WO2023018046A1 - Real-time thin film thickness measurement method - Google Patents

Real-time thin film thickness measurement method Download PDF

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WO2023018046A1
WO2023018046A1 PCT/KR2022/010526 KR2022010526W WO2023018046A1 WO 2023018046 A1 WO2023018046 A1 WO 2023018046A1 KR 2022010526 W KR2022010526 W KR 2022010526W WO 2023018046 A1 WO2023018046 A1 WO 2023018046A1
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thin film
reaction
film thickness
thickness
deposition
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French (fr)
Korean (ko)
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정경환
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정경환
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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
    • C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
    • C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
    • C23C16/44—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating
    • C23C16/52—Controlling or regulating the coating process
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
    • C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
    • C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
    • C23C16/22—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the deposition of inorganic material, other than metallic material
    • C23C16/30—Deposition of compounds, mixtures or solid solutions, e.g. borides, carbides, nitrides
    • C23C16/40—Oxides
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
    • C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
    • C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
    • C23C16/22—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the deposition of inorganic material, other than metallic material
    • C23C16/30—Deposition of compounds, mixtures or solid solutions, e.g. borides, carbides, nitrides
    • C23C16/40—Oxides
    • C23C16/401—Oxides containing silicon
    • C23C16/402—Silicon dioxide
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
    • C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
    • C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
    • C23C16/44—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
    • C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
    • C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
    • C23C16/44—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating
    • C23C16/4401—Means for minimising impurities, e.g. dust, moisture or residual gas, in the reaction chamber
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01B—MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS
    • G01B21/00—Measuring arrangements or details thereof, where the measuring technique is not covered by the other groups of this subclass, unspecified or not relevant
    • G01B21/02—Measuring arrangements or details thereof, where the measuring technique is not covered by the other groups of this subclass, unspecified or not relevant for measuring length, width, or thickness
    • G01B21/08—Measuring arrangements or details thereof, where the measuring technique is not covered by the other groups of this subclass, unspecified or not relevant for measuring length, width, or thickness for measuring thickness
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N15/00—Investigating characteristics of particles; Investigating permeability, pore-volume or surface-area of porous materials
    • G01N15/10—Investigating individual particles
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N15/00—Investigating characteristics of particles; Investigating permeability, pore-volume or surface-area of porous materials
    • G01N15/10—Investigating individual particles
    • G01N2015/1021—Measuring mass of individual particles

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a method for quickly measuring the thickness of a thin film without damaging the surface of a measurement sample in a semiconductor / display production process, and by analyzing the chemical composition of a material remaining inside a reaction chamber in which a thin film is formed in real time to measure the thickness of the thin film is a way to measure
  • semiconductor / display manufacturing processes apply process technologies using various chemical reactions such as etching, deposition, and cleaning.
  • the thin film formed in the deposition process is a layer with a very fine thickness in the range of several nm to ⁇ m on the wafer, and the characteristics such as thickness and composition of the thin film formed depend greatly not only on the deposition process conditions but also on the physical properties of the material to be deposited. do. In particular, accurate thickness control of thin films is more important for the development of thinner and more highly integrated semiconductor materials with increasing levels of multilayering.
  • a technique for measuring the thickness of a thin film includes a mechanical method using a probe, an optical method, and a method using a microscope.
  • the method using an electron microscope or an atomic force microscope is a method of measuring the thickness after cutting the sample to obtain an image, and has the advantage of directly checking the thickness with the naked eye, but it takes more time to measure and the specimen of the wafer to be measured. It requires a technique for processing, and it is necessary to bear the loss of the sample due to this.
  • a widely used optical method uses a spectroscopic reflectometer and a reflection type ellipsometer that measures the thickness of a thin film by measuring the difference between the polarization states of incident light and reflected light on the surface of the thin film.
  • a spectroscopic reflectometer and a reflection type ellipsometer that measures the thickness of a thin film by measuring the difference between the polarization states of incident light and reflected light on the surface of the thin film.
  • it is difficult to measure the thickness of an ultra-thin film or in the wavelength range where interference occurs, but it has the advantage of being able to measure thin films of various thicknesses without sample loss.
  • An object of the present invention is a thin film capable of measuring the thickness of a thin film in real time in a reaction chamber in order to overcome the limitations of the conventional thin film thickness measuring method that measures the thin film thickness after taking the wafer out of the reaction chamber after the thin film formation is completed. It is to provide a method for measuring thickness.
  • the method for measuring the thickness of a thin film according to the present invention is a process of depositing a thin film in a reaction chamber, and proceeds with a deposition reaction and a cleaning reaction, using a mass spectrometer when at least one of the deposition reaction and the cleaning reaction is performed. It may include measuring a by-product of the state and calculating a thickness of the thin film based on the data measured by the mass spectrometer.
  • the deposition reaction may proceed according to the following reaction formula.
  • the cleaning reaction may proceed according to the following reaction formula.
  • the thickness of the thin film may increase as the total amount of byproducts measured by the mass spectrometer increases.
  • the thickness of the thin film may be a value obtained by multiplying the total amount of byproducts measured by the mass spectrometer by a specific proportionality constant.
  • the method for measuring the thickness of a thin film according to the present invention is a thin film deposition process by measuring gaseous by-products in a reaction chamber using a mass spectrometer during a deposition reaction and/or a cleaning reaction and deriving the thickness of the thin film based on the total amount thereof.
  • Thin film thickness can be measured in real time. This not only improves economic feasibility by reducing manufacturing costs by avoiding unnecessary post-processing by taking early action on wafers where thin films are not formed to the desired thickness during the process, but also by early detection of abnormalities in the deposition environment such as reaction chambers. It is intended to reduce the defect rate of semiconductor materials and improve the productivity of good products.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a thin film thickness measuring device to which a thin film thickness measuring method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
  • Figure 2 is a graph showing the correlation between the total amount of by-products and the thickness of the thin film.
  • FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a thin film thickness measurement method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the thin film thickness measuring device 10 includes a reaction chamber 11 , a mass spectrometer 12 and a calculation unit 13 .
  • the reaction chamber 11 is a place where thin film deposition is performed on a wafer or substrate, and a place where a deposition reaction and a cleaning reaction proceed.
  • the thin film deposition process may be a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) SiO 2 deposition process. In this case, the deposition reaction may proceed according to the following reaction formula.
  • PE-CVD plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition
  • a cleaning reaction is performed to remove particles, foreign substances, and the like in the reaction chamber 11 .
  • the cleaning reaction may proceed according to the following reaction formula.
  • the mass spectrometer 12 serves to measure gaseous by-products in the reaction chamber 11 during the deposition reaction and/or the cleaning reaction.
  • the mass spectrometer 12 may be installed in direct communication with the reaction chamber 11 or may be installed in communication with an exhaust unit (not shown) for discharging by-products from the reaction chamber 11 . Since the configuration and principle itself of the mass spectrometer 12 is substantially the same as that known or can be easily derived therefrom by a person skilled in the art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.
  • the calculation unit 13 serves to calculate the thickness of the SiO 2 thin film deposited on the wafer in the thin film deposition process based on the data measured by the mass spectrometer 12 .
  • the calculator 13 was designed to calculate the thin film thickness by multiplying the total amount of by-products measured by the mass spectrometer 12 by a specific proportional constant.
  • FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a thin film thickness measurement method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the thin film thickness measurement method is a process of performing thin film deposition, and a deposition reaction and a cleaning reaction are performed.
  • the mass spectrometer 12 is used to measure the gaseous state in the reaction chamber 11. Measure by-products.
  • the total amount of by-products measured by the mass spectrometer 12 is multiplied by a specific proportionality constant. As mentioned above, since the total amount of by-products measured by the mass spectrometer 12 and the thin film thickness are directly proportional to the above process, the thin film thickness can be predicted and monitored through the total amount of by-products.
  • the thin film thickness measurement method described above is only one of the thin film thickness measurement methods according to various embodiments of the present invention.
  • the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and includes all to the extent that can be easily changed by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs, as described in the claims.

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Abstract

The present invention relates to a thin film thickness measurement method. The thin film thickness measurement method according to the present invention may comprise the steps of: performing a deposition reaction and a cleaning reaction as a process of depositing a thin film in a reaction chamber and measuring gaseous byproducts in the reaction chamber by using a mass spectrometer during at least one of the deposition reaction and the cleaning reaction; and calculating the thickness of the thin film on the basis of data measured by the mass spectrometer.

Description

박막 두께 실시간 측정 방법Thin film thickness real-time measurement method
본 발명은 반도체/디스플레이 생산 공정에서 측정 시료의 표면을 손상하지 않으면서 빠르게 박막의 두께를 측정하는 방법에 관한 것으로, 박막이 형성되는 반응 챔버 내부에 잔류하는 물질의 화학 성분을 실시간 분석하여 박막 두께를 측정하는 방법이다.The present invention relates to a method for quickly measuring the thickness of a thin film without damaging the surface of a measurement sample in a semiconductor / display production process, and by analyzing the chemical composition of a material remaining inside a reaction chamber in which a thin film is formed in real time to measure the thickness of the thin film is a way to measure
유전체, 반도체, 금속 등 여러 물질을 반도체 기판(wafer)에 선택적으로 형성시키기 위해 반도체/디스플레이 제조 공정은 에칭, 증착, 세정 등 다양한 화학적 반응을 이용한 공정 기술을 적용한다. 증착 공정에서 형성되는 박막은 웨이퍼 위에 수 nm에서 μm의 범위의 매우 미세한 두께를 가지는 층으로, 형성되는 박막의 두께, 조성 등의 특성은 증착 공정 조건뿐만 아니라 증착시키고자 하는 물질의 물성에도 크게 의존한다. 특히, 더 얇고 다층화 수준이 증가하는 고집적도 반도체 소재 개발을 위해서 박막의 정확한 두께 제어가 더욱 중요하지만, 박막의 두께는 높은 상관성을 보이는 증착시키고자 하는 물질의 양과 시간뿐만 아니라 플라즈마 파워, 시간, 챔버 형태 및 크기, 챔버 내 다양한 화학 반응에서 발생되는 부산물 등 다양한 환경 변수에도 영향을 받기 때문에 박막 증착이 완료된 웨이퍼를 챔버에서 꺼낸 후에 박막의 두께를 정확하게 측정할 수 있다. 박막의 두께를 측정하는 기술에는 크게 탐침을 이용하는 기계적인 방법, 광학적 방법, 현미경을 이용하는 방법이 있다.In order to selectively form various materials such as dielectrics, semiconductors, and metals on a semiconductor wafer (wafer), semiconductor / display manufacturing processes apply process technologies using various chemical reactions such as etching, deposition, and cleaning. The thin film formed in the deposition process is a layer with a very fine thickness in the range of several nm to μm on the wafer, and the characteristics such as thickness and composition of the thin film formed depend greatly not only on the deposition process conditions but also on the physical properties of the material to be deposited. do. In particular, accurate thickness control of thin films is more important for the development of thinner and more highly integrated semiconductor materials with increasing levels of multilayering. Because it is affected by various environmental variables such as shape and size and by-products generated from various chemical reactions in the chamber, the thickness of the thin film can be accurately measured after removing the wafer on which thin film deposition has been completed from the chamber. A technique for measuring the thickness of a thin film includes a mechanical method using a probe, an optical method, and a method using a microscope.
전자 현미경이나 원자 현미경을 이용하는 방법은 시료를 절단하여 이미지를 얻은 이후에 두께를 측정하는 방법으로 육안으로 직접 두께를 확인할 수 있는 장점이 있지만, 측정에 보다 많은 시간이 소요될 뿐만 아니라 측정하는 웨이퍼의 시편을 가공하는 기술이 필요하고, 이로 인한 시료의 손실을 감수해야 한다.The method using an electron microscope or an atomic force microscope is a method of measuring the thickness after cutting the sample to obtain an image, and has the advantage of directly checking the thickness with the naked eye, but it takes more time to measure and the specimen of the wafer to be measured. It requires a technique for processing, and it is necessary to bear the loss of the sample due to this.
기계적인 방법(WO 2010/151030 A2, J. Korean Soc. Precis. Eng., Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 159-166)에는 탐침을 이용하여 유기막은 물론 금속 박막의 두께도 구할 수 있는 장점이 있는 반면, 여러 층을 한번에 측정할 수 없고, 측정속도가 느리고, 시료의 파괴와 오염을 유발할 수 있는 단점이 있다.In the mechanical method (WO 2010/151030 A2, J. Korean Soc. Precis. Eng., Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 159-166), the thickness of the metal film as well as the organic film can be obtained using a probe While there are advantages, there are disadvantages in that several layers cannot be measured at once, the measurement speed is slow, and destruction and contamination of the sample can occur.
광범위하게 주로 사용되는 광학적 방법(WO 2016/171397 A1)에는 분광 반사 광도계(reflectometer)와 박막 표면에서 입사광과 반사광의 편광 상태 차이를 측정하여 박막 두께를 측정하는 반사형 타원계(ellipsometer)가 사용되며, 초박막이나 간섭이 일어나는 파장 영역에서의 두께 측정이 어렵다는 한계는 있지만, 다양한 두께의 박막을 시료 손실 없이 측정할 수 있는 장점이 있다.A widely used optical method (WO 2016/171397 A1) uses a spectroscopic reflectometer and a reflection type ellipsometer that measures the thickness of a thin film by measuring the difference between the polarization states of incident light and reflected light on the surface of the thin film. However, there is a limitation that it is difficult to measure the thickness of an ultra-thin film or in the wavelength range where interference occurs, but it has the advantage of being able to measure thin films of various thicknesses without sample loss.
종래의 박막 두께 측정 장치는 증착시킨 웨이퍼를 반응 챔버 외부로 꺼내어 박막의 두께를 측정하기 때문에, 증착 이후에도 다양한 후공정을 진행해야 하는 생산 공정에서는 증착된 박막의 두께를 바로 측정할 수 없기 때문에 최대한 증착 환경을 일정하게 유지함으로써 일정한 박막 두께를 유지한다. 하지만, 박막의 두께가 얇아지고 선폭이 미세화되는 고집적 반도체 소재의 경우에서는 증착 환경의 미세한 변화에 따른 박막 두께 변화가 소재의 불량률에 크게 영향을 미치기 때문에 증착 이후에 형성된 박막의 두께를 정확하게 실시간으로 측정하여 박막 두께 변화를 실시간 측정하는 방법이 필요하다.Conventional thin film thickness measuring devices take the deposited wafer out of the reaction chamber and measure the thickness of the thin film. Therefore, in the production process, which requires various post-processes to be performed after deposition, the thickness of the deposited thin film cannot be measured directly. A constant film thickness is maintained by keeping the environment constant. However, in the case of highly integrated semiconductor materials where thin film thickness and line width are refined, thin film thickness changes due to minute changes in the deposition environment greatly affect the defect rate of the material, so the thickness of the thin film formed after deposition can be accurately measured in real time Therefore, a method for measuring the change in thin film thickness in real time is required.
본 발명의 목적은 박막 형성이 완료된 이후에 반응 챔버 밖으로 웨이퍼를 꺼낸 이후에 박막 두께를 측정하는 기존의 박막 두께 측정 방법의 한계를 극복하기 위해 반응 챔버 내에서 박막 두께를 실시간으로 측정할 수 있는 박막 두께 측정 방법을 제공하는 데 있다.An object of the present invention is a thin film capable of measuring the thickness of a thin film in real time in a reaction chamber in order to overcome the limitations of the conventional thin film thickness measuring method that measures the thin film thickness after taking the wafer out of the reaction chamber after the thin film formation is completed. It is to provide a method for measuring thickness.
본 발명에 따른 박막 두께 측정 방법은 반응 챔버에서 박막 증착을 수행하는 공정으로서 증착 반응 및 세정 반응을 진행하되, 상기 증착 반응과 상기 세정 반응 중 적어도 하나의 반응 시 질량분석기를 이용해 상기 반응 챔버 내의 기체 상태의 부산물을 측정하는 단계 및 상기 질량분석기에 의해 측정된 데이터에 기초하여 박막 두께를 계산하는 단계를 포함할 수 있다.The method for measuring the thickness of a thin film according to the present invention is a process of depositing a thin film in a reaction chamber, and proceeds with a deposition reaction and a cleaning reaction, using a mass spectrometer when at least one of the deposition reaction and the cleaning reaction is performed. It may include measuring a by-product of the state and calculating a thickness of the thin film based on the data measured by the mass spectrometer.
또한 상기 증착 반응은 아래 반응식에 따라 진행될 수 있다.In addition, the deposition reaction may proceed according to the following reaction formula.
SiH4(g) + 4N2O(g) → SiO2(g) + 4N2(g) + 2H2O(g) + O2(g)SiH 4 (g) + 4N 2 O (g) → SiO 2 (g) + 4N 2 (g) + 2H 2 O (g) + O 2 (g)
또한 상기 세정 반응은 아래 반응식에 따라 진행될 수 있다.In addition, the cleaning reaction may proceed according to the following reaction formula.
3SiO2(s) + 4NF3(g) + Ar(g) → 3SiF4(g) + 2N2O(g) + N2(g) + O2(g) + Ar(g)3SiO 2 (s) + 4NF 3 (g) + Ar(g) → 3SiF 4 (g) + 2N 2 O(g) + N 2 (g) + O 2 (g) + Ar(g)
또한 상기 박막 두께는 상기 질량분석기에 의해 측정된 부산물의 총량이 증가할수록 함께 증가할 수 있다.In addition, the thickness of the thin film may increase as the total amount of byproducts measured by the mass spectrometer increases.
또한 상기 박막 두께는 상기 질량분석기에 의해 측정된 부산물의 총량에 특정한 비례 상수를 곱한 값일 수 있다.Also, the thickness of the thin film may be a value obtained by multiplying the total amount of byproducts measured by the mass spectrometer by a specific proportionality constant.
본 발명에 따른 박막 두께 측정 방법은 박막 증착 공정으로서 증착 반응 및/또는 세정 반응 시 질량분석기를 이용해 반응 챔버 내의 기체 상태의 부산물을 측정하고 그 총량에 기초하여 박막 두께를 도출함으로써, 반응 챔버 내에서 박막 두께를 실시간으로 측정할 수 있다. 이를 통해 공정 진행 중에 원하는 두께로 박막이 형성되지 못한 웨이퍼를 조기에 조치하여 불필요한 후공정 진행을 하지 않아 제조 비용을 저감하여 경제성을 향상시킬 뿐만 아니라, 반응 챔버 등 증착 환경의 이상을 조기에 발견함으로써 반도체 소재의 불량률을 저감하고, 양품의 생산성을 향상시키고자 한다.The method for measuring the thickness of a thin film according to the present invention is a thin film deposition process by measuring gaseous by-products in a reaction chamber using a mass spectrometer during a deposition reaction and/or a cleaning reaction and deriving the thickness of the thin film based on the total amount thereof. Thin film thickness can be measured in real time. This not only improves economic feasibility by reducing manufacturing costs by avoiding unnecessary post-processing by taking early action on wafers where thin films are not formed to the desired thickness during the process, but also by early detection of abnormalities in the deposition environment such as reaction chambers. It is intended to reduce the defect rate of semiconductor materials and improve the productivity of good products.
도 1은 본 발명의 실시예에 따른 박막 두께 측정 방법이 적용된 박막 두께 측정 장치의 개요도이다.1 is a schematic diagram of a thin film thickness measuring device to which a thin film thickness measuring method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
도 2는 부산물의 총량과 박막 두께 간 상관관계를 보인 그래프이다.Figure 2 is a graph showing the correlation between the total amount of by-products and the thickness of the thin film.
도 3은 본 발명의 실시예에 따른 박막 두께 측정 방법의 흐름도이다.3 is a flowchart of a thin film thickness measurement method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
도면을 참조하여 본 발명의 실시예에 따른 박막 두께 측정 방법에 대해 상세하게 설명한다.A method for measuring the thickness of a thin film according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
도 1은 본 발명의 실시예에 따른 박막 두께 측정 방법이 적용된 박막 두께 측정 장치(10)의 개요도이다. 도 1을 참조하면 박막 두께 측정 장치(10)는 반응 챔버(11), 질량분석기(12) 및 연산부(13)를 포함한다. 반응 챔버(11)는 웨이퍼 또는 기판에 대해 박막 증착이 수행되기 위한 곳으로, 증착(deposition) 반응 및 세정(cleaning) 반응이 진행되기 위한 곳이다. 본 발명의 실시예에서 박막 증착 공정은 PE-CVD(Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) SiO2 증착 공정일 수 있다. 이 경우 증착 반응은 아래 반응식에 따라 진행될 수 있다.1 is a schematic diagram of a thin film thickness measuring device 10 to which a thin film thickness measuring method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. Referring to FIG. 1 , the thin film thickness measuring device 10 includes a reaction chamber 11 , a mass spectrometer 12 and a calculation unit 13 . The reaction chamber 11 is a place where thin film deposition is performed on a wafer or substrate, and a place where a deposition reaction and a cleaning reaction proceed. In an embodiment of the present invention, the thin film deposition process may be a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) SiO 2 deposition process. In this case, the deposition reaction may proceed according to the following reaction formula.
- 증착 반응: SiH4(g) + 4N2O(g) → SiO2(g) + 4N2(g) + 2H2O(g) + O2(g)- Deposition reaction: SiH 4 (g) + 4N 2 O (g) → SiO 2 (g) + 4N 2 (g) + 2H 2 O (g) + O 2 (g)
증착 반응 후 반응 챔버(11) 내의 파티클, 이물질 등을 제거하기 위해 세정 반응이 진행된다. 본 발명의 실시예에서 세정 반응은 아래 반응식에 따라 진행될 수 있다.After the deposition reaction, a cleaning reaction is performed to remove particles, foreign substances, and the like in the reaction chamber 11 . In an embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning reaction may proceed according to the following reaction formula.
- 세정 반응: 3SiO2(s) + 4NF3(g) + Ar(g) → 3SiF4(g) + 2N2O(g) + N2(g) + O2(g) + Ar(g)-Cleaning reaction: 3SiO 2 (s) + 4NF 3 (g) + Ar (g) → 3SiF 4 (g) + 2N 2 O (g) + N 2 (g) + O 2 (g) + Ar (g)
다만 전술한 공정 및 이를 위한 반응 챔버(11)의 구성 및 원리 자체는 공지된 바와 실질적으로 동일하거나, 통상의 기술자라면 그로부터 쉽게 도출할 수 있을 것이므로, 이에 대해 구체적인 설명은 생략한다.However, since the above process and the configuration and principle itself of the reaction chamber 11 for this purpose are substantially the same as those known or can be easily derived from them by those skilled in the art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.
질량분석기(12)는 증착 반응 및/또는 세정 반응 시 반응 챔버(11) 내의 기체 상태의 부산물을 측정하는 역할을 한다. 이를 위해 질량분석기(12)는 반응 챔버(11)에 직접 연통하여 설치될 수도 있고, 반응 챔버(11)로부터 부산물 등을 배출하기 위한 배기부(미도시) 측에 연통하여 설치될 수도 있다. 이러한 질량분석기(12)의 구성 및 원리 자체는 공지된 바와 실질적으로 동일하거나, 통상의 기술자라면 그로부터 쉽게 도출할 수 있을 것이므로, 이에 대해 구체적인 설명은 생략한다. The mass spectrometer 12 serves to measure gaseous by-products in the reaction chamber 11 during the deposition reaction and/or the cleaning reaction. To this end, the mass spectrometer 12 may be installed in direct communication with the reaction chamber 11 or may be installed in communication with an exhaust unit (not shown) for discharging by-products from the reaction chamber 11 . Since the configuration and principle itself of the mass spectrometer 12 is substantially the same as that known or can be easily derived therefrom by a person skilled in the art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.
연산부(13)는 질량분석기(12)에 의해 측정된 데이터에 기초하여, 박막 증착 공정에서 웨이퍼에 증착된 SiO2 박막 두께를 계산하는 역할을 한다.The calculation unit 13 serves to calculate the thickness of the SiO 2 thin film deposited on the wafer in the thin film deposition process based on the data measured by the mass spectrometer 12 .
보다 구체적으로 출원인은 질량분석기(12)에 의해 측정된 데이터와 박막 두께에 상관관계가 있음을 발견했다. 특히 전술한 공정에 대하여, 질량분석기(12)에 의해 측정된 부산물의 총량이 증가할수록 박막 두께도 증가하는 것으로 나타났다(도 2 참조).More specifically, applicants have found a correlation between data measured by the mass spectrometer 12 and film thickness. In particular, for the above process, it was found that the thickness of the thin film increased as the total amount of byproducts measured by the mass spectrometer 12 increased (see FIG. 2).
- 상관관계: SiO2 thickness (nm) ∝ ∑[by-products(g)]- Correlation: SiO 2 thickness (nm) ∝ ∑[by-products(g)]
따라서 질량분석기(12)에 의해 측정된 부산물의 총량에 특정한 비례 상수를 곱하여 박막 두께를 계산하도록 연산부(13)를 설계했다.Therefore, the calculator 13 was designed to calculate the thin film thickness by multiplying the total amount of by-products measured by the mass spectrometer 12 by a specific proportional constant.
도 3은 본 발명의 실시예에 따른 박막 두께 측정 방법의 흐름도이다.3 is a flowchart of a thin film thickness measurement method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
도 3을 참조하면 박막 두께 측정 방법은 박막 증착을 수행하는 공정으로서 증착 반응 및 세정 반응을 진행하되, 증착 반응 및/또는 세정 반응 시 질량분석기(12)를 이용해 반응 챔버(11) 내의 기체 상태의 부산물을 측정한다.Referring to FIG. 3, the thin film thickness measurement method is a process of performing thin film deposition, and a deposition reaction and a cleaning reaction are performed. During the deposition reaction and/or the cleaning reaction, the mass spectrometer 12 is used to measure the gaseous state in the reaction chamber 11. Measure by-products.
다음으로 질량분석기(12)에 의해 측정된 부산물의 총량에 특정한 비례 상수를 곱한다. 앞서 언급한 바와 같이, 전술한 공정에 대하여, 질량분석기(12)에 의해 측정된 부산물의 총량과 박막 두께가 정비례하므로, 이처럼 부산물의 총량을 통해 박막 두께를 예측, 모니터링할 수 있다.Next, the total amount of by-products measured by the mass spectrometer 12 is multiplied by a specific proportionality constant. As mentioned above, since the total amount of by-products measured by the mass spectrometer 12 and the thin film thickness are directly proportional to the above process, the thin film thickness can be predicted and monitored through the total amount of by-products.
이상으로 설명한 박막 두께 측정 방법은 본 발명의 다양한 실시예에 따른 박막 두께 측정 방법 중 하나에 불과하다. 본 발명의 기술적 사상은 위 실시예로 한정되지 않으며, 청구범위에 기재된 바에 따라, 본 발명이 속하는 기술분야에서 통상의 지식을 가진 사람이 용이하게 변경할 수 있는 범위까지 모두 포함한다.The thin film thickness measurement method described above is only one of the thin film thickness measurement methods according to various embodiments of the present invention. The technical spirit of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and includes all to the extent that can be easily changed by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs, as described in the claims.

Claims (5)

  1. 반응 챔버에서 박막 증착을 수행하는 공정으로서 증착 반응 및 세정 반응을 진행하되,As a process of performing thin film deposition in a reaction chamber, a deposition reaction and a cleaning reaction are performed,
    상기 증착 반응과 상기 세정 반응 중 적어도 하나의 반응 시 질량분석기를 이용해 상기 반응 챔버 내의 기체 상태의 부산물을 측정하는 단계 및measuring gaseous by-products in the reaction chamber using a mass spectrometer during at least one of the deposition reaction and the cleaning reaction; and
    상기 질량분석기에 의해 측정된 데이터에 기초하여 박막 두께를 계산하는 단계를 포함하는 박막 두께 측정 방법.A thin film thickness measurement method comprising the step of calculating the thin film thickness based on the data measured by the mass spectrometer.
  2. 제1항에 있어서,According to claim 1,
    상기 증착 반응은 아래 반응식에 따라 진행되는 박막 두께 측정 방법.The thin film thickness measurement method in which the deposition reaction proceeds according to the following reaction formula.
    SiH4(g) + 4N2O(g) → SiO2(g) + 4N2(g) + 2H2O(g) + O2(g)SiH 4 (g) + 4N 2 O (g) → SiO 2 (g) + 4N 2 (g) + 2H 2 O (g) + O 2 (g)
  3. 제1항에 있어서,According to claim 1,
    상기 세정 반응은 아래 반응식에 따라 진행되는 박막 두께 측정 방법.The thin film thickness measurement method in which the cleaning reaction proceeds according to the following reaction formula.
    3SiO2(s) + 4NF3(g) + Ar(g) → 3SiF4(g) + 2N2O(g) + N2(g) + O2(g) + Ar(g)3SiO 2 (s) + 4NF 3 (g) + Ar(g) → 3SiF 4 (g) + 2N 2 O(g) + N 2 (g) + O 2 (g) + Ar(g)
  4. 제1항에 있어서,According to claim 1,
    상기 박막 두께는 상기 질량분석기에 의해 측정된 부산물의 총량이 증가할수록 함께 증가하는 박막 두께 측정 방법.The thin film thickness is increased as the total amount of by-products measured by the mass spectrometer increases.
  5. 제1항에 있어서,According to claim 1,
    상기 박막 두께는 상기 질량분석기에 의해 측정된 부산물의 총량에 특정한 비례 상수를 곱한 값인 박막 두께 측정 방법.The thin film thickness is a value obtained by multiplying the total amount of by-products measured by the mass spectrometer by a specific proportional constant.
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KR102083239B1 (en) * 2018-12-27 2020-03-02 한국표준과학연구원 Measuring method of thin film thickness by secondary ion mass spectrometry

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