Semiconductor process parameter processing system and method

Abstract

The invention discloses a semiconductor process parameter processing system and method. The parameter processing system is matched with the reaction cavity, and comprises a semiconductor equipment function module, a process formula database in which a plurality of process formulas are stored, an equipment parameter database, an input unit and a process parameter determination module. And actual parameters set by the semiconductor equipment function module according to the process formula are stored in the equipment parameter database. Wherein the actual parameter = the output value + the compensation value. According to the method, the correlation is established between the production formula and the specific parameters of the semiconductor production equipment, so that the parameters required by the process are correlated with the performance parameters of the functional module of the semiconductor equipment of the actual operation process; the invention aims to quickly determine the parameters actually required to be set of the semiconductor equipment function module in the current process formula, reduce the dependence on specific operators, ensure the stability of the product quality and improve the production efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and in particular to a semiconductor process parameter processing system, and also to a method for determining semiconductor process parameters using the processing system. Background Art

[0002] High-end semiconductor equipment is the core foundation of integrated circuit technology and industrial development. One generation of equipment determines one generation of manufacturing technology, and one generation of manufacturing technology determines one generation of integrated circuit products. This concept has become a universal law for the development of world integrated circuit technology and industry. With the increasing competition in the global semiconductor market, the development of high-end equipment has become a commanding point in the international competition of the world's integrated circuit industry.

[0003] At present, according to the division of the integrated circuit industry chain, semiconductor equipment can be divided into the following three categories: semiconductor material processing equipment, wafer production equipment, packaging and testing equipment, and advanced packaging equipment. The main characteristics of the aforementioned equipment are high precision and complex working processes. Therefore, high requirements are placed on operators and equipment. However, in the working process, since many semiconductor manufacturing environments are under harsh conditions such as high temperature, high pressure, high humidity, and acidity, semiconductor equipment is particularly complex and uncertain. Problems in any link will result in a reduction in the yield of the product.

[0004] In the actual manufacturing process, the operator inputs the formula for producing a specific product through the host computer or downloads it from the production database. The host computer then controls the different functional modules of the semiconductor production equipment according to the requirements of the formula and provides process conditions corresponding to the requirements of the above formula. However, due to the uncertainty of the production equipment (such as its own performance errors and errors caused by the length of use), in order to achieve the process conditions required in the above formula, the operator must adjust the operating parameters of the functional modules of the semiconductor equipment to compensate for the errors of the functional modules of the semiconductor equipment themselves or the errors caused by the length of use, so that the output values ​​of the functional modules of the semiconductor equipment meet the parameter values ​​required by the current process formula.

[0005] However, the existing semiconductor production and manufacturing system has not established a correlation between the production formula and the specific parameters of the semiconductor production equipment. The adjustment of the specific parameters of the semiconductor production equipment is still left to the on-site production engineers. This, on the one hand, leads to a highly subjective adjustment method, resulting in unstable product quality. On the other hand, it leads to a high dependence of the production process on the operators, which cannot further improve production efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor process parameter processing system and method to solve the problem in the prior art that there is no correlation between the production formula and the specific parameters of the semiconductor production equipment, which leads to the need to manually adjust the specific parameters of the semiconductor production equipment, resulting in high dependence on personnel and unstable product quality.

[0007] A semiconductor process parameter processing system, which is arranged in cooperation with a reaction chamber; The parameter processing system comprises: Semiconductor equipment functional modules; A process recipe database, which stores multiple process recipes; An equipment parameter database, which stores actual parameters set by the semiconductor equipment function module according to the process recipe; wherein the actual parameter = output value + compensation value; An input unit, which is used to receive input instructions; and Process parameter determination module.

[0008] In one embodiment, the process recipe includes specific processing steps and process parameters corresponding to each step.

[0009] In one embodiment, the output value is set according to a process recipe; the compensation value is determined through testing; or, the relationship between the usage time and the compensation coefficient is fitted based on historical data, and then the compensation value is determined according to the usage time.

[0010] In one embodiment, the semiconductor device functional module is a radio frequency functional module, a temperature functional module, a motion functional module and a process gas functional module.

[0011] Furthermore, the radio frequency function module includes a radio frequency unit and a radio frequency unit control module for adjusting the radio frequency power of the radio frequency unit.

[0012] Furthermore, the temperature function module includes a temperature adjustment element and a temperature control module for adjusting the working temperature of the temperature adjustment element; the temperature adjustment element is a heating tube, a heating resistor or a cooling element.

[0013] Furthermore, the process gas function module includes a gas circuit actuator for controlling the switch and flow of the gas source and a process gas control module; the gas circuit actuator adopts a mass flow controller or a butterfly valve; the motion function module includes a motion actuator and a motion control module.

[0014] A parameter processing method, which uses the semiconductor process parameter processing system to determine semiconductor process parameters, the processing method comprises the following steps: S1 receives the instruction input by the operator and obtains the corresponding process recipe from the process recipe database; S2 parses the process parameters corresponding to each functional module of the semiconductor equipment in the process recipe, and then uses the process parameters to search the equipment parameter database to determine the actual setting parameters corresponding to each functional module; S3 outputs the determined actual setting parameters to the corresponding functional modules.

[0015] In one of the embodiments, when searching the device parameter database, the latest device parameter of each functional module of the semiconductor device is selected as the corresponding actual setting parameter; the device parameter database stores a relationship table between the usage time of each functional module of the semiconductor device and the matching device parameter.

[0016] Furthermore, in S2, the usage time of each functional module of the semiconductor device is first determined, and then the corresponding actual setting parameters are determined according to the relationship table; S2 also includes the step of receiving the operator's adjustment of the device parameters retrieved from the device parameter database using the input unit, and then the adjusted device parameters are used as the actual setting parameters.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: an association relationship is established between the production formula and the specific parameters of the semiconductor production equipment, so that the parameters required by the process are associated with the performance parameters of the functional modules of the semiconductor equipment that actually runs the process. Therefore, when implementing a specific process, the parameters that actually need to be set for the functional modules of the semiconductor equipment in the current process formula can be quickly determined, thereby reducing dependence on specific operators, better ensuring the stability of product quality, and improving production efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0019] Figure 1 The figure shows a module block diagram of a semiconductor process parameter processing system provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 The figure is a flow chart of a parameter processing method provided in Example 2 of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] To make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical scheme in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all of the embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present application generally described and shown in the drawings here can be arranged and designed in various different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application provided in the drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the application claimed for protection, but merely represents the selected embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without making creative work belong to the scope of protection of the present application. Example 1

[0022] See also Figure 1 The present embodiment provides a semiconductor process parameter processing system, which is arranged in cooperation with a reaction chamber. The parameter processing system includes a semiconductor equipment function module, a process recipe database storing a plurality of process recipes, an equipment parameter database, an input unit for receiving input instructions from a user, and a process parameter determination module.

[0023] The process recipe includes specific processing steps and process parameters corresponding to each step. The device parameter database stores actual parameters set by the semiconductor device function module according to the process recipe. The actual parameter = output value + compensation value. The output value is set according to the process recipe. The compensation value is determined by testing, or the relationship between the usage time and the compensation coefficient is fitted according to historical data, and then the compensation value is determined according to the usage time.

[0024] The process parameter determination module of this embodiment obtains the process recipe corresponding to the input instruction from the process recipe database according to the instruction input by the input unit, and parses the corresponding process parameters, and then uses the process parameters to search the equipment parameter database to determine the actual parameters of the semiconductor equipment function module under the current process recipe and output them; The semiconductor device functional modules are a radio frequency functional module, a temperature functional module, a motion functional module and a process gas functional module. The radio frequency functional module includes a radio frequency unit and a radio frequency unit control module for adjusting the radio frequency power of the radio frequency unit.

[0025] Different RF powers are required for different process parameters. The most important adjustment parameters of the RF unit are the starting RF output power and matching impedance, and the matching impedance is mainly determined by adjusting the capacitance of the adjustable matching capacitor. According to different process parameters, the process of adjusting different RF powers is as follows: the RF unit outputs a set RF power, and then uses the feedback measurement value to manually or automatically adjust the RF power and the capacitance of the adjustable matching capacitor, so as to gradually reach the RF power that matches the current process parameters.

[0026] However, the above-mentioned mode of adjusting the corresponding RF power for different process parameters has the problem of too long adjustment time. In order to overcome the aforementioned problem, the present embodiment establishes an equipment parameter database, which is provided with the starting power and impedance matching parameters of the RF unit corresponding to the specific process parameters for the RF function module, so that the starting power and impedance matching parameters of the RF unit can be directly set, thereby shortening the adjustment time. At the same time, considering that the RF power output by the RF unit will decay with the increase of usage time, a compensation setting is made, that is, a set value Px is added to the initial starting power P0. Px in the present embodiment is determined by testing, or, the relationship between the usage time and the compensation coefficient is fitted according to historical data, and then determined according to the usage time, which will not be elaborated here.

[0027] In this embodiment, the RF unit control module adjusts the RF unit based on the equipment parameter database so that the RF unit reaches an RF power that is consistent with the current process parameters.

[0028] The temperature function module includes a temperature adjustment element and a temperature control module; the temperature control module is used to adjust the working temperature of the temperature adjustment element, and the temperature adjustment element is a heating tube, a heating resistor or a cooling element. In semiconductor equipment such as PECVD, MOCVD, oxidation or annealing, the temperature adjustment element controls the temperature of the reaction chamber so that the reaction chamber matches the temperature required by the process. In this embodiment, considering that the temperature adjustment element will attenuate with the increase of the use time, such as with the increase of the use time, the actual power output of the heating tube will become smaller. Therefore, in this embodiment, the temperature control module relies on the equipment parameter database to adjust the output power of the temperature adjustment element. The above adjustment mode adopts a design to compensate for the attenuation. For example, the output power of the heating tube is set to 1000W, but due to attenuation, the actual output value is 900W. Therefore, in order to ensure that the output power is 1000W, the output value is set to 1100W, thereby ensuring that the actual output value is 1000W.

[0029] In this embodiment, historical process data is used to establish a relationship table or fitting curve corresponding to the usage time and the set output value. When the process parameters required in the process recipe are obtained, the actual setting parameters of the temperature function module are determined based on the aforementioned relationship table or fitting curve.

[0030] The process gas function module includes a gas circuit actuator and a process gas control module; the gas circuit actuator is used to control the switch and flow of the gas source, so as to pass the gas that meets the process requirements into the reaction chamber, and the gas circuit actuator adopts a mass flow controller or a butterfly valve. In view of the problem that the mass flow controller or the butterfly valve has its own errors and the aforementioned errors will change with the increase of the use time, and the operator needs to make adjustments to compensate for the errors, in this embodiment, the process gas control module relies on the equipment parameter database to adjust the gas circuit actuator so that the gas circuit actuator reaches the output value consistent with the current process parameters. Specifically: establish a relationship table or fitting curve between the target value (the process parameters required in the process formula) and the actual output value. When the process parameters required in the process formula are obtained, the actual output value of the gas circuit actuator is determined according to the relationship table or fitting curve.

[0031] The motion function module includes a motion actuator and a motion control module. This embodiment is described by taking the motion actuator used to control the rotation of the substrate in the reaction chamber as an example. In semiconductor processing equipment such as CVD, PECVD, oxidation and etching, the substrate or wafer needs to be rotated in the reaction chamber, and this rotational motion is usually achieved by the motion actuator.

[0032] A motion actuator, such as a servo motor, drives a wafer or substrate carrier to rotate. The speed of rotation is usually the number of revolutions in a set time. In actual implementation, the rotation speed is determined by controlling the number of pulses output to the servo motor in a set time. However, in actual operation, due to the error between the motor shaft of the servo motor and the rotation axis of the wafer or substrate carrier (such as the mechanical error of the connecting mechanism, etc.), the number of pulses actually required to be output will be greater than the number of pulses determined by calculation, and this error will increase with the increase in usage time (such as due to increased mechanical wear). Based on the above problems, in this embodiment, the motion control module relies on the equipment parameter database to adjust the motion actuator so that the motion actuator reaches the rotation parameters that are consistent with the current process parameters.

[0033] The control parameters of the motion execution elements corresponding to the specific process parameters set for the motion function module in the equipment parameter database are the above-mentioned parameters adjusted after actual operation, or the compensation values ​​are determined according to the relationship table between the usage time and the compensation value, and then the actual control parameters of the motion execution elements are determined.

[0034] It should be noted that different functional modules may be configured in semiconductor equipment such as PECVD, MOCVD, oxidation or annealing to achieve specific purposes. For the convenience of explanation, this embodiment only selects four functional modules, namely, RF functional module, temperature functional module, process gas functional module and motion functional module, as examples for explanation. However, this does not mean that all semiconductor equipment has the above four functional modules or only has the above four functional modules.

[0035] In summary, the parameter processing system of this embodiment has the following advantages: an association is established between the production formula and the specific parameters of the semiconductor production equipment, so that the parameters required by the process are associated with the performance parameters of the functional modules of the semiconductor equipment that actually runs the process. Therefore, when implementing a specific process, the parameters that actually need to be set for the functional modules of the semiconductor equipment in the current process formula can be quickly determined, thereby reducing dependence on specific operators, better ensuring the stability of product quality, and improving production efficiency. Example 2

[0036] See also Figure 2 This embodiment provides a parameter processing method, which uses the semiconductor process parameter processing system as described in Embodiment 1 to determine semiconductor process parameters. The processing method includes the following steps: S1 receives the instruction input by the operator and obtains the corresponding process recipe from the process recipe database.

[0037] S2 parses the process parameters corresponding to each functional module of the semiconductor device in the process recipe, and then uses the process parameters to search the device parameter database to determine the actual setting parameters corresponding to each functional module.

[0038] When searching the equipment parameter database, the latest equipment parameters of each functional module of the semiconductor equipment are selected as the corresponding actual setting parameters. In this embodiment, the equipment parameter database is provided with the historical actual setting parameters of each functional module of the semiconductor equipment for specific process parameters, and arranged by time (such as being displayed on the display device of the semiconductor equipment host computer for the operator to select), so that the latest actual setting parameters can be selected as the actual setting parameters corresponding to the process parameters obtained this time. The equipment parameter database stores a relationship table between the use time and matching equipment parameters of each functional module of the semiconductor equipment. The equipment parameter database of this embodiment not only records the actual setting parameters, but also records the use time of its corresponding functional module (i.e., the cumulative use time calculated from the beginning of use), so as to take attenuation compensation into account and ensure that the output value meets the parameter value required by the current process recipe.

[0039] In S2, the usage time of each functional module of the semiconductor device is first determined, and then the corresponding actual setting parameters are determined according to the relationship table. S2 also includes the step of receiving the operator to adjust the device parameters retrieved from the device parameter database using the input unit, and then the adjusted device parameters are used as the actual setting parameters. It should be noted that after the device parameters are retrieved from the device parameter database, this embodiment can also allow the operator to adjust the device parameters through the human-machine interface of the upper computer to form the final setting parameters.

[0040] S3 outputs the determined actual setting parameters to the corresponding functional modules.

[0041] The parameter determination method of this embodiment relies on an equipment parameter database, which stores setting parameters or error compensation parameters for each functional module of the semiconductor equipment according to specific process requirements. In this way, when implementing the latest process parameters, the actual parameters that need to be set for each functional module of the semiconductor equipment corresponding to the specific process parameters can be quickly determined based on the process parameters required in the process recipe, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing dependence on specific operators, better ensuring the stability of product quality, and improving production efficiency.

[0042] The present invention is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present embodiments. It should be understood that each process and / or block in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to generate a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the processes in the flowchart and / or block diagram. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0043] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0044] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present invention, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this field, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present invention shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A semiconductor process parameter processing system, which is arranged in conjunction with a reaction chamber; It is characterized in that The parameter processing system comprises: Semiconductor equipment functional modules; A process recipe database, which stores multiple process recipes; An equipment parameter database, which stores actual parameters set by the semiconductor equipment function module according to the process recipe; wherein the actual parameter = output value + compensation value; An input unit, which is used to receive input instructions; and Process parameter determination module.

2. The semiconductor process parameter processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The process recipe includes specific processing steps and process parameters corresponding to each step.

3. The semiconductor process parameter processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: Setting the output value according to the process recipe; The compensation value is determined by testing; or, the relationship between the usage time and the compensation coefficient is fitted according to historical data, and then the compensation value is determined according to the usage time.

4. The semiconductor process parameter processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The semiconductor equipment functional modules include a radio frequency functional module, a temperature functional module, a motion functional module and a process gas functional module.

5. The semiconductor process parameter processing system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The radio frequency function module includes a radio frequency unit and a radio frequency unit control module for adjusting the radio frequency power of the radio frequency unit.

6. The semiconductor process parameter processing system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The temperature function module includes a temperature adjustment element and a temperature control module for adjusting the working temperature of the temperature adjustment element; the temperature adjustment element is a heating tube, a heating resistor or a cooling element.

7. The semiconductor process parameter processing system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The process gas function module includes a gas circuit actuator for controlling the switch and flow of the gas source and a process gas control module; the gas circuit actuator adopts a mass flow controller or a butterfly valve; The motion function module includes a motion execution element and a motion control module.

8. A parameter processing method, which uses the semiconductor process parameter processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7 to determine semiconductor process parameters, characterized in that: The processing method comprises the following steps: S1 receives the instruction input by the operator and obtains the corresponding process recipe from the process recipe database; S2 parses the process parameters corresponding to each functional module of the semiconductor equipment in the process recipe, and then uses the process parameters to search the equipment parameter database to determine the actual setting parameters corresponding to each functional module; S3 outputs the determined actual setting parameters to the corresponding functional modules.

9. The parameter processing method according to claim 8, characterized in that: When searching the device parameter database, the latest device parameters of each functional module of the semiconductor device are selected as the corresponding actual setting parameters; The device parameter database stores a relationship table between the usage time of each functional module of the semiconductor device and the matching device parameters.

10. The parameter processing method according to claim 9, characterized in that: In S2, the usage time of each functional module of the semiconductor device is first determined, and then the corresponding actual setting parameters are determined according to the relationship table; S2 also includes the step of receiving an operator's adjustment of the device parameters retrieved from the device parameter database using an input unit, and then using the adjusted device parameters as actual setting parameters.

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