of measuring particles adhering to the inspection wafer carried out from the second chamber. The inspection method of the plasma treatment device as described in Claim 1, further comprising the following steps: When the inspection wafer is transferred from the outside to the second chamber via the load lock, after the gas is supplied to the second chamber to achieve a predetermined decompression state, the load lock is transferred from the load lock to the second chamber. The lock unit transports the inspection wafer to the second chamber. The inspection method of the plasma processing device as described in Claim 1, further comprising a second particle measurement step, The second particle measurement step includes supplying the gas to the second chamber at a predetermined pressure when the inspection wafer is transferred from the outside to the second chamber via a load lock. After the pressurized state, the step of transferring the inspection wafer from the load lock to the second chamber; the step of retaining the inspection wafer in the second chamber after transferring the inspection wafer from the load lock to the second chamber; the step of transferring the inspection wafer from the second chamber to the load lock instead of the first chamber; and A step of measuring particles attached to the inspection wafer. The inspection method of a plasma processing device according to claim 3, wherein the first particle measuring step is carried out, and the second particle measuring step is carried out after the particles are detected. The inspection method of a plasma processing device according to claim 3, wherein the second particle measurement step is performed, and when no particle is detected, the first particle measurement step is performed. The inspection method of a plasma processing apparatus according to any one of claim 1 to claim 5, wherein the pressure inside the second chamber is made to be 5×10 ⁻³ Pa or higher by supplying the gas .

Images