Automatic correction of processing stations for processing modules that rotate wafers

Abstract

A method for calibration includes: a method for determining a temperature-induced offset of a pedestal of a processing module under temperature conditions used for processing. The method includes: transferring a wafer to the pedestal of the processing module by a robot and detecting a shift-in offset value. The method includes: rotating the wafer on the pedestal by a certain angle. The method includes: removing the wafer from the pedestal by the robot and measuring a shift-out offset value. The method includes: using the shift-in offset value and the shift-out offset value, determining the magnitude and direction of the temperature-induced offset.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to robots, and more particularly, robots for use in wafer handling systems. Background Art

[0002] In semiconductor processing systems, robots are used to move wafers from one location to another. For example, one or more robots may be used to pick up a wafer from a wafer cassette in a load port, move the wafer to a load lock, move the wafer to one or more intermediate locations (such as a transfer module), and move the wafer to a process module or reactor for wafer processing.

[0003] In order to accurately place and pick up the wafer, the robot needs to know the coordinates of various positions in the wafer processing system. After the robot is installed in the wafer processing system, the coordinates can be programmed into the corresponding robot during the setup process. In this way, the transfer (such as picking and placing) position used by the robot is known. For example, the robot can be used to transfer the wafer from the conveying module to the processing module, such as the center of the base. Generally speaking, the technician or field service engineer performs the setup process when the processing module is in a cold state. However, once the processing module is placed under vacuum or heated to a higher temperature, the coordinates of a specific position in the processing module (such as the center of the base) may have moved. Therefore, it is expected to be able to accurately place the wafer at a specific position during the processing conditions to reduce errors caused during wafer processing and realize a small package design (small form factor) of semiconductor devices and / or integrated circuits.

[0004] The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the present disclosure. Work by the presently designated inventors to the extent described in this background section and in aspects of the description that could not be determined as prior art at the time of filing the application is neither explicitly nor implicitly admitted to be prior art against the present disclosure.

[0005] It is against this background that the present disclosure is proposed. Summary of the invention

[0006] Embodiments of the present invention are directed to solving one or more problems found in the related art, and more particularly to measuring the offset of a specific location within a process module under conditions, such as the offset of a location associated with a device.

[0007] Embodiments of the present disclosure include a method for calibration, the method comprising: a method for determining a temperature-induced offset of a pedestal of a processing module under temperature conditions used for processing. The method comprises: transferring a wafer to the pedestal of the processing module by a robot, and detecting a shift-in offset value. The method comprises: rotating the wafer on the pedestal by a certain angle. The method comprises: removing the wafer from the pedestal by the robot, and measuring a shift-out offset value. The method comprises: determining the magnitude and direction of the temperature-induced offset using the shift-in offset value and the shift-out offset value.

[0008] Embodiments of the present disclosure include methods for calibration. The method includes: establishing a reference coordinate system based on an initial calibration position of a rotation axis of a rotating device within a processing module. The method includes: applying conditions to the processing module. The method includes: picking up a calibration wafer from an inbound loading lock using a conveyor module (TM) robot, the conveyor module (TM) robot being configured to convey the calibration wafer to the processing module. The method includes: when conveying the calibration wafer to the processing module, using a measuring device to determine a first measurement value of the calibration wafer within the reference coordinate system, the measuring device being fixed within the reference coordinate system. The method includes: transferring the calibration wafer to the processing module using the TM robot. The method includes: interfacing the calibration wafer with the rotating device. The method includes: rotating the calibration wafer by a certain angle using the rotating device. The method includes: moving the calibration wafer out of the processing module using the TM robot. The method includes: when conveying the calibration wafer to the outbound loading lock, using the measuring device to determine a second measurement value of the calibration wafer within the reference coordinate system. The method includes determining a condition correction amount of the rotation axis based on the first measurement value and the second measurement value, the condition correction amount corresponding to the offset of the rotation axis from the initial correction position when the processing module is in the condition.

[0009] Embodiments of the present disclosure include a method for calibration. The method includes: establishing a reference coordinate system based on an initial calibration position of a rotation axis of a rotating device in a processing module. The method includes: when a calibration wafer is moved out of the processing module from the initial calibration position using a conveying module (TM) robot, a calibration reference measurement value of the calibration wafer is established in the reference coordinate system using a measuring device fixed in the reference coordinate system. The calibration wafer is placed centered on the rotation axis so that the calibration reference measurement value is aligned with the initial calibration position of the rotation axis. The method includes: according to the calibration wafer, a conditional correction amount of the rotation axis is determined by rotating a certain angle around the rotation axis using the rotating device in the processing module, and the conditional correction amount corresponds to the displacement of the rotation axis from the initial calibration position when the processing module is under certain conditions. The method includes: using the TM robot, picking up a processing wafer from an inbound loading lock. The method includes: when the processing wafer is conveyed to the processing module, the alignment measurement value of the processing wafer in the reference coordinate system is determined using the measuring device. The method includes: determining an alignment correction for the process wafer based on the alignment measurement, the alignment correction corresponding to an offset of the process wafer from the calibration reference measurement. The method includes: applying the conditional correction to the process wafer using the TM robot. The method includes: applying the alignment correction to align the process wafer to the rotation axis that is offset from the initial calibration position using the TM robot.

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention include a system for processing a wafer. The system includes: a processing module, which includes a rotating device having a rotation axis. The system includes: a reference coordinate system, which is based on an initial calibration position of the rotation axis of the rotating device. The system includes: a transfer module (TM) robot, which is configured to move a wafer into or out of the processing module. The system includes: a measurement device, which is fixed in the reference coordinate system, and the measurement device intercepts the wafer moving into or out of the processing module. The system includes: a processor and a memory, the memory is coupled to the processor and has instructions stored therein, when these instructions are executed by the processor, it causes the processor to perform a calibration method. The method includes: establishing a reference coordinate system based on the initial calibration position of the rotation axis of the rotating device in the processing module. The method includes: applying conditions to the processing module. The method includes: using a TM robot, picking up a calibration wafer from an inbound load lock, the TM robot is configured to transport the calibration wafer to the processing module. The method includes: when the calibration wafer is transported to the processing module, using a measuring device to determine a first measurement value of the calibration wafer in the reference coordinate system, the measuring device being fixed in the reference coordinate system. The method includes: transferring the calibration wafer to the processing module. The method includes: docking the calibration wafer with the rotating device. The method includes: using the rotating device to rotate the calibration wafer by a certain angle. The method includes: using the TM robot to move the calibration wafer out of the processing module. The method includes: when the calibration wafer is transported to the outbound loading lock, using the measuring device to determine a second measurement value of the calibration wafer in the reference coordinate system. The method includes: determining a conditional correction amount of the rotation axis based on the first measurement value and the second measurement value, the conditional correction amount corresponding to the offset of the rotation axis from the initial correction position when the processing module is under the condition.

[0011] These and other advantages will be appreciated by those skilled in the art from a reading of the entire specification and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The embodiments are best understood by referring to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0013] Figure 1 A substrate processing system is used to process a wafer, for example, to form a film on the wafer.

[0014] Figure 2 is a top view of a multi-station processing tool and / or processing module according to one embodiment, wherein four processing stations are arranged.

[0015] Figure 3is a schematic diagram of an exemplary multi-station processing tool having inbound load locks and outbound load locks according to one embodiment.

[0016] Figure 4A An incoming wafer delivered to a multi-station process module is shown showing the orientation of the incoming wafer for determining the offset of the axis of rotation of the apparatus within the process module under processing conditions, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 4B shows a method according to an embodiment of the present invention from Figure 4A The outgoing wafer output from the multi-station processing module shows the orientation of the outgoing wafer for determining the deviation of the rotation axis of the device within the processing module under processing conditions.

[0018] Figure 4C A procedure for determining offset according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown that utilizes measurements of incoming and outgoing wafers to determine offset of a rotational axis of a rotating device within a process module under process conditions.

[0019] Figure 4D An example of calculating a drift correction vector according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0020] Figure 4E A flow chart showing a method for determining temperature-induced deflection of a susceptor in a process module under process conditions according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 5A A flow chart showing a method according to one embodiment of the present invention for determining a calibration reference measurement value (such as an initialization position) of a calibration wafer, the calibration wafer being held by a transfer module (TM) robot and measured by a measuring device, wherein the position of the calibration reference measurement value is aligned with an initial calibration position of a rotation axis of a rotating device within a processing module.

[0022] Figure 5B A flow chart is shown of a method for using calibrated reference measurements of a calibration wafer to determine offset of a rotational axis of a rotating device within a process module under process conditions in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 5C A flow chart showing a method according to one embodiment of the present invention, the method is used to determine an alignment offset of an incoming process wafer from a correction reference measurement value, and apply an alignment correction amount to the incoming process wafer based on the alignment offset, and apply a conditional correction amount to the incoming process wafer based on an offset of a rotation axis of a rotating device within a process module.

[0024] Fig. 6AThe figure shows the calibration reference measurement value of the calibration wafer according to one embodiment of the present invention, which is aligned with the initial position of the rotation axis of the rotating device in the processing module, and shows the influence of the rotation axis offset of the rotating device in the processing module on the calibration wafer when the calibration wafer rotates.

[0025] Figure 6B Shown is a measurement of the offset of the rotation axis of a rotator within a process module by rotating an incoming wafer by a certain angle by the rotator, wherein the measurement is alignment unknown, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 7 Alignment offsets of run-out corrected reference measurements into a process wafer are shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 8 A control module for controlling the above-described system is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Although the following detailed description contains many specific details for illustrative purposes, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many variations and modifications of the following details are within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the aspects of the present invention described below are set forth without causing any loss of generality to the subsequent claims and without imposing limitations.

[0029] In summary, various embodiments of the present invention describe systems and methods for correcting for a rotation axis drift of a rotating device (e.g., a rotating base) within a process module. In this manner, embodiments of the present invention can reduce errors caused by misalignment of incoming wafers that are delivered to a correction position (e.g., a rotation axis) within the process module, where the correction position has moved after a process condition has been applied to the process module. By correcting for this condition drift, the form factor of semiconductor devices and integrated circuits containing semiconductor devices can be reduced.

[0030] With the above general understanding of various embodiments, exemplary details of the embodiments will now be described with reference to various drawings. Components and / or parts with similar numbers in one or more of the drawings are meant to generally have the same configuration and / or function. In addition, the drawings may not be drawn to scale, but are intended to illustrate and emphasize new concepts. Obviously, embodiments of the present invention can be implemented without some or all of these specific details. On the other hand, well-known processing operations are no longer described in detail herein to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments of the present invention.

[0031] Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and apparatus for calibrating a robot and / or tool system coupled to a plasma processing module, such as a plasma processing module used in atomic layer deposition (ALD) and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) processes. Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in various processing module configurations. In addition, embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the embodiments provided herein, and may be implemented in different plasma processing systems using different configurations, geometries, and plasma generation technologies, such as inductively coupled systems, capacitively coupled systems, electron cyclotron resonance systems, microwave systems, etc. Plasma processing systems and plasma processing modules are disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Patent Nos. 8,862,855, 8,847,495, and 8,485,128 and U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15 / 369,110.

[0032] Figure 1 The plasma processing system 100 is used to process wafers, such as forming films on substrates, such as films formed in ALD and PECVD processes. The system 100 is configured to process wafers to produce semiconductor devices. For example, front opening wafer transport boxes (FOUPs) (not shown) are configured to hold one or more wafers and move the wafers into and out of the system 100 and move them within the system 100. The FOUP can be connected to a load port 160 to transfer the wafers. In particular, during processing, the wafers can be transferred between the equipment front end module (EFEM) 150 and the various process modules (PM) 110 within the FOUP via a transfer module 190. The load port 160 is configured to move the wafers into and out of the EFEM 150 during pre-processing and post-processing.

[0033] The EFEM 150 is configured to move wafers between atmosphere and vacuum (processing environment of PM 110). The EFEM 150 is configured to move wafers between a FOUP and a load lock 170. A transport robot 131 (e.g., a robot arm and the like) transfers wafers between a load port 160 and an appropriate load lock 170 along a track 152. Various gate valves 180, a transport module 190, and a processing module 110 in conjunction with the load lock 170 may be used to maintain or generate appropriate pressures (e.g., atmospheric pressure, vacuum, and transitional states between the two). The gate valve 180 is configured to isolate components during wafer movement and / or processing, particularly when the wafer is exposed to various pressures in the processing system 100. For example, the gate valve 180 may isolate the EFEM 150, the load lock 170, the transport module 190, and the processing module 110. The load lock 170 includes a transport device that transfers substrates (e.g., wafers in a FOUP) from the EFEM 150 to the transport module 190. The load lock 170 may be evacuated under pressure prior to entering the vacuum environment maintained by the transfer module 190, or vented to atmosphere prior to entering the EFEM 150. For example, the load lock 170 may be coupled to a vacuum source (not shown) such that the load lock 170 may be evacuated when the gate valve 180 is closed. Accordingly, the load lock 170 may be configured to maintain a desired pressure, such as when transferring wafers between the load lock 170 and the transfer module 190 under vacuum pressure, or when transferring wafers between the load lock 170 and the EFEM 150 under atmospheric pressure.

[0034] The transport module 190 is configured to move substrates (e.g., wafers in the load lock 170) into and out of the process module 110 through the gate valve 180. In one configuration, the gate valve 180 includes a controllable opening (e.g., an access door) to allow access to adjacent modules (e.g., the transport module 190, the EFEM 150, the process module 110, etc.). Within the transport module 190, a transport robot 132 (e.g., a robotic arm and the like) is configured to move the process wafers 101 in a vacuum environment using a track 133, such as transferring wafers between process modules 110, or moving wafers into and out of the load lock 170. The transport module 190 and the process module 110 are typically operated under vacuum and may be coupled to one or more vacuum sources (not shown) to maintain an appropriate vacuum pressure.

[0035] One or more processing modules 110 may be coupled to the transport module 190. Each processing module 110 is configured to process a wafer, or any suitable object that must be processed in a vacuum or other controlled environment. The processing modules 110 may be a single station or a multi-station configuration. The depicted processing module 110 includes four processing stations, which are located at Figure 1The illustrated embodiment is numbered from 1 to 4. For example, the process module 110 can be configured to perform one or more semiconductor processes. In one configuration, the process module 110 includes a plasma processing chamber. Generally, the process module 110 can generate plasma by various mechanisms, such as inductive coupling (transformer coupling), helicon wave, electron cyclotron resonance, capacitive coupling (parallel plate). For example, a high density plasma can be generated in a transformer coupled plasma (TCP™) processing chamber or an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) processing chamber. Examples of high flow plasma processing chambers or process modules that provide high density plasma are disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Patent No. 5,948,704. For the purpose of describing chambers located in a process module, parallel plate plasma processing chambers, electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma processing chambers, and transformer coupled plasma (TCP™) processing chambers are disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Patent Nos. 4,340,462, 4,948,458, 5,200,232, and 5,820,723.

[0036] Figure 2 1 is a top view of a multi-station processing tool or processing module 110 providing four processing stations. The top view is of the lower chamber portion 102b (e.g., with the top chamber portion removed for illustration), wherein the four processing stations are accessed by spider forks 226. Each spider or fork includes first and second arms, each of which surrounds a portion of each side of the susceptor 140. In this figure, the spiders 226 are depicted in dashed lines to convey that they are located below the carrier ring 200. The spiders 226 using the engagement and rotation mechanism 220 are configured to simultaneously lift and elevate the carrier ring 200 from the processing station (i.e., from the lower surface of the carrier ring 200), and then rotate at least one or more of the processing stations to the next position before lowering the carrier ring 200 (where at least one of the carrier rings supports a wafer 101), thereby allowing further plasma processing, treatment and / or film deposition to be performed on the corresponding wafer 101.

[0037] Figure 3Schematic diagram of an embodiment of a multi-station processing tool or processing module 110 having an inbound load lock 302 and an outbound load lock 304. A robot 131 at atmospheric pressure is configured to move substrates from a cassette loaded via a pod 308 into the inbound load lock 302 via an atmospheric port 310. The inbound load lock 302 is coupled to a vacuum source (not shown) so that the inbound load lock 302 can be evacuated when the atmospheric port 310 is closed. The inbound load lock 302 also includes a chamber transfer port 316 connected to the processing chamber 102b. Therefore, when the chamber transfer port 316 is opened, another robot (not shown, such as the robot 312 of the vacuum transfer module 190) can move the substrate from the inbound load lock 302 to the pedestal 140 of the first processing station for processing.

[0038] The depicted processing chamber 102b includes four processing stations, which are Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, the processing chamber 102b can be configured to maintain a low pressure environment so that substrates can be transported between processing stations using a carrier ring 200 without experiencing a vacuum break and / or exposure to air. Figure 3 Each of the processing stations includes a processing station substrate holder (shown at 318 for processing station 1) and a process gas delivery line inlet.

[0039] Figure 3 Also depicted is a crossbar 226 for transferring substrates within the processing chamber 102b. The crossbar 226 rotates the wafer and can transfer the wafer from one processing station to another. The transfer can be performed by causing the crossbar 226 to lift the carrier ring 200 from the outer lower surface to lift the wafer and transfer the wafer and carrier together to the next processing station. In one configuration, the crossbar 226 is made of a ceramic material to withstand high levels of heat during processing.

[0040] Figures 4A to 4E A process diagram for determining a deviation from an initially calibrated position of a rotational axis of a rotating device within a process module, which in an embodiment of the invention is caused by process conditions applied to the process module.

[0041] In particular, Figure 4AAn incoming calibration wafer 405 of an embodiment of the present invention is shown loaded into a multi-station processing module and the orientation of the incoming calibration wafer 405 is shown for determining the offset of the device rotation axis within the processing module 110 under processing conditions. In particular, the robot 132 transfers the calibration wafer from the vacuum transfer module 190 to the processing module 110 through the gate valve 180. The calibration wafer 405 is transferred to the processing station 140 closest to the gate valve 180. The processing station 140 may include a pedestal for supporting the wafer. The orientation of the calibration wafer 405 is indicated by the notch 406, wherein in the incoming orientation, the notch 406 points toward the processing station 140 so that the notch 406 enters the gate valve first or passes the AWC sensor 410 first as the incoming calibration wafer 450 enters.

[0042] As previously described, the processing module 110 is configured to process wafers in a vacuum or controlled environment. For example, the processing module 110 can be configured to perform one or more semiconductor manufacturing processes. For example, the processing module 110 includes a multi-station plasma processing chamber for generating plasma to facilitate various processes including depositing materials during deposition or etching processes, such as ALD and PECVD processes. The chamber can include one or more electrodes, a substrate support, an electrostatic chuck in the substrate support (which is configured to include an electrode that applies a high voltage bias to generate an electrostatic holding force to hold the wafer in place), one or more gas nozzles, and a gap control mechanism to control the spacing between the substrate support and the nozzle. For the purpose of brevity and clarity, various other components of the chamber and / or processing module 110 that are known to those skilled in the art will not be described in detail, but they are expected and fully supported.

[0043] In addition, the station 140 may include a lifting pad (also referred to as a twist pad) for rotation. The lifting pad is configured to lift a wafer off the pedestal 140 and rotate a wafer disposed thereon relative to the processing module 110 and / or the corresponding pedestal 140. For illustrative purposes, the lifting pad may be used within a processing module 110 for ALD and PECVD processes and / or applications. For example, one or more motors may be configured to lift the wafer processing pedestal 140 (such as the function of existing pedestal lifting devices) and lift the wafer off the pedestal using the lifting pad. In one embodiment, the lifting pad is approximately the same size as the chip. In another embodiment, the lifting pad is smaller than the wafer. The lifting pad may be controlled separately from the pedestal so that the lifting pad may be separated from the pedestal for rotation purposes. For example, once the lifting pad is separated from the pedestal, the wafer supported by the lifting pad rotates as the lifting pad rotates. In this way, the pedestal 140 and the processing chamber or processing module surrounding the pedestal remain fixed relative to the rotating lifting pad.

[0044] In embodiments of the present invention, in order to determine the deviation of the rotation axis of the device within the process module 110 (the deviation is caused by the processing conditions applied to the process module 110), the wafer can be rotated using any rotation device located within the process module 110. For example, the rotation device can be located on an end effector of a spindle or a cross to rotate the processing station and / or the pedestal 140 within the process module 110. One type of spindle can be the previously described Figure 2 The referenced rotation mechanism 220 and / or cross 226. The rotation device is configured to rotate the wafer as the entire spindle rotates normally between processing stations 140. For example, in an embodiment, the rotation device on the end effector can effectively rotate the wafer between 0-180 degrees in a clockwise or counterclockwise manner while the spindle transports the wafer from one processing station to another processing station (such as a processing station 90, 180 or 270 degrees apart) within a four-station or multi-station processing module 110. The wafer rotation mechanism and / or device is concentrically disposed on the spindle end effector that is performing wafer transport.

[0045] like Figure 4A As shown, the gate valve 180 may include an active wafer centering (AWC) sensor 410. The AWC sensor 410 is configured to measure and correct the position of the wafer during transport, as follows: Figure 4E , 6A -6B and 7. For example, the AWC sensor 410 may be a vertically mounted through-beam sensor. The AWC sensor 410 may be mounted so that the corresponding light beam is along the Z axis (which is perpendicular to the Figure 4A140). In this way, the AWC sensor 410 can detect when its corresponding beam is disrupted, for example, when an opaque object (such as a wafer or a portion of an end effector) blocks its beam. Generally speaking, the wafer can trigger the AWC sensor 410 two or more times as the wafer is transported (for example, the wafer can pass through the AWC sensor 410 in one direction, or back and forth to increase the number of data points). Up to four points on the wafer can be triggered to measure the location / position of the wafer within a reference coordinate system (not shown) (such as the center of the wafer). This location can be used for alignment correction and to determine the conditional offset of the rotation axis of the rotating device within the processing module 110. For example, the AWC sensor 410 can be part of a measurement device that is used to measure the position of the wafer relative to the data correction group. The data correction group generates a correction reference measurement value that is aligned with the initial correction position of the rotation axis (such as during cold setup). During tool setup, the wafer is placed on the center of the pedestal 140 using a centering technique (such as feature alignment). The calibration wafer 405 is picked up by the robot 132 and the calibration wafer 405 is moved into or out of the processing module 110 at full speed while recording the robot position of the calibration wafer in a reference coordinate system (e.g., where the measurement device is fixed in the reference coordinate system) when the sensing beam corresponding to the AWC sensor 410 is broken. The measurement data is used to determine the wafer position in the reference coordinate system. An example of using an AWC sensor for calibrating a robot is disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Patent No. 6,934,606.

[0046] Figure 4B An embodiment of the present invention is shown Figure 4AThe outgoing calibration wafer 405 from the multi-station processing module 110 is shown, which shows the orientation of the outgoing calibration wafer 405 for determining the offset of the device rotation axis within the processing module under processing conditions. In particular, the robot 132 transfers the calibration wafer from the processing module 110 to the conveyor module 190 through the gate valve 180. The orientation of the calibration wafer 405 is indicated by the notch 406 (which is in the outgoing orientation) that has been rotated a certain angle and facing away from the processing station 140, so that for the outgoing calibration wafer 405, the notch 406 first enters the gate valve or passes through the AWC sensor 410. That is, the wafer has been rotated approximately 180 degrees between the orientations of the incoming calibration wafer 405 and the outgoing calibration wafer 405. In an embodiment, the rotation of the calibration wafer 405 can be an angle ranging from greater than 0 degrees to equal to or less than 180 degrees for determining the offset of the rotation in and out of the processing module under processing conditions. In an embodiment, the wafer rotation angle may be one of approximately 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 150, 155, 160, 165, 170, 175, and 180 degrees.In an embodiment, the rotation of the calibration wafer 405 can be a valid angle defined within a valid range, wherein one range is defined as greater than 0 and up to and including 15 degrees, another range is defined as between 5 and 20 degrees, another range is defined as between 10 and 25 degrees, another range is defined as between 15 and 30 degrees, another range is defined as between 20 and 35 degrees, another range is defined as between 25 and 40 degrees, another range is defined as between 30 and 45 degrees, another range is defined as between 35 and 50 degrees, another range is defined as between 40 and 55 degrees, another range is defined as between 45 and 60 degrees, another range is defined as between 50 and 65 degrees, another range is defined as between 55 and 70 degrees, another range is defined as between 60 and 75 degrees, another range is defined as between 65 and 80 degrees, another range is defined as between 70 and 85 degrees, another range is defined as between 75 and 90 degrees, another range is defined as between 80 and 95 degrees, another range is defined as between 85 and 100 degrees. degrees, another range is defined as between 90 and 105 degrees, another range is defined as between 95 and 110 degrees, another range is defined as between 100 and 115 degrees, another range is defined as between 105 and 120 degrees, another range is defined as between 110 and 125 degrees, another range is defined as between 115 and 130 degrees, another range is defined as between 120 and 135 degrees, another range is defined as between 125 and 140 degrees, another range is defined as between 130 and 145 degrees , another range is defined as between 135 and 150 degrees, another range is defined as between 140 and 155 degrees, another range is defined as between 145 and 160 degrees, another range is defined as between 150 and 165 degrees, another range is defined as between 155 and 170 degrees, another range is defined as between 160 and 175 degrees, another range is defined as between 165 and 180 degrees, another range is defined as between 170 and 185 degrees, and another range is defined as between 175 and 190 degrees.

[0047] Figure 4C FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention for measuring the deflection of the rotation axis of a rotating device (such as a lift pad) in a process module 110 under process conditions (such as high temperature, vacuum, etc.), using a method previously described in Figures 4A to 4BThe measurements of the incoming calibration wafer 405 and the outgoing calibration wafer 405 are described. When the processing module 110 is under processing conditions, embodiments of the present invention are used to guide a robot (such as a TM robot 132) to a processing station (for example, to move to the center of the base 140). For each arm of the robot 132, the motion coordinate system of the TM robot 132 can be radial (R), θ (T), and vertical (Z). Another motion coordinate system of the TM robot 132 can be the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis. Other coordinate systems are also supported. In the past, placing any sensor within the processing module 110 was a challenge for most PECVD or ALD semiconductor processing applications because the processing module 110 was at a high temperature (such as 650 degrees Celsius) or may be under vacuum. That is, the sensor was inoperable when the processing conditions were applied to the processing module 110. Thus, before the embodiments of the present invention, it was impossible to measure the offset of any point of the processing module caused by applying the processing conditions to the processing module.

[0048] The embodiment of the present invention utilizes a rotating device within the process module 110 to rotate the calibration wafer 405 (between the orientation of the incoming calibration wafer 405 and the orientation of the outgoing calibration wafer 405) by a certain angle, and uses a measuring device (such as an AWC sensor 410) located outside the process module 110 to measure the displacement of the rotation axis of the rotating device located within the process module 110. Specifically, the displacement of the (measured) incoming calibration wafer 405 to the (measured) outgoing calibration wafer refers to the displacement of the rotation axis of the rotating device, which is caused by applying the processing conditions to the process module 110, which will be Figures 6A to 6B Further described in .

[0049] In general, the offset of the incoming calibration wafer 405 (e.g., measured offset 420) relative to the AWC coordinate system (e.g., measurement #1) can be measured using the AWC sensor 410. For example, the offset is measured from a perfectly aligned wafer measurement defined by the AWC coordinate system (e.g., the center of the AWC coordinate system). After the wafer is rotated, the AWC sensor 410 can again measure the wafer offset (e.g., measured offset 425) using the AWC sensor 410 on the outgoing calibration wafer 405. That is, the position of the incoming calibration wafer 405 and the outgoing calibration wafer 405 at a particular point in the system (e.g., when the wafer passes through the gate valve 180 at the AWC sensor 410) can be measured relative to a reference coordinate system (e.g., the AWC coordinate system) established during tool setup, where the reference coordinate system is the initial calibrated position (e.g., the guide position) of the incoming and outgoing wafers corresponding to the center of the pedestal (e.g., the axis of rotation) that is perfectly aligned with the wafer to be placed. The difference between the measurements (e.g., the offset endpoints in the reference coordinate system) should only be the result of an "offset wafer rotation" or an offset in the axis of rotation of the rotating device. The difference can be expressed as a vector between the two measured positions in the reference coordinate system. Assuming the rotary device has negligible radial deviation from its central axis (e.g., the axis of rotation) (e.g., the central axis of the spindle end effector or the lifting pad of the pedestal 140), the difference in the AWC measurements should be twice the offset of the wafer relative to the pedestal, which will be Figures 6A to 6B This defines the required guide position change to transfer the wafer to be centered on the pedestal 140 when the process module is under processing conditions.

[0050] Figure 4D An example of calculating an offset correction vector and / or a conditional correction vector in one embodiment of the invention is shown. In particular, the offset correction vector in x and y coordinates is based on at least the following measurements: an inbound AWC value and an outbound AWC value.

[0051] Figure 4E 400E is a flow chart showing a method for determining temperature-induced susceptor deflection in a process module under process conditions according to one embodiment of the present invention. To determine the temperature-induced deflection, the process module is placed under the same process conditions used to process the wafer. For example, the process module is placed under the temperature conditions when the wafer is processed. The appropriate temperature selected depends on the process used. The method of the present invention is discussed with reference to specific components of the plasma processing system 100, wherein the flow chart 400E can be implemented in the above-mentioned reference wafer processing system 100.

[0052] At 450, the method includes: transferring a wafer to a pedestal of a single or multi-station processing module by a robot and detecting a move-in offset value. The wafer may be a calibration wafer used during a calibration procedure. The robot may be a robot within a vacuum transport module, such as robot 132. The pedestal may be configured as a rotation device so that the pedestal itself or a component of the pedestal assembly can be rotated. The move-in offset value is measured relative to or for a calibration reference measurement value defined in a reference coordinate system, the calibration reference measurement value being based on an initial calibration position of the pedestal within the processing module. In particular, the calibration reference measurement value defines a perfectly aligned wafer moved into the processing module and perfectly aligned to be placed in the center of the pedestal. The calibration reference measurement value may be determined when the processing module is not in a processing condition, which will be combined with Figure 5A Further description.

[0053] At 455, the method includes rotating the wafer on the susceptor by a certain angle. In particular, the susceptor assembly described previously may include a susceptor and a lifting pad, wherein the lifting pad is configured to rotate relative to the susceptor. For example, the wafer may be placed on the susceptor assembly. The lifting pad may be separate from the susceptor and rotated along or around a rotation axis (e.g., an axis defining a center of the susceptor), and the lifting pad rotates relative to the susceptor between at least a first angular orientation and a second angular orientation defining an angle.

[0054] At 460, the method includes removing the wafer from the susceptor by the robot and measuring a removal offset value. The removal offset value is measured relative to or for a calibrated reference measurement value defined in a reference coordinate system.

[0055] At 465, the method includes determining the magnitude and direction (e.g., vector components) of a temperature induced offset using the shift-in offset value and the shift-out offset value. As previously described, the difference between the measured values ​​(e.g., the endpoints of the offset in the reference coordinate system) should only be the result of an "offset wafer rotation" or a shift in the rotation axis of the rotating device. The difference can be represented by a vector between the two measured positions in the reference coordinate system. In particular, the temperature induced offset corresponds to a movement or offset of the pedestal center relative to an initial calibration position (e.g., a cold guide position) when the process module is at the process temperature. Based on the difference vector, halving the magnitude of the difference vector will determine the temperature induced offset of the pedestal center relative to its initial calibration position. Specifically, the midpoint of the vector defines the endpoints of the temperature induced offset relative to a calibration reference measurement value that is aligned with (or converted to) the pedestal initial calibration position. The temperature correction of the pedestal center can be determined based on the temperature induced deviation.

[0056] Through the detailed description of the various modules of the plasma processing system 100 and the plasma processing module 110, Figures 5A to 5CFlowcharts 500A through 500C of the present invention disclose methods for determining calibration reference measurements, calibrations for processing module conditions, and calibrations for incoming wafer alignments under processing. Method 500A and other methods of the present invention (e.g., methods 400E, 500B, and 500C) are discussed with reference to specific components of a plasma processing system 100, wherein flowcharts 500A through 500C are implemented in the wafer processing system 100 of the aforementioned reference. For example, various sensors and components of the system 100 are employed to facilitate calibration of the TM robot 132 and determination of rotation axis offsets of a rotating device within the processing module 110.

[0057] In particular, according to one embodiment of the present invention, flowchart 500A discloses a method for determining a calibration reference measurement value (e.g., an initialization position) of a calibration wafer held by a transfer module (TM) robot and measured by a measurement device, wherein the position of the calibration reference measurement value is aligned with an initial calibration position of a rotation axis of a rotating device within a process module. Flowchart 500A may be implemented in conjunction with and may include various processes, such as those performed in the calibration of the TM robot 132 of the vacuum transfer module 190. In particular, flowchart 500A may be performed to establish a reference coordinate system that is generally used to align incoming process wafers and is also used to determine offsets of the rotation axis of a rotating device within a process module 110.

[0058] Although the flowchart is described with respect to the TM robot 132 and an AWC measurement device (such as the AWC sensor 410) for determining the rotation axis offset, other embodiments are well suited for use with Figure 1 Other robots and other measurement devices within the plasma processing system 100 of the embodiment of the present invention can be used. For example, an alignment machine coupled to other robots outside the processing module 110 can be used to determine the measurement values ​​of the wafer. That is, the measurement of the position of the wafer can be made at any point within the plasma processing system 100, as long as the robots and / or components of the system 100 have been initially set up and calibrated to each other. In this way, the path of the wafer that is transported through the processing system 100 and ultimately placed at the center point of the susceptor can be known and calibrated. In this way, the center point of the susceptor can be translated to any point on this path and used to establish a reference coordinate system.

[0059] At 501, the method includes guiding the TM robot 132 to an initial calibration position of the pedestal 140. The guiding of the TM robot 132 may be performed during the setup of the TM robot 132. In particular, the TM robot 132 may be calibrated by guiding the robot 132 to the center of the pedestal 140 of the process module 110, wherein a perfectly aligned wafer is placed at the center of the pedestal 140 (e.g., the center of the wafer is aligned with the center of the pedestal). In one embodiment, the center of the pedestal 140 corresponds to the central axis of both the pedestal 140 and the lift pad. Fig. 6AAn initial calibration position 601 of the pedestal 140 is shown, which also corresponds to the rotation axis of the lift pad. The initial calibration position 601 can also correspond to (e.g., centered on) an initialization coordinate system 660, which can be displaced throughout the plasma processing system 100, such as a reference coordinate system 660', as described below.

[0060] Thus, the central axis also corresponds to the rotation axis of the lift pad, which is configured to rotate the wafer relative to the pedestal 140 and / or the process module 110. The instruction is typically performed when no conditions are applied or imposed on the process module 110. For example, this can enable a field technician to perform a setup procedure for, for example, the TM robot 132 and other components of the plasma processing system 100. In an exemplary setup process, the field technician can manually place the end effector of the TM robot 132 at the center of the pedestal 140 to calibrate the TM robot 132.

[0061] As previously described, once the center axis of the pedestal 140 is determined and the robot is calibrated, a reference coordinate system 601' can be established at any point along the calibration path along which the wafer is placed at or moved away from the calibration center of the TM robot 132. That is, the reference coordinate system 601' is referenced to the initial calibration position of the center of the pedestal.

[0062] Determination of the calibration path will be further described below with respect to, for example, the TM robot 132. At 503, the method includes placing a calibration wafer on or within a rotating device (e.g., a lift pad, an end effector of a mandrel, etc.) within the process module 110 and centered about the axis of rotation. In one implementation, the calibration wafer 405 may be placed (e.g., by hand) at the center of the pedestal 140. For example, the calibration wafer may be placed using a centering technique (e.g., aligning features in the process module 110 and / or the pedestal 140). In this way, the calibration wafer 405 is assumed to be perfectly aligned with the axis of rotation of the rotating device (e.g., lift pad).

[0063] At 505, the method includes: using the TM robot 132 to remove the calibration wafer 405 from the processing module 110. The removal is performed along the calibration path because the wafer is assumed to be perfectly aligned in the initial calibration position at the center of the pedestal, and the robot is assumed to follow the same path when removing the perfectly aligned wafer and / or placing the perfectly aligned wafer at the center of the pedestal 140. For example, Fig. 6AState 409B of the calibration wafer 405 is shown, centered about the initial calibration position 601 of the rotation axis of the rotating device (e.g., lift pad). The perfectly aligned calibration wafer 405 moves out of the processing module 110 along the calibration path to state 409A. The movement out is represented by double arrow 691, which means that the incoming wafer and the outgoing wafer are perfectly aligned at the initial calibration position 601.

[0064] At 507, the method includes: using a measuring device, establishing a correction reference measurement value of the calibration wafer within a reference coordinate system. For example, the measuring device can be an AWC system including an AWC sensor 410. The correction reference measurement value is aligned with the rotation axis corresponding to the correction position of the rotation device (such as a lifting pad). For illustrative purposes, the correction reference measurement value can be obtained at a specific position within the measuring device. For example, the correction reference measurement value can be measured when the calibration wafer (which is aligned with the initial correction position of the rotation axis) is first engaged with the AWC sensor 410 along the loading path. The calibration wafer can be moved back and forth between the gate valve 180 and the conveying module 190 by the measuring device (such as the AWC sensor 410) to collect a calibration data set. The correction reference measurement value based on the calibration data set can be or correspond to the center of the calibration wafer 405. For example, at Fig. 6A 4, the calibration reference measurement 601' may correspond to the center 630A of the calibration wafer 405 in the state 409A, which is at the aforementioned specific position within the measurement device (e.g., along the entry path prior to engagement with the AWC sensor 410). In addition, for illustrative purposes, the reference coordinate system 660' may correspond to the calibration reference measurement 601' (e.g., centered on the calibration reference measurement 601'), although the reference coordinate system 660' may be centered at any position as long as it is fixed relative to the initial calibration position 601' of the rotation axis and its initialization coordinate system 660.

[0065] Figure 5B 500B illustrates a method for using calibrated reference measurements 601' of calibration wafer 405 to determine a rotational axis offset of a rotating device (eg, lift pads of susceptor 140) within process module 110 (under process conditions) in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5B Mergeable Fig. 6A To explain, Fig. 6A Calibration reference measurements 601' of a calibration wafer 405 are shown, with the calibration wafer 405 aligned to an initial calibration position 601 of a rotation axis of a rotating device (eg, a lift pad) within a process module. Fig. 6A The effect of the rotation axis offset of the rotating device in the process module 110 on the calibration wafer 405 when the calibration wafer is rotated according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown. By measuring this effect, the offset of the rotation axis can be determined without using a sensor placed in the process module 110.

[0066] At 510, the method includes: establishing a reference coordinate system 660' based on the initial calibration position 601 of the rotation axis of the rotating device in the processing module. The reference coordinate system 660' is established in the flowchart 500A and is shown in Fig. 6A middle.

[0067] Additionally, at 515, the method includes applying a condition to the process module 110. The condition may correspond to a process condition applied to the process module 110 for performing an ALD and / or PECVD process on the wafer 101. For example, the process condition may include an elevated temperature of the process module 110. For example, various processes may be performed at a temperature between 200 and 650 degrees Celsius. Higher and lower temperatures are also contemplated. Additionally, the process condition may include other elements, such as vacuum pressure, etc. For example, during wafer processing, the process module 110 may be placed under vacuum and elevated temperature. The process condition may have an effect on one or more points within the process module 110. For example, the process condition may cause the initial calibration position 601 of the axis of rotation of a rotating device (such as a lift pad) to move by an offset 625. Elements of the process condition (individually or in combination) may affect the initial calibration position 601. For example, an elevated temperature of the process module 110 may cause the center of the susceptor to move, thereby moving the initial calibration position 601. Additionally, placing the process module 110 under vacuum pressure may also move the initial calibration position 601. The deviation of the initial correction position 601 may be on the order of millimeters or more, which will adversely affect semiconductor processing.

[0068] At 520, the method includes picking up a calibration wafer from an inbound load lock using a transport module (TM) robot 132 configured to transport the calibration wafer 405 to a process module 110. The calibration wafer need not be perfectly aligned within the TM robot 132 and / or the initial calibration position 601. That is, embodiments of the present invention are able to determine the offset of the rotation axis using the calibration wafer 405 (which is picked up vertically by the robot 132 and may be misaligned with the calibration reference measurement 601'), measure the position of the calibration wafer 405 along its inbound path (without correcting for the misalignment), rotate the calibration wafer within the process module, and measure the position of the calibration wafer 405 along its outbound path.

[0069] More specifically, at 525, the method includes using a measurement device to determine a first measurement of the calibration wafer 405 within a reference coordinate system when the calibration wafer is delivered to the processing module. The measurement device can be fixed within the reference coordinate system 660'. For example, when the calibration wafer enters the processing module 110 via the gate valve 180, the first measurement can be performed using the AWC sensor 410. The first measurement can be obtained relative to the reference coordinate system 660' (e.g., defining the center of the calibration wafer 405 being measured). Although the first measurement can indicate that the calibration wafer 405 is not aligned with the initial calibration position 601 and / or the calibration reference measurement 601', when determining the rotation axis offset of the rotating device, no correction for the misalignment is required, even if the misalignment is corrected during normal wafer processing.

[0070] At 530, the method includes transferring the calibration wafer to the processing module. This may include transferring the calibration wafer from one or more robots and / or components within the processing module 110 and then to its final destination (rotating device). In addition, the method includes interfacing the calibration wafer 405 with the rotating device. For example, the interfacing may include placing the calibration wafer 405 on a lift pad or base 140. In another example, the interfacing may include picking up the calibration wafer 405 by an end effector of a spindle or rotating device 220 (which is configured to transport wafers from one station to another station in a multi-station processing module 110), wherein the end effector is configured to rotate the wafer. Other devices are also contemplated for interfacing the calibration wafer to the rotating device.

[0071] At 535, the method includes: rotating the calibration wafer 405 by a certain angle using a rotating device. For example, the rotating device may be a lifting pad configured to rotate a wafer placed thereon relative to the susceptor 140 and / or the processing module 110. In one embodiment, the resulting rotation angle may be effectively greater than 0 degrees to less than or equal to 180 degrees (e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise) between an entry orientation of the calibration wafer 405 (corresponding to an entry path when placed on or within the rotating device) and an exit orientation of the calibration wafer (corresponding to an exit path when removed from the rotating device).

[0072] For example, when the rotating device is a lifting pad, the method may include: placing the calibration wafer 405 on the lifting pad of the rotating device, and the rotating device is configured to deposit a film on the processing wafer. The rotating device includes a base and a lifting pad assembly, wherein the base has a base top surface extending from a base center axis. The center axis may also correspond to a rotation axis of the lifting pad. The lifting pad is configured to be placed on the base top surface, connected to the base top surface and / or separated from the base top surface. The method may include: separating the lifting pad from the base top surface along the center axis. The method may include: rotating the lifting pad relative to the base top surface between at least a first angular orientation and a second angular orientation that define an angle.

[0073] In another example, when the rotating device is a spindle or an end effector of the rotating device 220, the method may include: using an end effector (not shown) of a spindle robot (such as the rotating device 220) to pick up the calibration wafer from the first station of the multi-station processing module 110. The spindle robot is configured to transport the wafer between the processing stations in the processing module 110, wherein the end effector is configured to rotate the wafer. In addition, the method includes: placing the calibration wafer on the first station to be removed from the processing module after rotation.

[0074] At 540, the method may include: using the TM robot 132, moving the calibration wafer 405 out of the processing module. In this manner, measurements of the calibration wafer 405 may be performed outside of the processing module 110. In particular, at 545, the method may include: using the measurement device, determining a second measurement of the calibration wafer 405 within the reference coordinate system 660' when the calibration wafer is delivered to the outbound load lock. For example, the second measurement may be performed using the AWC sensor 410 when the calibration wafer is moved out of the processing module 110 via the gate valve 180. The second measurement may be obtained relative to the reference coordinate system 660' (e.g., defining the center of the calibration wafer 405 being measured).

[0075] For example, Fig. 6A The path of the calibration wafer 405 is shown when determining the rotation axis offset 625. For the purpose of introduction and ease of explanation of the steps for determining the offset 625, the incoming calibration wafer 405 is perfectly aligned with the initial calibration position 601 of the rotation axis (e.g., the center of the susceptor 140 at setup). Of course, the incoming calibration wafer 405 does not need to be perfectly aligned, such as with respect to Figure 6BAs shown and described, the offset 625 can be determined through measurement and rotation regardless of whether the incoming calibration wafer 405 is aligned or not. As shown, state 409A shows the calibration wafer 405 along the incoming path, which is perfectly aligned in the initial calibration position 601. The first measurement corresponds to and / or is transferred to the measured center 630A of the calibration wafer 405 (which also corresponds to the calibration reference measurement 601' when perfectly aligned). After performing the first measurement of the calibration wafer 405, the TM robot 132 transports the calibration wafer 405 to the processing module, as shown by arrow 691. State 409B of the calibration wafer 405 shows the calibration wafer 405 being transferred to a station or base 140 including a rotating device (such as a lifting pad). Since the calibration wafer 405 is perfectly aligned, the center of the calibration wafer 405 is placed in the initial calibration position 601, which also corresponds to the rotation axis of the rotating device during the set-up period (at cold temperature and atmosphere). Because the processing module 110 is under processing conditions, the rotation axis will move or shift from the original position. As shown, the rotation axis 650 is offset from the initial calibration position 601. For example, the entire base and its center axis have been moved by an offset 625 relative to a reference coordinate system 660' to which the measurement device is fixed and outside of the processing module 110. As a result, the calibration wafer 405 is not located at the center of the base. The state 409C of the calibration wafer 405 shows that the calibration wafer 405 is rotated by a certain angle (e.g., 180 degrees). After the rotation, the center 630B of the calibration wafer 405 moves along the line 693. Before the rotation, the notch 406 is at the top of the calibration wafer 405, and after the rotation, the notch is located at the bottom of the calibration wafer 405, as shown in FIG. Fig. 6A 409D shows the calibration wafer 405 along the outgoing path as it moves out of the processing module 110. Due to the rotation, the outgoing path is no longer perfectly aligned with the initial calibration position 601. A second measurement is obtained and may correspond to and / or be transferred to the measured center 630D of the calibration wafer 405.

[0076] At 550, the method includes determining a condition correction amount of the rotation axis based on the first measurement value and the second measurement value. The condition correction amount corresponds to an offset 625 of the rotation axis 650 from the initial correction position 601 when the process module is under the process condition. That is, the offset 625 is caused by the process condition. Fig. 6AAn offset 625 is shown represented by a vector, which is determined via first and second measurements (e.g., measured center 630A of the incoming calibration wafer 405 and measured center 630D of the outgoing calibration wafer 405). In particular, a conditional correction can be performed by determining a difference vector 620A between the first measurement and the second measurement. That is, the difference vector intersects the measured positions of the centers 630A and 630D of the incoming and outgoing calibration wafers 405. Thus, the difference vector changes depending on the alignment of the incoming calibration wafer 405. The difference vector 620A is also shown as a displacement between lines 621 and 623, as shown by rotation line 693, which are perpendicular to the difference vector 620A and intersect the respective centers of the calibration wafer 405 in the pre-rotation state and the rotated state (e.g., pre-rotation center 630B and rotated center 630C).

[0077] Additionally, the amount of displacement of the rotation axis from its initial calibrated position 601 is determined by halving the magnitude of the difference vector 620A to determine the endpoint of the offset vector 625. In particular, the offset vector 625 can be determined by placing the difference vector (e.g., 620A) between (e.g., the difference in the measured centers of) the incoming and outgoing wafers 405 within the reference coordinate system 660'. Half of the difference vector (e.g., halved in magnitude) refers to the endpoint of the offset vector 625, where the starting point of the offset vector 625 corresponds to the calibrated reference measurement 601'. In Fig. 6A In FIG. 4 , since the incoming calibration wafer is perfectly aligned, the offset vector 625 lies on the difference vector 620A. However, when the incoming calibration wafer 405 is misaligned, the offset vector 625 will not lie on (e.g., have the same direction as) its corresponding difference vector, such as Figure 6B shown.

[0078] As previously mentioned, the determination of the offset vector 625 does not rely on perfect alignment of the incoming calibration wafer 405 . Figure 6B 60'. The figure is a diagram showing the measurement of the offset of the rotation axis of the rotating device in the processing module according to one embodiment of the present invention, which is measured by rotating the loaded wafer by a certain angle by the rotating device, wherein the measurement is alignment-agnostic. As shown in the figure, four different configuration wafers 405 are depicted along four different entry paths (such as horizontal paths perpendicular to the X-axis of the reference coordinate system 660'). The X-axis of the reference coordinate system 660' can be considered to be perfectly aligned with the initial calibration position 601 along the perfect alignment path. In particular, the configuration wafer 405A (also as Fig. 6AConfiguration wafer 405A is perfectly aligned with calibration reference measurement 601' of reference coordinate system 660' as shown in the first measurement. That is, center 630A of configuration wafer 405A as determined by the first measurement is perfectly aligned with calibration reference measurement 601' of reference coordinate system 660'. However, configuration wafer 405B is misaligned with calibration reference measurement 601', as indicated by the alignment offset of the center of wafer 405B (determined by the first measurement). Additionally, configuration wafer 405C is misaligned with calibration reference measurement 601', as indicated by the alignment offset of the center of wafer 405C (determined by the first measurement). Configuration wafer 405D is also misaligned with calibration reference measurement 601', as indicated by the alignment offset of the center of wafer 405D (determined by the first measurement).

[0079] Figure 6B Each of the first and second measurement sets of configuration wafers 405A to 405D in the reference coordinate system 660′ defines a difference vector in the reference coordinate system 660′. For example, for configuration wafer 405A, the first and second measurement sets define the difference vector in the reference coordinate system 660′. Fig. 6A 620A. Similarly, difference vector 620B is defined based on the first and second measurements of configuration wafer 405B, difference vector 620C is defined based on the first and second measurements of configuration wafer 405C, and difference vector 620D is defined based on the first and second measurements of configuration wafer 405D. All difference vectors 620A to 620D intersect at the endpoints of offset vector 625 at point 650', which may be a displacement of rotation axis 650, i.e., an offset caused by process conditions. That is, for each difference vector starting from the respective first measurement of the corresponding loading calibration wafer, the magnitude is halved and the endpoints of offset vector 625 are also defined. The starting point of offset vector 625 is defined by calibration reference measurement 601'.

[0080] For illustration purposes, any incoming wafer at any point on the correction path (which is aligned to the initial correction position 601) may be corrected by a conditional correction amount corresponding to the offset vector 625. For example, at Fig. 6A 4, the calibration wafer 405 in state 409A (which is perfectly aligned at the initial calibration position 601) is not aligned with the moved rotation axis 650 (which is moved due to the processing conditions applied to the process module 110) until a conditional correction (such as offset vector 625) is applied. In this manner, the incoming calibration wafer is now aligned at point 650', which is aligned with the rotation axis 650 in the process module 110. For loaded wafers that are not aligned with the reference calibration measurement 601' and therefore are not aligned with the corresponding initial calibration position 601, alignment corrections are also applied to align the wafer perfectly with the rotation axis of the rotating device, such as Figure 5C shown.

[0081] The formulas for determining the conditional offset and its correction are discussed below. The variable input values ​​are as follows:

[0082] X1Y1=AWC measured offset #1 (1)

[0083] X2Y2=AWC measured offset #2 (2)

[0084] The intermediate variables are as follows:

[0085] ΔX P ,ΔY P = Base offset change (with 180 degree rotation) (3)

[0086] The expected output values ​​are as follows:

[0087] X P1 ,Y P1 = Base offset #1 (4)

[0088] X P2 ,Y P2 = Offset of base #2 (5)

[0089] X C ,Y C =Automatic calibration correction vector of the robot (6)

[0090] The coordinate rotation matrix, 180 degrees (offset wafer rotated on pedestal) is as follows:

[0091] X P2 ,=X P1 *cos(θ)-Y P1 *sin(θ) (7)

[0092] Y P2 ,=X P1 *sin(θ)-Y P1 *cos(θ) (8)

[0093] When the rotation angle (θ) is 180 degrees, the value is determined as follows:

[0094] X P2 =-X P1 (9)

[0095] Y P2 =-Y P1 (10)

[0096] Therefore, the following formula is defined as follows:

[0097] ΔX P =X P2 -X P1 =-X P1 -XP1 =-2X P1 (11)

[0098] ΔY P =Y P2 -Y P1 =-Y P1 -Y P1 =-2Y P1 (12)

[0099] The AWC measurement also reflects the change in base offset as follows:

[0100] ΔX P =X2-X1=2X P1 (13)

[0101] ΔY P =Y2-Y1=2Y P1 (14)

[0102] X P1 =(1 / 2)(X2-X1) (15)

[0103] Y P1 =(1 / 2)(Y2-Y1) (16)

[0104] The required robot autocalibration correction vector is opposite to the offset direction and is defined as follows:

[0105] X C =-X P1 =(1 / 2)(X1-X2) (17)

[0106] Y C =-Y P1 =(1 / 2)(Y1-Y2) (18)

[0107] An example of calculating an offset correction vector and / or a conditional correction vector is shown in Figure 4D middle.

[0108] Figure 5C Flowchart 500C is a flow chart showing a method according to one embodiment of the present invention, which measures an alignment offset of an incoming process wafer from a calibration reference measurement value, applies an alignment correction to the incoming process wafer based on the alignment offset, and applies a conditional correction to the incoming process wafer based on a rotation axis offset of a rotating device within a process module. Flowchart 500C is performed during wafer processing and is corrected by the TM robot 132 (e.g., related to Figure 5A and determining the rotation axis offset of the rotating device (such as related to Figure 5B as described above).

[0109] At 561, the method includes: setting conditions of the process module for processing the wafer. A reference coordinate system has been previously established, which is based on an initial calibrated position of a rotating device within the process module (e.g., as related to Figure 5A and Figure 5B In addition, a measurement device fixed in the reference coordinate system is used to establish a correction reference measurement value (such as the measurement value 601' of the calibration wafer 405) in the reference coordinate system 660, as previously described. Figure 5A The calibration reference measurement 601' is aligned with the initial calibration position 601, as described above.

[0110] At 565, the method includes: using the TM robot, picking up the process wafer 101 from the inbound load lock 170. The process wafer is not the calibration wafer 405 in the embodiment, but is a wafer designated for semiconductor device and / or integrated circuit processing of semiconductor devices.

[0111] At 570, the method includes determining, using a measurement device, an alignment measurement of the process wafer within a reference coordinate system 660' when the process wafer 101 is delivered to the process module 110. That is, the process wafer picked up by the TM robot 132 may not be perfectly aligned to a position centered about an initial calibration position 601 corresponding to a center of a pedestal and a rotation axis of a rotation device (e.g., a lift pad). The alignment measurement determines an alignment offset of the incoming process wafer 101 as measured relative to the calibration reference measurement 601' using a measurement device (e.g., an AWC sensor 410).

[0112] For example, Figure 7 An alignment offset of an incoming process wafer 101 from a calibrated reference measurement 601' is shown in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the calibrated reference measurement 601' of a perfectly aligned calibration wafer 405 (measured by a measurement device within a reference coordinate system 660' and located outside of the process module 110) is aligned with an initial calibrated position 601 of the pedestal 140 and / or the rotation axis of the rotation device. In addition, the process wafer 101 is shown offset from the calibrated reference measurement 601' by an alignment offset 725 (e.g., an alignment offset vector). In particular, a first measurement (alignment measurement) of the process wafer 101 is determined by a measurement device 610 fixed within the reference coordinate system 660'. The alignment measurement may be at, or shifted to, the center 720 of the process wafer 101. As shown, the center 720 is offset from the calibrated reference measurement 601' by an alignment offset 725 (which may be represented as a vector).

[0113] At 575 , the method includes obtaining an alignment correction for the process wafer based on the alignment measurement, which corresponds to an offset of the process wafer from the correction reference measurement. In one embodiment, the alignment correction may be an alignment offset vector 725 .

[0114] In addition, a conditional correction amount of the rotation axis can be obtained at 576. The conditional correction amount corresponds to the offset of the rotation axis from the initial calibration position 601 when the process module is under the process condition. In particular, the offset of the rotation axis is measured before processing, using a rotation device in the process module under the process condition, based on the calibration wafer 405 rotating around the rotation axis 650 by a certain angle. The conditional correction amount has been previously described with reference to Figure 5B described.

[0115] In addition, at 580, the method includes applying condition corrections and alignment corrections to the incoming wafer 101 to align the wafer with the correction reference measurement 601' and accordingly with the initial correction position 601 of the rotation axis of the aligning device, as previously described. The alignment and condition corrections may be applied to the processing wafer using the TM robot 132. Once the condition corrections and alignment corrections are applied, the incoming wafer 101 may be aligned at 590 when the processing wafer 101 is placed in the processing module 110 for processing. That is, the incoming wafer 101 is now aligned with the rotation axis of the aligning device disposed within the processing module 110 (under processing conditions) offset from the initial correction position 601 (e.g., the center of the processing station and / or pedestal 140).

[0116] Figure 8 A control module 800 for controlling the above-mentioned system is shown. For example, the control module 800 may include a processor, a memory, and one or more interfaces. The control module 800 may be used to control the equipment in the system based in part on the sensed value. For example only, the control module 800 may control one or more of a valve 802, a filter heater 804, a pump 806, and other equipment 808 based on the sensed value and other control parameters. For example only, the control module 800 receives the sensed value from a pressure gauge 810, a flow meter 812, a temperature sensor 814, and / or other sensors 816. The control module 800 may also be used to control process conditions during the precursor delivery and deposition of the film. The control module 800 will typically include one or more memory devices and one or more processors.

[0117] The control module 800 can control the activity of the precursor delivery system and the deposition device. The control module 800 executes a computer program, which includes grouped instructions for controlling process timing, conveying system temperature, and pressure differential across filters, valve positions, mixing of gases, chamber pressure, chamber temperature, substrate temperature, RF power level, substrate chuck or pedestal position, and other parameters of a particular process. The control module 800 can also monitor the pressure differential, and automatically switches the gaseous precursor delivery from one or more paths to one or more other paths. In some embodiments, other computer programs stored in a memory device associated with the control module 800 can be used.

[0118] Typically, there will be a user interface associated with the control module 800. The user interface may include a display 818 (e.g., a display screen and / or graphical software display of apparatus and / or process conditions), and a user input device 820 such as a pointing device, keyboard, touch screen, microphone, etc.

[0119] Computer programs for controlling precursor delivery, deposition and other processing in a process sequence may be written in, for example, any conventional computer readable programming language: assembly language, C, C++, Pascal, Fortran or others. Compiled object code or scripts are executed by a processor to perform the tasks identified in the program.

[0120] Control module parameters relate to process conditions such as, for example, filter pressure differential, process gas composition and flow rate, temperature, pressure, plasma conditions (eg, RF power level and low frequency RF frequency), cooling gas pressure, and chamber wall temperature.

[0121] The system software can be designed or configured in many different ways. For example, various chamber component subroutines or control objects can be written to control the operation of the chamber components necessary to perform the deposition process of the present invention. Examples of programs or program segments for this purpose include substrate positioning code, process gas control code, pressure control code, heater control code, and plasma control code.

[0122] The substrate positioning program may include program code for controlling chamber components that are used to load the substrate onto a pedestal or chuck and control the spacing between the substrate and other components of the chamber (e.g., a gas inlet and / or a target). The process gas control program may include code for controlling gas composition and flow rate and, optionally, for flowing gas into the chamber to stabilize the pressure in the chamber prior to deposition. The filter monitoring program includes code for comparing one or more measured differences with one or more predetermined values ​​and / or code for switching paths. The pressure control program may include code for controlling the pressure in the chamber by adjusting, for example, a throttle valve in the exhaust system of the chamber. The heater control program may include code for controlling the current to a heating unit that is used to heat components within a precursor delivery system, a substrate, and / or other parts of the system. Alternatively, the heater control program may control the delivery of a heat transfer gas (e.g., helium) to a substrate chuck.

[0123] Examples of sensors that may be monitored during deposition include, but are not limited to, mass flow control modules, pressure sensors such as pressure gauge 810, thermocouples (e.g., temperature sensors 814 / 220) located within the transport system, pedestal, or chuck. Appropriately programmed feedback and control algorithms may be used with data from these sensors to maintain desired process conditions. The foregoing describes implementation of embodiments of the present invention in a single-chamber or multi-chamber semiconductor processing tool.

[0124] In some implementations, the controller is part of a system, which can be part of the above examples. Such a system can include a semiconductor processing device, which includes one or more processing tools, one or more chambers, one or more platforms for processing, and / or specific processing components (substrate pedestals, gas flow systems, etc.). These systems can be integrated with electronic devices for controlling their operation before, during, and after the processing of semiconductor wafers or substrates. The electronic device can be referred to as a "controller", which can control various components or subcomponents of one or more systems. Depending on the processing requirements and / or system type, the controller can be programmed to control any of the processes disclosed herein, including the delivery of process gases, temperature settings (e.g., heating and / or cooling), pressure settings, vacuum settings, power settings, radio frequency (RF) generator settings, RF matching circuit settings, frequency settings, flow rate settings, fluid delivery settings, position and operation settings, substrate transfer in and out tools and other transfer tools and / or load locks connected to or connected to a specific system through an interface.

[0125] In general, a controller may be defined as an electronic device having various integrated circuits, logic, memory, and / or software that receive instructions, issue instructions, control operations, enable cleaning operations, enable endpoint measurements, and the like. The integrated circuits may include a chip in the form of firmware that stores program instructions, a digital signal processor (DSP), a chip defined as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and / or one or more microprocessors, or a microcontroller that executes program instructions (e.g., software). The program instructions may be instructions sent to the controller in the form of various individual settings (or program files) that define operating parameters for performing a particular process on or for a semiconductor wafer or system. In some embodiments, the operating parameters may be part of a recipe defined by a process engineer that is designed to complete one or more process steps during the manufacture of one or more layers, materials, metals, oxides, silicon, silicon dioxide, surfaces, circuits, and / or dies of a wafer.

[0126] In some implementations, the controller can be part of or coupled to a computer that is integrated with the system, coupled to the system, otherwise networked to the system, or a combination thereof. For example, the controller can be in the "cloud" or all or part of a wafer factory (fab) host system, which can allow remote access to substrate processing. The computer can enable remote access to the system to monitor the current progress of manufacturing operations, check the history of past manufacturing operations, check the trends or performance standards of multiple manufacturing operations, change the parameters of the current processing, set the processing steps to follow the current processing, or start a new processing. In some examples, a remote computer (e.g., a server) can provide a processing recipe to the system through a network (which can include a local network or the Internet). The remote computer can include a user interface that enables input or programming of parameters and / or settings, and then sends the parameters and / or settings from the remote computer to the system.

[0127] In some examples, the controller receives instructions in the form of data that specify parameters for each processing step to be performed during one or more operations. It should be understood that the parameters can be specific to the type of processing to be performed and the type of tool that the controller is configured to interface with or control. Thus, as described above, the controller can be distributed, for example, by including one or more discrete controllers that are networked together and work toward a common purpose (e.g., the processing and control described herein). An example of a distributed controller for such a purpose is one or more integrated circuits on a chamber that communicate with one or more integrated circuits remotely (e.g., at a platform level or as part of a remote computer), which combine to control processing on the chamber.

[0128] Example systems may include, but are not limited to, plasma etch chambers or modules, deposition chambers or modules, spin rinse chambers or modules, metal plating chambers or modules, cleaning chambers or modules, chamfer edge etch chambers or modules, physical vapor deposition (PVD) chambers or modules, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chambers or modules, atomic layer deposition (ALD) chambers or modules, atomic layer etch (ALE) chambers or modules, ion implantation chambers or modules, track chambers or modules, and any other semiconductor processing system that may be associated with or used in the manufacture and / or preparation of semiconductor wafers.

[0129] As described above, depending on one or more processing steps to be performed by the tool, the controller can communicate with one or more other tool circuits or modules, other tool components, cluster tools, other tool interfaces, adjacent tools, neighboring tools, tools located throughout the factory, a host computer, another controller, or tools used in material transport to transport wafer containers to and from tool locations and / or load ports in a semiconductor manufacturing facility.

[0130] The preceding description of the embodiment is provided for illustration and description purposes. It is not intended to fully describe or limit the present invention. The individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to the particular embodiment, but even if not specifically shown or described, they are interchangeable and can be used in selected embodiments where applicable. This can also be changed in various ways. Such changes are not considered to depart from the present invention, and all such modifications are also included in the scope of the present invention.

[0131] Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some detail for the purpose of clarity of understanding, it should be understood that certain changes and modifications may be implemented within the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, the present embodiments should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive, and these embodiments should not be limited to the details provided herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for determining a temperature-induced deflection of a base of a processing module under temperature conditions used for processing, comprising: Transferring the wafer to the base of the processing module by a robot and detecting the shift-in offset value; Rotating the wafer on the base by a certain angle; Using the robot, the wafer is moved away from the susceptor, and a moving-out offset value is measured; Determining the magnitude and direction of the temperature-induced offset using the in-offset value and the out-offset value; defining a calibration reference measurement value in a reference coordinate system based on an initial calibration position of the pedestal in the processing module; as well as determining a temperature correction of the center of the susceptor based on the temperature-induced offset corresponding to the offset of the center of the susceptor from the initial correction position when the processing module is at the temperature, wherein the shift-in offset value is measured from the calibrated reference measurement value, and Wherein the shift-out offset value is measured from the calibrated reference measurement value.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Wherein detecting the shift-in offset value comprises: using a measuring device fixed in the reference coordinate system to determine a first measurement value of the wafer in the reference coordinate system; and The detecting the displacement offset value comprises: using the measuring device to determine a second measurement value of the wafer in the reference coordinate system.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: When no condition is applied to the processing module, calibrating the robot to an initial calibration position corresponding to the center of the base, the reference coordinate system being based on the initial calibration position; placing a calibration wafer at the center of the pedestal; removing the calibration wafer from the pedestal using the robot; as well as The correction reference measurement values ​​of the calibration wafer are defined in the reference coordinate system using a measuring device fixed in the reference coordinate system, the correction reference measurement values ​​being aligned with the initial correction position.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the temperature correction amount comprises: determining a difference vector between the shift-in offset value and the shift-out offset value; as well as The magnitude of the difference vector is halved to determine the temperature-induced shift of the center of the susceptor from the initial corrected position, wherein the temperature-induced shift corresponds to the temperature correction amount.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein rotating the wafer comprises: placing the wafer on a lift pad configured to separate from and rotate relative to the susceptor; separating the lifting pad from the base along the rotation axis; as well as The lift pad is rotated relative to the base between at least a first angular orientation and a second angular orientation defining the angle.

6. A calibration method, comprising: Establishing a reference coordinate system based on an initial calibration position of a rotation axis of a rotating device within the processing module; applying conditions to the processing module; picking up a calibration wafer from an inbound load lock using a transport module robot, the transport module robot configured to transport the calibration wafer to the process module; When the calibration wafer is transported to the processing module, a first measurement value of the calibration wafer in the reference coordinate system is determined using a measurement device, the measurement device being fixed in the reference coordinate system; transferring the calibration wafer to the processing module; docking the calibration wafer with the rotating device; Using the rotating device to rotate the calibration wafer by a certain angle; Using the conveying module robot, moving the calibration wafer out of the processing module; determining, using the measurement device, a second measurement of the calibration wafer within the reference coordinate system when the calibration wafer is delivered to an outbound load lock; as well as Based on the first measurement value and the second measurement value, a condition correction amount of the rotation axis is determined, the condition correction amount corresponding to the deviation of the rotation axis from the initial correction position when the process module is in the condition.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the step of determining the condition correction amount comprises: determining a difference vector between the first measurement value and the second measurement value; as well as The magnitude of the difference vector is halved to determine the offset of the rotation axis from the initial correction position, wherein the offset corresponds to the conditional correction amount.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein applying the condition comprises performing at least one of the following operations: subjecting the process module to a process temperature; and A vacuum is applied to the process module.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein said establishing a reference coordinate system comprises: When no condition is applied to the processing module, calibrating the conveying module robot to the initial calibration position, the reference coordinate system is based on the initial calibration position; placing the calibration wafer in the rotating device and centered on the rotation axis; Using the conveying module robot, moving the calibration wafer out of the processing module; as well as Using the measurement device, corrected reference measurements of the calibration wafer are established within the reference coordinate system, the corrected reference measurements being aligned to the initial corrected position of the rotation axis.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein rotating the calibration wafer by a certain angle comprises: placing the calibration wafer on a lifting pad of the rotating device, the rotating device being configured to deposit a film on a process wafer, the rotating device being docked with a susceptor, the susceptor having a susceptor top surface extending from a central axis of the susceptor, the lifting pad being configured to be placed on the susceptor top surface or separated from the susceptor top surface; Separating the lifting pad from the top surface of the base along the central axis; as well as The lift pad is rotated relative to the base top surface between at least a first angular orientation and a second angular orientation defining the angle. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the angle ranges from greater than 0 degrees to less than or equal to 180 degrees.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the diameter of the lift pad is approximately the same size as the wafer diameter.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the lift pad has a diameter smaller than a wafer diameter.

14. The method of claim 6, wherein rotating the calibration wafer by a certain angle comprises: picking up the calibration wafer from a first station in the process module using an end effector of a spindle robot configured to transport wafers between stations within the process module, wherein the end effector is configured to rotate the wafer; as well as The rotated calibration wafer is placed on the first station to be removed from the process module.

15. A calibration method, comprising: establishing a reference coordinate system based on an initial calibrated position of a rotation axis of a rotating device within the processing module; When the calibration wafer is moved out of the processing module from the initial calibration position using a conveyor module robot, establishing calibration reference measurements of the calibration wafer in the reference coordinate system using a measurement device fixed in the reference coordinate system, the calibration wafer being positioned to be centered about the rotation axis so that the calibration reference measurements are aligned with the initial calibration position of the rotation axis; According to the calibration wafer, the rotation device in the processing module is used to rotate the rotation axis by a certain angle, and a condition correction amount of the rotation axis is measured, wherein the condition correction amount corresponds to the deviation of the rotation axis from the initial calibration position when the processing module is under certain conditions; Using the transfer module robot, picking up a process wafer from an inbound load lock; determining alignment measurements of the process wafer within the reference coordinate system using the measurement device when the process wafer is transported to the process module; determining an alignment correction for the process wafer based on the alignment measurement, the alignment correction corresponding to a deviation of the process wafer from the correction reference measurement; Using the conveying module robot, applying the condition correction amount to the processing wafer; Using the transfer module robot, the alignment correction is applied to align the process wafer with the rotation axis offset from the initial correction position.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: The processed wafer is transferred to the processing module for processing.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein determining a calibration reference measurement value comprises: When no condition is applied to the processing module, calibrating the conveying module robot to the initial calibration position, the reference coordinate system is based on the initial calibration position; placing the calibration wafer in the rotating device and centered on the rotation axis; Using the conveying module robot, moving the calibration wafer out of the processing module; as well as Using the measurement device, corrected reference measurements of the calibration wafer are established within the reference coordinate system, the corrected reference measurements being aligned to the initial corrected position of the rotation axis.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein determining a calibration reference measurement value comprises: applying conditions to the processing module; picking up a calibration wafer from an inbound load lock using a transport module robot, the transport module robot configured to transport the calibration wafer to the process module; When the calibration wafer is transported to the processing module, a first measurement value of the calibration wafer in the reference coordinate system is determined using a measurement device, the measurement device being fixed in the reference coordinate system; transferring the calibration wafer to the processing module; docking the calibration wafer with the rotating device; Using the rotating device to rotate the calibration wafer by a certain angle; Using the conveying module robot, moving the calibration wafer out of the processing module; determining, using the measurement device, a second measurement of the calibration wafer within the reference coordinate system when the calibration wafer is delivered to an outbound load lock; as well as The condition correction amount of the rotation axis is determined based on the first measurement value and the second measurement value.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein rotating the calibration wafer by a certain angle comprises: placing the calibration wafer on a lifting pad of the rotating device, the rotating device being configured to deposit a film on a process wafer, the rotating device being docked with a susceptor, the susceptor having a susceptor top surface extending from a central axis of the susceptor, the lifting pad being configured to be placed on the susceptor top surface or separated from the susceptor top surface; Separating the lifting pad from the top surface of the base along the central axis; as well as The lift pad is rotated relative to the base top surface between at least a first angular orientation and a second angular orientation defining the angle.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the angle ranges from greater than 0 degrees to less than or equal to 180 degrees.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein rotating the calibration wafer by an angle comprises: picking up the calibration wafer from a first station in the process module using an end effector of a spindle robot configured to transport wafers between stations within the process module, wherein the end effector is configured to rotate the wafer; as well as The rotated calibration wafer is placed on the first station to be removed from the process module.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the assay condition correction comprises: determining a difference vector between the first measurement value and the second measurement value; as well as The magnitude of the difference vector is halved to determine the offset of the rotation axis from the initial correction position, wherein the offset corresponds to the conditional correction amount.

23. The method of claim 19, further comprising: Applying the condition to the process module includes at least one of subjecting the process module to a process temperature and applying a vacuum to the process module.

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