Lithography machine alignment control method, device, equipment and medium

Abstract

The invention discloses a photoetching machine alignment control method, device and equipment and a medium, and the method comprises the steps: respectively carrying out task initialization on task lists corresponding to a silicon wafer objective table and a photomask objective table of a photoetching machine, and determining a first task list and a second task list; executing the silicon wafer loading task in the first task list and the photomask loading task in the second task list in parallel; determining and executing a photomask alignment task based on a pre-established association relationship between a photoetching machine task execution result and the photoetching machine task, the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution result of the photomask loading task; and determining and executing a silicon wafer alignment task based on a pre-established incidence relation between a photoetching machine task execution result and the photoetching machine task and an execution result of the photomask plate alignment task. According to the technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention, the automatic control of the alignment of the photoetching machine is realized, the labor cost can be reduced, and the alignment precision and efficiency of the photoetching machine are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and in particular to a photolithography machine alignment control method, device, equipment and medium. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of semiconductor technology, the chip manufacturing precision requirements are increasing day by day, especially in micron or sub-micron precision manufacturing, the tolerance of alignment error is extremely low. Therefore, the research and application of lithography machine alignment control is particularly important.

[0003] At present, the traditional alignment control method of photolithography machines often uses manual knobs to change the horizontal axis, vertical axis and angle of the photolithography machine, or uses electric axes to perform positioning tuning according to charge-coupled devices to complete the alignment control between the pattern on the mask and the pattern on the silicon wafer. However, the traditional alignment control method of photolithography machines has high labor costs. Due to human errors in manual operations, the alignment accuracy is low, and manual alignment takes a long time and has low alignment efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention provides a photolithography machine alignment control method, device, equipment and medium to realize automatic control of the photolithography machine alignment, which can reduce labor costs and improve the accuracy and efficiency of the photolithography machine alignment.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controlling alignment of a lithography machine, comprising:

[0006] Initializing tasks for a task list corresponding to a silicon wafer stage of a lithography machine and a task list corresponding to a photomask stage of the lithography machine, respectively, and determining a first task list to be executed by the silicon wafer stage and a second task list to be executed by the photomask stage;

[0007] Parallel execution of the wafer loading task in the first task list and the mask loading task in the second task list;

[0008] Based on the pre-established association between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task, the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution result of the mask loading task, determine the mask alignment task in the second task list, and execute the mask alignment task;

[0009] Based on the pre-established association between the execution results of the lithography machine tasks and the lithography machine tasks and the execution results of the mask alignment task, the silicon wafer alignment task in the first task list is determined, and the silicon wafer alignment task is executed to align the pattern on the mask with the pattern on the silicon wafer.

[0010] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a photolithography machine alignment control device, comprising:

[0011] An initialization module is used to respectively initialize the task list corresponding to the silicon wafer stage of the lithography machine and the task list corresponding to the photomask stage of the lithography machine, and determine a first task list to be executed by the silicon wafer stage and a second task list to be executed by the photomask stage;

[0012] A parallel execution module, used for executing in parallel the wafer loading task in the first task list and the mask loading task in the second task list;

[0013] A first alignment module is used to determine the mask alignment task in the second task list based on the pre-established association between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task, the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution result of the mask loading task, and execute the mask alignment task;

[0014] The second alignment module is used to determine the silicon wafer alignment task in the first task list based on the pre-established association between the lithography machine task execution results and the lithography machine tasks and the execution results of the mask alignment tasks, and execute the silicon wafer alignment tasks to align the pattern on the mask with the pattern on the silicon wafer.

[0015] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an electronic device, characterized in that the electronic device comprises: at least one processor; and

[0016] a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein,

[0017] The memory stores a computer program that can be executed by the at least one processor, and the computer program is executed by the at least one processor so that the at least one processor can execute the lithography machine alignment control method provided by any embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and the computer instructions are used to enable a processor to execute the lithography machine alignment control method provided by any embodiment of the present invention when executing the computer instructions.

[0019] The technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention can ensure that the silicon wafer stage and the mask stage can accurately and stably complete their tasks during the lithography process by respectively initializing the task list corresponding to the silicon wafer stage of the lithography machine and the task list corresponding to the mask stage of the lithography machine, and determining the first task list to be executed by the silicon wafer stage and the second task list to be executed by the mask stage. Parallel execution of the silicon wafer loading task in the first task list and the mask loading task in the second task list can improve resource utilization and significantly shorten the preparation time of the lithography machine. Based on the pre-established correlation between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task, the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution result of the mask loading task, the mask alignment task in the second task list is determined, and the mask alignment task is executed, so as to flexibly realize the synchronous control of the coordinated and cooperative tasks with the execution result, and improve the alignment efficiency. Based on the pre-established correlation between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task and the execution result of the mask alignment task, the silicon wafer alignment task in the first task list is determined, and the silicon wafer alignment task is executed so that the pattern on the mask is aligned with the pattern on the silicon wafer, thereby realizing the execution of the task driven by the execution result, without affecting other task processes, and improving the alignment efficiency of the lithography machine. By respectively initializing the first task list and the second task list obtained after the task pools corresponding to the silicon wafer stage and the mask stage are initialized, the mask loading task and the silicon wafer loading task are executed in parallel, which can significantly shorten the preparation time of the lithography machine, thereby improving the alignment efficiency, and further driving the execution of subsequent tasks according to the task execution results, it can ensure that the mask and the silicon wafer can be accurately aligned during the lithography process, improve resource utilization and business scalability, and realize automatic control of the alignment of the lithography machine, thereby reducing labor costs and improving the accuracy and efficiency of the alignment of the lithography machine.

[0020] It should be understood that the contents described in this section are not intended to identify the key or important features of the embodiments of the present invention, nor are they intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Other features of the present invention will become easily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0022] Figure 1 is a flow chart of a photolithography machine alignment control method provided according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 is a flow chart of a photolithography machine alignment control method provided according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 is a structural schematic diagram of a photolithography machine alignment control device provided according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of an electronic device for implementing the lithography machine alignment control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the scheme of the present invention, the technical scheme in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] It should be noted that the terms "target", "current", etc. in the specification and claims of the present invention and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present invention described herein can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, for example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units that are clearly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0028] Embodiment 1

[0029] Figure 1 A flowchart of a method for controlling alignment of a lithography machine is provided for the first embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is applicable to the case of performing alignment control on a lithography machine. Figure 1 As shown, the method can be performed by a photolithography machine alignment control device, which can be implemented in the form of hardware and / or software, and can be configured in an electronic device. Figure 1 As shown, the method specifically comprises the following steps:

[0030] S110, respectively initializing the task list corresponding to the silicon wafer stage of the lithography machine and the task list corresponding to the mask stage of the lithography machine, and determining a first task list to be executed by the silicon wafer stage and a second task list to be executed by the mask stage.

[0031] Among them, the photolithography machine may refer to the mother machine for chip manufacturing. The silicon wafer stage may refer to a component device for positioning silicon wafers (or wafers). The mask stage may refer to a component device for fixing the mask. The first task list may refer to a list of tasks to be performed by the silicon wafer stage, which includes various tasks that the silicon wafer stage needs to perform during the alignment control of the photolithography machine. The second task list may refer to a list of tasks to be performed by the mask stage, which includes various tasks that the mask stage needs to perform during the alignment control of the photolithography machine.

[0032] Specifically, before starting the lithography machine to start alignment control, the system will first initialize the task lists corresponding to the silicon wafer stage and the mask stage. The initialization process can include reading the stored task information, sorting the tasks according to factors such as task priority and execution order, setting all tasks in the task list to the initial state, that is, the state of waiting for execution, and finally determining the first task list to be executed by the silicon wafer stage and the second task list to be executed by the mask stage, and the two lists are independent of each other. Through task initialization, it can be ensured that the lithography machine can perform tasks in accordance with the predetermined order and priority, thereby improving work efficiency and accuracy, and at the same time helping the lithography machine to quickly locate the tasks that need to be executed during the execution process, reducing waiting time and resource waste.

[0033] S120 , executing the wafer loading task in the first task list and the mask loading task in the second task list in parallel.

[0034] The silicon wafer loading task may refer to the process of placing a silicon wafer (or wafer) on the silicon wafer stage of a photolithography machine. The mask loading task may refer to the process of placing a mask (or mask) on the mask stage of a photolithography machine.

[0035] Specifically, after determining the task lists to be performed on the wafer stage and the mask stage, the lithography machine will perform the wafer loading task on the wafer stage and the mask loading task on the mask stage in parallel. These two tasks can be performed simultaneously because they are independent in physical space and will not interfere with each other, thereby shortening the overall working time of the alignment control of the lithography machine and improving the alignment efficiency. Through parallel processing, the lithography machine can make full use of its hardware resources to achieve higher workloads and throughput.

[0036] Exemplarily, S120 may include: based on the first task list and the second task list, synchronously controlling the concurrent execution of the mask loading task corresponding to the mask stage and the silicon wafer loading task corresponding to the silicon wafer stage; performing real-time detection on the completion status of the mask loading task and the completion status of the silicon wafer loading task, and generating the execution results of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution results of the mask loading task.

[0037] The execution result may refer to the completion status of the task, for example, the execution result may be a task completion result or a task failure result.

[0038] Specifically, in response to the alignment request of the lithography machine, the first task list and the second task list are analyzed to determine the initial task corresponding to the first task list, that is, the silicon wafer loading task, and the initial task corresponding to the second task list, that is, the photomask board loading task. The photomask board loading task corresponding to the photomask board stage and the silicon wafer loading task corresponding to the silicon wafer stage are controlled to be executed simultaneously, and the completion status of the photomask board loading task and the completion status of the silicon wafer loading task are detected in real time, and the execution results of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution results of the photomask board loading task are generated. By executing the silicon wafer loading task and the photomask board loading task in parallel, the alignment efficiency can be significantly improved. Since the two tasks are carried out simultaneously, the waiting time of equipment or personnel can be reduced, and the resource utilization rate can be improved.

[0039] S130, based on the pre-established correlation between the execution results of the lithography machine tasks and the lithography machine tasks, the execution results of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution results of the mask loading task, determine the mask alignment task in the second task list, and execute the mask alignment task.

[0040] Among them, the execution result of the lithography machine task may refer to the final state or result presented by the lithography machine after completing a specific task. The lithography machine task may refer to a series of specific operations or steps that the lithography machine needs to perform during the alignment control process. The association relationship may refer to the logical or physical connection between the various tasks in the work of the lithography machine. These association relationships may include the sequence, dependency, synchronization requirements, etc. between the tasks. The mask alignment task may refer to the alignment process between the mask (also called mask) and the target area on the silicon wafer.

[0041] Specifically, after the silicon wafer loading task and the mask loading task are completed, the lithography machine will determine the mask alignment task in the second task list based on the pre-established association between the lithography machine task execution results and the lithography machine tasks, as well as the execution results of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution results of the mask loading task. Once the mask alignment task is determined, the lithography machine will immediately execute the task to ensure that the pattern on the mask can be accurately positioned within the working area of ​​the lithography machine. By determining the order of task execution through association, it can be ensured that there will be no task conflicts or omissions during the execution of the lithography machine. The accurate execution of the mask alignment task is the basis for the subsequent silicon wafer alignment task and is also a key step in ensuring the quality of lithography.

[0042] S140. Based on the pre-established correlation between the execution results of the lithography machine tasks and the lithography machine tasks and the execution results of the mask alignment tasks, determine the silicon wafer alignment tasks in the first task list, and execute the silicon wafer alignment tasks to align the pattern on the mask with the pattern on the silicon wafer.

[0043] The silicon wafer alignment task may refer to an operation of aligning a target area on a silicon wafer with a photomask (or mask) on a photolithography machine.

[0044] Specifically, after the execution of the mask alignment task is completed, the lithography machine will again determine the silicon wafer alignment task in the first task list based on the pre-established association between the lithography machine task execution results and the lithography machine tasks, as well as the execution results of the mask alignment task. The goal of the silicon wafer alignment task is to ensure that the pattern on the silicon wafer is aligned with the pattern on the mask, so as to meet the requirements of the lithography process. The accurate execution of the silicon wafer alignment task is a key link in the lithography process, which directly affects the accuracy and reliability of the lithography results. By determining the execution order of the silicon wafer alignment tasks through the association relationship, it can be ensured that the lithography machine can efficiently complete the task during the execution process, while reducing errors and waste.

[0045] Exemplarily, S140 may include: based on a pre-established association relationship between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task, performing an association analysis on the execution result of the mask alignment task to determine the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask alignment task; based on a pre-established association relationship between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task, judging whether the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask alignment task is a synchronous task of the mask alignment task; if the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask alignment task is a silicon wafer alignment task, determining the silicon wafer alignment task as a synchronous task of the mask alignment task, and executing the silicon wafer alignment task.

[0046] Among them, the associated task may refer to other tasks that are directly or indirectly related to a specific task (such as the mask alignment task) during the execution of the lithography machine task. The synchronous task may refer to other tasks that need to be executed simultaneously or closely coordinated with a specific task (such as the mask alignment task) during the execution of the lithography machine task.

[0047] Specifically, according to the pre-established correlation relationship between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task, the execution result of the mask alignment task is subjected to correlation analysis. Through correlation analysis, the associated tasks corresponding to the execution result of the mask alignment task are determined. These associated tasks may be other lithography machine tasks related to the mask alignment task, including silicon wafer alignment tasks, etc. Based on the pre-established correlation relationship between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task, it is determined whether the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask alignment task is a silicon wafer alignment task, and whether the silicon wafer alignment task is a synchronous task of the mask alignment task. This usually involves the judgment of conditions such as the execution order and execution time of the tasks. If the associated task is a silicon wafer alignment task and meets the conditions of the synchronous task (such as adjacent execution order, similar execution time, etc.), the silicon wafer alignment task is determined to be a synchronous task of the mask alignment task, and the silicon wafer alignment task is executed. Through correlation analysis, the associated tasks corresponding to the execution result of the mask alignment task can be accurately determined, avoiding errors in human judgment and improving work efficiency.

[0048] It should be noted that before performing the wafer alignment task, the wafer on the wafer stage can also be leveled and focused to improve the wafer alignment accuracy. This usually involves adjusting the position and angle of the wafer to ensure that its surface remains parallel to the exposure system of the lithography machine. After performing the wafer alignment task, alignment correction can also be performed between the target area on the wafer stage and the wafer alignment sensor to ensure accurate alignment between the wafer and the mask and reduce alignment errors.

[0049] The technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention can ensure that the silicon wafer stage and the mask stage can accurately and stably complete their tasks during the lithography process by respectively initializing the task list corresponding to the silicon wafer stage of the lithography machine and the task list corresponding to the mask stage of the lithography machine, and determining the first task list to be executed by the silicon wafer stage and the second task list to be executed by the mask stage. Parallel execution of the silicon wafer loading task in the first task list and the mask loading task in the second task list can improve resource utilization and significantly shorten the preparation time of the lithography machine. Based on the pre-established correlation between the lithography machine task execution results and the lithography machine tasks, the execution results of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution results of the mask loading task, the mask alignment task in the second task list is determined, and the mask alignment task is executed, thereby flexibly realizing the synchronous control of the coordinated and cooperative tasks with the execution results, and improving the alignment efficiency. Based on the pre-established correlation between the execution results of the lithography machine tasks and the tasks of the lithography machine and the execution results of the mask alignment tasks, the silicon wafer alignment tasks in the first task list are determined, and the silicon wafer alignment tasks are executed so that the pattern on the mask is aligned with the pattern on the silicon wafer, thereby realizing the execution of the tasks driven by the execution results, without affecting other task processes, and improving the alignment efficiency of the lithography machine. By respectively initializing the first task list and the second task list obtained after the task pools corresponding to the silicon wafer stage and the mask stage are initialized, the mask loading task and the silicon wafer loading task are executed in parallel, which can significantly shorten the preparation time of the lithography machine, thereby improving the alignment efficiency, and further driving the execution of subsequent tasks according to the task execution results, it can ensure that the mask and the silicon wafer can be accurately aligned during the lithography process, improve resource utilization and business scalability, and realize automatic control of the alignment of the lithography machine, thereby reducing labor costs and improving the accuracy and efficiency of the alignment of the lithography machine.

[0050] Embodiment 2

[0051] Figure 2 A flowchart of a photolithography machine alignment control method provided in Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Based on the above embodiments, this embodiment optimizes the step of "determining the mask alignment task in the second task list and executing the mask alignment task based on the pre-established association between the photolithography machine task execution result and the photolithography machine task, the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution result of the mask loading task". The explanations of the terms that are the same or corresponding to the above embodiments are not repeated here.

[0052] See also Figure 2 Another lithography machine alignment control method provided in this embodiment specifically includes the following steps:

[0053] S210, respectively initialize the task list corresponding to the silicon wafer stage of the lithography machine and the task list corresponding to the mask stage of the lithography machine, and determine a first task list to be executed by the silicon wafer stage and a second task list to be executed by the mask stage.

[0054] S220 , executing the wafer loading task in the first task list and the mask loading task in the second task list in parallel.

[0055] S230, based on the pre-established correlation between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task and the execution result of the mask printing task, perform correlation analysis on the execution result of the mask printing task to determine the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask printing task.

[0056] Specifically, after the execution of the mask-on-plate task is completed, the lithography machine reads the execution result of the task. Then, the lithography machine performs a correlation analysis on the execution result of the mask-on-plate task based on the pre-established correlation between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task. The main purpose of the correlation analysis is to determine whether the execution result of the mask-on-plate task meets the prerequisites of the subsequent tasks (such as the mask-on-plate alignment task), and to find out the subsequent tasks associated with the mask-on-plate task. Through the correlation analysis, the lithography machine can ensure that before executing the subsequent tasks, the preceding tasks (such as the mask-on-plate task) have been successfully completed and meet the requirements of the subsequent tasks. This helps to avoid conflicts and omissions between tasks and improve the overall work efficiency and accuracy of the lithography machine.

[0057] S240, based on the pre-established association relationship between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task, determine whether the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask plate loading task is a synchronous task of the mask plate loading task, and generate a synchronous task judgment result.

[0058] Specifically, after determining the subsequent tasks associated with the mask-on-plate task, the lithography machine will determine whether these associated tasks are synchronous tasks of the mask-on-plate task based on the pre-established association relationship. Synchronous tasks generally refer to tasks that need to be performed in strict sequence in physical space or logic to ensure the consistency and accuracy of the overall workflow of the lithography machine. If the associated task is a synchronous task, the lithography machine will generate a synchronous task judgment result to guide the execution of subsequent tasks. By determining whether the associated task is a synchronous task, the lithography machine can ensure that all related predecessor tasks have been successfully completed before executing the mask alignment task. This helps to maintain the consistency and accuracy of the lithography machine's workflow and avoid time conflicts and logical errors between tasks.

[0059] Exemplarily, S240 may include: based on a pre-established association relationship between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task, if the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask loading task is the mask alignment task, then determining the mask alignment task as a synchronous task of the mask loading task.

[0060] Specifically, according to the pre-established correlation between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task, the execution result of the mask plate loading task is correlated with other tasks. This usually involves sorting out and confirming the relationships between the execution order, execution conditions, data dependencies, etc. between tasks. On the basis of the correlation analysis, it is determined whether the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask plate loading task is the mask plate alignment task. If it is confirmed that the associated task is the mask plate alignment task, and according to the pre-defined synchronization task conditions (such as adjacent execution order, similar execution time, data dependency, etc.), the mask plate alignment task is determined to be a synchronization task of the mask plate loading task. By accurately judging the synchronization tasks, waiting and conflicts between tasks can be avoided, and the overall production efficiency of the lithography process can be improved.

[0061] For example, after the mask loading task corresponding to the mask stage is completed, a task execution result of "loading completed" will be generated. After the event listener receives this event, it finds the associated task through the pre-established association between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task, and determines whether the associated task "mask alignment task" is a synchronous task. The mask alignment is coaxial alignment, which is a synchronous task.

[0062] It should be noted that after the silicon wafer loading task corresponding to the silicon wafer stage is completed, a task execution result of "loading completed" will be generated. After the event listener receives this event, it finds the associated task through the pre-established association between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task, and determines whether the associated task is a synchronous task. If it is asynchronous at this time, the task is directly executed asynchronously without blocking the thread, thereby improving resource utilization.

[0063] S250 , based on the synchronization task judgment result and the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task, determine the mask alignment task in the second task list, and execute the mask alignment task.

[0064] Specifically, after determining whether the associated task is a synchronous task, the lithography machine will combine the execution result of the silicon wafer on-chip task to finally determine the mask alignment task in the second task list. If the silicon wafer on-chip task and all related predecessor tasks have been successfully completed, the lithography machine will immediately execute the mask alignment task. The goal of the mask alignment task is to ensure that the pattern on the mask can be accurately positioned within the working area of ​​the lithography machine, and to prepare for subsequent silicon wafer alignment tasks. By combining the synchronous task judgment result and the execution result of the silicon wafer on-chip task to determine the mask alignment task, the lithography machine can ensure that all related predecessor tasks have been successfully completed before executing the alignment task. This helps to improve the alignment accuracy and stability of the lithography machine and ensure the accuracy and reliability of the lithography results. At the same time, this also provides a good foundation and guarantee for subsequent silicon wafer alignment tasks.

[0065] Exemplarily, S250 may include: if the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task is the loading completion result and the synchronization task judgment result is that the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask loading task is the synchronization task of the mask loading task, then determine the mask alignment task in the second task list and execute the mask alignment task.

[0066] Specifically, it is determined whether the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task is "loading completion result", and at the same time, it is determined whether the synchronization task judgment result is true, that is, whether the mask alignment task is a synchronization task of the mask loading task. If the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task is "loading completion result" and the synchronization task judgment result is true, the mask alignment task in the second task list is determined. This usually means that all preconditions have been met and the mask alignment task can be started. By ensuring the sequentiality and coordination between the silicon wafer loading task and the mask alignment task, unnecessary waiting and conflicts can be avoided, thereby improving production efficiency.

[0067] Exemplarily, a photomask alignment task includes: a first photomask alignment task and a second photomask alignment task, wherein the alignment accuracy of the first photomask alignment task is greater than the alignment accuracy of the second photomask alignment task; before executing the first photomask alignment task, it also includes: leveling and focusing the target area on the silicon wafer stage.

[0068] Among them, the first photomask alignment task may refer to the photomask fine alignment task, which is the process of further adjusting the positional relationship between the photomask and the silicon wafer using the fine alignment system of the lithography machine on the basis of the coarse alignment. The second photomask alignment task may refer to the photomask coarse alignment task, which is the process of performing preliminary alignment between the photomask and the silicon wafer using the coarse alignment system of the lithography machine in the lithography process. The target area may refer to a specific area on the silicon wafer stage where the lithography operation needs to be performed.

[0069] Specifically, before performing the task of fine alignment of the photomask, it is also necessary to level and focus the target area on the silicon wafer stage. This usually involves using optical tools to observe the target area on the silicon wafer stage to ensure that its surface is flat and not tilted, and by adjusting the focal length, ensuring that the imaging of the optical tool is clear and accurate, and can capture the details of the target area, thereby improving the precision of the fine alignment of the photomask. It should be noted that before performing the task of fine alignment of the photomask, it is also necessary to level and focus the reference unit on the silicon wafer stage, and by leveling and focusing the reference unit, the accuracy of the photomask alignment can be improved.

[0070] S260. Based on the pre-established correlation between the execution results of the lithography machine tasks and the lithography machine tasks and the execution results of the mask alignment tasks, determine the silicon wafer alignment tasks in the first task list, and execute the silicon wafer alignment tasks to align the pattern on the mask with the pattern on the silicon wafer.

[0071] The technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention performs correlation analysis on the execution result of the mask plate mounting task based on the pre-established correlation relationship between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task and the execution result of the mask plate mounting task, and determines the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask plate mounting task, which helps to avoid conflicts and omissions between tasks and improve the overall work efficiency and accuracy of the lithography machine alignment. Based on the pre-established correlation relationship between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task, it is judged whether the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask plate mounting task is a synchronous task of the mask plate mounting task, and a synchronous task judgment result is generated, which helps to maintain the consistency and accuracy of the lithography machine workflow and avoid time conflicts and logical errors between tasks. Based on the synchronous task judgment result and the execution result of the silicon wafer mounting task, the mask plate alignment task in the second task list is determined, and the mask plate alignment task is executed, which can ensure that before the mask plate alignment task is executed, all related pre-tasks have been successfully completed, thereby improving the alignment accuracy and stability of the lithography machine. Determining and executing the mask alignment task through pre-established associations and task execution results can not only improve the overall work efficiency and accuracy of the lithography machine, but also ensure the consistency and stability of the lithography machine alignment process.

[0072] Embodiment 3

[0073] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a photolithography machine alignment control device provided in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. Figure 3 As shown, the device includes: an initialization module 310, a parallel execution module 320, a first alignment module 330 and a second alignment module 340.

[0074] The initialization module 310 is used to respectively initialize the task list corresponding to the silicon wafer stage of the lithography machine and the task list corresponding to the mask stage of the lithography machine, and determine the first task list to be executed by the silicon wafer stage and the second task list to be executed by the mask stage;

[0075] A parallel execution module 320, configured to execute in parallel the wafer loading task in the first task list and the mask loading task in the second task list;

[0076] A first alignment module 330 is used to determine the mask alignment task in the second task list based on the pre-established association between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task, the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution result of the mask loading task, and execute the mask alignment task;

[0077] The second alignment module 340 is used to determine the silicon wafer alignment task in the first task list based on the pre-established association between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task and the execution result of the mask alignment task, and execute the silicon wafer alignment task to align the pattern on the mask with the pattern on the silicon wafer.

[0078] The technical solution of this embodiment can ensure that the silicon wafer stage and the mask stage can accurately and stably complete their tasks during the lithography process by respectively initializing the task list corresponding to the silicon wafer stage of the lithography machine and the task list corresponding to the mask stage of the lithography machine, and determining the first task list to be executed by the silicon wafer stage and the second task list to be executed by the mask stage. Parallel execution of the silicon wafer loading task in the first task list and the mask loading task in the second task list can improve resource utilization and significantly shorten the preparation time of the lithography machine. Based on the pre-established correlation between the lithography machine task execution results and the lithography machine tasks, the execution results of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution results of the mask loading task, the mask alignment task in the second task list is determined, and the mask alignment task is executed, so as to flexibly realize the synchronous control of the coordinated and cooperative tasks with the execution results, and improve the alignment efficiency. Based on the pre-established correlation between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task and the execution result of the mask alignment task, the silicon wafer alignment task in the first task list is determined, and the silicon wafer alignment task is executed so that the pattern on the mask is aligned with the pattern on the silicon wafer, thereby realizing the execution of the task driven by the execution result, without affecting other task processes, and improving the alignment efficiency of the lithography machine. By respectively initializing the first task list and the second task list obtained after the task pools corresponding to the silicon wafer stage and the mask stage are initialized, the mask loading task and the silicon wafer loading task are executed in parallel, which can significantly shorten the preparation time of the lithography machine, thereby improving the alignment efficiency, and further driving the execution of subsequent tasks according to the task execution results, it can ensure that the mask and the silicon wafer can be accurately aligned during the lithography process, improve resource utilization and business scalability, and realize automatic control of the alignment of the lithography machine, thereby reducing labor costs and improving the accuracy and efficiency of the alignment of the lithography machine.

[0079] Optionally, the parallel execution module 320 is specifically used to: synchronously control the concurrent execution of the mask loading task corresponding to the mask loading stage and the silicon wafer loading task corresponding to the silicon wafer loading stage based on the first task list and the second task list; perform real-time detection on the completion status of the mask loading task and the completion status of the silicon wafer loading task, and generate the execution results of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution results of the mask loading task.

[0080] Optionally, the first alignment module 330 includes:

[0081] A correlation analysis unit, configured to perform correlation analysis on the execution result of the photomask printing task based on the pre-established correlation relationship between the execution result of the photolithography machine task and the photolithography machine task and the execution result of the photomask printing task, and determine the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the photomask printing task;

[0082] A synchronous task judgment unit is used to judge whether the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask plate loading task is a synchronous task of the mask plate loading task based on the pre-established association relationship between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task, and generate a synchronous task judgment result;

[0083] An alignment execution unit is used to determine the mask alignment task in the second task list based on the synchronization task judgment result and the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task, and execute the mask alignment task.

[0084] Optionally, the synchronization task judgment unit is specifically used to: based on the pre-established association relationship between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task, if the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask plate loading task is the mask plate alignment task, then determine that the mask plate alignment task is a synchronization task of the mask plate loading task.

[0085] Optionally, the alignment execution unit is specifically used to: if the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task is the loading completion result and the synchronization task judgment result is that the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask loading task is the synchronization task of the mask loading task, then determine the mask alignment task in the second task list and execute the mask alignment task.

[0086] Optionally, the second alignment module 340 is specifically used to: based on the pre-established association relationship between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task, perform association analysis on the execution result of the mask alignment task to determine the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask alignment task; based on the pre-established association relationship between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task, determine whether the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask alignment task is a synchronous task of the mask alignment task; if the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask alignment task is a silicon wafer alignment task, determine that the silicon wafer alignment task is a synchronous task of the mask alignment task, and execute the silicon wafer alignment task.

[0087] Optionally, the photomask alignment task includes: a first photomask alignment task and a second photomask alignment task, wherein the alignment accuracy of the first photomask alignment task is greater than the alignment accuracy of the second photomask alignment task; the above-mentioned device also includes: a leveling and focusing module, which is specifically used to: level and focus the target area on the silicon wafer stage before executing the first photomask alignment task.

[0088] The lithography machine alignment control device provided in the embodiment of the present invention can execute the lithography machine alignment control method provided in any embodiment of the present invention, and has the corresponding functional modules and beneficial effects of the execution method.

[0089] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device 12 that can be used to implement an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The electronic device is intended to represent various forms of digital computers, such as desktop computers, workstations, servers, mainframe computers, and other suitable computers. The electronic device can also represent various forms of mobile devices, such as personal digital processing, smart phones, wearable devices (such as helmets, glasses, watches, etc.) and other similar computing devices. The components shown herein, their connections and relationships, and their functions are merely examples and are not intended to limit the implementation of the present invention described and / or required herein.

[0090] like Figure 4 As shown, the electronic device 12 is in the form of a general purpose computing device. The components of the electronic device 12 may include, but are not limited to: one or more processors or processing units 16, a system memory 28, and a bus 18 that connects various system components (including the system memory 28 and the processing unit 16).

[0091] Bus 18 represents one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, a processor or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, these architectures include, but are not limited to, an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Micro Channel Architecture (MAC) bus, an Enhanced ISA bus, a Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.

[0092] The electronic device 12 typically includes a variety of computer system readable media. These media can be any available media that can be accessed by the electronic device 12, including volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

[0093] The system memory 28 may include computer system readable media in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and / or cache memory 32. The electronic device 12 may further include other removable / non-removable, volatile / non-volatile computer system storage media. By way of example only, the storage system 34 may be used to read and write non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media ( Figure 4 not shown, usually called a "hard drive"). Although Figure 4Not shown in the figure, a disk drive for reading and writing to a removable non-volatile disk (e.g., a "floppy disk"), and an optical disk drive for reading and writing to a removable non-volatile optical disk (e.g., a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or other optical media) may be provided. In these cases, each drive may be connected to the bus 18 via one or more data medium interfaces. The system memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g., at least one) of program modules that are configured to perform the functions of the various embodiments of the present invention.

[0094] A program / utility 40 having a set (at least one) of program modules 42 may be stored, for example, in system memory 28, such program modules 42 including, but not limited to, an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, each of which or some combination may include an implementation of a network environment. Program modules 42 generally perform the functions and / or methods of the embodiments described herein.

[0095] The electronic device 12 may also communicate with one or more external devices 14 (e.g., keyboards, pointing devices, displays 24, etc.), may communicate with one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the electronic device 12, and / or may communicate with any device that enables the electronic device 12 to communicate with one or more other computing devices (e.g., network cards, modems, etc.). Such communication may be performed via an input / output (I / O) interface 22. Furthermore, the electronic device 12 may also communicate with one or more networks (e.g., local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and / or public networks, such as the Internet) via a network adapter 20. As shown, the network adapter 20 communicates with other modules of the electronic device 12 via a bus 18. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figure, other hardware and / or software modules may be used in conjunction with the electronic device 12, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems.

[0096] The processing unit 16 executes various functional applications and data processing by running the program stored in the system memory 28, for example, implementing a lithography machine alignment control method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the method comprising:

[0097] Initializing tasks for a task list corresponding to a silicon wafer stage of a lithography machine and a task list corresponding to a photomask stage of the lithography machine, respectively, and determining a first task list to be executed by the silicon wafer stage and a second task list to be executed by the photomask stage;

[0098] Parallel execution of the wafer loading task in the first task list and the mask loading task in the second task list;

[0099] Based on the pre-established association between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task, the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution result of the mask loading task, determine the mask alignment task in the second task list, and execute the mask alignment task;

[0100] Based on the pre-established association between the execution results of the lithography machine tasks and the lithography machine tasks and the execution results of the mask alignment task, the silicon wafer alignment task in the first task list is determined, and the silicon wafer alignment task is executed to align the pattern on the mask with the pattern on the silicon wafer.

[0101] Of course, those skilled in the art can understand that the processor can also implement the technical solution of the lithography machine alignment control method provided by any embodiment of the present invention.

[0102] This embodiment provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored. When the program is executed by a processor, the steps of the lithography machine alignment control method provided in any embodiment of the present invention are implemented. The method includes:

[0103] Initializing tasks for a task list corresponding to a silicon wafer stage of a lithography machine and a task list corresponding to a photomask stage of the lithography machine, respectively, and determining a first task list to be executed by the silicon wafer stage and a second task list to be executed by the photomask stage;

[0104] Parallel execution of the wafer loading task in the first task list and the mask loading task in the second task list;

[0105] Based on the pre-established association between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task, the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution result of the mask loading task, determine the mask alignment task in the second task list, and execute the mask alignment task;

[0106] Based on the pre-established association between the execution results of the lithography machine tasks and the lithography machine tasks and the execution results of the mask alignment task, the silicon wafer alignment task in the first task list is determined, and the silicon wafer alignment task is executed to align the pattern on the mask with the pattern on the silicon wafer.

[0107] The computer storage medium of the embodiment of the present invention can adopt any combination of one or more computer-readable media. The computer-readable medium can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium can be, for example, but not limited to: an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device or device, or any combination of the above. More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of computer-readable storage media include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above. In this document, a computer-readable storage medium can be any tangible medium containing or storing a program, which can be used by an instruction execution system, device or device or used in combination with it.

[0108] Computer-readable signal media may include data signals propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, which carry computer-readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination of the above. Computer-readable signal media may also be any computer-readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium, which may send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0109] The program code embodied on the computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0110] Computer program code for performing the operations of the present invention may be written in one or more programming languages ​​or a combination thereof, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java, Smalltalk, C++, and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as "C" or similar programming languages. The program code may be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as a separate software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In the case of a remote computer, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or may be connected to an external computer (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0111] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the modules or steps of the present invention described above can be implemented by a general-purpose computing device, they can be concentrated on a single computing device, or distributed on a network composed of multiple computing devices, optionally, they can be implemented by a program code executable by a computer device, so that they can be stored in a storage device and executed by the computing device, or they can be made into individual integrated circuit modules, or multiple modules or steps therein can be made into a single integrated circuit module for implementation. Thus, the present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

[0112] Note that the above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and the technical principles used. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, and that various obvious changes, readjustments and substitutions can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, although the present invention has been described in more detail through the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and may include more other equivalent embodiments without departing from the concept of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is determined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A photolithography machine alignment control method, characterized in that: include: Initializing tasks for a task list corresponding to a silicon wafer stage of a lithography machine and a task list corresponding to a photomask stage of the lithography machine, respectively, and determining a first task list to be executed by the silicon wafer stage and a second task list to be executed by the photomask stage; Parallel execution of the wafer loading task in the first task list and the mask loading task in the second task list; Based on the pre-established association between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task, the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution result of the mask loading task, determine the mask alignment task in the second task list, and execute the mask alignment task; Based on the pre-established association between the execution results of the lithography machine tasks and the lithography machine tasks and the execution results of the mask alignment task, the silicon wafer alignment task in the first task list is determined, and the silicon wafer alignment task is executed to align the pattern on the mask with the pattern on the silicon wafer.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The parallel execution of the wafer loading task in the first task list and the mask loading task in the second task list includes: Based on the first task list and the second task list, synchronously controlling the photomask loading task corresponding to the photomask stage and the silicon wafer loading task corresponding to the silicon wafer stage to be executed concurrently; The completion status of the photomask plate loading task and the completion status of the silicon wafer loading task are detected in real time, and the execution results of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution results of the photomask plate loading task are generated.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The determining of the mask alignment task in the second task list based on the pre-established association between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task, the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution result of the mask loading task, and executing the mask alignment task, comprises: Based on the pre-established correlation relationship between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task and the execution result of the mask plate loading task, a correlation analysis is performed on the execution result of the mask plate loading task to determine the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask plate loading task; Based on the pre-established association relationship between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task, determine whether the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask plate loading task is a synchronous task of the mask plate loading task, and generate a synchronous task judgment result; Based on the synchronization task judgment result and the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task, the mask alignment task in the second task list is determined, and the mask alignment task is executed.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The determining, based on the pre-established association relationship between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task, whether the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask plate loading task is a synchronous task of the mask plate loading task comprises: Based on the pre-established association between the lithography task execution result and the lithography task, if the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask loading task is the mask alignment task, the mask alignment task is determined to be a synchronous task of the mask loading task.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The step of determining the mask alignment task in the second task list based on the synchronization task judgment result and the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task, and executing the mask alignment task, comprises: If the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task is the loading completion result and the synchronization task judgment result is that the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the mask loading task is the synchronization task of the mask loading task, then the mask alignment task in the second task list is determined and the mask alignment task is executed.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining, based on the pre-established association relationship between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task and the execution result of the mask alignment task, the silicon wafer alignment task in the first task list, and executing the silicon wafer alignment task, comprises: Based on the pre-established correlation relationship between the execution result of the lithography machine task and the lithography machine task, performing correlation analysis on the execution result of the reticle alignment task to determine the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the reticle alignment task; Based on the pre-established association relationship between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task, determining whether the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the reticle alignment task is a synchronous task of the reticle alignment task; If the associated task corresponding to the execution result of the photomask alignment task is a silicon wafer alignment task, the silicon wafer alignment task is determined to be a synchronous task of the photomask alignment task, and the silicon wafer alignment task is executed.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The photomask alignment task includes: a first photomask alignment task and a second photomask alignment task, wherein the alignment accuracy of the first photomask alignment task is greater than the alignment accuracy of the second photomask alignment task; Before performing the first mask alignment task, the method further includes: Level and focus the target area on the wafer stage.

8. A photolithography machine alignment control device, characterized in that: include: An initialization module is used to respectively initialize the task list corresponding to the silicon wafer stage of the lithography machine and the task list corresponding to the photomask stage of the lithography machine, and determine a first task list to be executed by the silicon wafer stage and a second task list to be executed by the photomask stage; A parallel execution module, used for executing in parallel the wafer loading task in the first task list and the mask loading task in the second task list; A first alignment module is used to determine the mask alignment task in the second task list based on the pre-established association between the lithography machine task execution result and the lithography machine task, the execution result of the silicon wafer loading task and the execution result of the mask loading task, and execute the mask alignment task; The second alignment module is used to determine the silicon wafer alignment task in the first task list based on the pre-established association between the lithography machine task execution results and the lithography machine tasks and the execution results of the mask alignment tasks, and execute the silicon wafer alignment tasks to align the pattern on the mask with the pattern on the silicon wafer.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that: The electronic device comprises: at least one processor; and a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein, The memory stores a computer program executable by the at least one processor, and the computer program is executed by the at least one processor so that the at least one processor can execute the lithography machine alignment control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and the computer instructions are used to enable a processor to implement the lithography machine alignment control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 when executed.

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