A thin film deposition apparatus, method and storage medium

Abstract

The present application provides a thin film deposition apparatus, method and storage medium. The thin film deposition apparatus comprises a process chamber, an outer wall of which is provided with a radio frequency coil for matching a ground electrode of a wafer tray integrated inside the process chamber to provide a radio frequency electric field inside the process chamber to perform a plasma enhanced thin film deposition process on a wafer carried by the wafer tray; and a tuner comprising a variable capacitor, a motor, a vibration sensor and a memory for adjusting a slicing position of the variable capacitor via the motor to adjust an intensity of the radio frequency electric field by adjusting a capacitance value of the variable capacitor, detecting a vibration waveform generated at a contact between the motor and the variable capacitor via the vibration sensor to characterize the slicing position in real time, and storing the slicing position into the memory in real time for calling when power is off and restarted.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing technology, and more particularly to a thin film deposition apparatus, a thin film deposition method, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of semiconductor device fabrication technology, radio frequency (RF) coils are typically placed on the outer wall of the process chamber, working in conjunction with RF electrodes located inside the chamber to generate plasma within the chamber, thereby improving thin film deposition efficiency. Furthermore, to enhance RF utilization, thin film deposition equipment usually includes tuners for the RF electrodes, which control the RF field by adjusting the value of their internal variable capacitance.

[0003] In the actual use of thin film deposition equipment, power outages are inevitable. Upon restarting, because the thin film deposition equipment cannot accurately determine the real-time position of the variable capacitor scriber, it is usually necessary to first slide the scriber to one end of its travel to zero the tuner before continuing with subsequent process steps. However, research has found that during the zeroing process of the thin film deposition equipment, when the variable capacitor scriber moves near the zero point, the thin film deposition equipment inevitably experiences mechanical vibration. This affects the position of the wafers and other components loaded inside the process chamber, severely impacting the accuracy and repeatability of the deposited thin film parameters.

[0004] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects in the existing technology, there is an urgent need in the field for an improved radio frequency control technology to avoid jitter after the thin film deposition equipment is restarted after a power outage, thereby improving the accuracy and repeatability of the deposited thin film parameters. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The following provides a brief overview of one or more aspects to offer a basic understanding of them. This overview is not an exhaustive summary of all conceived aspects, nor is it intended to identify key or decisive elements of all aspects, nor to define the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed descriptions that follow.

[0006] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects in the existing technology, there is an urgent need in the field for an improved radio frequency control technology, including a thin film deposition apparatus, a thin film deposition method, and a computer-readable storage medium, to avoid jitter after the thin film deposition apparatus is restarted after a power outage, thereby improving the accuracy and repeatability of the deposited thin film parameters.

[0007] Specifically, the thin film deposition apparatus provided according to the first aspect of the present invention includes: a process chamber having an outer wall provided with a radio frequency coil for cooperating with a ground electrode of a wafer tray integrated inside the process chamber to provide a radio frequency electric field to the interior of the process chamber for performing a plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process on a wafer carried by the wafer tray; and a tuner including a variable capacitor, a motor, a vibration sensor, and a memory, for adjusting the dicing position of the variable capacitor via the motor to adjust the intensity of the radio frequency electric field by adjusting the capacitance value of the variable capacitor, detecting the vibration waveform generated at the contact point between the motor and the variable capacitor via the vibration sensor to characterize the dicing position in real time, and storing the dicing position in real time in the memory for recall during power failure and restart.

[0008] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the variable capacitor includes a slider and a rotating guide rail, and the motor includes a first engagement structure, wherein the first engagement structure rotates to drive the slider engaged with it to move axially along the rotating guide rail, so as to adjust the capacitance value of the variable capacitor.

[0009] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the tuner further includes an LC oscillation circuit, comprising at least one fixed inductor and at least one fixed capacitor, for filtering out signals exceeding a specified frequency band to obtain a signal of a preset frequency.

[0010] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the step of detecting the vibration waveform generated at the contact point between the motor and the variable capacitor via the vibration sensor to characterize the scribbling position in real time includes: acquiring the vibration signal of the motor in real time via the vibration sensor; fitting the vibration waveform of the vibration signal according to the vibration amplitude, vibration frequency and timestamp of the vibration signal; and substituting the vibration waveform into a pre-constructed relational mapping spectrum to determine the scribbling position.

[0011] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the step of constructing the relational mapping spectrum includes: before performing the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process, acquiring multiple vibration signal samples of the motor via the vibration sensor and measuring their corresponding scribbling positions; determining the vibration amplitude, vibration frequency, and timestamp of each vibration signal to fit its corresponding vibration waveform sample; and constructing a relational mapping spectrum characterizing the mapping relationship between the scribbling position and the vibration waveform based on each vibration waveform sample and its corresponding scribbling position.

[0012] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the tuner is also configured to: in response to a power outage restart of the thin film deposition apparatus, retrieve data of the dicing position from the memory to determine the actual capacitance value of the variable capacitor; determine a corresponding target capacitance value based on the intensity of the radio frequency electric field required for the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process; determine an adjustment amount to the dicing position based on the difference between the target capacitance value and the actual capacitance value; and control the motor to rotate according to the adjustment amount to continue the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process.

[0013] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the memory is a non-volatile memory, and the power-off restart includes an active power-off restart of the thin film deposition equipment in response to an abnormal alarm by the safety control module of the thin film deposition equipment, and a passive power-off restart of the thin film deposition equipment caused by external power failure.

[0014] Furthermore, the thin film deposition method provided according to the second aspect of the present invention includes the following steps: placing a wafer to be processed onto a wafer tray inside the process chamber of a thin film deposition apparatus as described in any one of the first aspects of the present invention; providing a radio frequency signal to a radio frequency coil disposed on the outer wall of the process chamber to establish a radio frequency electric field inside the process chamber and excite in-situ plasma; and adjusting the dicing position of the variable capacitor of the tuner of the thin film deposition apparatus according to the intensity of the radio frequency electric field required for the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process, and storing the dicing position in a memory in real time.

[0015] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the thin film deposition method further includes the following steps: in response to a power outage restart of the thin film deposition equipment, retrieving data of the dicing position from the memory to determine the actual capacitance value of the variable capacitor; determining a corresponding target capacitance value based on the intensity of the radio frequency electric field required for the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process; determining an adjustment amount for the dicing position based on the difference between the target capacitance value and the actual capacitance value; and controlling the motor to rotate according to the adjustment amount to continue the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process.

[0016] Furthermore, according to a third aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions thereon. When the computer instructions are executed by a processor, the thin film deposition method as described in the second aspect of the present invention is implemented. Attached Figure Description

[0017] The above-described features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood after reading the following detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, components are not necessarily drawn to scale, and components having similar related characteristics or features may have the same or similar reference numerals.

[0018] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the internal structure of a tuner provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0019] Figure 2 A circuit diagram of a tuner provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0020] Figure label:

[0021] 10 First Input Terminal

[0022] 20 Second Input Terminal

[0023] 30 Variable Capacitor

[0024] 40 motors Detailed Implementation

[0025] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. Although the description of the present invention is presented in conjunction with preferred embodiments, this does not mean that the features of the invention are limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, the purpose of describing the invention in conjunction with embodiments is to cover other options or modifications that may be derived based on the claims of the present invention. To provide a thorough understanding of the invention, many specific details will be included in the following description. The invention may also be implemented without using these details. Furthermore, to avoid confusion or obscuring the focus of the invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description.

[0026] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0027] Furthermore, the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "top," "bottom," "horizontal," and "vertical" used in the following description should be understood as the orientations shown in the relevant paragraphs and accompanying drawings. These relative terms are for illustrative purposes only and do not imply that the described apparatus must be manufactured or operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the invention.

[0028] It is understood that although terms such as "first," "second," and "third" may be used herein to describe various components, regions, layers, and / or parts, these components, regions, layers, and / or parts should not be limited by these terms, and these terms are only used to distinguish different components, regions, layers, and / or parts. Therefore, the first components, regions, layers, and / or parts discussed below may be referred to as second components, regions, layers, and / or parts without departing from some embodiments of the present invention.

[0029] As mentioned above, in the field of semiconductor device fabrication technology, radio frequency (RF) coils are typically placed on the outer wall of the process chamber, and together with RF electrodes located inside the process chamber, plasma is formed inside the process chamber to improve thin film deposition efficiency. Furthermore, to improve RF utilization, thin film deposition equipment typically also equips the RF electrodes with tuners, which control the RF field by adjusting the value of their internal variable capacitors.

[0030] In the actual use of thin film deposition equipment, power outages are inevitable. Upon restarting, because the thin film deposition equipment cannot accurately determine the real-time position of the variable capacitor scriber, it is usually necessary to first slide the scriber to one end of its travel to zero the tuner before continuing with subsequent process steps. However, research has found that during the zeroing process of the thin film deposition equipment, when the variable capacitor scriber moves near the zero point, the thin film deposition equipment inevitably experiences mechanical vibration. This affects the position of the wafers and other components loaded inside the process chamber, severely impacting the accuracy and repeatability of the deposited thin film parameters.

[0031] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects in the existing technology, there is an urgent need in the field for an improved radio frequency control technology, including a thin film deposition apparatus, a thin film deposition method, and a computer-readable storage medium, to avoid jitter after the thin film deposition apparatus is restarted after a power outage, thereby improving the accuracy and repeatability of the deposited thin film parameters.

[0032] In some non-limiting embodiments, the thin film deposition method provided in the second aspect of the present invention can be implemented based on the thin film deposition apparatus provided in the first aspect of the present invention. Specifically, the computer-readable storage medium provided in the third aspect of the present invention stores computer instructions thereon. When the computer instructions are executed by a processor, the thin film deposition method as described in the second aspect of the present invention is implemented.

[0033] Specifically, the thin film deposition apparatus provided in the first aspect of the present invention includes a process chamber and a tuner. The process chamber has an outer wall equipped with a radio frequency coil, which, in conjunction with a ground electrode integrated into a wafer tray inside the process chamber, provides a radio frequency electric field to the interior of the process chamber to perform a plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process on the wafer carried by the wafer tray.

[0034] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the internal structure of a tuner provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0035] like Figure 1 As shown, the tuner includes a variable capacitor 30, a motor 40, a vibration sensor, and a memory. It is used to adjust the scribbling position of the variable capacitor 30 via the motor 40, so as to adjust the intensity of the radio frequency electric field by adjusting the capacitance value of the variable capacitor 30. The vibration sensor detects the vibration waveform generated at the contact point between the motor 40 and the variable capacitor 30 to characterize the scribbling position in real time, and stores the scribbling position in real time in the memory for recall when power is off and restarted.

[0036] Furthermore, the variable capacitor 30 includes a slider and a rotary guide rail, and the motor 40 includes a first engagement structure, wherein the rotation of the first engagement structure drives the slider engaged with it to move axially along the rotary guide rail to adjust the capacitance value of the variable capacitor 30. Here, the rotary guide rail can be a lead screw, and the first engagement structure can be a threaded structure. When adjusting the capacitance value via the motor 40, the motor 40 can be set to increase the capacitance value when rotating clockwise and decrease the capacitance value when rotating counterclockwise.

[0037] Please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 A circuit diagram of a tuner provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0038] like Figure 2 As shown, the tuner may include a first input terminal 10 for providing an RF voltage and a second input terminal 20 for providing an electrostatic adsorption voltage. Furthermore, the tuner also includes an LC oscillation circuit, comprising at least one fixed inductor and at least one fixed capacitor, for filtering out signals exceeding a specified frequency band to obtain a signal at a preset frequency.

[0039] The working principle of the above-described thin film deposition equipment will be described below with reference to some embodiments of thin film deposition methods. Those skilled in the art will understand that these embodiments of thin film deposition methods are merely non-limiting implementations provided by the present invention, intended to clearly demonstrate the main concepts of the invention and provide specific solutions convenient for public implementation, rather than limiting all functions or operating methods of the thin film deposition equipment. Similarly, the thin film deposition equipment is also merely a non-limiting implementation of the present invention and does not constitute a limitation on the subject or order of execution of the steps in these thin film deposition methods.

[0040] First, before performing plasma-enhanced thin film deposition on the wafers held on the wafer tray, the thin film deposition equipment can first perform pre-processing for the tuner.

[0041] Specifically, the tuner can detect the vibration waveform generated at the contact point between the motor 40 and the variable capacitor 30 via a vibration sensor to characterize the scribbling position in real time.

[0042] Here, the tuner can acquire the vibration signal of the motor 40 in real time via a vibration sensor. Then, based on the vibration amplitude, vibration frequency, and timestamp of the vibration signal, a vibration waveform is fitted. Finally, the vibration waveform is substituted into a pre-constructed relational mapping spectrum to determine the dicing position. The step of constructing the relational mapping spectrum may include: before performing the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process, acquiring multiple vibration signal samples of the motor 40 via a vibration sensor and measuring their corresponding dicing positions; determining the vibration amplitude, vibration frequency, and timestamp of each vibration signal to fit its corresponding vibration waveform sample; and constructing a relational mapping spectrum characterizing the mapping relationship between the dicing position and the vibration waveform based on each vibration waveform sample and its corresponding dicing position.

[0043] Subsequently, during the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process on the wafer supported by the wafer tray, the wafer to be processed is placed on the wafer tray inside the process chamber of the thin film deposition equipment. Then, an radio frequency (RF) signal is supplied to the RF coil located on the outer wall of the process chamber to establish an RF electric field inside the process chamber and excite in-situ plasma. Finally, according to the intensity of the RF electric field required for the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process, the dicing position of the variable capacitor 30 of the tuner of the thin film deposition equipment is adjusted, and the dicing position is stored in real time in a memory.

[0044] Furthermore, as mentioned above, in actual use, the tuner inevitably encounters power outages. Therefore, the tuner is also configured to: in response to a power outage restart of the thin film deposition equipment, retrieve data on the dicing position from memory to determine the actual capacitance value of the variable capacitor 30; determine the corresponding target capacitance value based on the intensity of the radio frequency electric field required for the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process; determine the adjustment amount of the dicing position based on the difference between the target capacitance value and the actual capacitance value; and control the motor 40 to rotate according to the adjustment amount to continue the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process.

[0045] Here, the memory is non-volatile memory (NVM), such as flash memory. Power-off restart includes active power-off restart of the thin film deposition equipment in response to abnormal alarms by the safety control module, and passive power-off restart of the thin film deposition equipment due to external power failure.

[0046] In summary, by detecting and recording the positional characteristics of the motor to record the dicing position of the variable capacitor in real time, this invention can directly retrieve the dicing position from the memory before the power outage after the thin film deposition equipment is restarted from a power failure. Because it eliminates the need to move the variable capacitor dicing near zero for zeroing, it avoids the jitter that occurs after a power outage and restart of the thin film deposition equipment, thereby improving the accuracy and repeatability of the deposited thin film parameters. Therefore, the technical solution provided by this invention can improve the stability of the thin film deposition process by approximately 60%.

[0047] Although the methods described above are illustrated and depicted as a series of actions for the sake of simplicity, it should be understood and appreciated that these methods are not limited by the order of the actions, as some actions may occur in a different order and / or concurrently with other actions from the illustrations and descriptions herein or not illustrated and described herein but which may be understood by those skilled in the art, according to one or more embodiments.

[0048] The steps of the methods or algorithms described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. The software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor such that the processor can read and write information to / from the storage medium. In an alternative, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In an alternative, the processor and storage medium may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0049] In one or more exemplary embodiments, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software as a computer program product, the functionality may be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on or through a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, encompassing any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A storage medium may be any available medium accessible to a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and is accessible to a computer. Any connection is also legitimately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of a medium. As used in this article, disk and disc include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital multi-purpose discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs. Disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of these should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0050] The prior description of this disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use this disclosure. Various modifications to this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A thin film deposition apparatus, characterized in that, include: The process chamber has an outer wall equipped with a radio frequency coil, which works in conjunction with the ground electrode of the wafer tray integrated inside the process chamber to provide a radio frequency electric field to the inside of the process chamber, so as to perform a plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process on the wafer carried by the wafer tray. A tuner, including a variable capacitor, a motor, a vibration sensor, and a memory, is used to adjust the swivel position of the variable capacitor via the motor, so as to adjust the intensity of the radio frequency electric field by adjusting the capacitance value of the variable capacitor. The tuner collects the vibration signal of the motor in real time via the vibration sensor; Based on the vibration amplitude, vibration frequency, and timestamp of the vibration signal, fit the vibration waveform of the vibration signal; The vibration waveform is substituted into a pre-constructed relational mapping spectrum to determine the scribbling position, and the scribbling position is stored in the memory in real time for retrieval during power failure and restart. In response to a power outage restart of the thin film deposition equipment, data of the dicing position is retrieved from the memory to determine the actual capacitance value of the variable capacitor; The target capacitance value is determined based on the intensity of the radio frequency electric field required for the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process. Based on the difference between the target capacitance value and the actual capacitance value, the adjustment amount for the dicing position is determined; and The motor is controlled to rotate according to the adjustment amount to continue the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process.

2. The thin film deposition apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The variable capacitor includes a slider and a rotating guide rail, and the motor includes a first engagement structure, wherein the first engagement structure rotates to drive the slider engaged with it to move axially along the rotating guide rail, so as to adjust the capacitance value of the variable capacitor.

3. The thin film deposition apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The tuner also includes: An LC oscillation circuit, including at least one fixed inductor and at least one fixed capacitor, is used to filter out signals that exceed a specified frequency range in order to obtain a signal of a preset frequency.

4. The thin film deposition apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The steps for constructing the relation mapping graph include: Before performing the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process, multiple vibration signal samples of the motor are collected via the vibration sensor, and their corresponding dicing positions are measured. The vibration amplitude, vibration frequency, and timestamp of each vibration signal are determined respectively to fit its corresponding vibration waveform sample; Based on each vibration waveform sample and its corresponding scribbling position, a relationship mapping spectrum is constructed to characterize the mapping relationship between the scribbling position and the vibration waveform.

5. The thin film deposition apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The memory is a non-volatile memory. The power failure restart includes an active power failure restart of the thin film deposition equipment in response to an abnormal alarm by the safety control module of the thin film deposition equipment, and a passive power failure restart of the thin film deposition equipment caused by external power failure.

6. A thin film deposition method, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: The wafer to be processed is placed on a wafer tray inside the process chamber of the thin film deposition apparatus as described in any one of claims 1 to 5; Radio frequency signals are provided to the radio frequency coil located on the outer wall of the process chamber to establish a radio frequency electric field inside the process chamber and excite in-situ plasma. as well as The dicing position of the variable capacitor of the tuner of the thin film deposition equipment is adjusted according to the intensity of the radio frequency electric field required for the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process, and the dicing position is stored in a memory in real time.

7. The thin film deposition method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, It also includes the following steps: In response to a power outage restart of the thin film deposition equipment, data of the dicing position is retrieved from the memory to determine the actual capacitance value of the variable capacitor; The target capacitance value is determined based on the intensity of the radio frequency electric field required for the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process. The adjustment amount for the scribbling position is determined based on the difference between the target capacitance value and the actual capacitance value. as well as The motor is controlled to rotate according to the adjustment amount to continue the plasma-enhanced thin film deposition process.

8. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions thereon, characterized in that, When the computer instructions are executed by the processor, the thin film deposition method as described in claim 6 or 7 is implemented.

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