TWI775689B - Inline chamber metrology - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to inspection of substrates undergoing vacuum processing. In one embodiment, a processing chamber includes a first view port to enable an emitter of electromagnetic radiation to illuminate a substrate in the processing chamber, a second view port to enable a detector to detect electromagnetic radiation scattered from the substrate, the electromagnetic radiation emitter, and the detector.

Description

Inline Chamber Metrology

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to reduced pressure treatment systems and treatment techniques. More specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to techniques for direct inline substrate monitoring in reduced pressure processing systems.

Semiconductor substrates are processed for a wide variety of applications, including the manufacture of integrated and micro components. One technique for processing substrates involves exposing the substrate to a gas under reduced pressure and allowing the gas to deposit a material, such as a dielectric material or conductive metal, on the surface of the substrate. For example, epitaxy is a deposition process that can be used to grow thin, high-purity layers (usually silicon or germanium) on the surface of a substrate such as a silicon wafer. Materials can be deposited in an interleaved flow chamber by flowing a processing fluid (eg, a mixture of a precursor gas and a carrier gas) parallel to and across the surface of the substrate on the support, and allowing the processing The fluid is decomposed (eg, by heating the processing fluid to a high temperature) to deposit material from the processing fluid on the surface of the substrate.

At various times during processing of the substrate, the quality of the deposited film can be inspected and/or measured. Previously known techniques for inspecting and/or measuring substrates include removing the substrate from a processing chamber and placing the substrate in an apparatus for inspecting and/or measuring the substrate. Removing the substrate from the processing chamber may result in gas entry into the processing chamber, which may require evacuating the processing chamber by a vacuum pump before processing in the chamber (of the substrate or of another substrate) can continue.

In order to increase the throughput of processing chambers and the quality of the substrates produced, there is a need for a means of detecting and/or measuring substrates being processed in a processing system without removing the substrates from the high vacuum environment of the processing system .

An apparatus for processing a substrate is provided. The apparatus typically includes a processing chamber body having a first viewing port and a second viewing port, a supply, a vacuum pump, a substrate support, an electromagnetic radiation emitter, and a detector, the supply being used to provide and communicate with the processing chamber a process fluid connected to the chamber body, a vacuum pump connected to the process chamber body, a substrate support within the process chamber body, an electromagnetic radiation emitter operable to illuminate the substrate on the substrate support through a first viewing port, a detector operable to detect electromagnetic radiation scattered from the substrate through the second viewing port.

A system for processing a substrate is provided. The system generally includes a processing chamber having a first slit valve opening and a second slit valve opening, the first slit valve, a load gate, and a robotic arm, a first slit valve, a second slit valve The valve opening is configured to allow passage of substrates, the second slit valve opening is configured to allow passage of substrates, the first slit valve is operable to open and close the first slit valve opening of the processing chamber, wherein when the first slit valve opening is configured to allow passage of the substrate When a slit valve is closed, the first slit valve is operable to form a hermetic seal, the second slit valve is operable to open and close the second slit valve opening of the processing chamber, wherein when the first slit valve is closed The second slit valve is operable to form a hermetic seal when the second slit valve is closed, the load gate has a transfer slit valve opening, a load gate port and a substrate support, the transfer slit valve opening and the processing chamber the second slit valve opening is aligned with the robotic arm having an encased probe, wherein the robotic arm is operable to enter and exit the interior of the load gate via the load gate port, the robotic arm is operable to encapsulate the Instrumentation within the probe is moved adjacent to the substrate on the substrate support, the packaged probe has an emitter operable to emit electromagnetic radiation to illuminate the substrate, and the packaged probe has a detector, the detector The detector is operable to detect electromagnetic radiation scattered from the substrate.

Methods and apparatus are provided herein for measuring layer thickness and layer uniformity of substrates being processed in a processing system and/or inspecting substrates to detect defects and/or implementing layers of substrates and interfaces between those layers. chemical properties without removing the substrate from the high vacuum environment of the processing system. The method and apparatus enable measurement and/or inspection of substrates by measuring and/or inspecting substrates within a processing chamber or within a load lock chamber connected to the processing chamber without breaking the vacuum of the processing chamber.

One embodiment disclosed herein is a load lock chamber connected to a processing system. The load lock chamber has a robotic arm with an enclosed probe with one or more instruments that can be used to inspect and/or measure the properties or presence of particles on the substrate. The substrate can be removed from the processing chamber and moved into a load lock where one or more instruments inspect and/or measure the substrate. The pressure within the load lock is maintained at a similar level to that of the processing system or processing chamber, enabling measurement and inspection of substrates without breaking the vacuum of the processing chamber.

In another embodiment, a plurality of viewing ports are arranged on the processing chamber. Lasers, X-ray emitters, and/or other emitters of electromagnetic radiation may illuminate the substrate through a first viewing port in the processing chamber, and radiation scattered from the substrate may exit the processing chamber through a second viewing port and exit the processing chamber detected, collected and/or measured by instruments. While the substrate is in the processing chamber, the substrate can be inspected and/or measured without breaking the vacuum of the processing chamber.

As used in this specification, radiation "scattered" from a substrate refers to radiation that is reflected from the substrate, refracted from the substrate, emitted from the substrate as a result of illumination, and/or transmitted through the substrate.

Semiconductor substrates are processed for a wide variety of applications, including the manufacture of integrated and micro components. As mentioned above, one technique for processing a substrate includes exposing the substrate to a gas under reduced pressure and causing the gas to deposit a material, such as a dielectric material or a conductive metal, on the surface of the substrate. For example, epitaxy is a deposition process that can be used to grow thin, high-purity layers (usually silicon or silicon dioxide) on the surface of a substrate (eg, a silicon wafer). Materials can be deposited in an interleaved flow chamber by flowing a processing fluid (eg, a mixture of a precursor gas and a carrier gas) parallel to and across the surface of the substrate on the support, and allowing the processing The fluid is decomposed (eg, by heating the processing fluid to a high temperature) to deposit material from the processing fluid on the surface of the substrate. Substrates processed according to the above-described epitaxial techniques may be measured and/or inspected within a processing chamber or in a load lock, as described in more detail below.

The disclosed embodiments may be used with techniques for processing substrates including, but not limited to, atomic layer deposition (ALD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), etching, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), physical Vapor Deposition (PVD), Dielectric Deposition, Polymer Layer Deposition and Selective Removal Process (SRP).

1A depicts a schematic cross-sectional view of an exemplary processing chamber 100 with components in positions suitable for processing, according to aspects of the present disclosure. The processing chamber shown is an epitaxy chamber. Processing chamber 100 is used to process (eg, perform epitaxial deposition thereon) one or more substrates, which includes depositing material on the upper surface of substrate 108 . The processing chamber 100 includes an array of radiant heating lamps 102 for heating the backside 104 and other components of a substrate support 106 (eg, a susceptor) disposed within the processing chamber 100 . In some embodiments, an array of radiant heating lamps is disposed above the upper dome 128 in addition to the array shown below the lower dome. The substrate support 106 may be a disk-shaped substrate support 106 (as shown without a central opening), or may be a ring-shaped substrate support.

FIG. 1B shows a schematic side view of processing chamber 100 taken along line 1B-1B in FIG. 1A . Gasket assembly 163 and circular shield 167 are omitted for clarity. The substrate support may be a disk-shaped substrate support 106 as shown in FIG. 1A, or may be a ring-shaped substrate support 107, which supports the substrate from the edge of the substrate to facilitate exposure of the substrate to the thermal radiation of the lamps 102, as shown in FIG. 1B Show.

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B , substrate support 106 or 107 is located within processing chamber 100 between upper dome 128 and lower dome 114 . The upper dome 128 , the lower dome 114 , and the base ring 136 disposed between the upper dome 128 and the lower dome 114 define the interior area of the processing chamber 100 . Generally, the central portions of the upper dome 128 and the lower dome 114 are formed of an optically transparent material, such as quartz. The interior area of the processing chamber 100 is generally divided into a processing area 156 and a purge area 158 .

Substrate 108 (not to scale) may enter process chamber 100 through load port 103 and be positioned on substrate support 106 . Load port 103 is obscured by substrate support 106 in FIG. 1A, but can be seen in FIG. 1B.

According to one embodiment, the substrate support 106 is supported by a central shaft 132, which may directly support the substrate support 106, as shown in FIG. 1A. According to another embodiment, the central shaft 132 supports the disk-shaped substrate support 107 by means of the arms 134, as shown in FIG. 1B.

According to one embodiment, the processing chamber 100 also includes a lamp head 145 that supports the array of lamps 102 and cools the lamps 102 during and/or after processing. Each lamp 102 is coupled to a distribution board (not shown), which supplies power to each lamp 102 .

According to one embodiment, the processing chamber 100 also includes one or more optical pyrometers 118 that measure the temperature within the processing chamber 100 and on the surface of the substrate 108 . A controller (not shown) controls the distribution of power from the switchboard to the lamps 102 . The controller also controls the flow of cooling fluid within the processing chamber 100 . The controller controls the temperature within the processing chamber by varying the voltage from the switchboard to the lamps 102 and by varying the flow rate of the cooling fluid.

A reflector 122 is placed over the upper dome 128 to reflect infrared light radiated from the substrate 108 and the upper dome 128 back into the processing chamber 100 . The reflector 122 is secured to the upper dome 128 using a clip ring 130 . The reflector 122 has one or more connection ports 126 that connect to a source of cooling fluid (not shown). The connection port 126 connects to one or more channels (not shown) within the reflector to allow a cooling fluid (eg, water) to circulate within the reflector 122 .

According to one embodiment, the process chamber 100 includes a process fluid inlet 174 connected to a process fluid supply 172 . The processing fluid inlet 174 is configured to direct a processing fluid, such as trimethylaluminum (TMA) or silane (SiH 4 ), to flow substantially over the entire surface of the substrate 108 . The processing chamber also includes a processing fluid outlet 178 located on the opposite side of the processing chamber 100 from the processing fluid inlet 174 . Process fluid outlet 178 is coupled to vacuum pump 180 .

According to one embodiment, the processing chamber 100 includes a purge gas inlet 164 formed in the sidewall of the base ring 136 . Purge gas source 162 supplies purge gas to purge gas inlet 164 . If the process chamber 100 includes a circular shield 167 , the circular shield 167 is disposed between the process fluid inlet 174 and the purge gas inlet 164 . Process fluid inlet 174 , purge gas inlet 164 , and process fluid outlet 178 are shown for illustrative purposes, and the location, size, number, etc. of the fluid inlets and outlets can be adjusted to promote uniform deposition of material on substrate 108 .

The substrate support is shown in a position that allows processing of the substrates in the processing chamber 100 . The central shaft 132, the substrate support 106 or 107 and the arm 134 can be lowered by an actuator (not shown). A plurality of lift pins 105 pass through the substrate support 106 or 107 . Lowering the substrate support to the loading position below the processing position allows the lift pins 105 to contact the lower dome 114 , pass through holes in the substrate support 106 , and lift the substrate 108 from the substrate support 106 . Subsequently, a robot (not shown in FIG. 1 , but see robot 208 in FIG. 2 ) enters the processing chamber 100 to engage and remove the substrates 108 through the load port 103 . The robot or another robot that has removed the substrate 108 enters the processing chamber through the load port 103 and places the unprocessed substrate on the substrate support 106 . The substrate support 106 is then raised to the processing position by an actuator to place the unprocessed substrate in position for processing.

According to one embodiment, the processing of the substrate 108 in the processing chamber 100 includes the steps of inserting the substrate through the load port 103, placing the substrate 108 on the substrate support 106 or 107, lifting the substrate support 106 or 107 and the substrate 108 Up to the processing position, the lamp 102 is used to heat the substrate 108 , the processing fluid 173 is flowed over the substrate 108 , and the substrate 108 is rotated. In some cases, the substrate may also be raised or lowered during processing.

According to some aspects of the present disclosure, epitaxial processing in processing chamber 100 includes controlling the pressure within processing chamber 100 below atmospheric pressure. According to one embodiment, the pressure within the processing chamber 100 is reduced to between about 10 Torr and 80 Torr. According to another embodiment, the pressure within the processing chamber 100 is reduced to between about 80 Torr and 300 Torr. According to one embodiment, vacuum pump 180 is activated to reduce the pressure of processing chamber 100 before and/or during processing.

Process fluid 173 is introduced into process chamber 100 from one or more process fluid inlets 174 and exits process chamber 100 through one or more process fluid outlets 178 . The processing fluid 173 deposits one or more materials on the substrate 108 by, for example, thermal decomposition or other reactions. After depositing the material on the substrate 108 , the reaction forms effluents (ie, exhaust gases) 166 , 175 . The effluents 166 , 175 exit the process chamber 100 through the process fluid outlet 178 .

When processing of substrate 108 is complete, process chamber 100 is purged of process fluid 173 and effluents 166 , 175 by introducing purge gas 165 (eg, hydrogen or nitrogen) through purge gas inlet 164 . In addition to, or in place of, purge gas inlet 164 , purge gas 165 may be introduced through process fluid inlet 174 . Purge gas 165 exits the process chamber through process fluid outlet 178 . Exemplary Inline Chamber Metrology

In embodiments of the present disclosure, substrates can be processed and inspected and/or measured in a processing chamber without breaking the vacuum of the processing chamber. In one embodiment, the load lock chamber is connected to the processing chamber via a valve. The load gate has a robotic arm with a packaging probe with one or more instruments that can be used to inspect and/or measure the substrate. The substrate can be removed from the processing chamber and moved through the valve into a load gate where one or more instruments inspect and/or measure the substrate. The pressure within the load lock is maintained at or reduced to a level similar to that of the processing chamber, enabling measurement and inspection of substrates without breaking the vacuum of the processing chamber. The substrate can then be returned to the processing chamber for additional processing, wherein the parameters of the additional processing (eg, temperature or gas flow rate) are determined based on measurements and inspections that take place in the load lock.

Measurement and inspection techniques that may be used with loading gates according to aspects of the present disclosure include confocal fluorescence microscopy and imaging; reflection of infrared, ultraviolet and visible radiation, including ellipsometry techniques; Raman scattering; Mann scattering (TERS); surface plasmon polarizer-enhanced Raman scattering; second harmonic; and spectrum; atomic force microscopy (AFM); scanning tunneling microscopy (STM); megahertz or millimeter wave scanning; XRF).

In another embodiment, a plurality of viewing ports are arranged on the processing chamber. Lasers, X-ray emitters, and/or other electromagnetic radiation emitters may illuminate the substrate in the processing chamber through a first viewing port, and radiation scattered (eg, reflected or refracted) from the substrate may exit the process through a second viewing port chamber and detected, collected and/or measured by instruments outside the processing chamber. While the substrate is in the processing chamber, the substrate can be inspected and/or measured without breaking the vacuum of the processing chamber.

Measurement and inspection techniques that may be used with viewing ports disposed on processing chambers according to aspects of the present disclosure include: confocal fluorescence microscopy and imaging; reflection of infrared, ultraviolet, and visible radiation, including ellipsometry; Raman Scattering; Second Harmonic; and Spectrum; Megahertz or Millimeter Wave Scanning; and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF).

FIG. 2 is a top view illustrating an illustrative processing system 200 in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. The processing system 200 includes a load lock chamber 204, a transfer chamber 206, a handling (eg, tool and material handling or substrate handling) robot 208 within the transfer chamber 206, a first CVD processing chamber 210, a second CVD processing chamber 212 , control station 214 , ALD processing chamber 216 and mask chamber 218 . The first CVD processing chamber 210, the second CVD processing chamber 212, the ALD processing chamber 216, and the associated hardware of each chamber are preferably formed from one or more process compatible materials, such as aluminum, anodized oxide Aluminum, nickel-plated aluminum, stainless steel, and combinations of the above and alloys thereof. The first CVD processing chamber 210, the second CVD processing chamber 212, and the ALD processing chamber 216 may be circular, rectangular, or other shapes as required by the shape of the substrate to be coated and other processing requirements.

The transfer chamber 206 includes slit valve openings 221, 223, 225, 227, 229 which are in contact with the load gate chamber 204, the first CVD processing chamber 210, the second CVD processing chamber 212 , ALD processing chamber 216 and mask chamber 218 are in adjacent sidewalls. The handling robot 208 is positioned and configured to insert the substrate handling blade 209 and/or one or more other tools through each slit valve opening 221, 223, 225, 227, 229 and into the adjacent chamber. That is, the handling robot can insert tools into the load lock chamber 204 , the first CVD process chamber 210 , the second CVD process chamber 212 , the ALD process chamber 216 via the slit valve openings 221 , 223 , 225 , 227 , 229 In and mask chamber 218, the slit valve openings 221, 223, 225, 227, 229 are in the walls of transfer chamber 206 adjacent to the other chambers. According to aspects of the present disclosure, a substrate handling blade (also referred to as a "blade" in this specification) may be equipped with a substrate monitoring device. An example of such a blade is described below with reference to FIG. 7 . Slit valve openings 221, 223, 225, 227, 229 are selectively opened and closed with slit valves 220, 222, 224, 226, 228 for when a substrate, tool or other item is to be inserted or to be removed from an adjacent chamber When one is removed, access to the interior of the adjacent chamber is permitted.

Transfer chamber 206, load lock chamber 204, first CVD processing chamber 210, second CVD processing chamber 212, ALD processing chamber 216, and mask chamber 218 include a vacuum system in fluid communication with a vacuum system such as a vacuum pump. or more holes (not shown). The holes provide vents for the gases in the various chambers. In some embodiments, the chambers are each connected to separate and independent vacuum systems. In other embodiments, portions of the chambers share one vacuum system, while other chambers have separate and independent vacuum systems. The vacuum system may include a vacuum pump (not shown) and a throttle valve (not shown) to regulate airflow through the various chambers.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, the first CVD processing chamber 210 may be connected to the load gate 211 via the valve 215 . The load gate 211 may have a robotic arm with a packaging probe with one or more instruments (see FIG. 3 ) that may be used to inspect and/or measure the substrate. The substrate can be removed from the first CMD processing chamber and passed through valve 215 into load gate 211, where one or more instruments inspect and/or measure the substrate. Apparatus may include one or more of the following: confocal fluorescence microscope or imaging system; one or more infrared, ultraviolet and/or visible lasers; one or more charge coupled device (CCD) detection one or more mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) detectors; one or more indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) detectors; tipped mechanical probes for tip-enhanced Raman scattering; atomic force Microscope probes; scanning tunneling microscope probes; megahertz-wave or millimeter-wave transceiver antennas; and X-ray emitters and detectors. The robotic arm, packaged probe, and instrument are described in more detail with reference to Figure 3 below. The pressure within the load gate 211 can be reduced or maintained to a similar level to that of the first CVD processing chamber 210, enabling measurement and inspection of substrates without breaking the vacuum of the first CVD processing chamber 210.

Similarly, the second CVD process chamber 212 may be connected to the load gate 213 via valve 218 and the ALD process chamber 216 may be connected to the load gate 217 via valve 219 . Each of the load gates 213 and 217 may have a robotic arm with a packaging probe with one or more instruments (see FIG. 3 ) that may be used to inspect and/or measure the substrate. As described above, the substrate can be removed from the second CVD processing chamber 212 and passed through the valve 218 into the load gate 213 without breaking the vacuum of the second CVD processing chamber 212 . As also described above, substrates can be removed from the ALD processing chamber 216 and passed through the valve 219 into the load gate 217 without breaking the vacuum of the ALD processing chamber 216 . Once within the load lock 213 or 217, the probe's instrumentation can measure and/or inspect the substrate without breaking the vacuum of the second CVD process chamber 212 or ALD process chamber 216.

3 depicts a schematic isometric view of an exemplary loading gate 300 according to aspects of the present disclosure. Loading gate 300 may be an example of loading gates 211 , 213 and 217 , as shown in FIG. 2 . The robot arm 302 with the packaging probes 304 can access the substrate 306 via the load gate port 308 . The substrates 306 may rest on substrate supports 310 (eg, substrate support blades or pedestals) within the load gate. Probes may include optical fibers or metal cables for transmitting electromagnetic radiation (such as infrared, ultraviolet, visible laser, millimeter wave, or X-rays) from a laser source or other emitter to the substrate. Alternatively or in addition, the probe may include one or more laser sources, megahertz or millimeter wave transceiver antennas, and X-ray emitters. The probe may also include one or more charge coupled device (CCD) detectors, mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) detectors, indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) detectors, a detector for tip-enhanced Raman scattering Mechanical probes with tips, atomic force microscope probes, scanning tunneling microscope probes, X-ray detectors and/or other types of instruments for measuring and/or inspecting substrates. The load lock 300 may also include one or more turbine vacuum ports for exhausting gases (eg, process fluids that may enter the load lock from the process chamber) from the load lock 300 .

Because the robotic arm 302 can bring the probes 304 in close proximity to the substrate, both near-field and far-field inspection techniques are suitable for implementation within the load gate 300 .

According to aspects of the present disclosure, the probe 304 may be encapsulated in a material (eg, quartz) that experiences limited outgassing when exposed to a vacuum to prevent outgassing from the probe's material (eg, a fiber optic bundle) contaminate the substrate. Instruments that require intimate contact or contact with the substrate (such as mechanical probe tips for tip-enhanced Raman scattering, atomic force microscopy, or scanning tunneling microscopy) cannot be encapsulated in materials that experience limited outgassing when exposed to vacuum. Conversely, instruments that require intimate contact or contact with the substrate may be constructed of materials such as steel that experience limited outgassing when exposed to vacuum.

4 illustrates a schematic isometric view of a processing chamber 400 (eg, an ALD chamber) having a plurality of viewing ports 402 and 404 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The viewing port may be made of quartz or other materials that are translucent to electromagnetic radiation 424 and 426 (eg, infrared, ultraviolet, visible, X-ray, and/or millimeter wave radiation). The first viewing port 402 can be positioned to allow the substrate 406 to be illuminated by electromagnetic radiation occurring at a large glancing angle (ie, an angle measured normal to the upper surface of the substrate). The second viewing port 404 can be positioned to allow the detector 430 to receive and/or detect electromagnetic radiation 432 scattered from the substrate at an angle similar to the large glancing angle. Process chamber 400 may be representative of process chamber 100 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B . The processing chamber may be connected to a processing fluid supply 472 via one or more processing fluid inlets 474 , and the processing chamber may include a processing fluid outlet 478 connected to a vacuum pump 480 . The substrates 406 may rest on substrate supports 410 (eg, substrate support blades or pedestals) within the load gate. The substrate support 410 may be heated if necessary to perform operations in the processing chamber.

One or more lasers (eg, infrared, ultraviolet, visible spectrum, or X-ray lasers) 420 , 422 or other emitters of electromagnetic radiation beams 424 , 426 may illuminate substrate 406 through viewing port 402 . As shown, the lasers may include femtosecond picosecond (fs-ps) pulsed visible light lasers with wavelengths of 800 nanometers (nm) and fs-ps pulses with wavelengths in the range of 1-4 micrometers (μm). Infrared light (mid-IR) laser, but the present disclosure is not so limited and other wavelengths of emitters may be used. A laser or other emitter can be mounted to the load gate so that the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the emitter strikes the substrate at a consistent angle. Mounts of lasers and other emitters can be moved with one or more actuators (not shown) to cause radiation on the surface of the substrate in a controlled, reproducible manner during measurement and inspection of the substrate Raster scan (raster). One or more mirrors 442A and 442B, half-wave plates 444A and 444B, polarizers 446A and 446B, and lenses (eg, focusing lenses) 448A and 448B may be moved by actuators (not shown) to direct radiation at the surface of the substrate raster scan. Alternatively or even further, the electromagnetic radiation from the transmitter may be directed by fiber optic cables or other conduits, where the cables and/or conduits are moved by actuators to raster the radiation across the surface of the substrate.

Electromagnetic radiation 432 that is scattered (eg, reflected or refracted) from the substrate due to illumination by the substrate may exit the processing chamber 400 via the viewing port 404 . One or more apertures 450, collimators 452, polarizers 454, mirrors 456, filters 458, and lenses 460 may direct electromagnetic radiation 432 to one or more charge coupled element (CCD) detectors 430, tellurium Mercury Cadmium (MCT) detectors, Indium Gallium Arsenide (InGaAs) detectors, spectrometers, and other types of instruments for measuring and/or inspecting substrates. CCD detectors, MCT detectors, InGaAs detectors, spectrometers, and other instruments may detect and/or measure electromagnetic radiation 432 exiting viewing port 404 to determine measurements and other information about the substrate. A detector or other instrument can be mounted to the load gate so that electromagnetic radiation scattered from the substrate is measured or detected at a consistent angle. Mounts for detectors and other instruments can be moved with one or more actuators (not shown) so that the detectors and other instruments receive radiation scattered from the substrate in response to measurements and inspections at the substrate The emitter during shutter scanning on the substrate. Alternatively or even further, aperture 450, collimator 452, polarizer 454, mirror 456, filter 458, and lens 460 may be moved via actuators to direct electromagnetic radiation 432 to detectors and/or instruments.

The substrate support 410 is movable within the processing chamber as part of measuring and inspecting the substrate. For example, the substrate support 410 may move the substrate within the processing chamber 400 such that the one or more beams 424, 426 entering via the viewing port 402 scan (eg, raster scan) the surface of the substrate. Alternatively or even further, a scanning galvano mirror can be used to scan the beam from the emitter over the entire surface of the substrate. The current mirror may be placed within the processing chamber 400 or external to the processing chamber 400 .

Although the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 shows the light beam scanning the upper surface of the substrate 406, the present disclosure is not so limited. According to aspects of the present disclosure, substrate support 410 may have a cut-out portion or be translucent to the light beam (eg, iris), and viewing ports 402 and 404 may be arranged to allow the light beam to scan the lower surface of the substrate.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, second harmonic generation (SHG) and sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy can be used to monitor treated surfaces, such as via ALD, CVD, PECVD, PVD, dielectric deposition, polymer Surface of deposition and SRP. SFG spectroscopy probes the material's second-order molecular hyperpolarizability, which indicates which modes are active in a non-centrosymmetric medium. SFG and SHG are second-order nonlinear optical processes in which 2 incident photons interact with each other and with the surface when overlapping spatially and temporally at a medium surface or interface to produce 1 photon with a frequency of the 2 incident photons sum of frequencies. When two incident photons come from the same source (and therefore the same frequency), the resulting process is called second harmonic generation (SHG). When two incident photons have different frequencies, the resulting optical process is called sum-frequency generation (SFG). These second-order optical processes obey the conservation of photon energy and momentum. The conservation of photon momentum makes these processes highly directional, and thus SFG or SHG photons can be spatially separated from incident photons or other photons from other nonlinear optical processes. SFG and SHG are also highly surface-sensitive processes, since the second-order hyperpolarizability is only active in non-centrosymmetric media, such as at interfaces, surfaces, or even in molecules that do not possess a center of symmetry (see, e.g., Nature 337(6207): pp. 519-525, 1989). For example, SFG spectroscopy can be used to monitor hydrogen (H ₂ ) atomic layer deposition on platinum by measuring the intensity of specific wavenumbers associated with platinum-hydrogen bonding, as shown below with reference to FIG. 5 . SFG spectroscopy can also be used to monitor the atomic layer deposition of aluminum oxide/silicon oxide (AlO _x /SiO _x ) on silicon substrates by measuring the intensity of specific wavenumbers associated with AlO _x bonds (see, for example, available at https:// Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A 35, 05C313 (2017) by E. Kessels et al. at doi.org/10.1116.4993597).

FIG. 5 is a graph 500 depicting monitoring of atomic layer deposition of hydrogen on platinum during an ALD process where the platinum was exposed to different hydrogen gas flow rates and sum-frequency generation measurements were made on the surface of the platinum. Curve 510 represents a set of SFG intensities (measured in s ⁻¹ ) for a set of wavenumbers (measured in cm ⁻¹ ) after exposure of platinum to the highest flow rate of hydrogen. After exposing platinum to hydrogen at the highest flow rate, the SFG spectrum shows a relatively high intensity (ie, greater than 1.1) at the 2020 cm ⁻¹ wavenumber, as indicated by point 512 . After exposing platinum to hydrogen at a lower flow rate, the SFG spectrum shows a lower intensity (ie, about 0.95) at the 2020 cm ⁻¹ wavenumber, as indicated by point 514 . After platinum exposure to hydrogen for the third, fourth, fifth and sixth successively decreasing flow rates, the SFG spectrum shows an even lower intensity (ie, less than 0.90) at the 2020 cm ^-1 wavenumber, as points 516, 518 and 520 shown. After exposing platinum to hydrogen at the lowest flow rate, the SFG spectrum shows the lowest intensity (ie, 0.38) at the 2020 cm ^-1 wavenumber, as indicated by point 522.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, SFG spectroscopy techniques are very specific to surfaces and interfaces, so data analysis from SFG spectroscopy generally does not require background signal subtraction from the measurement signal.

6 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary SFG spectroscopy system 600 according to aspects of the present disclosure, the exemplary SFG spectroscopy system 600 being configured (eg, see ACS Catalysis, 2014, 4(6), pp. 1964-1971) at The substrate 670 (eg, platinum) is monitored during the ALD process. In the exemplary ALD processing chamber 680, hydrogen flows over the substrate within the chamber at location 682, which catalyzes the dissociation of hydrogen and forms a layer on the substrate. A mass spectrometer (MS) monitors the gas leaving the chamber to collect information on the amount of hydrogen deposited on the substrate. Heated rod 684 and piston 686 control the temperature and pressure in the ALD chamber. In an exemplary SFG spectroscopy system, a tunable laser system (ie, one or more electromagnetic radiation emitters) 602 produces light having an infrared range (ie, 1 to 9 microns, such as 4 to 7 microns, or 5 to 6 microns) A first laser light pulse 604 having a wavelength in the visible range (ie, 520 to 900 nanometers, such as 600 to 900 nanometers, 750 to 850 nanometers, or 800 nanometers) A light pulse 606 is emitted. Subsequently, the first laser light pulse passes through each filter 608, which fine-tunes the frequency of the first pulse to the desired frequency. Subsequently, the first pulse is aimed by the lens 610 to enter the first viewing port 652 into the processing chamber. The second pulse is passed through filter 616 to fine-tune the frequency of the second pulse. The lens 620 targets the second pulse through the first viewing port 652 into the processing chamber. The first pulse and the second pulse can also be aimed via the lens 612 to irradiate the substrate 670 . When the first and second pulses irradiate the substrate, the first and second pulses interact to produce second harmonic pulses 630 . The second harmonic pulse can be aimed via the lens 612 to exit the processing chamber via the second viewing port 654. Lens 640 and filter 642 can target the second harmonic pulse and filter out reflections of the first and second pulses so that a photomultiplier tube (PMT) 632 can collect the second harmonic pulse. The PMT provides information about the second harmonic pulse to the boxcar integrator 634 . Finally, the box car integrator provides signals to computer 636 for interpretation.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, the first viewing port 652 and the second viewing port 654 may be formed of magnesium fluoride (MgF ₂ ) or calcium fluoride (CaF ₂ ), as these materials allow wavelengths in the infrared range Both the first pulse and the second pulse with wavelengths in the visible range pass.

7 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary substrate handling blade 700 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. Exemplary substrate handling blades may include substrate support blades 702 and instrument support arms 704 . The instrument support arm may support the laser source 706 (eg, one or more electromagnetic radiation emitters, lasers, or other laser light sources, such as fiber optic cables that transmit laser light from a remote laser) and the spectrometer 708 . As shown in Figure 6, the laser source may deliver two laser light pulses 710, 712 having different wavelengths. As shown in Figure 6, the laser source may include one or more mirrors, filters, gauges, and lenses to target laser light pulses at the substrate on the substrate handling blade. The spectrometer may also include one or more apertures, filters, lenses, and polarizers to block reflections 720 and 722 of the first and second pulses and to aim the second harmonic pulse 724 at a detector within the spectrometer.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, the instrument support arm 704 and the substrate handling blade 702 may be moved together into a processing chamber (eg, the processing chamber 100 shown in FIG. 1 ). Alternatively or even further, the instrument support arm may be moved (eg, rotated away) independently of the substrate handling blade as the substrate handling blade enters the processing chamber.

In aspects of the present disclosure, instruments (eg, laser source 706 and/or spectrometer 708 ) on instrument support arm 704 may be in a transfer chamber (eg, transfer chamber 206 shown in FIG. 2 ) while the substrate handling blade is in the transfer chamber Monitoring of the substrates supported by the substrate handling blades is implemented to allow monitoring and/or inspection of the substrates without breaking the vacuum in the processing system.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, the spectrometer may be a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) spectrometer or a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) based spectrometer.

The above non-limiting examples are provided for a better understanding of the foregoing discussion. Although these examples may be directed to particular embodiments, these examples should not be construed as limiting the disclosure to any particular aspect.

Although the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the present disclosure may be devised without departing from the essential scope of the present disclosure, the scope of which is to be determined by the scope of the following patent applications define.

100: Processing Chamber 102: Lights 103: Loadport 104: Back 105: Lifting Pin 106: Substrate support 107: Substrate support 108: Substrate 114: Lower Dome 118: Optical Pyrometer 122: Reflector 126: connection port 128: Upper Dome 130: clip ring 132: Center shaft 134: Arm 136: base ring 145: Lamp holder 156: Processing area 158: Purification Area 162: Purified gas source 163: Pad assembly 164: Purge gas inlet 165: Purge Gas 166: Effluent 167: Round shield 172: Handling Fluid Supply 173: Handling Fluids 174: Process Fluid Inlet 175: Effluent 178: Process Fluid Outlet 180: Vacuum pump 200: Handling System 204: Load lock chamber 206: Transfer Chamber 208: Handling Robots 209: Substrate Handling Blades 210: First CVD processing chamber 211: Loading lock 212: Second CVD processing chamber 213: Loading lock 214: Processing Station 215: Valve 216:ALD processing chamber 217: Loading lock 218: Mask Chamber 219: Valve 220, 222, 224, 226, 228: slit valve 221, 223, 225, 227, 229: Slit valve opening 300: Loading lock 302: Robotic Arm 304: Package Probe 306: Substrate 308: Load Gate Port 310: Substrate support 400: Processing Chamber 402: The first observation port 404: Second observation port 406: Substrate 410: Substrate support 420: Laser 422: Laser 424: Beam of Electromagnetic Radiation 426: Beam of Electromagnetic Radiation 430: Detector 432: Electromagnetic Radiation 442: Mirror 444: Half wave board 446: Polarizer 448: Lens 450: Hole 452: Collimator 454: Polarizer 456: Mirror 458: Filter 460: Lens 472: Handling Fluid Supply 474: Process Fluid Inlet 478: Process Fluid Outlet 480: Vacuum Pump 500: Chart 510: Curve 512: point 514: point 516: point 518: point 520: point 600: Sum Frequency Generation Spectrum System 602: Tuning the Laser System 604: First laser light pulse 606: Second laser light pulse 608: Filter 610: Lens 612: 樜鏡 616: Filter 620: Lens 630: Second harmonic pulse 632: Photomultiplier Tube (PMT) 634: Box type integrator 636: Computer 640: Lens 642: Filter 652: The first observation port 654: Second observation port 670: Substrate 680: Processing Chamber 682: Location 684: Heating Rod 686: Piston 700: Substrate handling blade 702: Substrate support blade 704: Instrument Support Arm 706: Laser Source 708: Spectrometer 710: Laser Light Pulse 712: Laser Light Pulse 720: Reflection 722: Reflection 724: Second harmonic pulse

The features of the present disclosure have been briefly outlined above and are discussed in greater detail below, which can be understood by reference to the embodiments of the present disclosure depicted in the accompanying drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings depict only typical embodiments of the present disclosure and are not to be considered as disclosed, since the present disclosure may admit to other equivalent embodiments Scope limitation.

1A and 1B illustrate cross-sectional views of a reduced pressure processing chamber according to aspects of the present disclosure.

2 illustrates an exemplary processing system in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

3 depicts a schematic isometric view of an exemplary loading gate in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

4 illustrates a schematic isometric view of a processing chamber in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

5 is a set of graphs 500 of monitoring of atomic layer deposition in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

6 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectral monitoring system configured to measure a substrate during processing, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

7 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary substrate handling blade according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

To facilitate understanding, where possible, the same numerals have been used to refer to the same elements in the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one embodiment may be used to advantage on other embodiments without the specific recitation.

Domestic storage information (please note in the order of storage institution, date and number) none

Foreign deposit information (please mark in the order of deposit country, institution, date and number) none

400: Processing Chamber

402: The first observation port

404: Second observation port

406: Substrate

410: Substrate support

420: Laser

422: Laser

424: Beam of Electromagnetic Radiation

426: Beam of Electromagnetic Radiation

430: Detector

432: Electromagnetic Radiation

442: Mirror

444: Half wave board

446: Polarizer

448: Lens

450: Hole

452: Collimator

454: Polarizer

456: Mirror

458: Filter

460: Lens

472: Handling Fluid Supply

474: Process Fluid Inlet

478: Process Fluid Outlet

480: Vacuum Pump

Claims (12)

A system for processing a substrate, comprising: a processing chamber having a first slit valve opening configured to allow passage of the substrate and a second slit valve opening configured to allow passage of the substrate the substrate passes through; a first slit valve operable to open and close the first slit valve opening of the processing chamber, wherein when the first slit valve is closed, the first slit valve is operable to open and close the first slit valve opening of the processing chamber operating to form a first hermetic seal; a second slit valve operable to open and close the second slit valve opening of the processing chamber, wherein when the second slit valve is closed, the second slit valve is operable to open and close the second slit valve opening of the processing chamber operating to form a second hermetic seal; a load gate having a transfer slit valve opening aligned with the second slit valve opening of the processing chamber, a load gate port and a substrate support; and a robotic arm having an encased probe, wherein: the robotic arm is operable to enter and exit an interior of the load gate via the load gate port; the robotic arm is operable to move an instrument within the packaged probe near the substrate on the substrate support; The packaged probe has an emitter operable to emit electromagnetic radiation to illuminate the substrate; and The packaged probe has a detector operable to detect electromagnetic radiation scattered from the substrate. The system of claim 1, further comprising a substrate handling robot having a substrate handling blade, wherein: the robotic arm is connected to the substrate handling robot; and The robotic arm is operable to move the instrument within the packaging probe to the vicinity of the substrate on the substrate handling blade. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmitter includes a first laser source and a second laser source, the first laser source operable to generate a first laser light pulse having a first wavelength , the second laser source is operable to generate a second laser light pulse having a second wavelength. The system of claim 3, wherein: the first wavelength is between 1 micrometer (inclusive) and 9 micrometers (inclusive); and The second wavelength is between 520 nanometers (inclusive) and 900 nanometers (inclusive). The system of claim 3, wherein: the first wavelength is between 4 microns (inclusive) and 7 microns (inclusive); and The second wavelength is between 600 nanometers (inclusive) and 900 nanometers (inclusive). The system of claim 3, wherein: the first wavelength is between 1 micron (inclusive) and 4 microns (inclusive); and The second wavelength is between 750 nanometers (inclusive) and 850 nanometers (inclusive). The system of claim 3, wherein the detector is operable to measure a sum frequency generation caused by an interaction between the first pulse, the second pulse and the substrate on the substrate support (SFG) one intensity of the pulse. An apparatus for measuring a substrate in a processing system, comprising: a robotic arm operable to access an interior of a loading gate of the processing system; a packaged probe on the robotic arm; a transmitter within the package probe and operable to emit electromagnetic radiation to illuminate the substrate; and a detector within the package probe and operable to detect electromagnetic radiation scattered from the substrate, wherein the robotic arm is operable to the emitter or the detector At least one of them moves near the substrate. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the transmitter includes a first laser source and a second laser source, the first laser source operable to generate a first laser light pulse having a first wavelength , the second laser source is operable to generate a second laser light pulse having a second wavelength. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: the first wavelength is between 1 micrometer (inclusive) and 9 micrometers (inclusive); and The second wavelength is between 520 nanometers (inclusive) and 900 nanometers (inclusive). The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: the first wavelength is between 1 micron (inclusive) and 4 microns (inclusive); and The second wavelength is between 750 nanometers (inclusive) and 850 nanometers (inclusive). The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the detector is operable to measure an intensity of a sum frequency generation (SFG) pulse caused by an interaction between the first pulse, the second pulse and the substrate .

Images