Method of process particle monitoring processing and semiconductor process equipment

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of process particle monitoring processing method and semiconductor process equipment, belong to semiconductor process technology.This method is when semiconductor process chamber is idle, semiconductor process chamber is carried out gas purging, and real-time monitoring abnormal gas concentration in semiconductor process chamber, obtain corresponding first concentration value, abnormal gas concentration and the concentration of potential process particle source is positively correlated;If first concentration value is greater than the first threshold value, on the basis of gas purging, predetermined gas is input into semiconductor process chamber, so that predetermined gas and potential process particle source in semiconductor process chamber occur chemical reaction, generate corresponding reactant particle, and reactant particle enters tail discharge processor communicated with semiconductor process chamber under gas purging.This technical solution can effectively remove process particles in semiconductor process chamber during semiconductor process, avoid the problem that process particles exceed standard affect product yield.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of semiconductor process, and particularly relates to a method for monitoring and processing process particles and a semiconductor process equipment. BACKGROUND

[0002] Currently, in the semiconductor processing process, the chemical deposition film forming method is more likely to produce process particles than physical vapor deposition in industrial production, which is determined by the reaction principle, and the atomic layer deposition (ALD) TaN film process using PDMAT as a solid-state source is even more so. That is, in the semiconductor process chamber processing the ALD TaN film process, many process particles are easily produced. If these process particles cannot be removed from the semiconductor process chamber in time, the process particles will exceed the standard, which will seriously affect the process treatment of the semiconductor process chamber on the subsequent wafers, resulting in a low product yield. Therefore, during the ALD TaN film process, the semiconductor process chamber is idle, and the semiconductor process chamber is purged to remove the above-mentioned process particles. However, this method of removing process particles by simple gas purging cannot eliminate the generation of process particles from the root cause, resulting in the phenomenon of process particle exceeding the standard still occurring, which is a potential threat to the product yield. SUMMARY

[0003] The embodiments of the present application provide a method for monitoring and processing process particles and a semiconductor process equipment, aiming at improving the technical problem that the existing method of removing process particles by simple gas purging has an unsatisfactory removal effect, resulting in the phenomenon of process particle exceeding the standard still occurring.

[0004] In a first aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a method for monitoring and processing process particles in a semiconductor process chamber, comprising the following steps:

[0005] When the semiconductor process chamber is idle, the semiconductor process chamber is purged, and the abnormal gas concentration in the semiconductor process chamber is monitored in real time to obtain a corresponding first concentration value, the abnormal gas concentration is positively correlated with the concentration of potential process particle sources;

[0006] If the first concentration value is greater than a preset first threshold value, on the basis of gas purging, a preset gas is introduced into the semiconductor process chamber, so that the preset gas reacts with the potential process particle sources in the semiconductor process chamber to generate corresponding reactant particles, and the reactant particles enter a tail exhaust processor connected with the semiconductor process chamber under the gas purging.

[0007] Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the following steps are further included:

[0008] If the first concentration value is less than or equal to the first threshold value, only a purge gas is introduced into a pipeline for conveying a process reaction gas and the semiconductor process chamber to perform a gas purge on the semiconductor process chamber, so that process particles generated by a process reaction are carried into the exhaust processor by a gas flow of the purge gas.

[0009] Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the following steps are further included:

[0010] If the first concentration value is greater than a preset second threshold value, the second threshold value being greater than the first threshold value, on the basis of the gas purge, the preset gas is introduced into the semiconductor process chamber, and a preset radio frequency field is formed in the semiconductor process chamber, so that the preset gas is at least partially ionized by the preset radio frequency field and chemically reacts with potential process particle sources in the semiconductor process chamber to generate corresponding reaction particle, which is carried into the exhaust processor by the gas purge.

[0011] Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the first threshold value and the second threshold value are obtained by the following method steps:

[0012] A preset number of wafers are processed by the semiconductor process chamber to obtain a preset number of finished wafers;

[0013] A preset abnormal gas concentration test is performed synchronously during the semiconductor process, so that when a particle-exceeding wafer is selected from the preset number of finished wafers, a second concentration value corresponding to each particle-exceeding wafer during the semiconductor process is obtained according to test data of each particle-exceeding wafer in the preset abnormal gas concentration test;

[0014] The second concentration values corresponding to each particle-exceeding wafer are sequentially sorted in size, and the minimum value is selected as the first threshold value and the maximum value is selected as the second threshold value.

[0015] Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the preset abnormal gas concentration test includes the following steps:

[0016] During the process that a current wafer is processed by the semiconductor process chamber to obtain a corresponding finished wafer, abnormal gas concentrations in the semiconductor process chamber are monitored and recorded at a preset time interval to obtain a plurality of abnormal gas concentration values;

[0017] The step of obtaining a second concentration value corresponding to each of the particle-exceeding wafers in the semiconductor process is specifically as follows:

[0018] The second concentration value corresponding to each of the particle-exceeding wafers is obtained by averaging the plurality of abnormal gas concentration values corresponding to each of the particle-exceeding wafers.

[0019] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a device for monitoring process particles, which comprises a semiconductor process chamber, a reaction gas pipeline, an abnormal gas concentration detector, a purge gas output pipeline, a preset gas output pipeline, a tail gas processor, and a controller,

[0020] The reaction gas pipeline is configured to input process reaction gas into the interior of the semiconductor process chamber.

[0021] The abnormal gas concentration detector is arranged above the semiconductor process chamber, and a gas detection port of the abnormal gas concentration detector is communicated with the interior of the semiconductor process chamber to monitor the abnormal gas concentration of the semiconductor process chamber, wherein the abnormal gas concentration is positively correlated with the concentration of potential process particle sources.

[0022] The purge gas output pipeline is communicated with the semiconductor process chamber through a first path of the reaction gas pipeline to input purge gas into the semiconductor process chamber.

[0023] The preset gas output pipeline is communicated with the semiconductor process chamber through a second path of the reaction gas pipeline to input preset gas into the semiconductor process chamber.

[0024] The tail gas processor is arranged below the semiconductor process chamber, and an inlet of the tail gas processor is communicated with the interior of the semiconductor process chamber.

[0025] The controller is configured to control the purge gas output pipeline to output the purge gas to enter the semiconductor process chamber through a first path of the reaction gas pipeline to perform gas purge on the semiconductor process chamber when the semiconductor process chamber is idle, and obtain a first concentration value according to an abnormal gas concentration in the semiconductor process chamber monitored by the abnormal gas concentration detector in real time; if the first concentration value is greater than a preset first threshold value, the preset gas output pipeline is controlled to output the preset gas to enter the semiconductor process chamber through a second path of the reaction gas pipeline on the basis of the gas purge, so that the preset gas chemically reacts with the potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber to generate corresponding reactant particles, and the reactant particles enter the tail gas processor communicated with the semiconductor process chamber under the gas purge.

[0026] Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the controller is further configured to:

[0027] If the first concentration value is less than or equal to the first threshold value, the purge gas output pipeline is controlled to output the purge gas to enter the semiconductor process chamber through the first path of the reaction gas pipeline to perform gas purge on the semiconductor process chamber, so that the process particles generated by the process reaction enter the tail gas processor under the airflow of the purge gas.

[0028] Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, a radio frequency field assembly is further included, and the radio frequency field assembly is configured to form a preset radio frequency field in the semiconductor process chamber.

[0029] Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the controller is further configured to:

[0030] If the first concentration value is greater than a preset second threshold value, the second threshold value is greater than the first threshold value, the preset gas output pipeline is controlled to output the preset gas to enter the semiconductor process chamber through the second path of the reaction gas pipeline on the basis of the gas purge, and the radio frequency field assembly is controlled to form a preset radio frequency field in the semiconductor process chamber, so that the preset gas at least partially ionized by the preset radio frequency field chemically reacts with the potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber to generate corresponding reactant particles, and the reactant particles enter the tail gas processor under the gas purge.

[0031] Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the radio frequency field assembly comprises a radio frequency matcher and a radio frequency power supply, the radio frequency power supply is electrically connected with the radio frequency matcher to output a preset radio frequency power to the radio frequency matcher, the output copper strip of the radio frequency matcher is electrically connected with the upper cover of the semiconductor process chamber, and the base in the semiconductor process chamber is grounded, so that the preset radio frequency field is formed between the upper cover and the base when the radio frequency field assembly works.

[0032] In the present application, when the semiconductor process chamber is idle, the semiconductor process chamber is purged, and the abnormal gas concentration in the semiconductor process chamber is monitored in real time, which is positively correlated with the concentration of potential process particle source, to obtain a corresponding first concentration value, and according to the numerical range of the first concentration value (which can be compared with a preset first threshold value), the current potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber (which is an unstable intermediate product, which is easy to further decompose to generate process particles due to its unstable chemical properties) is accurately known, so that when there are more potential process particle sources in the current semiconductor process chamber (i.e. the first concentration value is greater than the first threshold value), there is a risk of affecting the removal effect of process particles by the original gas purging method, on the basis of the original gas purging, a preset gas is further introduced into the semiconductor process chamber, so that the preset gas reacts with the potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber to generate corresponding reaction product particles, so as to eliminate the further generation of process particles from the root cause of these potential process particle sources, and finally the reaction product particles (which can be accompanied by process particles) enter the exhaust treatment device connected with the semiconductor process chamber under the original gas purging, thereby ensuring the removal effect of process particles in the semiconductor process chamber. It can be seen that the technical scheme can effectively remove process particles in the semiconductor process chamber during semiconductor process treatment, and avoid the problem of excessive process particles affecting product yield. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0033] The technical scheme and its beneficial effects will be apparent from the following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present application, combined with the accompanying drawings.

[0034] Figure 1 is a flowchart of a process particle monitoring and processing method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0035] Figure 2 is Figure 1 is another flowchart of a process particle monitoring and processing method.

[0036] Figure 3 is Figure 1 is another flowchart of a process particle monitoring and processing method.

[0037] Figure 4 is Figure 1 Figure 1 is a flowchart of a method for obtaining a first threshold value and a second threshold value in a process particle monitoring process.

[0038] Figure 5 Figure 1 is a structural diagram of a semiconductor process equipment provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, but not all of the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall within the scope of protection of the present application. In the case of no conflict, each of the following embodiments and technical features can be combined with each other.

[0040] Currently, in a semiconductor processing process, a chemical deposition film forming method is more likely to produce process particles than physical vapor deposition in industrial production, which is determined by the reaction principle, and the atomic layer deposition (ALD) TaN film process using PDMAT as a solid-state source is more so. That is, in a semiconductor process chamber processing an ALD TaN film process, many process particles are easily produced. If these process particles cannot be removed from the semiconductor process chamber in time, the process particles will exceed the standard, which will seriously affect the process treatment of the semiconductor process chamber on the subsequent wafer, resulting in a low product yield. Therefore, during the ALD TaN film process, the semiconductor process chamber is swept with gas to remove the above-mentioned process particles when the semiconductor process chamber is idle. However, this method of removing process particles by simple gas blowing cannot eliminate the generation of process particles from the root cause, resulting in the phenomenon of process particle exceeding the standard still occurring, which is a potential threat to the product yield.

[0041] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a new process particle monitoring processing solution to improve the technical problem that the effect of removing process particles by simply blowing gas is not ideal, resulting in the phenomenon of process particle exceeding the standard still occurring.

[0042] As Figure 1 shown in an embodiment, the present application provides a process particle monitoring processing method for a semiconductor process chamber, which comprises the following steps:

[0043] Step S110: when the semiconductor process chamber is idle, the semiconductor process chamber is purged with gas, and the abnormal gas concentration in the semiconductor process chamber is monitored in real time to obtain a corresponding first concentration value, which is positively correlated with the concentration of potential process particle sources.

[0044] Specifically, based on the above description, it is known that many process particles are easily generated in the semiconductor process chamber during semiconductor process treatment. If these process particles cannot be removed from the semiconductor process chamber in time, the process particles will exceed the standard, which will seriously affect the process treatment of the semiconductor process chamber on the subsequent wafers, and cause the product yield to be low. Therefore, when the semiconductor process chamber is idle, the semiconductor process chamber needs to be purged with gas. In order to improve the technical problem that the removal effect of the above-mentioned existing simple gas purging method for removing process particles is not ideal, and the phenomenon of process particle exceeding the standard still occurs, the method further monitors the abnormal gas concentration in the semiconductor process chamber in real time when the semiconductor process chamber is idle.

[0045] In order to realize the monitoring of the abnormal gas concentration of the method, a corresponding abnormal gas concentration detector can be additionally arranged above the corresponding semiconductor process chamber, and a gas detection port of the abnormal gas concentration detector is communicated with the interior of the semiconductor process chamber, so as to monitor the abnormal gas concentration of the semiconductor process chamber.

[0046] The abnormal gas concentration in the method step can be specifically the concentration of an abnormal gas that occurs with the appearance of a potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber, and thus the abnormal gas concentration is positively correlated with the concentration of the potential process particle source. Taking a semiconductor process chamber for performing an ALD TaN film process as an example, the semiconductor process chamber needs to use pentakis(dimethylamino)tantalum (PDMAT, commonly abbreviated as PDMAT, molecular formula: Ta[N(CH3)2]5) and ammonia (NH3) to deposit TaN during the ALD TaN film process. PDMAT is a yellow solid powder at room temperature, and is carried into the semiconductor process chamber in the form of a gas generated by sublimation of the carrier gas during the reaction. NH3 is a colorless gas with a pungent odor, which can directly flow into the semiconductor process chamber. After reaching a certain temperature, the two can undergo an ALD reaction (specifically, PDMAT and NH3 undergo the following reaction to generate TaN when performing an ALD process: reaction equation 1: 3Ta[N(CH3)2]5+10NH3→3Ta(NH2)5+10N(CH3)3(transamination); reaction equation 2: 3Ta[NH2]5→3TaN+10NH3+N2(heating)). When PDMAT in the semiconductor process chamber abnormally decomposes (specifically, the following reaction occurs when PDMAT abnormally decomposes: reaction equation 3: Ta[N(CH3)2]5→Ta[N(CH3)2]3[NCH3CH2]+HN(CH3)2), it will generate Ta[N(CH3)2]3[NCH3CH2] and dimethylamine HN(CH3)2 at the same time, i.e., the abnormal gas mentioned above, and Ta[N(CH3)2]3[NCH3CH2] is an unstable intermediate product (gaseous state) that is prone to further decomposition to generate process particles and is a potential process particle source. At this time, the abnormal gas concentration is specifically the dimethylamine concentration, and the abnormal gas concentration detector can be specifically a dimethylamine concentration detector. By monitoring the dimethylamine concentration in the semiconductor process chamber in real time, a corresponding first concentration value is obtained, and then the potential process particle source in the current semiconductor process chamber can be accurately known according to the numerical range of the first concentration value. Generally, the larger the numerical value of the first concentration value, the more potential process particle sources in the semiconductor process chamber.

[0047] Step S120: If the first concentration value is greater than a preset first threshold value, a preset gas is introduced into the semiconductor process chamber on the basis of gas purging, so that the preset gas reacts with the potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber to generate corresponding reactant particles, and the reactant particles enter a tail exhaust processor communicated with the semiconductor process chamber under the gas purging.

[0048] Specifically, after obtaining the corresponding first concentration value through the above method steps, the potential process particle source situation in the current semiconductor process chamber can be accurately known according to the numerical range of the first concentration value. Specifically, it can be compared with a preset first threshold value (the value of the first threshold value can be measured in advance through corresponding experimental data), and when the comparison result is that the first concentration value is greater than the first threshold value, it can be judged that there are more potential process particle sources in the current semiconductor process chamber. These potential particle sources will have the risk of affecting the removal effect of the original gas blowing if they further decompose to form corresponding process particles. Therefore, at this time, further processing of these potential process particle sources is needed on the basis of the original gas blowing to eliminate the generation of process particles from the root source. Specifically, the preset gas can be introduced into the semiconductor process chamber, so that the preset gas reacts with the potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber to generate corresponding reaction product particles, and the reaction product particles (specifically, accompanied by process particles) enter the tail exhaust processor connected with the semiconductor process chamber under the gas blowing. The preset gas is generally a reducing gas with strong reducing ability, so as to react with the potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber in advance to generate stable reaction product particles and be removed in time by the tail exhaust processor, so as to prevent the potential process particle source from staying in the semiconductor process chamber to further decompose to generate process particles. The preset gas can be H2 gas. Since H2 gas has strong reducing ability, the potential process particle source mentioned in the above method steps is taken as an example of Ta[N(CH3)2]3[NCH3CH2]. When H2 gas is introduced into the semiconductor process chamber, it will react as follows:

[0049] Ta[N(CH3)2]3[NCH3CH2]+H2→TaN+3NH3+4C2H4; thereby effectively eliminating the potential particle source Ta[N(CH3)2]3[NCH3CH2]. The abnormal gas, dimethylamine gas, which appears with the potential particle source Ta[N(CH3)2]3[NCH3CH2], is a dangerous gas, and H2 can also remove it. The reaction equation is: HN(CH3)2+2H2→NH3+2CH4.

[0050] In this way, in the embodiment of the present application, when the semiconductor process chamber is idle, the semiconductor process chamber is purged, and the abnormal gas concentration in the semiconductor process chamber is monitored in real time, which is positively correlated with the concentration of potential process particle sources, to obtain a corresponding first concentration value, and according to the numerical range of the first concentration value (which can be compared with a preset first threshold value), the potential process particle source situation in the current semiconductor process chamber is accurately known (the potential process particle source is an unstable intermediate product, which is easy to further decompose to generate process particles due to its unstable chemical properties), so that when there are more potential process particle sources in the current semiconductor process chamber (i.e., the first concentration value is greater than the first threshold value), there is a risk of affecting the removal effect of process particles by the original gas purging method, on the basis of the original gas purging, the preset gas is further introduced into the semiconductor process chamber, so that the preset gas reacts with the potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber to generate corresponding reaction product particles, so as to eliminate the potential process particle source from generating process particles, and finally the reaction product particles (which can be accompanied by process particles) enter the tail exhaust processor connected with the semiconductor process chamber under the original gas purging, thereby ensuring the removal effect of process particles in the semiconductor process chamber. It can be seen that the technical solution can effectively remove process particles in the semiconductor process chamber during semiconductor process treatment, and avoid the problem of excessive process particles affecting product yield.

[0051] In some examples, as shown in FIG. 1, the method for monitoring process particles in the embodiment of the present application further includes the following steps: Figure 2

[0052] Step S130: If the first concentration value is less than or equal to the first threshold value, only purge gas is introduced into the pipeline conveying process reaction gas and the semiconductor process chamber to purge the semiconductor process chamber, so that process particles generated by process reaction are carried into the tail exhaust processor by the gas flow of the purge gas.

[0053] ​Specifically, when the comparison result of the comparison between the first concentration value and the first threshold value is that the first concentration value is less than or equal to the first threshold value, it can be determined that the potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber is less, and even if the potential process particle source is further decomposed to form corresponding process particles, there is no risk of affecting the removal effect of the process particles by the original gas purging mode. Therefore, the process particles can be removed by the original gas purging mode, that is, the purge gas is introduced into the pipeline for delivering the process reaction gas and the semiconductor process chamber to purify the semiconductor process chamber, so that the process particles generated by the process reaction are carried into the tail gas treatment device by the gas flow of the purge gas. The purge gas can be an inert gas, such as Ar gas. The specific number of the pipeline for delivering the process reaction gas is not limited. When the process particles in the semiconductor process chamber accumulate more, the part of the pipeline close to the semiconductor process chamber is at risk of adhering to the process particles. Therefore, the purge gas is generally introduced into the semiconductor process chamber through the pipeline to remove the process particles adhered to the pipeline into the semiconductor process chamber, and then the process particles in the semiconductor process chamber are removed into the tail gas treatment device arranged below the semiconductor process chamber, so as to be discharged outside the semiconductor process chamber, that is, discharged outside the semiconductor process chamber. In order to ensure that the process particles stirred up by the purge gas can quickly and completely enter the tail gas treatment device, a dry pump can be arranged in the tail gas treatment device to extract the gas in the semiconductor process chamber.

[0054] Since some reducing gases can form plasma with stronger reducing property after ionization, such as hydrogen plasma formed after ionization of H2 gas. At this time, the comparison with the preset second threshold value (the value of the second threshold value can also be measured in advance by corresponding experimental data) can be further added in the above method steps. The second threshold value is greater than the first threshold value. In this way, when the potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber is more, the plasma with stronger reducing property is used to remove the potential process particle source, so as to further ensure the effect of removing the process particles in the semiconductor process chamber by the method in the embodiment of the present application. Thus, in some examples, as shown in FIG. 13, the method of the process particle monitoring process of the embodiment of the present application further includes the following steps: Figure 3

[0055] Step S140: If the first concentration value is greater than the preset second threshold value, the second threshold value is greater than the first threshold value, the preset gas is introduced into the semiconductor process chamber on the basis of the gas purging, and a preset radio frequency field is formed in the semiconductor process chamber, so that the preset gas is at least partially ionized by the preset radio frequency field and chemically reacts with the potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber to generate corresponding reaction particle. The reaction particle enters the tail gas treatment device under the gas purging.​

[0056] Specifically, since the second threshold value is greater than the first threshold value, specifically, on the basis of the comparison result of the above method step that the first concentration value is greater than the preset second threshold value, the comparison of the first concentration value and the second threshold value in this method step is further performed, so that when the first concentration value is greater than the first threshold value and less than or equal to the second threshold value, it is judged that the potential process particle source in the current semiconductor process chamber is relatively large, but the reduction ability of the preset gas introduced is sufficient to remove these potential process particle sources, so at this time, only the preset gas needs to be further introduced into the semiconductor process chamber. When the first concentration value is greater than the second threshold value, it is judged that the potential process particle source in the current semiconductor process chamber is too large, and the reduction ability of the introduced preset gas is not sufficient to remove these potential process particle sources. At this time, the preset gas is introduced into the semiconductor process chamber while a preset radio frequency field is formed in the semiconductor process chamber (how to achieve the subsequent will be described in detail in the device embodiment, which will not be described here), so that the preset gas is at least partially ionized to generate plasma by the preset radio frequency field. The plasma and the preset gas that is not ionized react with the potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber to generate corresponding reaction particle, and finally the reaction particle (specifically, accompanied by process particles) enters the tail exhaust processor under the blowing of the gas.

[0057] Taking the above-mentioned preset gas H2 as an example, after ionization, a hydrogen plasma with stronger reducing property is formed, although the chemical reaction between the hydrogen plasma and the potential particle source Ta[N(CH3)2]3[NCH3CH2] does not change, but the speed of the chemical reaction is greatly accelerated, and more potential process particle sources can be removed.

[0058] As can be seen from the above method steps, the values of the first threshold value and the second threshold value can be obtained in advance through corresponding experimental data. Since the values of the first threshold value and the second threshold value will ultimately affect the effect of the method in the semiconductor process chamber in removing process particles, in order to ensure that the values of the first threshold value and the second threshold value can more truly reflect the potential particle source situation in the semiconductor process chamber, as shown in the following method steps, the first threshold value and the second threshold value are obtained respectively: Figure 4

[0059] Step S11: Perform corresponding semiconductor process treatment on a preset number of wafers in the semiconductor process chamber to obtain a preset number of finished wafers.

[0060] ​Specifically, the particle data of the principle machine marathon test can be utilized to pick out the particle-exceeding wafers from the preset number of finished wafers, so as to obtain the first threshold value and the second threshold value by checking the second concentration value (specifically, the concentration value of the abnormal gas) corresponding to each particle-exceeding wafer during the semiconductor process. To this end, the corresponding experimental data is obtained by producing the preset number of finished wafers in the semiconductor process chamber, that is, the preset number of wafers are subjected to the corresponding semiconductor process in the semiconductor process chamber to obtain the preset number of finished wafers. Similarly, taking the semiconductor process chamber subjected to the ALD TaN film process as an example, the preset number of wafers can be subjected to the ALD TaN film process in the semiconductor process chamber to obtain the preset number of finished wafers.

[0061] Step S12: Simultaneously performing the preset abnormal gas concentration test during the semiconductor process to obtain the second concentration value corresponding to each particle-exceeding wafer during the semiconductor process according to the test data of each particle-exceeding wafer in the preset abnormal gas concentration test when the particle-exceeding wafers are picked out from the preset number of finished wafers.

[0062] Specifically, as known from the above method steps, the method steps of the embodiment need to obtain the second concentration value corresponding to each particle-exceeding wafer during the semiconductor process, that is, the second concentration value corresponds to the concentration value of the abnormal gas during the process of generating the particle-exceeding wafer by subjecting the wafer to the corresponding semiconductor process in the semiconductor process chamber. Therefore, the preset abnormal gas concentration test needs to be simultaneously performed during the semiconductor process, and the specific process is as follows: during the process of subjecting the current wafer to the corresponding semiconductor process in the semiconductor process chamber to obtain the corresponding finished wafer, the concentration of the abnormal gas in the semiconductor process chamber is monitored and recorded at a preset time interval to obtain a plurality of abnormal gas concentration values. In this way, each finished wafer in the finally obtained preset number of finished wafers corresponds to the test data (specifically, a plurality of abnormal gas concentration values) of the corresponding preset abnormal gas concentration test. At this time, when the particle-exceeding wafers are picked out from the preset number of finished wafers, the second concentration value corresponding to each particle-exceeding wafer during the semiconductor process can be obtained according to the test data of each particle-exceeding wafer in the preset abnormal gas concentration test. The specific process is as follows: the average value of the plurality of abnormal gas concentration values corresponding to each particle-exceeding wafer is calculated to obtain the second concentration value corresponding to the current particle-exceeding wafer.

[0063] Similarly, taking the semiconductor process chamber for processing ALD TaN film process as an example, for the analysis of a particle exceeding standard wafer, in the semiconductor process chamber, a wafer is processed by ALD TaN film process, and the process of obtaining the particle exceeding standard wafer is as follows: assuming that the total length of the ALD TaN film process is 3 min, and the software records data every second, that is, a dimethylamine concentration value is measured every time, then there are 180 data points in 3 min, and the average value of the 180 data points is the dimethylamine concentration value of the particle exceeding standard wafer (that is, the second concentration value of the method step).

[0064] Step S13: sequentially sorting each particle exceeding standard wafer corresponding to the second concentration value, selecting the minimum value as the first threshold and the maximum value as the second threshold.

[0065] Specifically, after obtaining the second concentration value corresponding to each particle exceeding standard wafer during the semiconductor process by the above method step, the second concentration value corresponding to each particle exceeding standard wafer can be sequentially sorted, and the minimum value is selected as the first threshold and the maximum value is selected as the second threshold.

[0066] Suppose we have obtained 10 concentration data of particle exceeding standard wafers 1 to 10 through analysis, then we select the minimum value as the first threshold and the maximum value as the second threshold, and set the first threshold and the second threshold to the software configuration item as the reference for subsequent processing of potential particle sources.

[0067] In one embodiment, as Figure 5As shown, the embodiment of the present application provides a semiconductor process equipment 100, which comprises a semiconductor process chamber 110, a reaction gas pipeline 120, an abnormal gas concentration detector 130, a purge gas output pipeline 140, a preset gas output pipeline 150, a tail gas processor 160 and a controller (not shown). The reaction gas pipeline 120 is connected to the inside of the semiconductor process chamber 110 to input process reaction gas into the inside of the semiconductor process chamber 110. The abnormal gas concentration detector 130 is arranged above the semiconductor process chamber 110, and a gas detection port of the abnormal gas concentration detector 130 is connected to the inside of the semiconductor process chamber 110 to monitor the abnormal gas concentration of the semiconductor process chamber 110. The purge gas output pipeline 140 is connected to the semiconductor process chamber 110 through a first path of the reaction gas pipeline 120 to input purge gas into the semiconductor process chamber 110. The preset gas output pipeline 150 is connected to the semiconductor process chamber 110 through a second path of the reaction gas pipeline 120 to input preset gas into the semiconductor process chamber 110. The tail gas processor 160 is arranged below the semiconductor process chamber 110, and an inlet of the tail gas processor 160 is connected to the inside of the semiconductor process chamber 110. The controller is used to control the purge gas output by the purge gas output pipeline 140 to enter the semiconductor process chamber 110 through the first path of the reaction gas pipeline 120 to purge the semiconductor process chamber 110 when the semiconductor process chamber 110 is idle, and obtain a corresponding first concentration value according to the abnormal gas concentration in the semiconductor process chamber 110 monitored by the abnormal gas concentration detector 130 in real time. If the first concentration value is greater than a preset first threshold value, then on the basis of the gas purge, the preset gas output by the preset gas output pipeline 150 is controlled to enter the semiconductor process chamber 110 through the second path of the reaction gas pipeline 120, so that the preset gas chemically reacts with potential process particle sources in the semiconductor process chamber 110 to generate corresponding reactant particles, and the reactant particles enter the tail gas processor 160 connected to the semiconductor process chamber 110 under the gas purge.

[0068] It should be noted that the process particle monitoring and processing apparatus 100 in this embodiment is mainly used to implement the steps of the process particle monitoring and processing method in the above embodiments. Therefore, for semiconductor process chambers 110 that perform different semiconductor processes, the abnormal gas concentration detector 130, the purge gas output pipeline 140, and the preset gas output pipeline 150 may differ. Generally, the purge gas output pipeline 140 may be an inert gas output pipeline to achieve the above-mentioned gas purging operation through the output of inert gas. The preset gas output pipeline may be a reducing gas output pipeline to allow potential particle sources to react chemically with the reducing gas, generating reactant particles that can be purged and removed by gas. When the semiconductor process chamber 110 is specifically used for ALD TaN thin film processing, the aforementioned abnormal gas concentration detector 130 can specifically be a dimethylamine concentration detector to monitor the dimethylamine concentration in the semiconductor process chamber 110. The aforementioned purge gas output pipeline 140 can specifically be an Ar gas output pipeline to introduce Ar gas into the semiconductor process chamber 110 for the removal of process particles. The preset gas output pipeline can specifically be an H2 gas output pipeline to introduce H2 gas into the semiconductor process chamber 110 for the removal of potential process particle sources. At this time, if... Figure 4 As shown, the reaction gas pipeline 120 may specifically include an NH3 inlet pipeline 121 and a PDMAT gas inlet pipeline 122 (the inlet of the PDMAT gas inlet pipeline 122 may be connected to a carrier gas inlet pipeline to introduce carrier gas, which may be Ar gas). After the carrier gas enters the container containing PDMAT solid powder through the first half of the PDMAT gas inlet pipeline 122, it carries the gas formed by the sublimation of PDMAT solid powder to form PDMAT gas, and then enters the second half of the PDMAT gas inlet pipeline 122 to achieve the desired effect. (Finally entering the semiconductor process chamber 110), since both the NH3 inlet pipe 121 and the PDMAT gas inlet pipe 122 pose a risk of process particle contamination, two purge gas output pipes 140, i.e., two Ar gas output pipes, can be set up to purge and remove process particles from the NH3 inlet pipe 121 and the PDMAT gas inlet pipe 122 respectively, while simultaneously introducing Ar gas into the semiconductor process chamber 110. In this case, the aforementioned first path includes both the NH3 inlet pipe 121 and the PDMAT gas inlet pipe 122. H2 gas only needs to be ensured to enter the semiconductor process chamber 110; in this case, the aforementioned first path includes only the NH3 inlet pipe 121 or only the PDMAT gas inlet pipe 122. To achieve precise control of the flow rate of each gas in the aforementioned pipes and the flow path of each gas, such as... Figure 4 As shown, each pipeline is equipped with a corresponding mass flow meter 11 and valve 12.

[0069] In this way, the semiconductor process equipment 100 in the embodiment of the present application, when the semiconductor process chamber 110 is idle, on the one hand, the semiconductor process chamber 110 is purged by controlling the purge gas output pipeline 140 to output the purge gas through the first path of the reaction gas pipeline 120 into the semiconductor process chamber 110. On the other hand, the abnormal gas concentration detector 130 is used to monitor the abnormal gas concentration in the semiconductor process chamber 110 in real time, which is positively correlated with the concentration of the potential process particle source, to obtain a corresponding first concentration value, and according to the numerical range of the first concentration value (which can be compared with the preset first threshold value), the current potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber 110 is accurately known (the potential process particle source is an unstable intermediate product, which is easy to further decompose to generate process particles due to its unstable chemical properties), so that when the potential process particle source in the current semiconductor process chamber 110 is more (that is, the first concentration value is greater than the first threshold value), there is a risk of affecting the cleaning effect of the process particles by the original gas purging method. On the basis of the original gas purging (which can be realized by the purge gas output pipeline 140), the preset gas (which can be realized by the preset gas output pipeline 150) is further introduced into the semiconductor process chamber, so that the preset gas reacts with the potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber to generate corresponding reaction particle, so as to eliminate the potential process particle source from the root cause to further generate process particles. Ultimately, the reaction particle (which can be accompanied by process particle) enters the tail exhaust processor 160 under the original gas purging, thereby ensuring the effect of removing process particles in the semiconductor process chamber 110. It can be seen that the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application can effectively remove the process particles in the semiconductor process chamber 110 during the semiconductor process, and avoid the problem of excessive process particles affecting product yield.

[0070] In some examples, the controller 130 of the embodiment of the present application is also used to: if the first concentration value is less than or equal to the first threshold value, the purge gas output pipeline 140 is controlled to output the purge gas through the first path of the reaction gas pipeline 120 into the semiconductor process chamber 110 to purge the semiconductor process chamber 110, so that the process particles generated by the process reaction are carried into the tail exhaust processor 160 by the gas flow of the purge gas. For specific implementation, please refer to the implementation process of the method step S130 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0071] In some examples, as Figure 5As shown, the device 100 for process particle monitoring processing of the embodiment of the present application further comprises a radio frequency field assembly which forms a preset radio frequency field in the semiconductor process chamber 110. At this time, the controller 130 of the embodiment of the present application can be further used for: if the first concentration value is greater than a preset second threshold value, the second threshold value is greater than the first threshold value, on the basis of gas purging, controlling the preset gas output by the preset gas output pipeline 150 to enter the semiconductor process chamber 110 through the second path of the reaction gas pipeline 120, and controlling the radio frequency field assembly to form a preset radio frequency field in the semiconductor process chamber 110, so that the preset gas is at least partially ionized by the preset radio frequency field and chemically reacts with potential process particle sources in the semiconductor process chamber 110 to generate corresponding reactant particles, which enter the tailing processor 160 under gas purging. For specific implementation, reference can be made to the implementation process of the above method step S140, which will not be repeated here.

[0072] For example, the radio frequency field assembly can specifically include a radio frequency matcher 171 and a radio frequency power supply 172, the radio frequency power supply 172 is electrically connected with the radio frequency matcher 171 to output a preset radio frequency power to the radio frequency matcher 171, the output copper strip of the radio frequency matcher 172 is electrically connected with the upper cover of the semiconductor process chamber 110, and the base 230 in the semiconductor process chamber 110 is grounded, so that the preset radio frequency field is formed between the upper cover and the base 180 when the radio frequency field assembly works. When the semiconductor process chamber 110 is filled with H2 gas, the preset radio frequency field will ionize the H2 gas to obtain hydrogen plasma with stronger reduction ability.

[0073] Although the present application has been shown and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art based on the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. The present application includes all such modifications and alterations and is limited only by the scope of the following claims. In particular, with reference to the various functions performed by the above described components, the terms used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the exemplary implementation illustrated by the present specification. As used herein, including in the claims, the indefinite articles "a" and "an" are intended to mean "one or more" unless otherwise indicated.

[0074] That is, the above description is only an embodiment of the present application, and does not limit the patent scope of the present application, and any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation using the content of the specification and drawings of the present application, such as the mutual combination of technical features between embodiments, or direct or indirect application in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

[0075] In addition, in the description of the present application, it needs to be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer" and the like is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the purpose of facilitating the description of the present application and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application. In addition, for structural elements with the same or similar properties, the present application can use the same or different reference numerals to identify them. In addition, the terms "first", "second" are only for the purpose of description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features limited by "first", "second" can explicitly or implicitly include one or more features. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "a plurality of" is two or more, unless otherwise expressly specified.

[0076] In the present application, the word "exemplary" is used to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any implementation described as "exemplary" in the present application is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. The present application is given in the above description to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the present application. In the above description, various details are set forth for the purpose of explanation. It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present application can be practiced without the use of these specific details. In other implementations, well-known structures and processes are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the description of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for a process particle monitoring process for a semiconductor process chamber, characterized in that, The method comprises the following steps: When the semiconductor process chamber is idle, the semiconductor process chamber is purged with a gas, and the abnormal gas concentration in the semiconductor process chamber is monitored in real time to obtain a corresponding first concentration value, wherein the abnormal gas concentration is positively correlated with the concentration of potential process particle sources, and the abnormal gas concentration is dimethylamine concentration; If the first concentration value is greater than a preset first threshold value, a preset gas is introduced into the semiconductor process chamber on the basis of the gas purge, so that the preset gas chemically reacts with the potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber to generate corresponding reactant particles, and the reactant particles enter the tail exhaust processor connected with the semiconductor process chamber under the gas purge.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, Further comprising the following steps: If the first concentration value is less than or equal to the first threshold value, only purge gas is introduced into the pipeline conveying process reaction gas and the semiconductor process chamber to purge the semiconductor process chamber, so that process particles generated by process reaction are carried into the tail exhaust processor by the gas flow of the purge gas.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, Further comprising the following steps: If the first concentration value is greater than a preset second threshold value, the second threshold value is greater than the first threshold value, the preset gas is introduced into the semiconductor process chamber on the basis of the gas purge, and a preset radio frequency field is formed in the semiconductor process chamber, so that the preset gas is at least partially ionized by the preset radio frequency field and chemically reacts with the potential process particle source in the semiconductor process chamber to generate corresponding reactant particles, and the reactant particles enter the tail exhaust processor under the gas purge.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The first threshold value and the second threshold value are obtained by the following method steps: A preset number of wafers are processed in the semiconductor process chamber to obtain a preset number of finished wafers; A preset abnormal gas concentration test is performed simultaneously during the semiconductor process to pick out particle-exceeding wafers from the preset number of finished wafers, and according to the test data of each particle-exceeding wafer in the preset abnormal gas concentration test, a corresponding second concentration value of each particle-exceeding wafer during the semiconductor process is obtained; The second concentration values corresponding to each particle-exceeding wafer are sequentially sorted in size, and the minimum value is selected as the first threshold value and the maximum value is selected as the second threshold value.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The preset abnormal gas concentration test comprises the following steps: During the semiconductor process of the current wafer in the semiconductor process chamber to obtain the corresponding finished wafer, the abnormal gas concentration in the semiconductor process chamber is monitored and recorded at a preset time interval to obtain a plurality of abnormal gas concentration values; The step of obtaining the corresponding second concentration value of each particle-exceeding wafer during the semiconductor process according to the test data of each particle-exceeding wafer in the preset abnormal gas concentration test comprises: The multiple abnormal gas concentration values corresponding to the wafer with the particle exceeding the standard are averaged to obtain the second concentration value corresponding to the wafer with the particle exceeding the standard.

6. A semiconductor process apparatus characterized by comprising: The semiconductor processing chamber, the reaction gas pipeline, the abnormal gas concentration detector, the purge gas output pipeline, the preset gas output pipeline, the tail gas treatment device, and the controller are provided. The reaction gas pipeline is used for inputting process reaction gas into the interior of the semiconductor processing chamber. The abnormal gas concentration detector is arranged above the semiconductor processing chamber, and a gas detection port of the abnormal gas concentration detector is communicated with the interior of the semiconductor processing chamber to monitor the abnormal gas concentration of the semiconductor processing chamber, the abnormal gas concentration being positively correlated with the concentration of the potential process particle source, wherein the abnormal gas concentration is the concentration of dimethylamine. The purge gas output pipeline is communicated with the semiconductor processing chamber through the first path of the reaction gas pipeline to input purge gas into the semiconductor processing chamber. The preset gas output pipeline is communicated with the semiconductor processing chamber through the second path of the reaction gas pipeline to input preset gas into the semiconductor processing chamber. The tail gas treatment device is arranged below the semiconductor processing chamber, and an inlet of the tail gas treatment device is communicated with the interior of the semiconductor processing chamber. The controller is used for, when the semiconductor processing chamber is idle, controlling the purge gas output by the purge gas output pipeline to enter the semiconductor processing chamber through the first path of the reaction gas pipeline to perform gas purging on the semiconductor processing chamber, and obtaining a first concentration value corresponding to the abnormal gas concentration of the semiconductor processing chamber monitored in real time by the abnormal gas concentration detector; if the first concentration value is greater than a preset first threshold value, on the basis of the gas purging, the controller controls the preset gas output by the preset gas output pipeline to enter the semiconductor processing chamber through the second path of the reaction gas pipeline, so that the preset gas reacts with the potential process particle source in the semiconductor processing chamber to generate corresponding reactant particles, and the reactant particles enter the tail gas treatment device communicated with the semiconductor processing chamber under the gas purging.

7. The semiconductor process apparatus according to claim 6, wherein The controller is further used for: If the first concentration value is less than or equal to the first threshold value, the controller controls the purge gas output by the purge gas output pipeline to enter the semiconductor processing chamber through the first path of the reaction gas pipeline to perform gas purging on the semiconductor processing chamber, so that process particles generated by process reaction are carried into the tail gas treatment device by the gas flow of the purge gas.

8. The semiconductor process apparatus according to claim 6, wherein The radio frequency field assembly is used for forming a preset radio frequency field in the semiconductor processing chamber.

9. The semiconductor process apparatus according to claim 8, wherein The controller is further used for: If the first concentration value is greater than a preset second threshold value, the second threshold value being greater than the first threshold value, on the basis of the gas purge, the preset gas output by the preset gas output pipeline is controlled to enter the semiconductor process chamber through a second path of the reaction gas pipeline, and the radio frequency field assembly is controlled to form a preset radio frequency field in the semiconductor process chamber, so that the preset gas is at least partially ionized by the preset radio frequency field and chemically reacts with potential process particle sources in the semiconductor process chamber to generate corresponding reactant particles, the reactant particles entering a tail exhaust processor under the gas purge.

10. The semiconductor process apparatus according to claim 8, wherein The radio frequency field assembly includes a radio frequency matcher and a radio frequency power supply, the radio frequency power supply being electrically connected with the radio frequency matcher to output a preset radio frequency power to the radio frequency matcher, an output copper strip of the radio frequency matcher being electrically connected with an upper cover of the semiconductor process chamber, and a susceptor in the semiconductor process chamber being grounded, so that the preset radio frequency field is formed between the upper cover and the susceptor when the radio frequency field assembly works.

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