Emissivity independence tuning

Abstract

Embodiments disclosed herein include a method of calibrating a processing tool. In an embodiment, the method includes providing a first substrate having a first emissivity, a second substrate having a second emissivity, and a third substrate having a third emissivity. In an embodiment, the process may include running a recipe on each of a first substrate, a second substrate, and a third substrate, where the recipe includes a set of calibration attributes. In an embodiment, the method may further include measuring a layer thickness on each of the first substrate, the second substrate, and the third substrate. In an embodiment, the method further includes determining whether the layer thickness is uniform.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 832,296, filed on June 3, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] Embodiments relate to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, and in particular to processes and apparatus for implementing emissivity independence tuning for thermal oxidation processes. Background Art

[0004] Thermal oxidation processes are commonly used in semiconductor process flows. Thermal oxidation may be performed in a chamber that includes one or more lamps to heat a substrate disposed within the chamber. There may be one or more zones of lamps to control the temperature of the substrate surface. One or more pyrometers may be used to provide feedback to a controller that controls the power of the lamps. The pyrometers may be located on the side of the substrate opposite the lamps, or on the same side as the lamps.

[0005] The signal from the pyrometer is typically processed before being sent to the controller. For example, calibration properties or shielding may be applied to the signal before it is used by the controller. Calibration properties may include offsets to account for different emissivities of the substrate. Ideally, the process should be emissivity independent. That is, control of the lamp does not depend on the emissivity of the substrate.

[0006] In order to provide emissivity independence, a calibration process is implemented. The calibration process can be implemented after a planned maintenance (PM) or hardware change. The calibration process is usually done by manual intervention and inputting data into the tool. This leads to the possibility of errors in copying data from the computer screen to the keyboard and collecting metrological data for input. Therefore, the existing process is prone to errors and requires a skilled technician to implement the process. Summary of the invention

[0007] Embodiments disclosed herein include a method of calibrating a processing tool. In one embodiment, the method includes providing a first substrate having a first emissivity, a second substrate having a second emissivity, and a third substrate having a third emissivity. In one embodiment, the process may include running a recipe on each of the first substrate, the second substrate, and the third substrate, wherein the recipe includes a set of calibration properties. In one embodiment, the method may further include measuring a layer thickness on each of the first substrate, the second substrate, and the third substrate. In one embodiment, the method further includes determining whether the layer thickness is uniform.

[0008] Embodiments disclosed herein may also include a processing environment. In one embodiment, the processing environment may include a host computer and a processing tool communicatively coupled to the host computer. In one embodiment, the host computer interfaces with software stored in a memory of the processing tool, wherein the software includes a uniformity algorithm for setting an offset between signals measured by a pyrometer that is used as feedback by a controller to control a recipe.

[0009] Embodiments disclosed herein may further include a method for calibrating a processing tool to achieve emissivity independence. In one embodiment, the method includes providing a first substrate having a first emissivity film, a second substrate having a bare silicon surface, and a third substrate having a second emissivity film. In one embodiment, the method further includes processing the first substrate, the second substrate, and the third substrate with a recipe in the processing tool to form an oxide film on the first substrate, the second substrate, and the third substrate. In one embodiment, the recipe includes a calibration attribute for modifying a signal sent by the pyrometer to the controller as feedback information. In one embodiment, the method further includes measuring the oxide film on each of the first substrate, the second substrate, and the third substrate, and modifying the calibration attribute when the oxide film is non-uniform. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1A is a block diagram of a processing environment including a host computer and a tool according to one embodiment.

[0011] Figure 1B is a block diagram of a processing tool including a FOUP, a central chamber, a processing chamber, and a metrology chamber according to one embodiment.

[0012] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor processing chamber for providing a thermal oxidation process according to one embodiment.

[0013] Figure 3 is a block diagram of an algorithm for updating calibration properties of pyrometer data according to an embodiment.

[0014] Figure 4 is a process flow diagram describing a process of calibrating a processing tool to achieve emissivity independence according to an embodiment.

[0015] Figure 5A is a cross-sectional view of a front opening unified pod (FOUP) including three substrates with different emissivities according to one embodiment.

[0016] Figure 5B is a cross-sectional view of a thermal oxidation tool having a substrate with an oxide film formed on a top surface of the substrate according to one embodiment.

[0017] Figure 5C is a perspective view of a first substrate having an oxide film grown on a top surface of the first substrate according to an embodiment.

[0018] Figure 5D is a perspective view of a third substrate having an oxide film grown on a top surface of the third substrate according to an embodiment.

[0019] Figure 5E is a perspective view of a second substrate having an oxide film grown on a top surface of the second substrate according to one embodiment.

[0020] Figure 6 A block diagram of an example computer system that may be used in conjunction with a processing tool according to an embodiment is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The systems described herein include processes and equipment for achieving emissivity-independent tuning of thermal processes. One example of a thermal process is oxidation. Another example is implant anneal. In the description that follows, many specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments may be implemented without the particular details. In other cases, well-known aspects are not described in detail in order to unnecessarily obscure the embodiments. In addition, it should be understood that the various embodiments shown in the drawings are illustrative representations and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0022] As described above, the thermal oxidation process needs to be calibrated to be emissivity independent. In particular, the pyrometer of the thermal oxidation chamber needs to be calibrated to provide accurate feedback to the controller of the thermal oxidation chamber. The calibration may include generating a calibration attribute. The calibration attribute may be an offset value that increases or decreases the signal value detected by the pyrometer to account for emissivity differences between substrates.

[0023] Currently, the calibration process is implemented using manual intervention. Manual calibration is prone to errors due to data entry errors, metrology analysis errors, or similar factors. Therefore, embodiments disclosed herein include an automated process to provide calibration of a pyrometer. The calibration process can be implemented by a host computer communicatively coupled to a thermal oxidation tool. The host computer can provide instructions for selecting a substrate to be processed, processing the substrate using a given recipe, and running metrology on the substrate. The tool can include software stored in a memory capable of finding optimized calibration properties. For example, physics-based models and other algorithms can be used to find optimized calibration properties.

[0024] The benefits of an automated process may include the ability to perform the process without the presence of an expert. In addition, there are fewer errors in data entry. Greenlight to greenlight turnaround time may also be improved. In addition, past tuning records for tool health data analysis may be obtained. In addition, all chambers will follow the same procedure, resulting in better chamber matching within a fleet. Substrate waste is also improved.

[0025] Reference now Figure 1A , a block diagram of a processing environment 150 according to an embodiment is illustrated. In an embodiment, the processing environment 150 may include a host computer 105. The host computer 105 may be a fab automation system. For example, the host computer 105 may be communicatively coupled to two or more tools 100 in a fab environment. In the illustrated embodiment, for simplicity, the host computer 105 is illustrated as being coupled to a single tool 100. In an embodiment, the tool 100 may be any suitable tool for processing substrates in a fab environment. For example, the tool 100 may include a chamber for performing a thermal oxidation process.

[0026] The host computer 105 may include instructions stored in memory to perform a chamber calibration process on the tool 100. The chamber calibration process will be described in more detail below. In one embodiment, the host computer 105 may be communicatively coupled to software 101 stored in memory on the tool 100. The software 101 may include instructions for operating the tool 100 according to a recipe provided by (or selected by) the host computer 105.

[0027] The software 101 may also include an algorithm for determining a calibration attribute after processing a set of substrates. The calibration attribute is an offset added to the signals generated by one or more pyrometers in the tool before they are sent as feedback information to the controller to control the process in the tool. The algorithm may be based on a physics-based model for the heat source and a replication of the algorithm that converts the pyrometer sensor data into a temperature that provides feedback control to the controller.

[0028] Reference now Figure 1B, a block diagram of a tool 100 according to an embodiment is illustrated. In a particular embodiment, the tool 100 may include a central chamber 183. The central chamber 183 may include a robot 184 for handling and moving the substrate 110 in the tool 100. In an embodiment, the central chamber 183 may be coupled to a front opening wafer transfer box (FOUP) 181 via a loading port 182. The FOUP 181 may include a plurality of substrates 110 to be processed by the tool 100. In an embodiment, the substrate 110 may be any suitable substrate outer size. In a particular embodiment, the substrate 110 is a silicon substrate. The diameter of the substrate 110 may be 300 mm, but smaller or larger outer size substrates 110 may also be used. In addition, materials other than silicon may also be used as the substrate 110.

[0029] In one embodiment, the processing chamber 185 can be coupled to the central chamber 183. In some embodiments, the processing chamber 185 can be a thermal oxidation chamber 185. Detailed information about the thermal oxidation chamber 185 will be provided below. Figure 1B In the particular embodiment shown, a pair of chambers 185 (e.g., chamber 1 and chamber 2) are coupled to a central chamber 183. Chamber 1 and chamber 2 can both be thermal oxidation chambers. In other embodiments, chamber 1 and chamber 2 can be different types of chambers (e.g., to provide different processing operations).

[0030] In one embodiment, the tool 100 may also include a metrology chamber 186. The metrology chamber 186 may be used to provide thickness measurements of films formed on the substrate 110 in the chamber 185. For example, the metrology chamber 186 may include a line scan capability to determine the thickness of a film on the surface of the substrate 110. In the illustrated embodiment, the metrology chamber 186 is coupled to the central chamber 183. However, it should be appreciated that in some embodiments, the metrology chamber 186 may be part of another tool. In one embodiment, the metrology chamber 186 may also measure the emissivity of the substrate and use the measured emissivity as an input to an emissivity correlation algorithm.

[0031] In the illustrated embodiment, chambers 185 and 186 are coupled together via central chamber 183. However, it is noted that chambers 185 and 186 may be separate chambers that are not coupled together via central chamber 183.

[0032] Reference now Figure 2 , illustrates a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a processing chamber 285 according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, chamber 285 may include any type of semiconductor manufacturing chamber that may require precise substrate temperature control. In the illustrated embodiment, chamber 285 is illustrated without plasma capabilities. However, it should be understood that chamber 285 may also include the ability to use plasma to achieve various processing schemes.

[0033] In one embodiment, the chamber 285 may include a chamber body 220. The chamber body 220 may include any suitable material, such as stainless steel or the like. In one embodiment, a coating (not shown) may be provided on the inner surface of the chamber body 220. For example, the coating may be a chamber aging or protective layer. In one embodiment, a gas 221 may enter the chamber 285 via a first portion of the chamber body 220, and a gas 222 may exit the tool via a second portion of the chamber body 220. Although the gases 221 and 222 are illustrated as entering and exiting via the chamber body 220, it should be understood that the gases may enter or exit the chamber via any portion of the chamber 285, depending on the type of chamber 285 used.

[0034] In one embodiment, a substrate support 215 may be provided in the chamber 285. The substrate support 215 may include three pins that directly contact and support the substrate 210 on the back side, or there may be a pedestal 217 that is transparent to pyrometry. The substrate support 215 and the pedestal 217 are configured to hold and / or fix the substrate 210. For example, the substrate 210 may be a semiconductor substrate, such as a silicon wafer. The substrate 210 may have any suitable dimensions. For example, the diameter of the substrate 210 may be 300 mm, 450 mm, or any standard wafer dimensions. In addition, other substrates 210 may also be used in the chamber 285. For example, glass substrates, ceramic substrates, or similar materials may also be used in some embodiments. In one embodiment, the substrate support 215 and the pedestal 217 may be configured to rotate. The rotation allows for improved temperature uniformity across the substrate 210.

[0035] The pedestal 217 may include any type of clamping structure to secure the substrate 210. In some embodiments, the pedestal 217 may include an electrostatic chucking (ESC) structure. In such embodiments, the substrate 210 is secured to the pedestal 217 by electrostatic forces. Other embodiments may include a vacuum clamping structure for the pedestal 217. In one embodiment, the pedestal 217 and the substrate support 215 may include a quartz material or another material that is at least substantially transparent to infrared radiation. Thus, the temperature of the backside surface of the substrate 210 may be obtained by the pyrometer 216.

[0036] In one embodiment, the chamber 285 can include a cover 225. The cover 225 is sometimes referred to as a chamber dome. Although shaped like a dome, it should be understood that the cover 225 can have any structure (e.g., a flat surface or the like). The cover 225 can be formed of a material that is at least substantially transparent to infrared radiation. For example, the cover 225 can include quartz or the like.

[0037] In one embodiment, the chamber 285 may further include a bottom cover 227. The bottom cover 227 may cover the bottom surface of the chamber 285. The bottom cover 227 may include a material that is at least substantially transparent to infrared radiation. Thus, a pyrometer on the bottom side of the chamber 285 may be used to measure the bottom surface temperature of the substrate 210. In one embodiment, the bottom cover 227 may be coupled to the substrate support 215. More specifically, the substrate support 215 may pass through the bottom cover 227. The bottom cover 227 is coupled to the substrate support 215 in a configuration that allows the substrate support 215 to rotate freely.

[0038] In one embodiment, the plurality of lamps 230 may be disposed outside the interior volume of the chamber 285. The interior volume of the tool may refer to the volume defined by the lid 225, the chamber body 220, and the bottom cover 227. That is, the lamps 230 are not disposed within the interior volume of the chamber 285 where substrate processing is performed. In the illustrated embodiment, three sets of lamps 230 are provided. A ~230 C is disposed on the top surface of the cover 225. Each lamp 230 A ~230 C Represents different light areas. Light 230 A The outer area of ​​the substrate 210 may be used, the lamp 230 B can be used in the middle area of ​​the substrate 210, and the lamp 230 C It can be used in the central area of ​​the substrate 210. Lamp 230 A ~230 C Different areas can be focused by reflectors (not shown) disposed around the lamps 230. Although one or two lamps 230 are illustrated for each area, it should be understood that any number of lamps can be used to heat each area of ​​the substrate 210. In the disclosed embodiment, the lines from the lamps 230 to the substrate 210 show that the infrared light is perfectly focused on a specific area of ​​the substrate. However, it should be understood that the infrared light from the lamps 230 may overlap each other to a certain extent. In the illustrated embodiment, three front side lamp areas are illustrated. However, it should be understood that more than three lamp areas may be included in other embodiments. For example, the reflector structure may include four or more areas to provide further enhanced control of the temperature on the surface of the substrate 210.

[0039] In one embodiment, the plurality of pyrometers 216 A ~216 C The pyrometers 216 may be provided through the bottom cover 227. The pyrometers 216 may be focused on the backside surface of the substrate 210. In one embodiment, the number of pyrometers 216 may be equal to the number of heating areas on the substrate 210. For example, Figure 2 The diagram shows three heating zones and provides three pyrometers 216 A ~216 C . Pyrometer 216A The temperature of the outer region of the substrate 210 can be measured by the pyrometer 216 B The temperature of the middle region of the substrate 210 can be measured, and the pyrometer 216 C The temperature of the central area of ​​the substrate 210 may be measured.

[0040] In an embodiment, the reflectometer 218 may be located on the same side as the pyrometer 216. The reflectometer 218 may be used to measure the emissivity of the substrate and provide this information to the algorithm.

[0041] Reference now Figure 3 , illustrates a block diagram of an algorithm for setting calibration attributes according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, the algorithm can be implemented by software 101 in tool 100. Basically, the signal generated by pyrometer 315 is processed by calibration attribute 316 before being transmitted to controller 317. Controller 317 can use this signal as a feedback input to control the power delivered to lamp 225 of chamber 285. In one embodiment, calibration attribute 316 is an offset value added to the signal to account for various conditions, such as the emissivity of the substrate. That is, different emissivities will result in different readings from pyrometer 315. Therefore, the role of calibration attribute 316 is to eliminate the effect of emissivity on the sensor reading to provide an emissivity-independent feedback signal to controller 317.

[0042] In an embodiment, calibration attributes 316 may be generated by a uniformity algorithm 318. Uniformity algorithm 318 may be an algorithm stored in a memory of tool 100. Specifically, metrology data 319 is used to inform uniformity algorithm 318. Metrology data 319 may be generated by metrology chamber 386 or a similar chamber. For example, metrology data (e.g., film thickness) of three or more substrates having different emissivities may be used to provide data for uniformity algorithm 318.

[0043] In one embodiment, the uniformity algorithm 318 may include a physics-based model for the heat source and a replication of an algorithm that converts pyrometer sensor data to controller temperature values. The physics-based model may be a thermal model of the chamber 285. That is, the heat source and the various components of the chamber 285 are modeled using physics-based equations (e.g., heat transfer equations) to provide an accurate thermal model of the chamber 285. The thermal model may then be used to calculate the backside temperature of the substrate at different times during the recipe. The calculated temperature may then be compared to the pyrometer reading to determine an offset for the calibration property.

[0044] Reference now Figure 4, illustrates a process flow diagram of a process 490 for calibrating chamber 285 to achieve emissivity independence according to one embodiment. Process 490 may be performed in processing environment 150 using host computer 105 and software 101 of tool 100. In other embodiments, the entire process 490 may be implemented by software 101 of tool 100 or by host computer 105.

[0045] In one embodiment, process 490 may begin with operation 491, which includes loading a FOUP with three substrates having different emissivities. In one embodiment, more than three substrates may also be provided in the FOUP. For example, six substrates may be provided in the FOUP, and the six substrates may have three different emissivities (i.e., each emissivity level may be achieved on two substrates). In one embodiment, the substrates may be manufactured in a fab environment. In other embodiments, the substrates may be obtained from an external substrate source. It should be understood that after process 490, the substrates may also be recycled or refurbished to minimize substrate waste.

[0046] Figure 5A An example of this FOUP 581 is shown. As shown in the figure, the FOUP 581 may include at least three slots 571 for supporting the substrate 510. The first substrate 510 A The second substrate 510 may include a layer 541 having a first emissivity. B The third substrate 510 may have a bottom surface 542 of bare silicon having a second emissivity, and C The substrate 510 may include a layer 543 having a third emissivity. In one embodiment, the first emissivity may be greater than the second emissivity, and the second emissivity may be greater than the third emissivity. In a particular embodiment, the layer 541 may include nitrogen (e.g., a nitride film) and the layer 543 may include oxygen (e.g., an oxide film). In some embodiments, the substrate 510 may include a plurality of layers 541 and 543. A ~510 C The top surface of can be a bare silicon surface. Figure 5A The three substrates 510 are shown in FIG. A ~510 C , however, it should be understood that any number of substrates 510 may be included in the FOUP 581.

[0047] Back to Figure 4 490, process 490 may continue to perform operation 492, which includes running a recipe on each of the three substrates with a set of calibration attributes. Before running the recipe, the calibration attributes may be set. Calibration attributes previously used (e.g., before a planned maintenance event or before a hardware change) may be used to run the recipe. The calibration attributes provide an offset for the pyrometer data to provide a more accurate feedback signal to the controller.

[0048] Reference now Figure 5B , illustrates a cross-sectional view of a chamber 585 for executing a process recipe according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, the chamber 585 may include a chamber body 520. The chamber body 520 may include any suitable material, such as stainless steel or the like. In an embodiment, a coating (not shown) may be provided on an interior surface of the chamber body 520. In an embodiment, a gas 521 may enter the chamber 585 via a first portion of the chamber body 520, and a gas 522 may exit the tool via a second portion of the chamber body 520.

[0049] In one embodiment, a substrate support 515 and a pedestal 517 are provided in the chamber. The substrate support 515 and the pedestal 517 are configured to hold and / or fix the substrate 510. For example, a first substrate 510 is shown in the chamber 585. A In one embodiment, the substrate support 515 and the pedestal 517 may be configured to be rotatable. The rotation may achieve improved temperature uniformity across the substrate 510. In one embodiment, the pedestal 517 and the substrate support 515 may include a quartz material or other material that is at least substantially transparent to infrared radiation. Thus, the temperature of the backside surface of the substrate 510 may be obtained by the pyrometer 515.

[0050] In one embodiment, chamber 585 may include a lid 525. Lid 525 is sometimes referred to as a chamber dome. Lid 525 may be formed of a material that is at least substantially transparent to infrared radiation. For example, lid 525 may include quartz or the like. In one embodiment, chamber 585 may also include a bottom cover 227. Bottom cover 227 may cover a bottom surface of chamber 585. Bottom cover 227 may include a material that is at least substantially transparent to infrared radiation. Thus, pyrometer 516 on the bottom side of chamber 585 may be used to measure the temperature of substrate 510. A Bottom surface temperature.

[0051] In one embodiment, a plurality of lamps 530 may be disposed outside the interior volume of chamber 585. In the embodiment shown, three sets of lamps 530 are provided. A ~530 C The lamp 530 is provided on the top surface of the cover 525. A ~530 C Each of the lamps represents a different lamp area. A ~530 C The lamps 530 may be focused on different areas by placing reflectors (not shown) around them. Although one or two lamps 530 are shown for each area, it should be understood that any number of lamps may be used to heat the substrate 510. AIn the illustrated embodiment, three front side light regions are illustrated. However, it should be understood that in other embodiments, more than three light regions may be included. For example, the reflector structure may include four or more regions to provide a plurality of light regions for the substrate 510. A Further enhanced control of the temperature on the surface.

[0052] In one embodiment, the plurality of pyrometers 516 A ~516 C can be provided through the bottom cover 527. The pyrometer 516 can be focused on the substrate 510 A In one embodiment, the number of pyrometers 516 may be the same as the number of pyrometers 516 on the back side of the substrate 510. A The number of heating zones on the . For example, Figure 5B The diagram shows three heating zones and provides three pyrometers 516 A ~516 C .

[0053] In an embodiment, reflectometer 518 may be located on the same side as pyrometer 516. Reflector 518 may be used to measure the emissivity of the substrate and provide this information to the algorithm.

[0054] In one embodiment, the recipe may be a thermal oxidation recipe. That is, an oxygen source may flow into chamber 585 as gas 521, and lamps 530 may be used to rapidly heat substrate 510. A In one embodiment, the thermal oxidation process may result in A Then, the remaining substrate 510 may be treated with an oxide film 545 on the top surface of the substrate. B and 510 C Repeat the recipe.

[0055] Referring back to process 490, the process may continue with operation 493, which includes checking thickness uniformity between the three substrates. In one embodiment, a line scan tool may be used to measure thickness uniformity to determine whether the oxide film 545 is uniform across the substrate 510. A ~510 C For example, Figures 5C to 5E In the embodiment, the first substrate 510 A ( Figure 5C ) is subjected to line scanning (shown by dotted lines) to scan the third substrate 510 C A line scan was performed ( Figure 5D ), and the second substrate 510 B A line scan was performed ( Figure 5E). Line scanning can be performed in a metering chamber 186 coupled to chamber 585 through central chamber 183. In other embodiments, the metering chamber can be a separate tool from chamber 585.

[0056] Referring back to process 490, the process continues to decision block 494, which determines whether the oxide layer thickness on the three substrates is uniform. If the thickness is uniform, then the process is determined to be emissivity independent, and the process continues to end block 496. In such an embodiment, the calibration properties are correct and the tool is considered to be properly calibrated.

[0057] However, if the thickness is not uniform, no path is selected and operation 495 is performed. Operation 495 may include updating the set of calibration properties. In one embodiment, the calibration properties may be updated by using a uniformity algorithm. The uniformity algorithm may include a physics-based model for the heat source and a replication of an algorithm that converts pyrometer sensor data and reflectometer data into controller temperature values. The physics-based model may be a thermal model of chamber 585. That is, the heat source and the different components of chamber 585 are modeled using physics-based equations (e.g., heat transfer equations) to provide an accurate thermal model of chamber 585. The thermal model may then be used to calculate the temperature of the back side of the substrate at different time points during the recipe. The calculated temperature may then be compared to the pyrometer reading to determine an offset for updating the calibration properties. In one embodiment, process 490 may continue to return to the beginning of process 490 and repeat operations 491 to 495 until the thickness of the different substrates becomes uniform.

[0058] In one embodiment, processing operations 491-494 may be performed according to the instructions of host computer 105, and the updating of calibration properties may be performed by software 101 of tool 100. In other embodiments, the entire process 490 may be performed by host computer 105, or the entire process 490 may be performed by tool 100.

[0059] Reference now Figure 6, a block diagram of an exemplary computer system 600 of a processing tool according to one embodiment is illustrated. In one embodiment, the computer system 600 is coupled to the processing tool and controls the processing in the processing tool. The computer system 600 can be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a local area network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet. The computer system 600 can 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 computer system 600 can be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular phone, a network appliance, a server, a network router, a switch or a bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifies the actions to be performed by the machine. In addition, although only a single machine is shown for the computer system 600, the term "machine" should also be construed to include any collection of machines (e.g., computers) that execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions alone or in combination to perform any one or more of the methods described herein.

[0060] The computer system 600 may include a computer program product or software 622 having a non-transitory machine-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which can be used to program the computer system 600 (or other electronic device) to perform a process according to an embodiment. A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a machine (e.g., computer) readable form. For example, a machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) medium includes a machine (e.g., computer) readable storage medium (e.g., read-only memory (read only memory; "ROM"), random access memory (random access memory; "RAM"), disk storage medium, optical storage medium, flash memory device, etc.), a machine (e.g., computer) readable transmission medium (electrical, optical, acoustic or other form of propagation signal (e.g., infrared signal, digital signal, etc.)), etc.

[0061] In one embodiment, the computer system 600 includes a system processor 602, a main memory 604 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM (RDRAM)), a static memory 606 (e.g., flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), and an auxiliary memory 618 (e.g., a data storage device), which communicate with each other via a bus 630.

[0062] The system processor 602 represents one or more general-purpose processing devices, such as a microsystem processor, a central processing unit, etc. More specifically, the system processor can be a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microsystem processor, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microsystem processor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) microsystem processor, a system processor that implements other instruction sets, or a system processor that implements a combination of instruction sets. The system processor 602 can also be one or more special-purpose processing devices, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal system processor (DSP), a network system processor, etc. The system processor 602 is configured to execute processing logic 626 to perform the operations described herein.

[0063] The computer system 600 may also include a system network interface device 608 for communicating with other devices or machines. The computer system 600 may also include a video display unit 610 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode display (LED), or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device 612 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 614 (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generating device 616 (e.g., a speaker).

[0064] The secondary memory 618 may include a machine-accessible storage medium 632 (or more specifically, a computer-readable storage medium) on which is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 622) embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The software 622 may also reside, in whole or in part, within the main memory 604 and / or within the system processor 602 during execution of the software 622 by the computer system 600, the main memory 604 and the system processor 602 also constituting machine-readable storage media. The software 522 may also be sent or received over the network 620 via the system network interface device 608. In one embodiment, the network interface device 608 may operate using RF coupling, optical coupling, acoustic coupling, or inductive coupling.

[0065] Although the machine-accessible storage medium 632 is shown as a single medium in the exemplary embodiment, the term "machine-readable storage medium" should be understood to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) that store one or more sets of instructions. The term "machine-readable storage medium" should also include any medium that can store or encode a set of instructions for execution by a machine and cause the machine to perform any one or more methods. Therefore, the term "machine-readable storage medium" should include, but is not limited to, solid-state memories and optical and magnetic media.

[0066] In the foregoing specification, specific exemplary embodiments have been described. It will be apparent that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the following claims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

Claims

1. A method for calibrating a processing tool, comprising: providing a first substrate having a first emissivity, a second substrate having a second emissivity, and a third substrate having a third emissivity; running a recipe on each of the first substrate, the second substrate, and the third substrate, wherein the recipe includes a set of calibration properties; measuring a layer thickness on each of the first substrate, the second substrate, and the third substrate; as well as It is determined whether the layer thickness is uniform.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: When the layer thickness is non-uniform, the set of calibration properties is adjusted. The method of claim 2 , wherein a uniformity algorithm is used to adjust the set of calibration properties.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the uniformity algorithm comprises: A physics-based model for the heat source and a replication of the algorithm that converts pyrometer sensor data into temperature data that is used to provide feedback control of the recipe.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the calibration attribute is used to modify a signal detected by a pyrometer and sent to a controller of the process tool. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first emissivity is higher than the second emissivity, and wherein the second emissivity is higher than the third emissivity. 7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the first substrate comprises a nitrogen-containing film, wherein the second substrate comprises bare silicon, and wherein the third substrate comprises an oxygen-containing film.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the first emissivity and the third emissivity are provided by a film located on a surface of the substrate opposite the lamp used in the recipe. 9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein a pyrometer detects signals from the films of the first and third substrates, and wherein a pyrometer detects signals from the bare silicon of the second substrate.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the formulation is a thermal oxidation formulation.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the formulation comprises: A plurality of light zones above the substrate are controlled.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein measuring the layer thickness is performed by line scanning.

13. A processing environment comprising: Host computer; and a processing tool communicatively coupled to the host computer, wherein the host computer interfaces with software stored in a memory of the processing tool, wherein the software includes a uniformity algorithm for setting an offset between signals measured by the pyrometers used as feedback by a controller to control a recipe.

14. The processing environment of claim 13, wherein the uniformity algorithm comprises: A physics-based model for the heat source and a replication of the algorithm that converts pyrometer sensor data into temperature data that is used to provide feedback control of the recipe.

15. The processing environment of claim 13, wherein the host computer includes instructions stored in memory for processing three substrates having different emissivities and comparing film thicknesses formed on the three substrates.

16. The processing environment of claim 15, wherein the three substrates include a first substrate having a first emissivity, a second substrate having a second emissivity, and a third substrate having a third emissivity, wherein the first emissivity is higher than the second emissivity, and the second emissivity is higher than the third emissivity.

17. The processing environment of claim 13, wherein the processing tool comprises a load port, a central chamber, a processing chamber, and a metrology chamber.

18. A method for calibrating a processing tool to achieve emissivity independence, comprising the steps of: Providing a first substrate having a first emissivity film, a second substrate having a bare silicon surface, and a third substrate having a second emissivity film; processing the first substrate, the second substrate, and the third substrate in the processing tool using a recipe to form oxide films on the first substrate, the second substrate, and the third substrate, wherein the recipe includes a calibration attribute for modifying a signal from a pyrometer sent as feedback information to a controller; measuring the oxide film on each of the first substrate, the second substrate, and the third substrate; as well as When the oxide film is non-uniform, the alignment properties are modified.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first emissivity film comprises nitrogen, and wherein the second emissivity film comprises oxygen.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the calibration properties are modified by a uniformity algorithm comprising a physics-based model for a heat source and a replication of an algorithm that converts pyrometer sensor data to temperature data used to provide the feedback control.

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