Chemical mechanical polishing control method, control device, equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The invention discloses a chemical mechanical grinding control method and device, equipment and a storage medium, and the method comprises the steps: obtaining the state information, current task information and next task information of any grinding chamber, determining whether the grinding chamber is in a waiting state or not according to the state information of the grinding chamber, and if the grinding chamber is in the waiting state, determining whether the grinding chamber is in the waiting state; if yes, the maximum duration that the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state is determined according to the current task information and the next task information of the grinding chamber, and when the duration that the grinding chamber is in the waiting state exceeds the maximum duration, task object protection operation is executed, and the task object protection operation is used for protecting a task object of the grinding chamber. Therefore, the problem that the task object in the grinding chamber is excessively corroded due to the fact that the time of the grinding chamber in the waiting state is long can be avoided.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, in particular to a chemical mechanical polishing control method, a control device, an apparatus and a storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0002] Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is a technology for achieving global planarization of a surface by using chemical corrosion and mechanical removal. However, in the chemical mechanical polishing process, the polishing task object (such as a wafer) is often over-corroded, which seriously affects the performance of the manufactured semiconductor device. SUMMARY

[0003] The present application discloses a chemical mechanical polishing control method, a control device, an apparatus and a storage medium to solve the problem of over-corrosion of the polishing task object.

[0004] In a first aspect, the present application discloses a chemical mechanical polishing control method, comprising: obtaining state information, current task information and next task information of any polishing chamber; determining whether the polishing chamber is in a waiting state according to the state information of the polishing chamber; if the polishing chamber is in the waiting state, determining a maximum duration that the polishing chamber can be in the waiting state according to the current task information and the next task information of the polishing chamber, and performing a task object protection operation when the duration that the polishing chamber is in the waiting state exceeds the maximum duration; the task object protection operation is used to protect the task object of the polishing chamber so that the task object is not over-corroded.

[0005] In some embodiments of the present application, the determination of the maximum duration that the polishing chamber can be in the waiting state according to the current task information and the next task information of the polishing chamber comprises: determining whether the types of the current task object and the next task object of the polishing chamber are the same according to the current task information and the next task information of the polishing chamber; if the types of the current task object and the next task object of the polishing chamber are different, determining the maximum duration that the polishing chamber can be in the waiting state according to the types of the current task object and the next task object; if the types of the current task object and the next task object of the polishing chamber are the same, determining the maximum duration that the polishing chamber can be in the waiting state according to the polishing parameters of the current task object and the next task object.

[0006] In some embodiments of the present invention, the type of the task object includes a control piece or a product piece, and determining the maximum duration for which the grinding chamber can be in a waiting state based on the types of the current task object and the next task object includes: if the type of the current task object is a control piece and the type of the next task object is a product piece, then determining the maximum duration for which the grinding chamber can be in a waiting state as a first maximum duration; the first maximum duration is used to limit the maximum waiting time of the grinding chamber between the control piece and the product piece.

[0007] In some embodiments of the present invention, the grinding parameters include grinding steps, and determining the maximum time that the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state based on the grinding parameters of the current task object and the next task object includes: if the current task object and the next task object are the same product piece, and the grinding steps of the current task object and the next task object are different, then determining the maximum time that the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state as a second maximum time; the second maximum time is used to limit the maximum waiting time of the grinding chamber between different grinding steps of the same product piece; if the current task object and the next task object are different product pieces, If the grinding film layers of the current task object and the next task object are different, the maximum time length that the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state is determined to be the third maximum time length; the third maximum time length is used to limit the maximum waiting time length of the grinding chamber between product sheets with different grinding film layers; if the current task object and the next task object are different product sheets of the same batch, and the grinding numbers of the current task object and the next task object are different, the maximum time length that the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state is determined to be the fourth maximum time length; the fourth maximum time length is used to limit the maximum waiting time length of the grinding chamber between different product sheets of the same batch.

[0008] In some embodiments of the present invention, the method further includes: simulating the execution of the current task and the next task of the grinding chamber, and determining the maximum duration according to the simulation results.

[0009] In some embodiments of the present invention, the performing of the task object protection operation includes: performing an alarm operation.

[0010] In some embodiments of the present invention, the maximum duration ranges from 0 to 10 minutes.

[0011] In a second aspect, the present invention discloses a chemical mechanical polishing control device, comprising a memory and a processor; the memory is used to store a computer program; the processor is used to implement the chemical mechanical polishing control method as described in any one of the above items when executing the computer program.

[0012] In a third aspect, the present application discloses a chemical mechanical polishing device comprising the chemical mechanical polishing control device as described above.

[0013] In a fourth aspect, the present application discloses a computer readable storage medium, wherein a computer program is stored in the computer readable storage medium, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the chemical mechanical polishing control method according to any one of the above.

[0014] The chemical mechanical polishing control method, the control device, the device and the storage medium disclosed by the present application comprise obtaining state information, current task information and next task information of any polishing chamber, determining whether the polishing chamber is in a waiting state according to the state information of the polishing chamber, if the polishing chamber is in the waiting state, determining a maximum duration that the polishing chamber can be in the waiting state according to the current task information and the next task information of the polishing chamber, and performing a task object protection operation when the duration that the polishing chamber is in the waiting state exceeds the maximum duration, the task object protection operation being used to protect a task object of the polishing chamber so that the task object is not excessively corroded, thereby avoiding the problem that the task object of the polishing chamber is excessively corroded due to the long duration that the polishing chamber is in the waiting state. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the background art, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments of the present application or the background art will be described below.

[0016] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a chemical mechanical polishing device disclosed by an embodiment of the present application.

[0017] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a chemical mechanical polishing control method disclosed by an embodiment of the present application.

[0018] Figure 3 FIG. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of a chemical mechanical polishing control device disclosed by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0020] As Figure 1As shown, the chemical mechanical polishing equipment generally includes multiple polishing chambers, multiple cleaning chambers and multiple drying chambers, for example, including the first polishing chamber 111 to the fourth polishing chamber 114, the first cleaning chamber 121 and the second cleaning chamber 122, the first drying chamber 131 and the second drying chamber 132. It should be noted that, Figure 1 Other chambers in the apparatus are input chambers or output chambers, etc.

[0021] During the chemical mechanical polishing process of the wafer, the wafer is first controlled to enter the first grinding chamber 111 to the fourth grinding chamber 114 in sequence, so as to perform rough grinding, fine grinding and polishing steps on the wafer in the first grinding chamber 111 to the fourth grinding chamber 114 respectively, and then the wafer is controlled to enter the first cleaning chamber 121 and the second cleaning chamber 122 in sequence, so as to clean the grinding liquid remaining on the surface of the wafer in the first cleaning chamber 121 and the second cleaning chamber 122, and finally the wafer is controlled to enter the first drying chamber 131 and the second drying chamber 132 in sequence, so as to dry the wafer in the first drying chamber 131 and the second drying chamber 132.

[0022] In addition, in order to improve the grinding efficiency, multiple wafers such as the first wafer 101 to the ninth wafer 109 are usually controlled to enter the first grinding chamber 111 to the fourth grinding chamber 114, the first cleaning chamber 121 and the second cleaning chamber 122, the first drying chamber 131 and the second drying chamber 132 in sequence according to a preset path.

[0023] However, the inventors have discovered that during the chemical mechanical polishing process of multiple wafers, due to the different polishing times, cleaning times or drying times of different wafers, some polishing chambers will need to wait for a long time after completing a polishing task before entering the next polishing task. For example, if the cleaning time of the first wafer 101 is too long, the fourth polishing chamber 114 will be in a waiting state for a long time after polishing the fourth wafer 104, which will cause the wafers in the polishing chamber, such as the fourth wafer 104, to be excessively corroded by the polishing liquid remaining on their surfaces, which will cause the semiconductor device made of the wafer to have poor performance.

[0024] Based on this, the present invention discloses a chemical mechanical polishing control scheme. After determining that the grinding chamber is in a waiting state according to the status information of the grinding chamber, the maximum time the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state is determined according to the current task information and the next task information of the grinding chamber. When the time the grinding chamber is in the waiting state exceeds the maximum time, the task object protection operation is performed to prevent the task object from being excessively corroded.

[0025] As an optional implementation of the present disclosure, the present invention discloses a chemical mechanical polishing control method, such as Figure 2 As shown, the method includes: S101: Acquire status information, current task information, and next task information of any grinding chamber.

[0026] by Figure 1 The chemical mechanical polishing equipment shown is used as an example for explanation. During the operation of the chemical mechanical polishing equipment, the status information, current task information and next task information of any polishing chamber will be obtained in real time. The status information represents the status of the polishing chamber, the current task information is the information of the task currently executed by the polishing chamber, and the next task information is the information of the next task to be executed by the polishing chamber.

[0027] Among them, the status information includes working status information, waiting status information or shutdown status information, etc. The working status information indicates that the status of the grinding chamber is working status, the waiting status information indicates that the status of the grinding chamber is waiting status, and the shutdown status information indicates that the status of the grinding chamber is shutdown status; the task information includes the type of the object of the task and the grinding parameters of the task, etc. The grinding parameters of the object include the grinding steps of the object, the grinding film layer of the object and the grinding number of the object, etc.

[0028] S102: Determine whether the grinding chamber is in a waiting state according to the state information of the grinding chamber.

[0029] After obtaining the status information of any grinding chamber, it is possible to determine whether the grinding chamber is in a waiting state based on the grinding chamber status information. For example, if the obtained grinding chamber status information indicates a waiting state, the grinding chamber is determined to be in a waiting state; if the obtained grinding chamber status information indicates an operating state, the grinding chamber is determined not to be in a waiting state. If the grinding chamber is determined not to be in a waiting state, the control flow ends; if the grinding chamber is determined to be in a waiting state, the process proceeds to step S103.

[0030] S103: If the grinding chamber is in a waiting state, the maximum duration that the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state is determined based on the current task information and the next task information of the grinding chamber, and when the duration that the grinding chamber is in the waiting state exceeds the maximum duration, a task object protection operation is performed; the task object protection operation is used to protect the task object of the grinding chamber so that the task object is not excessively corroded.

[0031] According to the state information of any one of the polishing chambers, after it is determined that the polishing chamber is in the waiting state, the maximum duration that the polishing chamber can be in the waiting state is determined according to the current task information and the next task information of the polishing chamber. The maximum duration that the polishing chamber can be in the waiting state can be set in advance for different current task information and / or next task information. It should be noted that the maximum duration that the polishing chamber can be in the waiting state can be the same or different for different current task information and / or next task information.

[0032] Based on this, the duration that the polishing chamber is in the waiting state can be obtained, and the task object protection operation is performed when the duration that the polishing chamber is in the waiting state exceeds the maximum duration. The task object protection operation is used to protect the task object of the polishing chamber, so that the task object is not over-eroded. In this way, the problem that the task object of the polishing chamber is over-eroded due to the long duration that the polishing chamber is in the waiting state can be avoided. The task object includes but is not limited to a wafer.

[0033] In some embodiments of the present application, the task object protection operation includes an alarm operation. That is, the operator can be instructed to protect the task object by an alarm indication device, for example, the task object such as a wafer is removed from the polishing chamber, and the polishing liquid remaining on the surface of the task object such as a wafer is cleaned. Of course, the present application is not limited to this, and in other embodiments, the task object protection operation includes moving the task object to a cleaning chamber, or flushing the task object in the polishing chamber.

[0034] In some embodiments of the present application, the type of the current task object and the next task object of any one of the polishing chambers can be determined according to the current task information and the next task information of the polishing chamber. For example, the type of the current task object of the polishing chamber is determined according to the current task information of the polishing chamber, the type of the next task object of the polishing chamber is determined according to the next task information of the polishing chamber, and whether the types of the two task objects are the same is determined.

[0035] If the types of the current task object and the next task object of the polishing chamber are different, the maximum duration that the polishing chamber can be in the waiting state is determined according to the types of the current task object and the next task object. Based on this, the task object protection operation is performed when the duration that the polishing chamber is in the waiting state exceeds the maximum duration, so that the problem that the polishing time, the cleaning time or the drying time of the adjacent two tasks are different due to the different types of the task objects of the adjacent two tasks, and the current task object of the polishing chamber is over-eroded by the polishing liquid remaining on the surface of the current task object due to the long waiting time after the current task is completed before entering the next task can be avoided.

[0036] If the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are of the same type, the maximum duration that the grinding chamber can remain in the waiting state is determined based on the grinding parameters of the current task object and the next task object. Based on this, by performing a task object protection operation when the duration of the grinding chamber's waiting state exceeds the maximum duration, it is possible to solve the problem of two adjacent tasks in the grinding chamber having the same task object type but different grinding parameters, resulting in different grinding times, cleaning times, or drying times for the two adjacent tasks. This can cause the grinding chamber to wait for a long time before entering the next task after completing the current task, and thus cause the current task object in the grinding chamber to be excessively corroded by residual grinding fluid on its surface.

[0037] In some embodiments of the present invention, the types of task objects of the grinding chamber include control wafers or product wafers. The control wafers include wafers ground by the grinding chamber during the preheating process, and the product wafers include wafers ground by the grinding chamber during the formal operation process. If the current task object type of the grinding chamber is a control wafer and the next task object type is a product wafer, the maximum time that the grinding chamber can be in a waiting state is determined to be the first maximum time. The first maximum time is used to limit the maximum waiting time of the grinding chamber between the control wafer and the product wafer.

[0038] In other embodiments, the grinding parameters of the task object include grinding steps. If the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are the same product piece, and the grinding steps of the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are different, for example, the grinding step of the current task object of the grinding chamber is coarse grinding, and the grinding step of the next task object of the grinding chamber is fine grinding, then the maximum time that the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state is determined to be the second maximum time. The second maximum time is used to limit the maximum waiting time of the grinding chamber between different grinding steps of the same product piece.

[0039] In other embodiments, the grinding parameters of the task object include a grinding film layer. If the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are different product sheets, and the grinding film layers of the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are different, for example, the grinding film layer of the current task object of the grinding chamber is a metal film layer, and the grinding film layer of the next task object of the grinding chamber is a non-metallic film layer, then the maximum time length that the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state is determined to be the third maximum time length; the third maximum time length is used to limit the maximum waiting time of the grinding chamber between product sheets with different grinding film layers.

[0040] In other embodiments, the grinding parameters of the task object include a grinding number. If the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are different product slices from the same batch, and the grinding numbers of the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are different, for example, the grinding number of the current task object of the grinding chamber is 104, and the grinding number of the next task object of the grinding chamber is 105, wherein the grinding number is used to distinguish different product slices from the same batch, then the maximum time that the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state is determined to be the fourth maximum time, and the fourth maximum time is used to limit the maximum waiting time between different product slices from the same batch in the grinding chamber.

[0041] In some embodiments of the present invention, the current task and the next task of the grinding chamber may be simulated and the maximum duration may be determined based on the simulation results. For example, when the type of the current task object of the grinding chamber is a control sheet and the type of the next task object is a product sheet, the current task and the next task of the grinding chamber can be simulated and the first maximum duration can be determined based on the simulation results; when the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are the same product sheet, and the grinding steps of the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are different, the second maximum duration can be determined; when the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are different product sheets, and the grinding film layers of the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are different, the current task and the next task of the grinding chamber can be simulated and the third maximum duration can be determined based on the simulation results; when the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are different product sheets of the same batch, and the grinding numbers of the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are different, the current task and the next task of the grinding chamber can be simulated and the fourth maximum duration can be determined based on the simulation results.

[0042] Of course, the present invention is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the maximum durations, such as the first maximum duration, the second maximum duration, the third maximum duration, and the fourth maximum duration, may also be set based on experience. The maximum durations, such as the first maximum duration, the second maximum duration, the third maximum duration, or the fourth maximum duration, may range from 0 to 10 minutes. In other words, the maximum durations, such as the first maximum duration, the second maximum duration, the third maximum duration, or the fourth maximum duration, may be any duration between 0 and 10 minutes.

[0043] It is understandable that in the embodiment of the present invention, only the type of object and grinding parameters in the current task information and the next task information are used as examples for illustration, but the present invention is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the maximum time that the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state can also be determined based on other information in the current task information and the next task information, which will not be repeated here.

[0044] As an optional implementation of the present disclosure, an embodiment of the present invention discloses a chemical mechanical polishing control device, comprising a memory and a processor. The memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor is configured to implement the chemical mechanical polishing control method disclosed in any of the above embodiments when executing the computer program. The control device includes, among other things, an Advanced Process Control (APC) device.

[0045] In some embodiments of the present invention, the control device may be a terminal, and its internal structure diagram may be as follows: Figure 3 As shown. The control device may include a processor, memory, an input / output interface, a communication interface, a display unit, and an input device. The processor, memory, and input / output interface are connected via a system bus, and the communication interface, display unit, and input device are connected to the system bus via the input / output interface. The processor of the control device is used to provide computing and control capabilities. The memory of the control device includes a non-volatile storage medium and internal memory. The non-volatile storage medium stores an operating system and computer programs. The internal memory provides an environment for the operation of the operating system and computer programs in the non-volatile storage medium. The input / output interface of the control device is used to exchange information between the processor and external devices. The communication interface of the control device is used to communicate with external terminals via wired or wireless communication, and the wireless communication can be achieved via Wi-Fi, mobile cellular networks, NFC (near-field communication), or other technologies. When executed by the processor, the computer program implements the chemical mechanical polishing control method described above. The display unit of the control device is used to produce a visually visible image and can be a display screen, a projection device, or a virtual reality imaging device. The display screen can be a liquid crystal display screen or an electronic ink display screen, and the input device of the control device can be a touch layer covering the display screen, or a button, trackball or touchpad set on the control device housing, or an external keyboard, touchpad or mouse.

[0046] Those skilled in the art will understand that Figure 3 The structure shown in the figure is only a block diagram of a part of the structure related to the scheme of the present invention, and does not constitute a limitation on the control device to which the scheme of the present invention is applied. The specific control device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or have a different component arrangement.

[0047] As another optional implementation of the present disclosure, the present invention also discloses a chemical mechanical polishing device, which includes a control device as disclosed in any of the above embodiments. Figure 1 The chemical mechanical polishing equipment also includes multiple polishing chambers, multiple cleaning chambers, and multiple drying chambers, which will not be described in detail here.

[0048] As another optional implementation of the contents disclosed in the present invention, an embodiment of the present invention further discloses a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the chemical mechanical polishing control method disclosed in any of the above embodiments is implemented.

[0049] As another optional implementation of the contents disclosed in the present invention, an embodiment of the present invention further discloses a computer product, which includes a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the chemical mechanical polishing control method disclosed in any of the above embodiments.

[0050] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0051] The above embodiments merely represent several implementation methods of this specification. While the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that a person of ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and improvements without departing from the scope of this specification, and these modifications and improvements fall within the scope of protection of this specification. Therefore, the scope of protection of the patent in this specification shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A chemical mechanical polishing control method, characterized in that: include: Obtain status information, current task information, and next task information of any grinding chamber; determining, according to the state information of the grinding chamber, whether the grinding chamber is in a waiting state; If the grinding chamber is in a waiting state, a maximum duration for the grinding chamber to be in the waiting state is determined based on the current task information and the next task information of the grinding chamber, and a task object protection operation is performed when the duration for the grinding chamber to be in the waiting state exceeds the maximum duration; the task object protection operation is used to protect the task object of the grinding chamber so that the task object is not excessively corroded.

2. The chemical mechanical polishing control method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining the maximum duration for which the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state according to the current task information and the next task information of the grinding chamber includes: determining, according to the current task information and the next task information of the grinding chamber, whether the types of the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are the same; If the types of the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are different, determining the maximum time that the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state according to the types of the current task object and the next task object; If the current task object and the next task object of the grinding chamber are of the same type, a maximum duration for which the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state is determined according to the grinding parameters of the current task object and the next task object.

3. The chemical mechanical polishing control method according to claim 2, wherein: The type of the task object includes a control sheet or a product sheet, and determining the maximum time that the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state according to the types of the current task object and the next task object includes: If the type of the current task object is a control piece and the type of the next task object is a product piece, the maximum time the grinding chamber can be in a waiting state is determined to be the first maximum time; the first maximum time is used to limit the maximum waiting time of the grinding chamber between the control piece and the product piece.

4. The chemical mechanical polishing control method according to claim 2, wherein: The grinding parameters include a grinding step, and determining the maximum time that the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state according to the grinding parameters of the current task object and the next task object includes: If the current task object and the next task object are the same product slice, and the grinding steps of the current task object and the next task object are different, then determining that the maximum time that the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state is a second maximum time; the second maximum time is used to limit the maximum waiting time of the grinding chamber between different grinding steps of the same product slice; If the current task object and the next task object are different product sheets, and the polishing film layers of the current task object and the next task object are different, then determining that the maximum time the polishing chamber can be in the waiting state is a third maximum time; the third maximum time is used to limit the maximum waiting time of the polishing chamber between product sheets with different polishing film layers; If the current task object and the next task object are different product slices from the same batch, and the grinding numbers of the current task object and the next task object are different, the maximum time duration that the grinding chamber can be in the waiting state is determined to be a fourth maximum time duration; the fourth maximum time duration is used to limit the maximum waiting time of the grinding chamber between different product slices from the same batch.

5. The chemical mechanical polishing control method according to claim 1, wherein: Also includes: The current task and the next task of the grinding chamber are simulated and executed, and the maximum duration is determined according to the simulation results.

6. The chemical mechanical polishing control method according to claim 1, wherein: The executing task object protection operation includes: executing an alarm operation.

7. The chemical mechanical polishing control method according to claim 1, wherein: The maximum duration ranges from 0 to 10 minutes.

8. A chemical mechanical polishing control device, characterized in that: including memory and processor; The memory is used to store computer programs; The processor is configured to implement the chemical mechanical polishing control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 when executing the computer program.

9. A chemical mechanical polishing device, characterized in that: Including the chemical mechanical polishing control device according to claim 8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the chemical mechanical polishing control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is implemented.

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