Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01K—MEASURING TEMPERATURE; MEASURING QUANTITY OF HEAT; THERMALLY-SENSITIVE ELEMENTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G01K1/00—Details of thermometers not specially adapted for particular types of thermometer
  • G01K1/08—Protective devices, e.g. casings
  • G01K1/12—Protective devices, e.g. casings for preventing damage due to heat overloading
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01K—MEASURING TEMPERATURE; MEASURING QUANTITY OF HEAT; THERMALLY-SENSITIVE ELEMENTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G01K1/00—Details of thermometers not specially adapted for particular types of thermometer
  • G01K1/14—Supports; Fastening devices; Arrangements for mounting thermometers in particular locations
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01K—MEASURING TEMPERATURE; MEASURING QUANTITY OF HEAT; THERMALLY-SENSITIVE ELEMENTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G01K2215/00—Details concerning sensor power supply
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L22/00—Testing or measuring during manufacture or treatment; Reliability measurements, i.e. testing of parts without further processing to modify the parts as such; Structural arrangements therefor
  • H01L22/30—Structural arrangements specially adapted for testing or measuring during manufacture or treatment, or specially adapted for reliability measurements

Definitions

• Embodiments of the present invention relate to high temperature process condition measuring devices, and more particularly to an apparatus and a method that keeps the components of the measuring device at an appropriate operating temperature and isolated from the plasma while the device is exposed in a high temperature environment and/or an operational plasma processing environment over an extend period of time.
• processing conditions can vary.
• the variations in processing conditions such as temperature, gas flow rate and/or gas composition greatly affect the formation and thus the performance of the integrated circuit.
• Using a substrate-like device to measure the processing conditions that is of the same or similar material as the integrated circuit or other device provides the most accurate measure of the conditions because the thermal conductivity of the substrate is the same as the actual circuits that will be processed.
• Gradients and variations exist throughout the chamber for virtually all processing conditions. These gradients therefore also exist across the surface of a substrate.
• Processing conditions include parameters used to control semiconductor or other device manufacture or conditions a manufacturer would desire to monitor.
• Low profile wireless measuring devices are typically mounted on the substrate to measure the processing conditions.
• a low profile wireless measuring device to work in a high temperature environment (e.g. , temperatures greater than about 150°C)
• certain key components of the device such as thin batteries and microprocessors, must be able to function when the device is exposed to the high temperature environment.
• the back AR coating (BARC) process operates at 250°C; a PVD process may operate at about 300°C and a CVD process may operate at a temperature of about 500°C.
• batteries and microprocessors suitable for being used with the measuring devices cannot withstand temperature above 150°C.
• the measuring devices may be used for measurement in an operational plasma processing environment.
• a component module in a process condition measuring device comprises a support configured to support a component; one or more legs configured to suspend the support in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to a substrate; and an electrically conductive or low-resistivity semiconductor enclosure configured to enclose the component, the support and the legs between the substrate and the enclosure.
• a process condition measuring device comprises a substrate; and one or more component modules mounted on the substrate.
• the one or more component modules include a support for supporting a component, one or more legs configured to suspend the support in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to a substrate, and an electrically conductive or low-resistivity semiconductor enclosure configured to enclose the component, the support and the legs between the substrate and the enclosure.
• An additional aspect of the present disclosure describes a process condition measuring device comprising a substrate with a shielding layer covering the substrate and one or more component modules mounted on the substrate. The one or more component modules are covered by an electrically conductive module shielding configured to provide electrical and thermal protection of the one or more component modules.
• FIG. 1 A is a schematic diagram of a process condition measuring device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
• FIG. IB is a schematic diagram of a process condition measuring device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
• FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a process condition measuring device with a component module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
• FIG. 2B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a component module mounted on a process condition measuring device in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
• FIG. 2C is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a component module mounted on a process condition measuring device in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure.
• FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a process condition measuring device with a component module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
• a thickness range of about 1 nm to about 200 nm should be interpreted to include not only the explicitly recited limits of about 1 nm and about 200 nm, but also to include individual sizes such as but not limited to 2 nm, 3 nm, 4 nm, and subranges such as 10 nm to 50 nm, 20 nm to 100 nm, etc. that are within the recited limits.
• the electronic components may comprise a power or energy source such as a battery, memory, transceiver, CPU, or any other electronic components configured to facilitate measurement and analysis of process conditions.
• processing conditions refer to various processing parameters used in manufacturing an integrated circuit. Processing conditions include any parameter used to control semiconductor manufacture or any condition a manufacturer would desire to monitor such as, but not limited to, temperature, etch rate, thickness of a layer on a substrate, processing chamber pressure, gas flow rate within the chamber, gaseous chemical composition within the chamber, position within a chamber, electrical plasma properties, light energy density, and vibration and acceleration of a wafer or other substrate within a chamber or during movement to or from a chamber.
• Different processes will inevitably be developed over the years, and the processing conditions will, therefore, vary over time. Whatever the conditions may be, it is foreseen that the embodiments described below can measure such condition. In addition to measuring these conditions during the processing of semiconductor wafers, the systems and techniques described herein may also be applied to monitoring similar conditions during processing of other type of substrates, such as wafer masks.
• FIG. 1 A is a schematic diagram of a process condition measuring device.
• the measuring device 100 includes a substrate 110 with at least one sensor element 120 and necessary interconnect wiring 130.
• the substrate 110 may be the same size and shape as a standard substrate processed by a substrate processing system.
• the substrate 110 may be made of the same material as a standard substrate processed by the system.
• the substrate 110 may be made of silicon. Examples of standard sized silicon substrate include, but are not limited to 150 mm, 200 mm, 300 mm and 450 mm.
• Sensor element 120 and interconnect wiring 130 may be formed directly on the substrate surface.
• sensor element 120 may be an electromagnetic sensor, a thermal sensor, an optical or an electrical sensor.
• sensors are made of a meandering conductive material. Details of various types of sensors can be found in commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 12/892,841 filed September 28, 2010 and fully incorporated herein by reference for all purpose.
• the device 100 may include a component module 150 that includes an electronic component.
• the component module 150 may include a power source, a memory, or a processor configured to execute instructions stored in the main memory in order for the measuring device 100 to properly measure and record process parameters when the device is placed within a substrate processing tool. Certain elements of the measurement electronics may be included within a component module.
• a power source and a CPU each may be enclosed in a component module.
• one or more component modules are mounted on the substrate 110.
• a cover 140 may be formed over the substrate 110 to cover the measurement sensor element 120 and interconnect wiring 130.
• the cover 140 is made of high conductivity type silicon. Examples are highly Phosphorus doped Silicon, P+ and heavily Boron doped Silicon, N+ silicon.
• the cover 140 may have one or more through holes 145 to accommodate the component modules 150 which may be mounted to the substrate 110 as described below. Alternatively, the component module 150 may be mounted to the cover 140, which in turn covers substrate 110.
• FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a process condition measuring device with component modules according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• two component modules 200 are mounted on the substrate 110.
• FIG. 2B is an enlarged cross- sectional view of one component module 200.
• the component module 200 includes temperature sensitive components with limited operational temperature range 210, a support 220 for the component and a set of one or more legs 230 to be mounted to a substrate 110.
• a support 220 may be mounted to the top surface of the substrate 110 by the one or more leg 230.
• a support 220 may be mounted on the legs 230 into substrate cavities formed in the top surface of the substrate (not shown).
• the components with limited operational temperature range 210 may be power source (e.g., battery, supercapacitor photovoltaic device), memory, transceiver, CPU, etc. There may be a single power source or alternatively more than one power source, depending on the application and resulting power needs.
• the component 210 may be very thin. By way of example, the component may have a total thickness of about 0.15 mm or less.
• a component 210 is placed upon and supported by a support 220.
• the support 220 may be made of a thin, flat and a high volumetric heat capacity material. In one example, the support is made of sapphire or alumina (AI2O 3 ). In one example, the support may have a cavity or recess so that the component may be sized and shaped to fit within the cavity or recess in the support 220.
• the thickness of the support 220 may be about 0.5 mm.
• One or more legs or posts 230 are mounted to a bottom surface of the support 220.
• the legs 230 allow the component module 200 to be positioned away from the substrate 110 to form a gap between a top surface of the substrate or a surface of the enclosure 110 and a surface of the support 220.
• Such a gap may be a vacuum, or at a very low pressure which provides an additional layer of thermal insulation.
• the thermal energy of substrate 110 is only poorly transferred to the support 220 and the component 210 because of the insulating layer formed by the gap/vacuum and the low thermal conductivity of the legs 230.
• the gap need not be very large in order to obtain effective thermal insulation.
• effective thermal insulation may be obtained if the distance d between the top surface of the substrate and the bottom surface of the support is about 0.25 mm.
• the legs 230 may be configured to provide a very limited conductive thermal energy transfer path from the substrate 110 to the support 220.
• legs 230 may be 1 mm in diameter or width (if not round) and 1 mm in height.
• the cross-sectional dimensions of the legs 230 may be such that the legs are relatively long and thin in order to reduce the thermal energy transfer through the legs.
• the thermal energy transfer efficiency between the substrate 110 and the support 220 may be limited by making the legs 230 from a high-strength low thermal conductivity material.
• these legs 230 may be composed of stainless steel, quartz, glass, foams or aerogels, or any other materials that are strong enough to hold the support 230 above the substrate and exhibit low thermal energy transfer characteristics.
• An enclosure 240 is provided to cover the component 210, the support 220 and the legs 230 for protection of the component inside the enclosure from ion bombardment and subsequent heating.
• the component module 200 may have a total thickness less than 3 millimeter
• the enclosure 240 is preferably made of a semiconductor material that is the same material as standard production wafers.
• the enclosure 240 and the substrate 110 may be made of a low resistivity semiconductor material, such as P+ silicon.
• a cover 235 may be mounted over the substrate 110, e.g., as illustrated in FIG. IB.
• the cover 235 may include through-holes configured to receive the enclosure 240.
• the cover 235 and the enclosure 240 may be made of the same material, e.g., a conductive material or low-resistivity semiconductor, such as P+ silicon.
• the thickness of the wall of the enclosure may be about 0.5 mm.
• the enclosure 240 is evacuated and bonded to the substrate 110 or the cover 140 to form a vacuum seal and thereby further insulating the component 210.
• the enclosure 240 need not be vacuum tight if the processing environment is maintained at a low enough vacuum level to increase the thermal delay.
• a vacuum level in the enclosure 240 may be less than 20 mTorr.
• the inside of the enclosure 240 may be polished to provide a low emissivity surface for further heat shielding.
• the surfaces of support 220 and the components 210 may also be treated to absorb less thermal energy. This can be achieved by polishing and or coating the surface with a low emissivity film.
• the inside of the enclosure 240 may be coated with a low emissivity thin film material 260.
• a material having a surface with an emissivity between 0.0 and 0.2 can be considered "low emissivity".
• Radiation from the process chamber, ion bombardment, and conduction from the substrate 110 contributes to the temperature increase on the top portion and sidewalls of the enclosure 240.
• polishing and coating a significant reduction of the heat radiating from the inside portion of the top and sidewalls of the enclosure will be ensured. This will reduce heat transfer by radiation to the components 210 and support 220 from the enclosure 240, which would result in slower heating of the component 210.
• a highly reflective material e.g., gold, platinum, aluminum or any highly reflective film, may be coated on the inside of the enclosure to reduce emissivity and heat radiation from substrate 110 and enclosure 240.
• the dimensions of the component module 200 may be constrained by the dimensions of the processing chamber in which the measuring device 100 is used. Consequently, the height of the component module 200 may be configured to meet the specification of the processing chamber.
• the height of the module refers to the distance between the top surface of the substrate and the top surface of the enclosure 240. By way of example, and not by way of limitation, the height of the module 200 may less than 3 mm, and preferably, less than 2 mm. It is noted that many variations are possible on the implementation illustrated in FIG. 2B.
• the support 220 may be suspended from the inside of the enclosure 240, e.g., as shown in the device 100' depicted in FIG. 2C.
• the support 220 may be suspended from a top portion of the enclosure 240 e.g., by legs 230' that extend downwards from a top of the enclosure.
• the support 220 may be suspended by legs 230" that are attached one or more sides of the enclosure 240 that extend inward.
• the support 220 may be supported by a
• legs 230 attached to the substrate 110, legs 230' that extend from the top portion of the enclosure 240, or legs 230" attached to one or more sides of the enclosure that extend inward.
• embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the implementations illustrated.
• all exposed portions of the measuring device 100 may be made of high conductivity type silicon (e.g., P+ silicon) which is the same material as a standard silicon wafer.
• high conductivity type silicon e.g., P+ silicon
• the component module with a high conductivity type silicon enclosure electrically connects to a high conductivity type silicon substrate, thereby forming a Faraday shield around the component to prevent RF interference.
• the component module is evacuated and vacuum sealed to the substrate or the cover so that the component inside the module has a significant delay of temperature rise relative to the wafer
• a measuring device 300 includes a substrate 310 with sensors 320 and interconnect wiring (not shown) formed on the surface of the substrate, and at least one component module 340 mounted on the substrate.
• the component module 340 may be any conventional module for enclosing temperature sensitive
• the component module 340 may be made of a high volumetric heat capacity material such as stainless steel. Stainless steel has high volumetric heat capacity, and as such requires a large input of thermal energy to rise in temperature. Alternatively, the module 340 may be composed of sapphire, Kovar®, Invar®, or any other material that exhibits a heat capacity similar to that of stainless steel.
• Kovar is a trademark of Carpenter Technology Corporation of Reading, Pennsylvania. Kovar refers to a nickel-cobalt ferrous alloy designed to be compatible with the thermal expansion characteristics of borosilicate glass. The composition of Kovar is about 29% nickel, 7% cobalt, less than 0.1% carbon, 0.2% silicon, 0.3% manganese with the balance being iron. Invar is a trademark of Imphy Alloys Joint Stock Company France of Hauts-De-Seine, France. Invar, also known generically as Fe 36 (64FeNi in the U.S.), is a nickel steel alloy notable for its uniquely low coefficient of thermal expansion.
• the component module 340 may be separated from substrate 310 on one or more legs 346.
• the component 342 may be electrically connected to the traces on the substrate 110 by wire bonding 344.
• a shield layer 350 may cover sensors 320 and the interconnect wiring on the substrate 310.
• the shield layer 350 could be made of stainless steel, aluminum or copper.
• a module shielding 360 is provided to electrically and thermally protect the component modules.
• the module shielding 360 may be made of stainless steel or aluminum foil.
• the module shielding 360 may be solid or mesh.
• the device 300 may have a thickness less than about 3 millimeters (e.g., about 2 to 3 millimeters) measured from a top of the shield layer 350 to a top surface of the substrate 310.
• aspects of the present disclosure provide component modules for process condition measuring devices having robust electrical, thermal and electromagnetic shielding. Such shielding of component modules facilitates use of a process condition measuring device in a plasma environment.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
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• Testing Or Measuring Of Semiconductors Or The Like (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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• Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
• Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
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• 2013
  • 2013-03-06 US US13/787,178 patent/US9222842B2/en active Active
• 2014
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  • 2014-01-06 KR KR1020157021003A patent/KR101972202B1/ko active Active
  • 2014-01-06 CN CN201811367416.1A patent/CN109781281A/zh active Pending
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