Shielding disk assembly detection method and semiconductor process equipment

Abstract

The present invention provides a shielding disk assembly detection method and semiconductor process equipment, which relate to the field of semiconductor process technology to solve the problem of whether the shielding disk is placed in the shielding disk library. The shielding disk assembly detection method obtains an image of the shielding disk assembly; based on the image, obtains the position of the support point on the support arm; and / or, based on the image, obtains the position of the center point of the shielding disk body, the support point is used to support the center point of the shielding disk body; based on the first deviation between the position of the support point and the first preset position, the second deviation between the position of the center of the shielding disk body and the second preset position, and / or the third deviation between the position of the support point and the position of the center point of the shielding disk body, confirm whether the support arm is in a safe position, whether the shielding disk body is in a safe position, and / or whether the shielding disk body is displaced relative to the support arm. It can improve the convenience of detecting whether the shielding disk is placed in the shielding disk library.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor process technology, and in particular to a shielding disk assembly detection method and semiconductor process equipment. Background Art

[0002] PVD magnetron sputtering (PVD magnetron sputtering) is one of the most commonly used methods in PVD technology. It utilizes the interaction between a magnetic field and ionized gas molecules to accelerate and guide an ion beam to deposit thin film materials. PVD magnetron sputtering is typically performed in a PVD chamber, which is typically constructed of materials with high vacuum properties. The interior of the PVD chamber must be tightly sealed to ensure the required low pressure and high purity environment during the deposition process.

[0003] During the PVD deposition process, the target and base are usually placed in the PVD chamber. The base serves as a device for accommodating and supporting the substrate. In semiconductor processes, an electrostatic chuck (E-Chuck) is usually selected. The electrostatic chuck is equipped with electrodes. The electrodes can be applied with a high voltage by an external power supply to generate an electrostatic field. Due to the electrostatic attraction, the substrate can be tightly attached to the base, thereby achieving fixation. The target is usually fastened to the top of the PVD chamber. A plasma formed by a gas such as argon is supplied between the substrate and the target. Under the action of the electric field force, the ions are accelerated and bombarded by the target. The target is sputtered and a thin film of material is deposited on the substrate.

[0004] Typically, a pre-sputtering operation is performed before the actual PVD process. Pre-sputtering is a technique used in the PVD process to prepare the target surface to improve the quality and uniformity of thin film deposition. Pre-sputtering removes oxides, carbides, and other contaminants from the target surface, resulting in a clean and uniform target surface. During the pre-sputtering process, a shutter disk is placed on the susceptor used to support the substrate to prevent target material from depositing on the susceptor.

[0005] In addition, there is another process in the PVD process - pasting. Pasting is generally used to deposit a layer of covering on the substrate in the chamber. For example, the PVD process application of titanium nitride usually produces a layer of titanium nitride on the surface of the substrate in the PVD chamber. The titanium nitride layer is usually brittle and may fall off during subsequent processes. Therefore, pasting generally applies another layer of titanium on the titanium nitride layer. This titanium layer mainly prevents the titanium nitride below from falling off or falling off. During the coating process, a shutter disk also needs to be arranged on the base for supporting the substrate to prevent the target material from being deposited on the base. In addition to the above-mentioned pre-sputtering and coating processes, a shutter disk is also needed to protect the base during the cleaning process of the target material.

[0006] After each pre-sputtering, coating and cleaning process is completed, the shielding plate needs to be rotated into the garage, which is a temporary storage space for the shielding plate so that its position will not affect the deposition process in the chamber; because during the PVD process, the base will move frequently to support the deposition process of the substrate, it is necessary to detect the relative position of the shielding plate and the base to determine whether the shielding plate is in a safe position to prevent interference between the shielding plate and the base. Summary of the Invention

[0007] A first aspect of the present invention aims to provide a semiconductor process chamber to solve the existing technical problem of difficulty in detecting whether a shielding disk is placed in a shielding disk library.

[0008] A first aspect of the present invention provides a method for detecting a shielding disk assembly, which is applied to a semiconductor process chamber. The shielding disk assembly includes a support arm and a shielding disk body. The detection method includes:

[0009] acquiring an image of the shutter disk assembly;

[0010] Based on the image, obtaining a position of a support point on the support arm;

[0011] and / or, based on the image, obtaining a position of a center point of the shielding disk body, the support point being used to support the center point of the shielding disk body;

[0012] Based on a first deviation between the position of the support point and the first preset position, a second deviation between the position of the center point of the shielding disk body and the second preset position, and / or a third deviation between the position of the support point and the position of the center point of the shielding disk body, confirm whether the support arm is in a safe position, whether the shielding disk body is in a safe position, and / or whether the shielding disk body is displaced relative to the support arm.

[0013] The beneficial effects of the shielding disk assembly detection method of the present invention are:

[0014] An image of the shielding disk assembly is captured by a visual acquisition device, and the image is analyzed to obtain the center point of the shielding disk body and / or the support point on the support arm. Regardless of whether the shielding disk body changes in size due to thermal expansion and contraction, and how much the size of the shielding disk body changes, the image can be captured by the visual acquisition device, and then the image is analyzed to obtain the center point position and the support point position for comparison with the first preset position and / or the second preset position to determine whether the support arm and the shielding disk body are in a safe position, and / or to determine whether the shielding disk body is offset from the support arm.

[0015] In an optional technical solution, obtaining the position of the support point of the support arm based on the image includes:

[0016] Based on the image, obtaining the position of a feature point of the support arm; the feature point is the intersection of two straight line edges of the support arm;

[0017] The position of the supporting point of the supporting arm is obtained according to the position of the characteristic point.

[0018] In an optional technical solution, obtaining the position of the support point of the support arm according to the position of the feature point includes:

[0019] The position of the support point is obtained based on the first distance between the rotation center of the support arm and the feature point, the second distance between the support point on the support arm and the feature point, the third distance between the rotation center and the support point, and the position of the rotation center of the support arm.

[0020] In an optional technical solution, analyzing the image and obtaining the position of the feature point of the support arm includes:

[0021] Creating a rectangular caliper on the image and extracting edge points of the rectangular caliper;

[0022] An edge fitting line and a window fitting line of the support arm are generated based on a point set of the edge points of the rectangular caliper, and the coordinates of the feature points relative to the window fitting line are fitted based on the edge fitting line, wherein the window is opened on the semiconductor chamber, and the image includes at least a portion of the window and at least a portion of the shielding disk assembly.

[0023] In an optional technical solution, obtaining the position of the center point of the shielding disk body based on the image includes:

[0024] Creating a plurality of arc calipers on the arc of the image, and extracting an arc caliper edge point of each arc caliper;

[0025] A contour is generated according to a point set consisting of arc-shaped caliper edge points and circle fitting is performed to obtain the position of the center point.

[0026] In an optional technical solution, obtaining the position of the center point includes:

[0027] The position of the center point is obtained based on the position of the center point on the image and the distance between the center point and the feature point.

[0028] In an optional technical solution, the determining whether the support arm is in a safe position, whether the shielding disc body is in a safe position, and / or whether the shielding disc body is displaced relative to the support arm based on a first deviation between the position of the support point and a first preset position, a second deviation between the position of the center point of the shielding disc body and a second preset position, and / or a third deviation between the position of the support point and the position of the center point of the shielding disc body includes:

[0029] When the first deviation exceeds its tolerance range, the support arm is not in the safe position,

[0030] When the second deviation exceeds its tolerance range, the shutter disk body is not in the safe position, and / or

[0031] When the third deviation exceeds the tolerance range, the shutter disk body is displaced relative to the support arm.

[0032] In an optional technical solution, the first deviation, the second deviation, and the third deviation are all within their respective tolerance ranges.

[0033] A second aspect of the present invention aims to provide a semiconductor process equipment to solve the technical problem of difficulty in detecting whether a shielding disk is placed in a shielding disk library.

[0034] The semiconductor process equipment provided in the second aspect of the present invention includes a semiconductor process chamber and a controller, the controller includes at least one processor and at least one memory, the memory stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, it is any of the above-mentioned shielding disk assembly detection methods.

[0035] By arranging the above-mentioned semiconductor process chamber in the semiconductor process equipment, the semiconductor process equipment accordingly has all the advantages of the above-mentioned semiconductor process chamber, which will not be described in detail here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the background technology, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the background technology description. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without paying any creative work.

[0037] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of a semiconductor process chamber in the related art;

[0038] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a semiconductor process chamber used in the shielding disk assembly detection method provided in the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 3 A bottom cross-sectional view of a reaction chamber and a shield disk library in a semiconductor process chamber to which the shield disk assembly detection method provided in the first embodiment of the present invention is applied;

[0040] Figure 4 A bottom view of a reaction chamber and a shield disk library in a semiconductor process chamber to which the shield disk assembly detection method provided in the first embodiment of the present invention is applied;

[0041] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of various points of the reaction chamber and the shield disk reservoir in the shield disk assembly detection method provided in the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 6 A simplified schematic diagram of coordinates of various points on the shielding disk and the support arm in the shielding disk assembly detection method provided in the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 7 A line diagram of an image captured in the method for detecting a shielding disk assembly provided in the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of fitting lines after image fitting in the shielding disk assembly detection method provided in the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0045] Description of reference numerals:

[0046] 100 - shielding disk cavity; 110 - transparent window; 120 - visual acquisition device; 121 - lens; 122 - industrial camera; 123 - camera bracket; 130 - shielding disk library;

[0047] 210 - shielding disk body; 220 - support arm; 230 - shielding disk rotation mechanism; 240 - shielding disk rotation motor;

[0048] 310-electrostatic chuck; 320-electrostatic chuck lifting mechanism; 330-electrostatic chuck lifting motor;

[0049] 410-support needle; 420-support needle lifting mechanism; 430-support needle lifting motor;

[0050] 510 - chamber body; 520 - reaction chamber; 530 - isolation valve; 550 - magnetron; 560 - target;

[0051] 610-support arm beam sensor; 620-shielding plate beam sensor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] In the related art, taking a chamber for a PVD process for depositing TiN as an example, in the chamber, a shutter motor 240 (Shutter Motor) drives a support arm 220 to swing in a horizontal plane through a shutter rotating mechanism 230 (Shutter), so that the shutter body 210 switches between the position above the electrostatic chuck 310 and the shutter storage 130 (garage). Figure 1 In the chamber structure shown, quartz observation windows are provided on the upper and lower sides of the chamber garage, and a group of through-beam sensors are installed on the observation windows. One group of through-beam sensors is the support arm detection sensor, and the other group is the shielding disk body detection sensor.

[0053] When performing the pre-sputtering, coating, and cleaning processes, the electrostatic chuck lifting mechanism 320 (Ped) is driven by the electrostatic chuck lifting motor 330, and the support pin lifting mechanism 420 (Pin) is driven by the support pin lifting motor 430 to move to the shutter lift position of the shielding disk body 210. Then, the shielding disk rotating motor 240 drives the support arm 220 through the shielding disk rotating mechanism 230 to move the shielding disk body 210 to the top of the electrostatic chuck 310. Then, the support pin lifting mechanism 420 rises to the support pin 410 jacking (Pin Shutter Up) position to lift the shielding disk body 210. At this time, the shielding disk rotating motor 240 rotates, driving the support arm 220 to return to the garage. If the support arm 220 can return to the garage normally, the electrostatic chuck lifting mechanism 320 rises to the process position to perform the pre-sputtering, coating, or cleaning process.

[0054] The rotation of the support arm 220 in the garage and the chamber is controlled by the shielding disk rotating motor 240 for positioning. The shielding disk rotating motor 240 can be a servo motor. If a mechanical failure occurs in the support arm 220 or the shielding disk rotating mechanism 230, such as a loose coupling. At this time, the information fed back from the motor end shows that the position control has been completed, and the support arm 220 should move into place. But in fact, the position of the support arm 220 has deviated. For example, part of the support arm 220 is still above the base. If the base rises at this time, it will inevitably collide with the support arm 220. Therefore, before the electrostatic chuck 310 rises, it is necessary to confirm whether the support arm 220 is in a safe position.

[0055] The position of the support arm 220 is detected by two pairs of support arm through-beam sensors 610. The inner pair is the first inner sensor (Blade Inner), used to detect whether the support arm 220 has reached the garage. The outer pair is the first outer sensor (Blade Outer), used to detect whether the support arm 220 has exceeded the boundary. The through-beam sensors work by outputting a signal when the laser beam emitted by the transmitting end can reach the receiving end, and not outputting a signal when the laser beam cannot reach the receiving end. When the first inner sensor is blocked by the support arm 220, but the first outer sensor is not blocked by the support arm 220, it is determined that the support arm 220 has reached a safe position.

[0056] When the shielding disk body 210 enters the garage, its position is detected by two pairs of shielding disk matching sensors 620. The inner pair is the second inner sensor (Disk Inner), which is used to detect whether the shielding disk body 210 has reached the garage; the outer pair is the second outer sensor (Disk Outer), which is used to detect whether the shielding disk body 210 has exceeded the boundary. When the second inner sensor is blocked and the second outer sensor is not blocked, it can be said that the shielding disk body 210 has moved to a safe position.

[0057] This related art relies on four pairs of through-beam sensors to detect whether the support arm 220 and the shield plate body 210 are in a safe position. However, in actual use, the shield plate body 210 may undergo slight deformation due to thermal expansion and contraction after prolonged heating during operation, causing the edge position to change from its original position. If the original through-beam sensors are still used for detection, false detection may occur.

[0058] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the following detailed description of the specific embodiments of the present invention is given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0059] Example 1:

[0060] The shielding plate assembly detection method provided in the first embodiment is applied to a semiconductor process chamber, wherein the shielding plate assembly includes a support arm 220 and a shielding plate body 210. The semiconductor process chamber is used for semiconductor process equipment.

[0061] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a semiconductor process chamber used in the shielding disk assembly detection method provided in the first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 A bottom-view cross-sectional view of a reaction chamber and a shield disk library in a semiconductor process chamber to which the shield disk assembly detection method provided in the first embodiment of the present invention is applied; Figure 2-Figure 4 As shown, the semiconductor process chamber includes a chamber body 510 and a shielding disk cavity 100, a reaction chamber 520 is formed in the chamber body 510, and a shielding disk library 130 is formed in the shielding disk cavity 100, the shielding disk library 130 is connected to the reaction chamber 520, and the shielding disk library 130 is used to temporarily store the shielding disk body 210; the shielding disk cavity 100 is provided with a transparent window 110, when the shielding disk body 210 is temporarily stored in the shielding disk library 130, the transparent window 110 corresponds to the position of the edge of the shielding disk body 210; a visual acquisition device 120 is installed on the outside of the chamber body 510, and the visual acquisition device 120 is used to capture an image of the shielding disk library 130 through the transparent window 110 along a first direction.

[0062] By disposing a visual acquisition device 120 outside the chamber body 510 and enabling it to capture images of the shield disk magazine 130 along a first direction through a transparent window 110 provided on the shield disk cavity 100, the conditions within the shield disk magazine 130 can be visually captured. Consequently, the shield disk magazine 130 is no longer affected by dimensional changes caused by thermal expansion and contraction of the shield disk body 210. Even if the shield disk body 210 expands due to thermal expansion and contraction, as long as it does not exceed the range captured by the visual acquisition device 120 through the transparent window 110, it can be detected through image analysis. This improves the ability of the detection system to adapt to dimensional changes of the shield disk body 210.

[0063] Specifically, in this embodiment, the semiconductor process chamber also includes a shield disk rotating motor 240, which drives the support arm 220 to rotate through the shield disk rotating mechanism 230, and the rotation axis of the support arm 220 is a vertical axis, that is, the support arm 220 swings within the water surface. When the support arm 220 rotates to above the electrostatic chuck 310, with the cooperation of the support needle 410, the shield disk body 210 can be removed from the electrostatic chuck 310. When the support arm 220 rotates to the inside of the shield disk library 130, the shield disk body 210 can be moved to the shield disk library 130, or the support arm 220 can no longer interfere with the lifting and lowering of the electrostatic chuck 310. The shield disk library 130 is also referred to as a "garage" in the industry.

[0064] In this embodiment, the visual acquisition device 120 includes a lens 121 and an industrial camera 122, which is mounted on the outside of the chamber body 510 via a camera bracket 123. After taking a picture, the industrial camera 122 transmits the captured image via Ethernet to a host computer (an industrial personal computer). The host computer then analyzes and calculates the image to determine the position of the support arm 220 and the shielding disk body 210. This can be used to determine whether the support arm 220 and the shielding disk body 210 are in a safe position and whether there is any displacement between them.

[0065] In addition, in this embodiment, the transparent window 110 may be a quartz window.

[0066] Of course, in this embodiment, the first direction is a vertically upward direction, and the lens 121 of the visual acquisition device 120 captures the situation in the transparent window 110 in the vertically upward direction. In other implementations, the first direction can also be a vertically downward direction or an inclined upward or downward direction, as long as the end surface of the shielding disk body 210 and the edge of the transparent window 110 can be observed.

[0067] In addition to the aforementioned components or parts, the semiconductor process chamber in this embodiment further includes an electrostatic chuck lift motor 330, which drives the electrostatic chuck 310 to rise and fall via the electrostatic chuck lift mechanism 320. The semiconductor process chamber further includes a support pin lift motor 430, which drives the support pins 410 to rise and fall via the support pin lift mechanism 420, so that the wafer or the shielding plate body 210 is lifted by the support pins 410. In addition, the semiconductor process chamber further includes a magnetron 550 and a target 560 disposed at the top, as well as an isolation valve 530 disposed outside the chamber body 510. These are all technologies known to those skilled in the art and do not require further elaboration in this application.

[0068] After careful research, the applicant discovered that the related art, using an through-beam sensor, requires the provision of observation windows on both the upper and lower surfaces of the shielding disc cavity 100. The upper observation window affects the visual appearance of the device. Furthermore, the upper observation window is susceptible to dust accumulation, which can obscure the observation window and affect the effective use of the through-beam sensor.

[0069] like Figure 2 As shown, optionally, the visual acquisition device 120 is located below the shielding disk cavity 100. Placing the visual acquisition device 120 below the shielding disk cavity 100 eliminates the need for a window on the upper surface of the shielding disk cavity 100, nor does it require a sensor to be installed above the shielding disk cavity 100. This not only improves the aesthetics of the semiconductor process chamber and semiconductor process equipment having the semiconductor process chamber, but also enhances the user's visual experience. Furthermore, since the window is opened on the lower surface of the shielding disk cavity 100, the rate at which dust accumulates on the transparent window 110 is very slow or even negligible, thereby facilitating the visual acquisition device 120 to accurately capture the information in the shielding disk library 130. In addition, the visual acquisition device 120 is set below the shielding disk cavity 100. When the support arm 220 transports the shielding disk body 210 to the shielding disk library 130, the visual acquisition device 120 shoots from below, which can not only shoot part of the edge of the shielding disk body 210, but also shoot part of the edge of the support arm 220. Compared with the solution in which the visual acquisition device 120 shoots from above and can only shoot the edge of the shielding disk body 210 but cannot obtain information about the support arm 220, this embodiment can obtain relevant visual information more comprehensively.

[0070] More preferably, in this embodiment, the extended axis of the visual acquisition device 120 may intersect with the lower surface of the transparent window 110 at the center of the transparent window 110 .

[0071] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the transparent window 110 is optionally rectangular. Selecting a rectangular transparent window 110 facilitates directly using the two right-angled sides of the transparent window 110 as the two axes of the orthogonal coordinate system to determine the positions of corresponding geometric elements of the shielding plate body 210 and the support arm 220.

[0072] The shielding disk assembly inspection method includes:

[0073] acquiring an image of the shield disk assembly;

[0074] Based on the image, obtaining the position of the support point on the support arm 220;

[0075] and / or, based on the image, obtaining a position of a center point of the shielding disk body 210 , wherein the support point is used to support the center point of the shielding disk body 210 ;

[0076] Based on the first deviation between the position of the support point and the first preset position, the second deviation between the position of the center point of the shielding disk body 210 and the second preset position, and / or the third deviation between the position of the support point and the position of the center point of the shielding disk body 210, confirm whether the support arm 220 is in a safe position, whether the shielding disk body 210 is in a safe position, and / or whether the shielding disk body 210 is displaced relative to the support arm 220.

[0077] The image of the shielding disk assembly is captured by the visual acquisition device 120, and the image is analyzed to obtain the center point of the shielding disk body 210 and / or the support point on the support arm 220. Regardless of whether the shielding disk body 210 changes in size due to thermal expansion and contraction, and how much the size of the shielding disk body 210 changes, the image can be captured by the visual acquisition device 120, and then the image is analyzed to obtain the center point position and the support point position for comparison with the first preset position and / or the second preset position to determine whether the support arm 220 and the shielding disk body 210 are in a safe position, and / or to determine whether the shielding disk body 210 is offset from the support arm 220.

[0078] Specifically, in this embodiment, Figure 3 As shown, the support arm 220 rotates with point A in the figure as the center of rotation. The support arm 220 contacts the center area of ​​the shielding disk body 210 through a circular boss. The position of point C, the center of the circular boss, is the position of the support point. The position of the support arm 220 is determined by the position of the support point. The shielding disk body 210 is a disk-shaped object. The position of the shielding disk body 210 in the shielding disk library 130 is determined by the position of point B, the center of the shielding disk body 210 - the position of the center point. Generally speaking, during normal use, the position of point B and the position of point C coincide, so in Figures 3 to 6 In the figure, the positions of points B and C also coincide.

[0079] The first preset position is the position of the support point on the support arm 220 when the support arm 220 has accurately returned to the shield disk magazine 130; and the second preset position is the position of the center point of the shield disk body 210 when the support arm 220 has accurately returned to the shield disk magazine 130 and there is no offset between the shield disk body 210 and the support arm 220. In this embodiment, the first and second preset positions can be stored in a memory. The specific sizes depend on the specific process equipment model, size, and process, and are not specifically limited in this application.

[0080] Wherein, based on a first deviation between the position of the support point and the first preset position, a second deviation between the position of the center point of the shielding disk body 210 and the second preset position, and / or a third deviation between the position of the support point and the position of the center point of the shielding disk body 210, determining whether the support arm 220 is in a safe position, whether the shielding disk body 210 is in a safe position, and / or whether the shielding disk body 210 is displaced relative to the support arm 220 includes:

[0081] If the first deviation is less than the first tolerance range between the position of the support point and the first preset position, it is confirmed that the support arm 220 is in a safe position; if the second deviation is less than the second tolerance range between the position of the center point and the second preset position, it is confirmed that the shielding plate body 210 is in a safe position; if the third deviation is less than the third tolerance range between the position of the center point and the position of the support point, it is confirmed that the shielding plate body 210 is not offset relative to the support arm 220.

[0082] Among them, the tolerance ranges corresponding to the first deviation, the second deviation and the third deviation respectively - the specific values ​​of the first tolerance range, the second tolerance range and the third tolerance range, are related to the specific process equipment model, size and process, and this application does not specifically limit them.

[0083] After the pre-sputtering, coating and cleaning processes are completed, it is necessary to confirm that the shielding disk body 210 is located in the shielding disk library 130. The specific steps for detecting the position of the shielding disk body 210 are as follows:

[0084] (1) The shielding disk body 210 is supported by the support arm 220 and sent into the shielding disk library 130. Before the electrostatic chuck 310 is raised or lowered, the visual acquisition device 120 acquires images through the image acquisition device and sends the acquired images to the image processing system - the industrial computer.

[0085] (2) The image processing system obtains the coordinates of the center point B of the shielding plate body 210 , that is, the distances Xb and Yb from the center point of the shielding plate body 210 to both sides of the transparent window 110 , based on software processing calculations.

[0086] (3) Calculate a second deviation between the position of point B on the shield disk body 210 and a second predetermined position when the shield disk body 210 is in a safe position in the shield disk magazine 130. If the second deviation is within the second tolerance range, the shield disk body 210 is determined to be in a safe position. If the second deviation is greater than the second tolerance range, the shield disk body 210 is determined to be in an unsafe position.

[0087] Optionally, obtaining the position of the support point of the support arm 220 based on the image includes:

[0088] Based on the image, the position of the feature point of the support arm 220 is obtained; the feature point is the intersection of two straight line edges of the support arm 220;

[0089] The position of the supporting point of the supporting arm 220 is obtained according to the position of the feature point.

[0090] Since the two straight edges on the support arm 220 have a grayscale difference for edge detection, the feature point is selected as the intersection of the two straight edges of the support arm 220 to facilitate obtaining the edge fitting line and then determine the position of the feature point in the image.

[0091] Optionally, analyzing the image and obtaining the position of the feature point of the support arm 220 includes:

[0092] Create a rectangular caliper on the image and extract the edge points of the rectangular caliper;

[0093] An edge fitting line and a window fitting line of the support arm 220 are generated based on the point set of the rectangular caliper edge points, and the coordinates of the feature points relative to the window fitting line are fitted based on the edge fitting line, wherein the window is opened on the semiconductor chamber, and the image includes at least a portion of the window and at least a portion of the shielding disk assembly.

[0094] Since the opening of the transparent window 110 is rectangular, the edge of the opening of the transparent window 110 has grayscale difference in edge detection in the image, and it is easy to convert the opening edge of the transparent window 110 in the image into window fitting lines - fitting line m' and fitting line n'.

[0095] Figure 7 A line diagram of an image captured in the method for detecting a shielding disk assembly provided in the first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of fitting lines after image fitting in the shielding disk assembly detection method provided in the first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 and Figure 8 Specifically, analyzing the image and obtaining the position of the feature point of the support arm 220 includes:

[0096] (a) grayscale processing of the collected image;

[0097] (b) If Figure 7 As shown, multiple rectangular calipers are created at the positions of straight lines s, t, m, and n in the grayscale processed image, and then the edge points of each rectangular caliper on each line are extracted to form a point set; wherein straight line s and straight line t are two straight edges of the support arm 220 in the image, and straight line m and straight line n are two vertical edges of the transparent window 110 in the image;

[0098] (c) performing straight line fitting on the point set of each line to obtain edge fitting lines, namely fitting lines s' and t', and window fitting lines, namely fitting lines m' and n';

[0099] (d) Calculation of Two Straight Lines Operator Calculate the intersection point C' of the fitted straight line s' and the fitted straight line t'.

[0100] (e) Calculate the point-line distance. Calculate the pixel distance from point C' to the fitted lines m' and n'. Finally, after camera calibration, convert the pixel distance into the actual distance to obtain the physical coordinates of point C', that is, the position of the feature point.

[0101] When a camera takes a picture, the lens 121 projects the object onto the image plane. However, due to lens manufacturing precision and deviations in the assembly process, distortion can be introduced, resulting in distortion of the original image and affecting measurement. Therefore, camera calibration is necessary. Furthermore, image measurement requires determining the pixel equivalent to convert image pixel distance to physical distance. The camera's internal and external parameters are determined based on the camera's pixel size, focal length, and the description file of the calibration plate. This allows for geometric correction of the image, eliminating distortion and converting image pixel distance to physical distance, enabling actual measurement.

[0102] Optionally, obtaining the position of the support point of the support arm 220 according to the position of the feature point includes:

[0103] The position of the support point is obtained based on the first distance between the rotation center of the support arm 220 and the feature point, the second distance between the support point on the support arm 220 and the feature point, the third distance between the rotation center and the support point, and the position of the rotation center of the support arm 220.

[0104] Even if the shielding disk body 210 is slightly deformed due to thermal expansion and contraction caused by temperature changes, the support arm 220 is significantly thicker than the shielding disk body 210, and the volume and weight of its physical material are significantly greater than the shielding disk body 210. The contact area between the shielding disk body 210 and the support arm 220 is small, and the heat transfer rate is slow. Therefore, the distances between the feature points, support points, and rotation center of the support arm 220 will not change, or even if they do change, they can be completely ignored. The position of the support point can then be obtained based on the position of the rotation center, the position of the feature point obtained by image analysis, and the three distances. Using this method, the position of the support point that is difficult to observe directly through the image can be converted into the position of the feature point obtained based on the known distance and the known position of the rotation center, as well as the analysis of the image, making it convenient to obtain the position of the support point based on the captured image.

[0105] Figure 5Schematic diagram of various points of the reaction chamber and the shielding disk library in the shielding disk assembly detection method provided in the first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 As shown, a physical coordinate system xOy is established using the two sides of the rectangular transparent window 110, with one side serving as the x-axis and the other as the y-axis. Thus, the position of the support arm 220 within the shielded disk library 130 is evaluated based on the position of its support point—the distances Yc and Xc from point C to the x- and y-axes. In the figure, point C' is a feature point, and Xc and Yc are calculated from the position of point C', the position of point A, and the lengths of AC, AC', and CC'. The position of point C' is characterized by the distances Xc' and Yc' from point C' to the y- and x-axes, respectively, while the position of point A is characterized by the distances Xa and Ya from point A to the y- and x-axes. Since point A on the support arm 220, as well as the distances c' between point A and point C, c between point A and point C', and a between point C and point C', are all fixed and known, they can be pre-stored in the industrial computer. The position of point C' can be analyzed from the image. Therefore, the position of point C is transformed into a problem of finding the coordinates of another point by knowing the coordinates of two points and three side lengths of the triangle ACC' in the coordinate system xOy.

[0106] Figure 6 This is a simplified schematic diagram of the coordinates of each point on the shielding disk and the support arm in the shielding disk assembly detection method provided in the first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 The specific calculation method is as follows:

[0107] (1) Calculate the angle θ between point C' and side AC:

[0108]

[0109] (2) According to the coordinate inversion formula, calculate the azimuth angle α of the AC' side relative to the X axis AC’ :

[0110]

[0111] (3) Calculate the azimuth angle α of the CC' side relative to the X axis CC’ :

[0112] α CC′ =α AC′ +θ

[0113] (4) Calculate the coordinates of point C according to the coordinate calculation formula:

[0114]

[0115]

[0116] When a pre-sputtering, coating, or cleaning process is performed in a semiconductor process chamber, the support arm 220 needs to leave the electrostatic chuck 310 and move into the shielding disk library 130. The specific steps for detecting the position of the support arm 220 are as follows:

[0117] (1) The support arm 220 rotates to move the shielding disk body 210 to above the electrostatic chuck 310 in the chamber, and then the shielding disk rotation motor 240 rotates, driving the support arm 220 to rotate and return to the shielding disk library 130 through the shielding disk rotation mechanism 230. The image acquisition device performs image acquisition and sends the acquired image to the image processing system - the industrial computer.

[0118] (2) The image processing system calculates based on software processing to obtain the physical coordinates of point C' on the support arm 220, that is, the distances Xc' and Yc' from the two sides of the transparent window 110, and indirectly calculates the position of the support point of point C through the coordinates of point C', the coordinates of point A and point C', and the distances between point A and point C.

[0119] (3) Calculate a first deviation between the position of the support point (point C) on the support arm 220 and the first predetermined position when the support arm 220 is in the safe position in the shielded disk storage 130. If the deviation is within the first tolerance range, the support arm 220 is determined to be in the safe position. If the first deviation is greater than the first tolerance range, the support arm 220 is determined to be in the unsafe position.

[0120] Optionally, obtaining the position of the center point of the shielding disk body 210 based on the image includes:

[0121] Creating multiple arc calipers on the arc of the image, and extracting the arc caliper edge point of each arc caliper;

[0122] The contour is generated based on the point set consisting of the arc caliper edge points and a circle is fitted to obtain the position of the center point.

[0123] By analyzing the image, using an arc caliper to obtain a point set of edge points to generate a contour and perform circle fitting, the image coordinates of the center of the circle are determined and the relative position with respect to the edge of the transparent window 110 is obtained. This can avoid being affected by the size change of the shielding disk body 210 due to thermal barriers and shrinkage. As long as the arc image can be obtained, the center position of the shielding disk body 210 - the position of the center point of the shielding disk body 210 - can be obtained, thereby determining whether the shielding disk body 210 is transported to the shielding disk library 130 by the support arm 220.

[0124] like Figure 7 and Figure 8 Specifically, analyzing the position of the center point of the shielding disk body 210 from the image includes:

[0125] (a) grayscale processing of the collected image;

[0126] (b) Yes Figure 7 Create multiple arc calipers on the arc r shown, and then extract the edge points of each arc caliper to form a point set;

[0127] (c) Generate contours using an operator based on the point set;

[0128] (d) performing circle fitting on the contour using a circle fitting operator;

[0129] (e) An operator is used to generate a fitting circle and obtain the image coordinates of the center point B, which is the center point of the shielding disk body 210.

[0130] (f) Use the point-line distance operator to calculate the pixel distance from point B to the fitted lines m' and n'. Finally, after camera calibration, convert the pixel distance into the actual distance to obtain the physical coordinates of point B, that is, the position of the center point of the shielding disk body 210.

[0131] Optionally, obtain the position of the center point, including:

[0132] The position of the center point is obtained based on the position of the center point on the image and the distance between the center point and the feature point.

[0133] The distance between the center point and the feature point refers not only to the absolute value of the distance between them, but also to their relative position. Specifically, since the distance between the center point and the feature point is not too far, after obtaining the actual physical position of the feature point, the actual position of the center point can be obtained based on the distance between the center point and the feature point.

[0134] After careful research, the applicant discovered that the related art uses a through-beam sensor that can only detect the presence of a physical shielding plate or support arm 220 at a corresponding spatial location. However, if the shielding plate and support arm 220 move slightly relative to each other, such movement is difficult to detect.

[0135] Optionally, determining whether the support arm 220 is in the safe position, whether the shielding disc body 210 is in the safe position, and / or whether the shielding disc body 210 is displaced relative to the support arm 220 based on a first deviation between the position of the support point and the first preset position, a second deviation between the position of the center point of the shielding disc body 210 and the second preset position, and / or a third deviation between the position of the support point and the position of the center point of the shielding disc body 210 includes:

[0136] When the first deviation exceeds its tolerance range, the support arm 220 is not in the safe position.

[0137] When the second deviation exceeds its tolerance range, the shutter disk body 210 is not in the safe position, and / or,

[0138] When the third deviation exceeds its tolerance range, the shielding disk body 210 is displaced relative to the support arm 220 .

[0139] Specifically, it includes: if the first deviation is greater than the first tolerance range between the position of the support point and the first preset position, it is confirmed that the support arm 220 is not in a safe position; if the second deviation is greater than the second tolerance range between the position of the center point and the second preset position, it is confirmed that the shielding plate body 210 is not in a safe position; if the third deviation is less than the third tolerance range between the position of the center point and the position of the support point, it is confirmed that the shielding plate body 210 is offset relative to the support arm 220.

[0140] By obtaining the third deviation between the position of the support point and the center point of the shielding disc body 210, the magnitude of the positional deviation between the support arm 220 and the shielding disc body 210 can be determined, thereby determining whether the support arm 220 and the shielding disc body 210 have moved relative to each other. Compared to the related art solution that uses a through-beam sensor to detect the position of the shielding disc body 210 and the support arm 220, the related art solution can only detect the position of the through-beam sensor. Because the shielding disc body 210 blocks the free end of the support arm 220, the specific position of the free end of the support arm 220 is difficult to be directly detected by the through-beam sensor, making it difficult or even impossible to obtain the relative position of the two. Therefore, the solution of this implementation can accurately determine the relative position of the support arm 220 and the shielding disc body 210, preventing the shielding disc body 210 from deviating from the support arm 220 due to long-term use, which may eventually cause the center of the shielding disc body 210 to deviate from the support arm 220 and fall.

[0141] The method for obtaining the center point and support point positions of the shielding disk body 210 has been described in detail above and will not be repeated here. The third deviation can be calculated using the physical coordinates of point C and point B. Specifically, the coordinate difference in one dimension can be obtained using Xc-Xb, and the coordinate difference in the other dimension can be obtained using Yc-Yb. The two differences are then squared and the square root of the sum is taken to obtain the third deviation.

[0142] Optionally, the first deviation, the second deviation, and the third deviation are all within their respective tolerance ranges.

[0143] Specifically, it includes: if the first deviation is less than the first tolerance range between the position of the support point and the first preset position, it is confirmed that the support arm 220 is in a safe position; if the second deviation is less than the second tolerance range between the position of the center point and the second preset position, it is confirmed that the shielding plate body 210 is in a safe position; if the third deviation is less than the third tolerance range between the position of the center point and the position of the support point, it is confirmed that the shielding plate body 210 is not offset relative to the support arm 220.

[0144] Example 2:

[0145] Embodiment 2 further provides a semiconductor process device, including the above-mentioned semiconductor process chamber and a controller, the controller including at least one processor and at least one memory, the memory storing a computer program, and the computer program implementing the shielding disk assembly detection method when executed by the processor.

[0146] The semiconductor process equipment can achieve the same technical effect as the above-mentioned shielding plate assembly detection method.

[0147] Although the present invention is disclosed as above, the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be based on the scope defined by the claims.

[0148] Finally, it should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the term "comprises" or any other variant thereof is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article, or device that includes a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or device. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprises a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or device that includes the element.

[0149] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of directions such as “upper” and “lower” are all based on the drawings.

[0150] The above description of the disclosed embodiments is intended to enable one skilled in the art to implement or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

[0151] Thus, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a shielding plate assembly, applied to a semiconductor process chamber, characterized in that: The shielding disc assembly comprises a support arm (220) and a shielding disc body (210), the support arm (220) being thicker than the shielding disc body (210), and the detection method comprising: When the support arm (220) transports the shield disk body (210) to the shield disk library (130), acquiring an image of the shield disk assembly from below, the image including a portion of the edge of the support arm (220); Based on the image, the position of the support point on the support arm (220) is acquired; based on the image, the position of the center point of the shielding disc body (210) is acquired, the support point being used to support the center point of the shielding disc body (210); Based on a first deviation between the position of the support point and a first preset position, and a third deviation between the position of the support point and the position of the center point of the shielding disc body (210), it is confirmed whether the support arm (220) is in a safe position, and whether the shielding disc body (210) is displaced relative to the support arm (220).

2. The method for detecting a shielding disk assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The obtaining of the position of the support point of the support arm (220) based on the image comprises: Based on the image, obtaining the position of a feature point of the support arm (220); the feature point being the intersection of two straight line edges of the support arm (220); The position of the support point of the support arm (220) is obtained according to the position of the feature point.

3. The method for detecting a shielding disk assembly according to claim 2, wherein: Obtaining the position of the support point of the support arm (220) according to the position of the feature point comprises: The position of the support point is obtained based on a first distance between the rotation center of the support arm (220) and the feature point, a second distance between the support point on the support arm (220) and the feature point, a third distance between the rotation center and the support point, and the position of the rotation center of the support arm (220).

4. The method for detecting a shielding disk assembly according to claim 1, wherein: Based on a second deviation between the position of the center point of the shielding disc body (210) and a second preset position, it is confirmed whether the shielding disc body (210) is in a safe position.

5. The method for detecting a shielding disk assembly according to claim 2, wherein: The obtaining of the position of the characteristic point of the support arm (220) based on the image comprises: Creating a rectangular caliper on the image and extracting edge points of the rectangular caliper; An edge fitting straight line and a window fitting straight line of the support arm (220) are generated based on a point set of rectangular caliper edge points, and coordinates of feature points relative to the window fitting straight line are fitted based on the edge fitting straight line, wherein the window is opened on a semiconductor chamber, and the image includes at least a portion of the window and at least a portion of the shielding disk assembly.

6. The method for detecting a shielding disk assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The obtaining of the position of the center point of the shielding disk body (210) based on the image comprises: Creating a plurality of arc calipers on the arc of the image, and extracting an arc caliper edge point of each arc caliper; A contour is generated according to a point set consisting of arc-shaped caliper edge points and a circle is fitted to obtain the position of the center point.

7. The method for detecting a shielding disk assembly according to claim 6, wherein: The obtaining of the position of the center point includes: The position of the center point is obtained based on the position of the center point on the image and the distance between the center point and the feature point.

8. The method for detecting a shielding disk assembly according to claim 5, wherein: The method of confirming whether the support arm (220) is in a safe position, whether the shielding disc body (210) is in a safe position, and / or whether the shielding disc body (210) is displaced relative to the support arm (220) based on a first deviation between the position of the support point and a first preset position, a second deviation between the position of the center point of the shielding disc body (210) and a second preset position, and / or a third deviation between the position of the support point and the position of the center point of the shielding disc body (210), comprises: When the first deviation exceeds its tolerance range, the support arm (220) is not in the safe position, When the second deviation exceeds its tolerance range, the shielding disc body (210) is not in the safe position, and / or, When the third deviation exceeds its tolerance range, the shielding disc body (210) is displaced relative to the support arm (220).

9. The method for detecting a shielding disk assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The first deviation, the second deviation, and the third deviation are all within their respective tolerance ranges.

10. A semiconductor process equipment, characterized in that: The invention comprises a semiconductor process chamber and a controller, wherein the controller comprises at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein a computer program is stored in the memory, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the shielding disk assembly detection method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is implemented.

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