Integrated substrate measurement system for improving manufacturing process performance

Abstract

A method for determining whether to modify a manufacturing process recipe is provided. A substrate to be processed at a manufacturing system in accordance with a first process recipe is identified. Instructions to transfer the substrate to a substrate measurement subsystem to obtain a first set of measurements of the substrate are generated. The first set of measurements of the substrate is received from the substrate measurement subsystem. Instructions to transfer the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem to a processing chamber are generated. A second set of measurements of the substrate is received from one or more sensors of the processing chamber. A first mapping between the first set of measurements of the substrate and the second set of measurements of the substrate is generated. The first set of measurements mapped to the second set of measurements of the substrate is stored. A determination is made whether to modify the first process recipe or a second process recipe for the substrate based on the first set of measurements mapped to the second set of measurements of the substrate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of this disclosure generally relate to manufacturing systems, and more particularly to integrated substrate measurement systems for improving manufacturing process performance. Background Technology

[0002] The processing of substrates in a manufacturing system typically involves multiple processing operations performed on the substrate according to a predetermined process formulation. In some cases, one or more conditions in the manufacturing system may change unexpectedly during substrate processing. If the substrate is processed according to the predetermined process formulation when manufacturing conditions change, errors may occur during the processing, and the finished substrate may be defective. In some cases, the process formulation can be modified according to the changed conditions to prevent errors from occurring during substrate processing. However, the operator of the manufacturing system may find it difficult to identify which operation requires modification of the process formulation. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Some embodiments described herein encompass a method comprising the steps of: identifying a substrate to be processed at a manufacturing system according to a process formulation. The method further comprises the steps of: generating an instruction to transfer the substrate to a substrate measurement subsystem to obtain a first set of measurements for the substrate. The method further comprises the steps of: receiving the first set of measurements for the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem. The method further comprises the steps of: generating an instruction to transfer the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem to a processing chamber. The method further comprises the steps of: receiving a second set of measurements for the substrate from one or more sensors in the processing chamber. The method further comprises the steps of: generating a first mapping between the first set of measurements for the substrate and the second set of measurements. The method further comprises the steps of: determining whether to modify the formulation for the substrate based on the first set of measurements mapped to the second set of measurements for the substrate.

[0004] In some embodiments, a manufacturing system includes: a substrate measurement subsystem configured to generate data associated with a substrate processed at the manufacturing system; a processing chamber configured to process the substrate at the manufacturing system, wherein the processing chamber includes one or more sensors; one or more transfer robots configured to transfer the substrate between the substrate measurement subsystem and the processing chamber; and a controller operatively coupled to the substrate measurement subsystem, the processing chamber, and the one or more transfer robots. The controller is configured to identify a substrate to be processed at the manufacturing system according to a process recipe. The controller is further configured to: generate instructions causing the one or more transfer robots to transfer the substrate to the substrate measurement subsystem to obtain a first set of measurements for the substrate. The controller is further configured to: receive the first set of measurements for the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem. The controller is further configured to: generate instructions causing the one or more transfer robots to transfer the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem to the processing chamber. The controller is further configured to: receive a second set of measurements for the substrate from the one or more sensors in the processing chamber. The controller is further configured to: generate a first mapping between the first set of measurements and the second set of measurements for the substrate. The controller is further configured to: determine whether to modify the formulation for the substrate based on the first set of measurements mapped to the second set of measurements for the substrate.

[0005] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium includes instructions that, when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to: identify a substrate to be processed at a manufacturing system according to a process recipe; generate instructions to transfer the substrate to a substrate measurement subsystem to obtain a first set of measurements for the substrate; receive the first set of measurements for the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem; generate instructions to transfer the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem to the processing chamber; receive a second set of measurements for the substrate from one or more sensors in the processing chamber; generate a first mapping between the first and second set of measurements for the substrate; and determine whether to modify the recipe for the substrate based on the first set of measurements mapped to the second set of measurements for the substrate. Attached Figure Description

[0006] This disclosure is illustrated in the accompanying drawings by way of example rather than limitation, in which similar reference numerals indicate similar elements. It should be noted that different designations for “a” or “an” embodiment in this disclosure do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, and such designations mean at least one.

[0007] Figure 1 This is a top view schematic diagram of an example manufacturing system based on various aspects of this disclosure.

[0008] Figure 2 This is a schematic side view of a cross-section of a substrate measurement subsystem based on various aspects of this disclosure.

[0009] Figure 3 This is a schematic side view of the cross-section of the processing chamber based on various aspects of this disclosure.

[0010] Figure 4 This is a block diagram illustrating the system controller according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0011] Figure 5 An example graphical user interface is shown for providing notifications to operators of a manufacturing system, based on various aspects of this disclosure.

[0012] Figure 6 Spectral data collected for the substrate in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure are shown.

[0013] Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining whether to modify a process formulation for a wafer, based on various aspects of this disclosure.

[0014] Figure 8 This is a flowchart of another method for determining whether to modify the process formulation for a wafer, based on various aspects of this disclosure.

[0015] Figure 9 This is a flowchart of a method for obtaining spectral data for a substrate at a substrate measurement subsystem, based on various aspects of this disclosure.

[0016] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of a method for determining position data of a substrate within a substrate measurement subsystem, based on various aspects of this disclosure.

[0017] Figure 11 A schematic representation of a machine in the form of an example computing device is shown, within which an instruction set can be executed to cause the machine to perform any or more of the methodologies discussed herein. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The embodiments described herein provide an integrated substrate measurement system for improving manufacturing process performance. Various components of this integrated substrate measurement system are operatively coupled to a system controller configured to control the processing of a substrate at a manufacturing system. The system controller can be configured to receive data from various parts of the manufacturing system and store the data in a data storage device dedicated to storing data collected at the integrated substrate measurement system. The system controller can receive data from one or more parts of the manufacturing system (e.g., processing chambers, loading locking mechanisms, etc.) before, during, or after substrate processing. The system controller can also receive data from a substrate measurement subsystem included within the integrated substrate measurement system. This substrate measurement subsystem can be integrated within one or more parts of the manufacturing system (e.g., at a factory interface). The substrate measurement subsystem can be configured to generate data associated with the substrate at another part of the system before or after substrate processing.

[0019] A substrate measurement subsystem can be configured to generate one or more types of data for a substrate, including spectral data, positional data, substrate property data, and so on. The substrate measurement subsystem is capable of generating substrate data in response to a request to obtain one or more measurements of the substrate before or after processing it at a manufacturing system. The substrate measurement subsystem may include one or more components that facilitate the generation of substrate data. For example, the substrate measurement subsystem may include a spectral sensing component for sensing one or more spectra from a portion of the substrate and generating spectral data for the substrate. In some embodiments, the spectral sensing component may be interchangeable, and such component may be configured based on the type of process performed at the manufacturing system or the target measurement type to be obtained at the substrate measurement subsystem. For example, one or more components of the spectral sensing unit can be interchanged at the substrate measurement subsystem to enable the collection of reflectometry spectral data, ellipsometry spectral data, hyperspectral imaging data, chemical imaging data (e.g., X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), etc.), etc. The substrate measurement subsystem may also include positioning components configured to modify the position and / or orientation of the substrate within the substrate measurement subsystem. These positioning components can also generate position data associated with the substrate. The substrate measurement subsystem can correlate position data generated for a portion of the substrate with spectral data. The substrate measurement subsystem can transmit the generated data (e.g., spectral data, position data, etc.) to the system controller of the manufacturing system.

[0020] In response to receiving data from a portion of the manufacturing system and a substrate measurement subsystem, the system controller can determine whether to modify the process recipe for the substrate. The system controller can generate a mapping between a first set of data received from the substrate measurement unit and a second set of data received from a portion of the manufacturing system. In response to generating the mapping between the first and second sets of data, the system controller can determine whether to modify the process recipe for the substrate based on this mapping. In some embodiments, in response to determining that a modification to the process recipe for the substrate is necessary, the system controller can send a notification to the user of the manufacturing system recommending that the process recipe be modified. The system controller can modify the process recipe in response to receiving a notification from the user of the manufacturing system to modify the process recipe according to the recommended modification. In other or similar embodiments, the system controller can modify the process recipe without providing instructions to the user of the manufacturing system.

[0021] The embodiments of this disclosure address the aforementioned deficiencies of conventional technologies by providing a system for determining whether modifications need to be made to the process formulation used for a substrate. By generating measurements of the substrate before, during, or after processing the substrate in the manufacturing system, the system controller can determine whether any changes have occurred within the manufacturing system that may affect the process used for the substrate. In response to determining that a change has occurred within the manufacturing system, the system controller can determine that a modification to the process formulation is necessary to prevent errors during the substrate processing due to the change in the manufacturing system. By modifying the process formulation used for the substrate, the system controller reduces the likelihood of defects in the processed substrate, thereby increasing the overall throughput of the manufacturing system. Furthermore, by integrating the substrate measurement subsystem within the manufacturing system, the overall sampling rate for each substrate within the manufacturing system is improved.

[0022] Figure 1 This is a top view schematic diagram of an example manufacturing system 100 according to various aspects of this disclosure. The manufacturing system 100 can perform one or more processes on a substrate 102. The substrate 102 can be any suitable rigid, fixed-dimensional, flat article, such as, for example, a silicon-containing disk or wafer, a patterned wafer, a glass plate, or the like, suitable for manufacturing electronic devices or circuit components thereon.

[0023] Manufacturing system 100 may include a processing tool 104 and a plant interface 106 coupled to the processing tool 104. The processing tool 104 may include a housing 108 having a transfer chamber 110. The transfer chamber 110 may include one or more processing chambers (also referred to as process chambers) 114, 116, 118 disposed around and coupled to the transfer chamber. Processing chambers 114, 116, 118 may be coupled to the transfer chamber 110 via corresponding ports (such as slit valves or the like).

[0024] Processing chambers 114, 116, and 118 can be adapted to perform any number of processing processes on substrate 102. The same or different substrate processing processes can be performed in each of the processing chambers 114, 116, and 118. Substrate processing processes can include atomic layer deposition (ALD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), etching, annealing, curing, pre-cleaning, metal or metal oxide removal, or similar processes. In some embodiments, the substrate processing processes can include a combination of two or more of the following: atomic layer deposition (ALD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), etching, annealing, curing, pre-cleaning, metal or metal oxide removal, or similar processes. In one example, a PVD process can be performed in one or two process chambers 114, an etching process can be performed in one or two process chambers 116, and an annealing process can be performed in one or two process chambers 118. Other processing processes can be implemented on the substrate within these chambers. Processing chambers 114, 116, and 118 may each include one or more sensors configured to capture data on the environment within the substrate 102 and / or processing chambers 114, 116, and 118 before, after, or during substrate processing. In some embodiments, the sensors may be configured to capture data including one or more values ​​of: one or more spectra (e.g., light spectrum), temperature (e.g., heater temperature), spacing (SP), pressure, high-frequency radio frequency (HFRF), voltage, current, flow, power, capacitance, etc. of an electrostatic chuck (ESC). About Figure 3 Further details regarding the treatment chambers 114, 116, and 118 are provided.

[0025] The transfer chamber 110 may also include a transfer chamber robot 112. The transfer chamber robot 112 may include one or more arms, each arm including one or more end effectors at its end. The end effectors may be configured to handle specific objects, such as wafers. Alternatively or additionally, the end effectors may be configured to handle objects such as process kit rings. In some embodiments, the transfer chamber robot 112 may be a selective compliance assembly robot arm (SCARA), such as a 2-link SCARA robot, a 3-link SCARA robot, a 4-link SCARA robot, and so on.

[0026] The loading locking mechanism 120 can also be coupled to the housing 108 and the transfer chamber 110. The loading locking mechanism 120 can be configured to interface and couple with the transfer chamber 110 on one side and with the factory interface 106. In some embodiments, the loading locking mechanism 120 can have an environmentally controlled atmosphere, which can be changed from a vacuum environment (in which substrates can be transferred to and from the transfer chamber 110) to an inert gas environment at or near atmospheric pressure (in which substrates can be transferred to and from the factory interface 106). In some embodiments, the loading locking mechanism 120 can be a stacked loading locking mechanism having a pair of upper internal chambers and a pair of lower internal chambers located at different vertical levels (e.g., one above the other). In some embodiments, the pair of upper internal chambers may be configured to receive processed substrates from transfer chamber 110 for removal from processing tool 104, while the pair of lower internal chambers may be configured to receive substrates from factory interface 106 for processing in processing tool 104. In some embodiments, loading locking mechanism 120 may be configured to perform substrate processing processes (e.g., etching or pre-cleaning) on ​​one or more substrates 102 received in loading locking mechanism.

[0027] Factory interface 106 can be any suitable enclosure, such as an Equipment Front End Module (EFEM). Factory interface 106 can be configured to receive substrate 102 from substrate carrier 122 (e.g., Front-Opening Standard Container (FOUP)) docked at various loading ports 124 of factory interface 106. Factory interface robot 126 (shown in dashed lines) can be configured to transfer substrate 102 between substrate carrier (also referred to as container) 122 and loading locking mechanism 120. In other and / or similar embodiments, factory interface 106 can be configured to receive replacement parts from replacement parts storage container 123. Factory interface robot 126 can include one or more robotic arms and can be or can include SCARA robots. In some embodiments, factory interface robot 126 can have more links and / or more degrees of freedom compared to transfer chamber robot 112. Factory interface robot 126 can include end effectors at the end of each robotic arm. The terminal actuator can be configured to pick up and move specific objects, such as wafers. Alternatively or additionally, the terminal actuator can be configured to move objects such as process component rings.

[0028] Any conventional type of robot can be used for the factory interface robot 126. Transfer can be performed in any order or in any direction. In some embodiments, the factory interface 106 can be maintained in, for example, a slightly positive pressure non-reactive gas environment (e.g., an environment using nitrogen as the non-reactive gas).

[0029] In some embodiments, transfer chambers 110, process chambers 114, 116, and 118, and loading locking mechanism 120 may be maintained at a vacuum level. Manufacturing system 100 may include one or more vacuum ports coupled to one or more stations of manufacturing system 100. For example, a first vacuum port 130a may couple plant interface 106 to loading locking mechanism 120. A second vacuum port 130b may be coupled to loading locking mechanism 120 and disposed between loading locking mechanism 120 and transfer chamber 110. In other or similar embodiments, transfer chambers 110, process chambers 114, 116, and 118, and / or loading locking mechanism 120 may not be maintained at a vacuum level.

[0030] The manufacturing system 100 can also be connected to a client device (not shown) configured to provide information about the manufacturing system 100 to a user (e.g., an operator). The client device may include a computing device such as a personal computer (PC), laptop computer, mobile phone, smartphone, tablet computer, netbook computer, networked television, etc. In some embodiments, the client device may provide information to the user of the manufacturing system 100 via one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs). For example, the client device may provide information via the GUI regarding one or more modifications to the process formulation for the substrate 102.

[0031] Manufacturing system 100 may also include system controller 128. System controller 128 may be and / or may include computing devices such as personal computers, server computers, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), microcontrollers, etc. System controller 128 may include one or more processing devices, which may be general-purpose processing devices such as microprocessors, central processing units, or the like. In particular, the processing device may be a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, or a processor that implements other instruction sets or a combination of instruction sets. The processing device may also be one or more special-purpose processing devices such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), network processors, or the like. System controller 128 may include data storage devices (e.g., one or more disk drives and / or solid-state drives), main memory, static memory, network interfaces, and / or other components. System controller 128 may execute instructions to perform any one or more of the methods and / or embodiments described herein. In some embodiments, system controller 128 may execute instructions to perform one or more operations at manufacturing system 100 in accordance with a process recipe. The process recipe includes a series of operations to be performed at manufacturing system 100 in a specific sequence. These instructions may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium, which may include main memory, static memory, secondary storage, and / or processing means (during the execution of these instructions).

[0032] System controller 128 may receive data from sensors included on or within various parts of manufacturing system 100, such as processing chambers 114, 116, 118, transfer chamber 110, loading locking mechanism 120, etc. The data received by system controller 128 may include data associated with the environment surrounding substrate 102 within substrate 102 and / or a portion of manufacturing system 100. For the purposes of this description, system controller 128 is described as receiving data from sensors included within processing chambers 114, 116, 118. However, system controller 128 may receive data from any part of manufacturing system 100 and may use the data received from that part according to the embodiments described herein. In an illustrative example, system controller 128 may receive data from one or more sensors in processing chambers 114, 116, 118 before, after, or during substrate processing at processing chambers 114, 116, 118. In such examples, data received from processing chambers 114, 116, and 118 can be associated with substrate 102, including temperature data, position data (e.g., the position and / or orientation of substrate 102 within processing chambers 114, 116, and 118), etc. Data received by system controller 128 can also be associated with the environment of processing chambers 114, 116, and 118, including data indicating the temperature or internal pressure of processing chambers 114, 116, and 118, the amount of radiation within processing chambers 114, 116, and 118, etc. Data received from sensors at various points in the manufacturing system 100 can be stored in data storage 150. Data storage 150 can be included as a component within system controller 128, or it can be a component separate from system controller 128. Regarding... Figure 4 Further details about data storage 150 are provided.

[0033] Manufacturing system 100 may include a substrate measurement subsystem 140. The substrate measurement subsystem 140 may obtain measurements of one or more portions of substrate 102 before or after processing substrate 102 at manufacturing system 100. In some embodiments, the substrate measurement subsystem 140 may obtain measurements of one or more portions of substrate 102 in response to receiving a measurement request from system controller 128. The substrate measurement subsystem 140 may be integrated within a portion of manufacturing system 100. In some embodiments, the substrate measurement subsystem 140 may be integrated within factory interface 106. In such embodiments, factory interface robot 126 may be configured to transfer substrate 102 between substrate carrier 122 and substrate measurement subsystem 140 and / or between substrate measurement subsystem 140 and loading locking mechanism 120. In other or similar embodiments, the substrate measurement subsystem 140 may not be integrated with any part of manufacturing system 100, but may be a separate component. In such embodiments, the substrate 102, measured at the substrate measurement subsystem 140, can be transferred to or from a portion of the manufacturing system 100 before or after processing the substrate 102 at the manufacturing system 100.

[0034] The substrate measurement subsystem 140 can obtain measurements of a portion of substrate 102 by generating data associated with that portion of substrate 102. In some embodiments, the substrate measurement subsystem 140 is configured to generate spectral data, positional data, and other substrate property data for substrate 102. In some embodiments, the substrate measurement subsystem 140 may include one or more reflection measurement sensors (i.e., reflectometers). In such embodiments, the spectral data generated by the substrate measurement subsystem 140 may refer to the reflected optical intensity of each wavelength of a wave reflected from a portion of substrate 102. In other or similar embodiments, the substrate measurement subsystem 140 may include one or more ellipsometers (i.e., ellipsometers). In such embodiments, the spectral data generated by the substrate measurement subsystem 140 may refer to the reflected optical intensity of wavelengths of polarized light waves reflected from a portion of substrate 102. In other or similar embodiments, the spectral data may refer to spectral data collected from thermal spectroscopy sensors, etc. As described above, the substrate measurement subsystem 140 can generate other substrate property data (i.e., non-spectral data) for substrate 102. For example, the substrate measurement subsystem 140 can generate data based on signals collected from eddy current (i.e., sensing) sensors, capacitive sensors, etc.

[0035] After generating data for substrate 102, substrate measurement subsystem 140 can transmit the generated data to system controller 128. In response to receiving data from substrate measurement subsystem 140, system controller 128 can store the data in data storage 150.

[0036] In some implementations, data received by system controller 128 from substrate measurement subsystem 140 may be associated with data received from one or more sensors in processing chambers 114, 116, 118. For example, a first dataset for substrate 102 may be generated at substrate measurement subsystem 140. In response to system controller 128 receiving the first dataset, substrate 102 may be transferred to processing chambers 114, 116, 118 for processing. At processing chambers 114, 116, 118, a second dataset for substrate 102 may be generated and transferred to system controller 128. In response to determining that the first dataset and the second dataset are associated, system controller 128 may generate a mapping between the first dataset and the second dataset and store the generated mapping in data storage 150. Based on the mapping between the first dataset and the second dataset, system controller 128 may determine whether to modify the process formulation for substrate 102. Figure 4 Further details are provided regarding how the system controller 128 determines whether to modify the process formulation used for the substrate 102.

[0037] In some implementations, in response to determining a modification to the process recipe, the system controller 128 may provide a notification to the operator of the manufacturing system 100 instructing that the process recipe should be modified. In some examples, this can be done via a GUI (such as a client device) displayed on a client device. Figure 5 The system controller 128 may provide notifications to the operator of the manufacturing system 100. These notifications may include recommendations for modifying one or more operations of the process formulation, along with GUI elements that allow the operator to accept or reject the modification. In other or similar embodiments, the notifications may include multiple alternative recommendations for modifying one or more operations of the process formulation, along with one or more GUI elements that allow the operator to select one recommendation over another. In some embodiments, the system controller 128 may not provide notifications to the operator of the manufacturing system 100, but may instead modify the processing formulation based on the identification of the optimal modification to the process formulation.

[0038] Figure 2 This is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a substrate measurement subsystem 200 according to various aspects of this disclosure. The substrate measurement subsystem 200 can be configured to obtain measurements of the substrate (e.g., before or after processing the substrate 102 in the processing chamber) before or after processing the substrate. Figure 1The substrate measurement subsystem 200 measures one or more portions of the substrate 102. The substrate measurement subsystem 200 can obtain measurements of that portion of the substrate 102 by generating data associated with that portion. In some embodiments, the substrate measurement subsystem 200 may be configured to generate spectral data, positional data, and / or other attribute data associated with the substrate 102. The substrate measurement subsystem 200 may include a controller 230 configured to execute one or more instructions for generating data associated with a portion of the substrate 102.

[0039] The substrate measurement subsystem 200 may include a substrate sensing component 214 configured to detect when the substrate 102 is transferred to the substrate measurement subsystem 200. The substrate sensing component 214 may include any components configured to detect when the substrate 102 is transferred to the substrate measurement subsystem 200. For example, the substrate sensing component 214 may include an optical sensing component that transmits a light beam through an inlet to the substrate measurement subsystem 200. In response to the substrate 102 cutting off the light beam transmitted through the inlet to the substrate measurement subsystem 200 when the substrate 102 is placed inside the substrate measurement subsystem 200, the substrate sensing component 214 may detect that the substrate 102 has been transferred to the substrate measurement subsystem 200. In response to detecting that the substrate 102 has been transferred to the substrate measurement subsystem 200, the substrate sensing component 214 may transmit an indication to the controller 230 indicating that the substrate 102 has been transferred to the substrate measurement subsystem 200.

[0040] In some embodiments, the substrate sensing component 214 may be further configured to detect identification information associated with the substrate 102. In some embodiments, the substrate 102 may be embedded within a substrate carrier (not shown) during transfer to the substrate measurement subsystem 200. The substrate carrier may include one or more registration features that enable identification of the substrate 102. For example, the optical sensing component of the substrate sensing component 214 may detect that the substrate 102 embedded within the substrate carrier has cut off the light beam transmitted through the inlet to the substrate measurement subsystem 200. The optical sensing component may further detect one or more registration features included on the substrate carrier. In response to detecting the one or more registration features, the optical sensing component may generate an optical signature associated with the one or more registration features. The substrate sensing component 214 may transmit the optical signature generated by the optical sensing component, along with an indication that the substrate has been placed within the substrate measurement subsystem 200, to the controller 230. In response to receiving the optical signature from the sensing component 214, the controller 230 may analyze the optical signature to determine identification information associated with the substrate 102. The identification information associated with substrate 102 may include an identification code for substrate 102, an identification code for the processing technology of substrate 102 (e.g., batch number or process run number), an identification code for the type of substrate 102 (e.g., wafer, etc.), and so on.

[0041] The substrate measurement subsystem 200 may include one or more components configured to determine the position and / or orientation of a substrate 102 within the substrate measurement subsystem 200. The position and / or orientation of the substrate 102 may be determined based on the identification of a reference position of the substrate 102. The reference position may be part of an identification feature of the substrate 102 associated with a specific portion of the substrate 102. For example, the substrate 102 may have a reference tag embedded in a central portion of the substrate 102. In another example, the substrate 102 may have one or more structural features included on the surface of the substrate 102 at a central portion of the substrate 102. The controller 230 may determine identification features associated with a specific portion of the substrate 102 based on the determined identification information for the substrate 102. For example, in response to determining that the substrate 102 is a wafer, the controller 230 may determine one or more identification features generally included in a portion of the wafer.

[0042] The controller 230 may use one or more camera components 250 configured to capture image data of the substrate 102 to identify a reference position of the substrate 102. The camera components 250 may generate image data of one or more portions of the substrate 102 and transmit the image data to the controller 230. The controller 230 may analyze the image data to identify identification features associated with the reference position of the substrate 102. The controller 230 may further determine the position and / or orientation of the substrate 102 as depicted in the image data based on the identified identification features of the substrate 102. The controller 230 may determine the position and / or orientation of the substrate 102 based on the determined position and / or orientation of the substrate 102 as depicted in the image data and the identified identification features of the substrate 102.

[0043] In response to determining the position and / or orientation of substrate 102, controller 230 may generate position data associated with one or more portions of substrate 102. In some embodiments, the position data may include one or more coordinates (e.g., Cartesian coordinates, polar coordinates, etc.) each associated with a portion of substrate 102, wherein each coordinate is determined based on a distance relative to a reference position of substrate 102. For example, in response to determining the position and / or orientation of substrate 102, controller 230 may generate first position data associated with a portion of substrate 102 including the reference position, wherein the first position data includes Cartesian coordinates (0,0). Controller 230 may generate second position data associated with a second portion of substrate 102 relative to the reference position. For example, a portion of substrate 102 located approximately 2 nanometers (nm) east of the reference position may be assigned Cartesian coordinates (0,1). In another example, a portion of substrate 102 located 5 nm north of the reference position may be assigned Cartesian coordinates (1,0).

[0044] The controller 230 can determine one or more portions of the substrate 102 for measurement based on positional data determined for the substrate 102. In some embodiments, the controller 230 can receive one or more operations of a process recipe associated with the substrate 102. In such embodiments, the controller 230 can further determine the one or more portions of the substrate 102 for measurement based on one or more operations of the process recipe. For example, the controller 230 can receive an indication that an etching process has been performed on the substrate 102, etching several structural features onto the surface of the substrate 102. As a result, the controller 230 can determine one or more structural features for measurement, and determine the expected locations of features at various portions of the substrate 102.

[0045] The substrate measurement subsystem 200 may include one or more measurement components for measuring the substrate 102. In some embodiments, the substrate measurement subsystem 200 may include one or more spectral sensing components 220 configured to generate spectral data for one or more portions of the substrate 102. As previously discussed, the spectral data may correspond to the intensity (i.e., the intensity or amount of energy) of the detected energy wave for each wavelength. Regarding Figure 6 Further details regarding the collected spectral data are provided. The measurement components used to measure substrate 102 may also include non-spectral sensing components (not shown) configured to collect and generate non-spectral data. For example, the measurement components may include eddy current sensors or capacitive sensors. While some embodiments of this specification may refer to the collection and use of spectral data of substrate 102, embodiments of this specification may also be applicable to non-spectral data collected for substrate 102.

[0046] The spectral sensing component 220 can be configured to detect energy waves reflected from a portion of the substrate 102 and generate spectral data associated with the detected waves. The spectral sensing component 220 may include a wave generator 222 and a reflected wave receiver 224. In some embodiments, the wave generator 222 may be a light wave generator configured to generate a light beam toward a portion of the substrate 102. In such embodiments, the reflected wave receiver 224 may be configured to receive the reflected light beam from that portion of the substrate 102. The wave generator 222 may be configured to generate an energy flow 226 (e.g., a light beam) and deliver the energy flow 226 to a portion of the substrate 102. The reflected energy wave 228 may be reflected from that portion of the substrate 102 and received by the reflected wave receiver 224. Although Figure 3 A shows a single energy wave reflected off the surface of substrate 102, but multiple energy waves can also be reflected off the surface of substrate 102 and received by the reflected wave receiver 224.

[0047] In response to the reflected energy wave 228 received from this portion of the substrate 102 by the reflected wave receiver 224, the spectrum sensing component 220 can measure the wavelength of each wave included in the reflected energy wave 228. The spectrum sensing component 220 can further measure the intensity of each measured wavelength. In response to measuring each wavelength and each wavelength intensity, the spectrum sensing component 220 can generate spectrum data for that portion of the substrate 102. The spectrum sensing component 220 can transmit the generated spectrum data to the controller 230. In response to receiving the generated spectrum data, the controller 230 can generate a mapping between the received spectrum data and position data for the measured portion of the substrate 102.

[0048] The substrate measurement subsystem 200 can be configured to generate a specific type of spectral data based on the type of measurement to be obtained at the substrate measurement subsystem 200. In some embodiments, the spectral sensing component 220 may be a first spectral sensing component configured to generate one type of spectral data. For example, the spectral sensing component 220 may be configured to generate reflectance measurement spectral data, elliptically polarized spectral data, hyperspectral imaging data, chemical imaging data, thermal spectral data, or conductive spectral data. In such embodiments, the first spectral sensing component may be removed from the substrate measurement subsystem 200 and replaced with a second spectral sensing component configured to generate different types of spectral data (e.g., reflectance measurement spectral data, elliptically polarized spectral data, hyperspectral imaging data, or chemical imaging data).

[0049] The controller 230 can determine the type of data (i.e., spectral data, non-spectral data) to be generated for the substrate 102 based on the type of measurement to be obtained for one or more portions of the substrate 102. In some embodiments, the controller 230 can determine the one or more types of measurement based on a notification received from the system controller 128. In other or similar embodiments, the controller 230 can determine the one or more types of measurement based on an instruction to generate a measurement for a portion of the substrate 102. In response to determining the one or more types of measurement to be obtained, the controller 230 can determine the type of data to be generated for the substrate 102. For example, the controller 230 can determine that spectral data is to be generated for the substrate 102, and that the second spectral sensing element is the optimal sensing element for obtaining the determined type of measurement for the one or more portions of the substrate 102. In response to determining that the second sensing element is the optimal sensing element, the controller 230 can transmit a notification to the system controller instructing that the first spectral sensing element should be replaced with the second spectral sensing element and that the second spectral sensing element should be used to obtain the one or more types of measurement for the one or more portions of the substrate 102. The system controller 128 can transmit the notification to a client device connected to the manufacturing system, wherein the client device can provide the notification to the user (e.g., an operator) of the manufacturing system via a GUI.

[0050] In other or similar embodiments, the spectral sensing component 220 may be configured to generate multiple types of spectral data. In such embodiments, according to the previously described embodiments, the controller 230 may cause the spectral sensing component 220 to generate a specific type of spectral data based on the type of measurement to be obtained for one or more portions of the substrate 102. In response to determining which type of measurement to obtain, the controller 230 may determine that a first type of spectral data should be generated by the spectral sensing component 220. Based on the determination that the first type of spectral data should be generated by the spectral sensing component 220, the controller 230 may cause the spectral sensing component 220 to generate the first type of spectral data for that one or more portions of the substrate 102.

[0051] As previously described, controller 230 can determine one or more portions of substrate 102 for measurement at substrate measurement subsystem 200. In some embodiments, one or more measurement components (such as spectral sensing component 220) may be stationary components within substrate measurement subsystem 200. In such embodiments, substrate measurement subsystem 200 may include one or more positioning components 240 configured to modify the position and / or orientation of substrate 102 relative to spectral sensing component 220. In some embodiments, positioning component 240 may be configured to translate substrate 102 relative to spectral sensing component 220 along a first axis and / or a second axis. In other or similar embodiments, positioning component 240 may be configured to rotate substrate 102 relative to spectral sensing component 220 about a third axis.

[0052] While the spectral sensing component 220 generates spectral data for one or more portions of the substrate 102, the positioning component 240 can modify the position and / or orientation of the substrate 102 based on the one or more defined portions to be measured. For example, before the spectral sensing component 220 generates spectral data for the substrate 102, the positioning component 240 can position the substrate 102 at Cartesian coordinates (0,0), and the spectral sensing component 220 can generate first spectral data for the substrate 102 at Cartesian coordinates (0,0). In response to the spectral sensing component 220 generating the first spectral data for the substrate 102 at Cartesian coordinates (0,0), the positioning component 240 can translate the substrate 102 along a first axis, such that the spectral sensing component 220 is configured to generate second spectral data for the substrate 102 at Cartesian coordinates (0,1). In response to the spectral sensing element 220 generating second spectral data for the substrate 102 at Cartesian coordinates (0,1), the controller 230 can rotate the substrate 102 along a second axis, such that the spectral sensing element 220 is configured to generate third spectral data for the substrate 102 at Cartesian coordinates (1,1). This process can be repeated multiple times until spectral data is generated for each defined portion of the substrate 102.

[0053] In some embodiments, one or more layers 212 of material may be included on the surface of the substrate 102. These layers 212 may include etch materials, photoresist materials, mask materials, deposited materials, etc. In some embodiments, these layers 212 may include etch materials to be etched according to an etching process performed in a processing chamber. In such embodiments, according to previously disclosed embodiments, spectral data may be collected for one or more unetched portions of the etch material deposited on the layer 212 on the substrate 102. In other or similar embodiments, these layers 212 may include etch materials that have already been etched in the processing chamber according to an etching process. In such embodiments, one or more structural features (e.g., lines, pillars, openings, etc.) may be etched into these layers 212 of the substrate 102. In such embodiments, spectral data may be collected for one or more structural features etched into these layers 212 of the substrate 102.

[0054] In some embodiments, the substrate measurement subsystem 200 may include one or more additional sensors configured to capture additional data about the substrate 102. For example, the substrate measurement subsystem 200 may include additional sensors configured to determine the thickness of the substrate 102, the thickness of a film deposited on the surface of the substrate 102, and so on. Each sensor may be configured to transmit the captured data to the controller 230.

[0055] According to the embodiments described herein, in response to receiving at least one of spectral data, location data, or attribute data for substrate 102, controller 230 may transmit the received data to system controller 128 for processing and analysis.

[0056] Figure 3 A schematic cross-sectional side view of a processing chamber 300 according to various aspects of this disclosure is shown. The processing chamber 300 can be used in processing processes that provide a corrosive plasma environment. For example, the processing chamber 300 can be a chamber for a plasma etcher or plasma etching reactor, a plasma cleaner, etc. In alternative embodiments, other processing chambers may be used, which may or may not be exposed to a corrosive plasma environment. Some examples of chamber components include chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chambers, physical vapor deposition (PVD) chambers, atomic layer deposition (ALD) chambers, ion-assisted deposition (IAD) chambers, etching chambers, and other types of processing chambers.

[0057] In one embodiment, the processing chamber 300 includes a chamber body 302 surrounding an internal space 306 and a nozzle 330. The chamber body 302 generally includes sidewalls 308 and a bottom 310. The nozzle 330 may include a nozzle base and a nozzle gas distribution plate 332. Alternatively, the nozzle 330 may be replaced by a cap and nozzle in some embodiments, or by multiple disc nozzle compartments and plasma generation units in other embodiments. An exhaust port 326 may be defined in the chamber body 302, and the exhaust port 326 may couple the internal space 306 to a pump system 328. The pump system 328 may include one or more pumps and throttle valves for evacuating and regulating the pressure of the internal space 306 of the processing chamber 300.

[0058] The nozzle 330 can be supported on the side wall 308 of the chamber body 302. The nozzle 330 (or cover) can be opened to allow access to the interior space 306 of the processing chamber 300, and can provide a seal for the processing chamber 300 when closed. A gas panel (not shown) can be coupled to the processing chamber 300 to supply process gas and / or cleaning gas to the interior space 306 through the nozzle 330 or the cover and nozzle (e.g., through orifices of the nozzle or cover and nozzle).

[0059] A substrate support assembly 348 is disposed within the internal space 306 of the processing chamber 300 and located below the nozzle 330. The substrate support assembly 348 holds the substrate (such as...) during processing. Figure 1(Substrate 102). In one embodiment, the substrate support assembly 348 includes a base 352 that supports an electrostatic chuck 350. The electrostatic chuck 350 further includes a thermally conductive base and an electrostatic puck coupled to the thermally conductive base. The thermally conductive base and / or the electrostatic puck of the electrostatic chuck 350 may include one or more optional embedded heating elements, embedded heat insulators, and / or conduits to control the lateral temperature distribution of the substrate support assembly 348. The electrostatic chuck 350 may include at least one clamping electrode controlled by a chucking power supply.

[0060] Processing chamber 300 may include one or more sensors 360 configured to generate data about the substrate 102 and / or the environment surrounding the substrate 102 before, after, or during processing of the substrate 102. Each sensor 360 may be configured to transmit data to a controller, such as system controller 128. In some embodiments, one or more sensors 360 may be embedded within components of processing chamber 300 and configured to capture data associated with the function of those components. For example, sensor 360A may be embedded within substrate support assembly 348 and / or electrostatic chuck 350. During operation of processing chamber 300, sensor 360A may generate data associated with the temperature of one or more heating elements embedded within electrostatic chuck 350, the lateral temperature distribution of substrate support assembly 348, the amount of power supplied by clamping power supply, and so on. In another example, sensor 360B may be embedded within gas panel and / or nozzle 330. In such examples, sensor 360B can be configured to generate data associated with the composition, flow rate, and temperature of the process gas and / or cleaning gas supplied to the interior space 306 via nozzle 330. In other or similar embodiments, one or more sensors 360 can be embedded within the interior space 306 of the processing chamber 300 to capture data associated with the environment surrounding the substrate 102 during the processing. For example, sensor 360C can be embedded on the surface (e.g., sidewall 308) of the chamber body 302. In such examples, sensor 360C can be configured to generate data associated with the pressure, temperature, radiation levels, etc., of the interior space 306.

[0061] In some embodiments, one or more sensors 360 outside the processing chamber 300 may be configured to generate data about the substrate 102 and / or the environment surrounding the substrate 102 before, after, or during the processing of the substrate 344. For example, a sensor 360D may be configured to generate data associated with one or more portions of the surface of the substrate 102. A transparent window 370 may be embedded in at least one of the nozzle 330 or sidewall 308. The sensor 360D may be an optical emitting device, including a light source component and a reflective component. The light source component may be configured to transmit light through the transparent window 370 to a portion of the substrate 102. Reflected light may be transmitted from this portion of the substrate 102, passing through the transparent window 370 and received by the reflective component of the sensor 360D. The sensor 360D may generate spectral data associated with the reflected light received by the reflective component and may transmit the generated spectral data to a controller, such as a system controller 128. In some embodiments, as shown, the sensor 360D can be configured to generate spectral data associated with the central portion of the substrate 102. In other or similar embodiments, the sensor 360D can be configured to generate spectral data associated with another portion of the substrate 102 (e.g., the outer diameter of the substrate 102).

[0062] Figure 4 This is a block diagram illustrating a system controller according to various aspects of this disclosure. In some embodiments, the system controller may be about... Figure 1 The system controller 128 is described. The system controller 128 may include a baseboard data collection agent 410 and a data storage unit 420.

[0063] As shown, the substrate data collection agent 410 may include a substrate measurement subsystem data module 412 (referred to herein as SMS data module 412), a sensor data module 414, a data mapping module 416, and a process recipe modification module 418. The substrate data collection agent 410 can communicate with a data storage device 420, which stores SMS data 422, sensor data 424, data mapping 426, process recipe 428, and modified process recipe 430.

[0064] Data storage 420 can be configured to store data that is inaccessible to users of the manufacturing system. In some embodiments, all data stored in data storage 420 may be inaccessible to users of the manufacturing system (e.g., operators). In other or similar embodiments, a portion of the data stored in data storage 420 may be inaccessible to users, while another portion may be accessible to users. In some embodiments, one or more portions of the data stored in data storage 420 may be encrypted using an encryption mechanism unknown to the user (e.g., using a private encryption key to encrypt the data). In other or similar embodiments, data storage 420 may include multiple data storage units, wherein data inaccessible to users is stored in one or more first data storage units, while data accessible to users is stored in one or more second data storage units.

[0065] The SMS data module 412 can be configured to receive data from a substrate measurement subsystem (such as...) Figure 2 The substrate measurement subsystem 200 receives data. As previously described, the system controller 128 can generate instructions to transfer the substrate to the substrate measurement subsystem 200 before or after processing the substrate at the manufacturing system to obtain one or more measurements of the substrate. In response to the system controller 128 receiving an indication that the substrate has been transferred to the substrate measurement subsystem 200, the SMS data module 412 can transmit a request to the substrate measurement subsystem 200 to obtain measurements of one or more portions of the substrate.

[0066] As previously described, system controller 128 can control the processing of the substrate at the manufacturing system according to process recipe 428. In some embodiments, SMS data module 412 can determine one or more portions of the substrate to be measured at substrate measurement subsystem 200 based on the process recipe. For example, the operation of the process recipe may include etching a layer of material deposited on the surface of the substrate at a processing chamber. Based on this operation of the process recipe, SMS data module 412 can determine one or more portions of the substrate surface for monitoring before and after the etching process at the processing chamber. In such embodiments, SMS data module 412 may include an indication of the determined one or more portions of the substrate to be measured at substrate measurement subsystem 200 in a request to obtain a measurement at substrate measurement subsystem 200. In such embodiments, according to the embodiments described herein, a controller (such as controller 230) at substrate measurement subsystem 200 can determine one or more portions of the substrate for measurement at substrate measurement subsystem 200.

[0067] In response to a request to obtain a measurement, SMS data module 412 can receive SMS data 422 from substrate measurement subsystem 200. SMS data 422 may include spectral data, location data, attribute data, etc. In some embodiments, SMS data 422 may further include information associated with the substrate (e.g., a substrate identification code) or information associated with the processing technology associated with the substrate (e.g., a batch number or processing round number). In response to receiving SMS data 422 from substrate measurement subsystem 200, SMS data module 412 may cause SMS data 422 to be stored in data storage 420.

[0068] Sensor data module 414 can be configured to receive data from one or more parts of a manufacturing system (such as processing chamber 300) before, during, or after a processing step is performed on the substrate. In response to the substrate being transferred to processing chamber 300, sensor data module 414 can transmit a request to processing chamber 300 for obtaining measurements of one or more portions of the substrate before, during, or after the substrate processing step is performed at processing chamber 300. In some embodiments, sensor data module 414 can receive data generated by one or more sensors at processing chamber 300 without transmitting a request for obtaining measurements at processing chamber 300. In some embodiments, measurements obtained at processing chamber 300 for the substrate may correspond to measurements obtained at substrate measurement subsystem 200. According to the embodiments described with respect to SMS data module 412, sensor data module 414 can determine one or more measurements to be obtained at processing chamber 300. For example, sensor data module 414 can determine one or more portions of the substrate to be measured at processing chamber 300.

[0069] Sensor data module 414 may receive sensor data 424 from processing chamber 300 in response to a request to transmit substrate data to processing chamber 300. Sensor data 424 may include spectral data, temperature data, pressure data, etc. In some embodiments, according to the previously described embodiments, sensor data 424 may include information associated with the substrate or information associated with the processing process associated with the substrate (e.g., substrate identification code or processing identification code). In response to receiving sensor data 424 from processing chamber 300, sensor data module 414 may cause sensor data 424 to be stored in data storage 420.

[0070] In response to the system controller 128 receiving SMS data 422 and sensor data 424, the data mapping module 416 can generate a mapping between SMS data 422 associated with sensor data 424. The data mapping module 416 can determine whether received SMS data 422 for a given substrate is associated with sensor data 424 for that given substrate, and vice versa. In some embodiments, the data mapping module 416 can determine the association between SMS data 422 and sensor data 424 based on a common sensor identification code or a common batch identification code. In response to determining that SMS data 422 for a given substrate is associated with sensor data 424 for that given substrate, the data mapping module 416 can generate a mapping between SMS data 422 and sensor data 424 and store the mapping, identified as data mapping 426, in the data storage 420.

[0071] It should be noted that although embodiments of this disclosure may describe the system controller 128 receiving SMS data before receiving sensor data 424, in some embodiments, the system controller 128 may also receive sensor data 424 before receiving SMS data 422. For example, a first measurement of the substrate 102 may be performed at the processing chamber 300, and sensor data 424 may be transmitted to the system controller 128. The substrate may be transferred to the substrate measurement subsystem 200 after processing at the processing chamber 300 (e.g., using a transfer robot). According to the above embodiments, the substrate measurement subsystem 200 may perform a second measurement of the substrate 102 and transmit SMS data 422 to the system controller 128. Further, it should be noted that multiple measurements may be performed at the substrate measurement subsystem 200. For example, first SMS data 422 may be obtained during a first measurement at the substrate measurement subsystem 200, sensor data 424 may be obtained during a second measurement at the processing chamber 300, and second SMS data 422 may be obtained during a third measurement at the substrate measurement subsystem 200.

[0072] In similar or alternative embodiments, the substrate measurement subsystem 200 may perform a first measurement and a second measurement on the substrate 102. For example, the substrate measurement subsystem 200 may obtain first SMS data 422 (e.g., spectral data) on the substrate 102 and may obtain second SMS data 422 (e.g., non-spectral data) on the substrate 102. At least one of the first SMS data 422 or the second SMS data 422 may be obtained before or after processing the substrate 102 in the processing chamber 300.

[0073] The formulation modification module 418 can determine whether to modify the process formulation 428 based on the data mapping 426 generated by the data mapping module 416. The formulation modification module 418 can identify SMS data 422 (e.g., first SMS data, second SMS data, etc.) and / or sensor data 424 mapped together by the data mapping 426. In some embodiments, one type of SMS data 422 corresponds to one type of sensor data 424. In such embodiments, the formulation modification module 418 can compare the SMS data 422 with the sensor data 424 to determine the difference between the SMS data 422 and the sensor data 424. In response to determining the difference between the SMS data 422 and the sensor data 424, the formulation modification module 418 can compare the determined difference with a difference threshold. In response to determining that the difference exceeds the difference threshold, the formulation modification module 418 can determine to modify the process formulation 428.

[0074] In some embodiments, the formulation modification module 418 may determine the position of the substrate within the processing chamber 300 based on the mapping between SMS data 422 and sensor data 424. As previously described, SMS data 422 may include spectral data generated at the substrate measurement subsystem 200 for one or more portions of the substrate. SMS data 422 may further include position data (e.g., Cartesian coordinates of each portion of the substrate) associated with the generated spectral data. Also as previously described, sensor data 424 may include spectral data generated at one or more portions of the substrate at the processing chamber 300. The formulation modification module 418 may identify first spectral data of SMS data 422 corresponding to second spectral data of sensor data 424. The formulation modification module 418 may determine the position of the substrate within the processing chamber 300 based on the position data of SMS data 422 associated with the first spectral data of SMS data 422. The formulation modification module may determine whether to modify the process formulation for the substrate within the processing chamber 300 based on the determined position of the substrate within the processing chamber 300.

[0075] In some implementations, the formulation modification module 418 may compare SMS data 422 with a target measurement 432. The target measurement 432 may include a target measurement for one or more locations on the substrate. In response to determining that the difference between the SMS data 422 and the target measurement 432 exceeds a difference threshold, the formulation modification module 418 may determine to modify the process formulation 428.

[0076] In some embodiments, the recipe modification module 418 may determine modifications to the process recipe 428 that are expected to cause differences between SMS data 422 and sensor data 424 and / or between SMS data 422 and target measurement 432. In some embodiments, the recipe modification module 418 may determine modifications to the process recipe 428 by providing a modification determination component (not shown) with the differences between SMS data 422 and sensor data 424 and / or between SMS data 422 and target measurement 432. In such embodiments, the modification determination component may provide the recipe modification module 418 with recommended modifications to the process recipe 428 based on the provided differences. In some embodiments, the modification determination component may be a rule database including one or more rules associated with process recipe modifications that can be made based on the differences between SMS data 422 and sensor data 424 and / or between SMS data 422 and target measurement 432. In other or similar embodiments, the modification determination component may include a data structure that associates the difference between SMS data 422 and sensor data 424 and / or between SMS data 422 and target measurement value 432 with process formulation modifications.

[0077] In an illustrative example, the modification determining component may determine, based on the difference between SMS data 422 and sensor data 424 and / or between SMS data 422 and target measurement value 432, that the processing chamber used to process the substrate is associated with an uneven etching rate. Based on this determination of the association between the processing chamber and the uneven etching rate, in order to achieve a uniform etching rate for the substrate to be processed in the processing chamber in the future, the modification determining component may identify one or more process parameter values ​​for modification. Examples of process parameter value modification may include a decrease in temperature at the first region of the substrate support assembly and an increase in temperature at the first region of the substrate support assembly.

[0078] In some implementations, the recipe modification module 418 can transmit a notification to a client device connected to the manufacturing system, wherein the notification indicates a recommended modification to the process recipe 428. The client device can be accessed via a GUI (such as...) Figure 5 The GUI 500 displays the notification to the user of the client device. The recipe modification module 418 can receive an instruction to modify the process recipe 428 from the client device. In response to receiving the instruction to modify the process recipe 428, the recipe modification module 418 can modify the process recipe and store the modified process recipe 430 in the data storage 420. In some embodiments, the recipe modification module 418 can modify the process recipe without transmitting a notification to the client device.

[0079] As described above, a first measurement of the substrate 102 can be performed at the processing chamber 300, and a second measurement of the substrate 102 can be performed at the substrate measurement subsystem 200. In this embodiment, according to the previously described embodiment, the substrate measurement subsystem 200 can determine the position of the substrate 102 at the substrate measurement subsystem 200. The recipe modification module 418 can determine the position of the substrate within the processing chamber 300 based on the mapping between SMS data 422 (i.e., the second measurement) and sensor data 424 (i.e., the first measurement). According to the previously described embodiment, the recipe modification module 418 can compare the SMS data 422 with the sensor data 424 and determine whether to modify the process recipe 428 based on the comparison.

[0080] In some embodiments, external metrology data can be collected for substrate 102 at an external metrology tool (e.g., before and / or after processing substrate 102 in processing chamber 300). According to the previously described embodiments, system controller 128 can receive external metrology data from the external metrology tool and can store the received external metrology data in a data storage device. Data mapping module 416 can update the data mapping for substrate 102 to include mappings between external metrology data for substrate 102 and other data (e.g., SMS data 422, sensor data 424). According to the previously described embodiments, recipe modification module 418 can determine whether to modify process recipe 428 based on the updated data mapping 426 for substrate 102.

[0081] Figure 5 An example graphical user interface (GUI) 500 for providing notifications to users (e.g., operators) of a manufacturing system, according to various aspects of this disclosure, is shown. In some embodiments, the GUI 500 may be presented to the user via a client device connected to the manufacturing system.

[0082] GUI 500 may include one or more GUI elements to provide information to or receive information from a user of a client device. GUI 500 may include a substrate ID element 512 that provides an identification code for a substrate being processed at the manufacturing system. For example, substrate ID element 512 may provide an indication that substrate “S00-0001” is being processed at the manufacturing system. GUI 500 may further include a pending process recipe operation element 514 that provides instructions for operations of a process recipe to be performed on the substrate at a portion of the manufacturing system. Figure 5As shown, element 514 can provide instructions for performing an etching operation on the substrate. In some embodiments, element 514 can provide detailed instructions regarding the operation to be performed on the substrate. For example, element 514 can provide instructions for performing an etching operation on the substrate in a processing chamber and for the etching operation to last for 3 minutes and 0 seconds.

[0083] The GUI 500 may further include a recommended process formulation element 516, providing instructions for modifications to one or more operations of the recommended process formulation. Figure 5 As shown, element 516 can provide a recommended modification to the etching process used for the substrate. This recommended modification could include etching the substrate for 4 minutes and 0 seconds instead of 3 minutes and 0 seconds as included in the original process formulation. In some embodiments, GUI 500 may also include a reason element 518, which provides a reason for the recommended modification to one or more operations of the process formulation. Figure 5 As shown, element 518 can indicate that the recommended modification to the process formulation is based on the determination that the film deposited on the substrate is thicker than expected.

[0084] The GUI 500 may further include one or more interactive elements that enable a user of the client device to accept or reject modifications to the recipe. Figure 5 As shown, the user can choose to accept modification element 520A to accept the recommended modification to the process formulation indicated by element 516. In response to receiving an indication that the user has selected to accept modification element 520A, the client device can generate a notification and transmit it to the system controller, the notification including an instruction to modify the process formulation according to the recommended modification. The user can also choose to reject modification element 520B to reject the recommended modification to the process formulation. In response to receiving an indication that the user has selected to reject modification element 520B, the client device can generate a notification and transmit it to the system controller, the notification including an instruction not to modify the process formulation according to the recommended modification.

[0085] Figure 6 The basis for this disclosure is shown in various aspects. Figure 2 Substrate measurement subsystem 200 or Figure 3 Example spectral data 600 generated by the reflected energy received by sensor 360D. As shown, the reflected energy wave received by substrate measurement subsystem 200 may include multiple wavelengths. Each reflected energy wave may be associated with a different portion of substrate 102. In some embodiments, the intensity can be measured for each reflected energy wave received by substrate measurement subsystem 200. Figure 6As seen, each intensity can be measured for each wavelength of the reflected energy wave received by the substrate measurement subsystem 200. The correlation between each intensity and each wavelength can form the basis for the spectral data 600. In some embodiments, one or more wavelengths can be associated with intensity values ​​outside the expected range of intensity values. For example, line 610 can be associated with intensity values ​​outside the expected range of intensity values, as shown by line 620. In such embodiments, intensity values ​​outside the expected range of intensity values ​​can be an indication of the presence of a defect at a portion of the substrate 102. According to the previously described embodiments, the process formulation for the substrate 102 can be modified based on the indication of a defect at that portion of the substrate 102.

[0086] Figure 7-10 This is a flowchart illustrating various embodiments of method 700-1000 for determining whether to modify the process formulation for a substrate. Methods 700-1000 are executed by processing logic, which may include hardware (circuit systems, dedicated logic, etc.), software (such as running on a general-purpose computer system or a special-purpose machine), firmware, or some combination thereof. Some methods 700-800 may be performed by, for example... Figure 1 The system controller 128 and similar computing devices execute these methods. Some methods 900-1000 can be performed by, for example, a computing device... Figure 2 The controller 230 and similar computing devices execute the commands.

[0087] For ease of explanation, these methods are depicted and described as a series of actions. However, actions according to this disclosure can be performed in various orders and / or in parallel, and can be performed together with other actions not presented or described herein. Furthermore, these methods according to the disclosed subject matter can be implemented without performing all the shown actions. In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that these methods can alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states via state diagrams or events.

[0088] Figure 7This is a flowchart of a method 700 for determining whether to modify a process formulation for a substrate, based on various aspects of this disclosure. In block 710, processing logic identifies the substrate to be processed at a manufacturing system according to the process formulation. In block 720, processing logic generates an instruction to transfer the substrate to a substrate measurement subsystem to obtain a first set of measurements for the substrate. In some embodiments, the first set of measurements may include spectral or non-spectral data (e.g., eddy current data, capacitance data, etc.) for the substrate. In block 730, processing logic receives the first set of measurements for the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem. In block 740, processing logic generates an instruction to transfer the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem to a processing chamber of the manufacturing system. In block 750, processing logic receives a second set of measurements for the substrate from one or more sensors within the processing chamber. In some embodiments, the second set of measurements for the substrate may include spectral or non-spectral data (e.g., power data, temperature data, pressure data, etc.) for the substrate. In block 760, processing logic generates a mapping between the first and second set of measurements for the substrate. In block 770, processing logic stores the first set of measurements mapped to the second set of measurements. In block 780, the processing logic determines the process formulation for modifying the substrate based on a first measurement set mapped to a second measurement set. In block 790, the processing logic optionally provides recommendations for modifying the formulation for the substrate via a graphical user interface.

[0089] As described above, in some embodiments, before generating instructions to transfer the substrate to the substrate measurement subsystem to obtain a first set of measurements for the substrate and receiving the first set of measurements for the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem, the processing logic may generate instructions to transfer the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem to the processing chamber of the manufacturing system and receive a second set of measurements for the substrate.

[0090] Figure 8This is a flowchart of another method 800 for determining whether to modify the process formulation for a substrate, based on various aspects of this disclosure. In block 810, processing logic receives a first set of measurements for the substrate from one or more sensors in a processing chamber of the manufacturing system. In block 820, processing logic processes the substrate at the processing chamber according to the process formulation. In block 830, processing logic optionally receives a second set of measurements for the substrate from the one or more sensors in the processing chamber. In block 840, processing logic generates an instruction to transfer the substrate from the processing chamber to a substrate measurement subsystem to obtain a third set of measurements. In block 850, processing logic receives the third set of measurements for the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem. In block 860, processing logic generates a mapping between the first, second, and / or third set of measurements. In block 870, processing logic stores the mapping between the first, second, and / or third set of measurements. In block 880, processing logic determines whether to modify the formulation for the substrate based on the mapping between the first, second, and / or third set of measurements. In block 890, the processing logic optionally provides recommendations for modifying the formulation used for the substrate via a graphical user interface.

[0091] Figure 9 This is a flowchart of a method 900 for obtaining data for a substrate at a substrate measurement subsystem, according to various aspects of this disclosure. In block 910, processing logic receives an indication that a substrate being processed at a manufacturing system has been loaded into the substrate measurement subsystem. In block 920, processing logic determines position data of the substrate within the substrate measurement subsystem. In block 930, processing logic receives a recipe for the substrate. In block 940, processing logic determines one or more portions of the substrate to be measured by one or more sensing components of the substrate measurement subsystem based on the substrate position data and the recipe. In block 950, processing logic obtains measurements for each of the determined portions of the substrate using the one or more sensing components of the substrate measurement subsystem (e.g., spectral sensing components, non-spectral sensing components, etc.). In block 960, processing logic transmits the obtained measurements for each of the determined portions of the substrate to a system controller.

[0092] Figure 10This is a flowchart of a method 1000 for determining position data of a substrate within a substrate measurement subsystem, based on various aspects of this disclosure. In block 1010, processing logic determines identification features included on the substrate. In some embodiments, the identification features may correspond to a reference location of the substrate (e.g., the center of the substrate). In block 1020, the processing logic identifies a portion of the substrate including the determined identification features. In block 1030, the processing logic generates instructions to capture one or more images of the identified portion of the substrate. In block 1040, the processing logic determines the orientation and / or position of the substrate within the substrate measurement subsystem based on the captured one or more images. In block 1050, the processing logic generates position data of the substrate based on the determined orientation and / or position of the substrate within the substrate measurement subsystem.

[0093] Figure 11 A schematic representation of a machine in the example form of a computing device 1100 is shown, within which an instruction set can be executed to cause the machine to perform one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. In alternative embodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a local area network (LAN), intranet, extranet, or the Internet. The machine may operate as a server or client machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine may be a personal computer (PC), tablet computer, set-top box (STB), personal digital assistant (PDA), cellular phone, network device, server, network router, switch, or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instruction sets (executed sequentially or otherwise) that specify the actions to be taken by the machine. Furthermore, although only a single machine is shown, the term "machine" should also be considered as any collection of machines (e.g., computers) that individually or jointly execute instruction sets (or multiple instruction sets) to perform one or more of the methodologies described herein. In an implementation, the computing device 1100 can be connected to... Figure 1 System controller 128 or Figure 3 The controller 320 corresponds to this.

[0094] Example computing device 1100 includes processing device 1102 communicating with each other via bus 1108, main memory 1104 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), etc.), static memory 1106 (e.g., flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), and secondary memory (e.g., data storage device 1128).

[0095] Processing device 1102 may represent one or more general-purpose processors such as microprocessors, central processing units, or the like. In particular, processing device 1102 may be a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) microprocessor, a Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) microprocessor, a Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) microprocessor, a processor implementing other instruction sets, or a processor implementing a combination of instruction sets. Processing device 1102 may also be one or more special-purpose processing devices such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), network processors, or the like. Processing device 1102 may also be or may include a system-on-a-chip (SoC), a programmable logic controller (PLC), or other types of processing devices. Processing device 1102 is configured to execute processing logic for performing the operations and steps discussed herein.

[0096] The computing device 1100 may further include a network interface device 1122 for communicating with the network 1164. The computing device 1100 may also include a video display unit 1110 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device 1112 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 1114 (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generation device 1120 (e.g., a speaker).

[0097] Data storage device 1128 may include a machine-readable storage medium (or more specifically a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium) 1124 on which one or more instruction sets 1126 are stored to implement any one or more of the methods or functions described herein. The non-transitory storage medium refers to a storage medium other than a carrier wave. Instructions 1126 may also reside wholly or at least partially in main memory 1104 and / or processing device 1102 during execution by computer device 1100, both of which also constitute computer-readable storage media.

[0098] Although the computer-readable storage medium 1124 is shown as a single medium in the exemplary embodiment, the term "computer-readable storage medium" should also be understood to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) storing the one or more instruction sets. The term "computer-readable storage medium" should also be understood to include any medium capable of storing or encoding any one or more instruction sets for use by a machine to execute and cause the machine to perform the methodology of the present invention. Therefore, the term "computer-readable storage medium" should be understood to include, but is not limited to, solid-state memory, optical media, and magnetic media.

[0099] The foregoing description sets forth numerous specific details, such as examples of particular systems, components, methods, etc., to provide a good understanding of several embodiments of this disclosure. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that at least some embodiments of this disclosure can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known components or methods are not described in detail, or are presented in a simple block diagram format, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the disclosure. Therefore, the specific details set forth are merely exemplary. Specific implementations may differ from these exemplary details and are still considered to be within the scope of this disclosure.

[0100] Throughout this specification, the reference to "one embodiment" or "implementation" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with that embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Therefore, the appearance of the phrase "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the use of the word "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or." When the terms "about" or "approximately" are used herein, this term is intended to mean that the presented nominal values ​​are accurate to within ±10%.

[0101] Although the operations of the methods described herein are shown and described in a specific order, the order of operations of each method can be changed so that some operations can be performed in reverse order, or that some operations can be performed at least partially in parallel with other operations. In another embodiment, instructions or sub-operations of distinct operations can be performed intermittently and / or alternately.

[0102] It should be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art after reading and understanding the above description. Therefore, the scope of this disclosure should be determined with reference to the appended claims, together with the full scope of their equivalents.

Claims

1. A manufacturing system, comprising: A substrate measurement subsystem is configured to generate data associated with a substrate at the manufacturing system, wherein the substrate measurement subsystem includes one or more first sensors; A processing chamber is configured to process the substrate at the manufacturing system, wherein the processing chamber includes one or more second sensors; One or more transfer robots are configured to transfer the substrate between the substrate measurement subsystem and the processing chamber; and A controller, operatively coupled to the substrate measurement subsystem, the processing chamber, and the one or more transfer robots, wherein the controller is configured to: Identify the substrate to be processed at the manufacturing system according to a first process formulation and a second process formulation; Generate instructions that cause the one or more transfer robots to transfer the substrate to the substrate measurement subsystem to obtain a first set of measurements for the substrate; The first set of measurements for the substrate is received from the one or more first sensors of the substrate measurement subsystem; Generate instructions that cause the one or more transfer robots to transfer the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem to the processing chamber; Receive a second set of measurements for the substrate from the one or more second sensors in the processing chamber; A first mapping is generated between the first measurement set and the second measurement set for the substrate; The first measurement set, mapped to the second measurement set for the substrate, determines at least one modification to the first process formulation or the second process formulation; and The first process formulation or the second process formulation is modified by at least one of the following steps: The operation of modifying at least one of the first process formulation or the second process formulation, or Instructions are generated to prevent the execution of the first process formulation for the substrate from being completed.

2. The manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the first set of measurements for the substrate includes at least one of spectral data, position data, or attribute data, and wherein the second set of measurements for the substrate includes at least one of spectral data, temperature data, pressure data, or power data.

3. The manufacturing system of claim 1, further comprising a data storage unit inaccessible to the operator of the manufacturing system, and wherein the controller is further configured to: The first measurement set, mapped to the second measurement set for the substrate, is stored in the data storage.

4. The manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein, in order to determine whether to modify the first process recipe or the second process recipe for the substrate based on the first measurement set mapped to the second measurement set for the substrate, the controller is configured to: Calculate the difference between the first measurement of the first measurement set and the second measurement of the second measurement set; and Determine whether the difference between the first measurement and the second measurement exceeds a difference threshold.

5. The manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein, in order to determine whether to modify the first process recipe or the second process recipe for the substrate based on the first measurement set mapped to the second measurement set for the substrate, the controller is configured to: Determine the target value associated with the first measurement of the first measurement set; Calculate the difference between the target value and the first measurement; and Determine whether the difference between the target value and the first measurement exceeds a difference threshold.

6. The manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to: In response to determining that a modification is needed for the first process formulation or the second process formulation for the substrate, a request to modify the first process formulation or the second process formulation for the substrate is transmitted to a client device connected to the manufacturing system. Receive instructions from the client device to modify the first process formulation or the second process formulation for the substrate; and The first process formulation or the second process formulation for the substrate is modified according to the received instructions.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, said instructions causing the processing means, when executed by a processing means, to: Identify the substrate to be processed in the manufacturing system according to the first process formula and the second process formula; Generate instructions to transmit the substrate to the substrate measurement subsystem to obtain a first set of measurements for the substrate; The first set of measurements for the substrate is received from one or more first sensors of the substrate measurement subsystem; Generate instructions to transfer the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem to the processing chamber; A second set of measurements is received from one or more second sensors in the processing chamber for the substrate; A first mapping is generated between the first measurement set and the second measurement set for the substrate; The modification of the first process formulation or the second process formulation is determined based on the first measurement set mapped to the second measurement set for the substrate; and The first process formulation or the second process formulation is modified by at least one of the following steps: The operation of modifying at least one of the first process formulation or the second process formulation, or Instructions are generated to prevent the execution of the first process formulation for the substrate from being completed.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the first set of measurements for the substrate includes at least one of spectral data, position data, or attribute data, and wherein the second set of measurements for the substrate includes at least one of spectral data, temperature data, pressure data, or power data.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the processing means is further configured to: The first measurement set, mapped to the second measurement set for the substrate, is stored in a data storage device for the manufacturing system, wherein the operator of the manufacturing system cannot access the data storage device.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein, in order to determine whether to modify the first process formulation or the second process formulation for the substrate based on the first measurement set mapped to the second measurement set for the substrate, the processing apparatus is configured to: Calculate the difference between the first measurement of the first measurement set and the second measurement of the second measurement set; and Determine whether the difference between the first measurement and the second measurement exceeds a difference threshold.

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