Solid surface treatment device and method

By denoising the film thickness distribution and simulating the surface profile, the scanning method of the gas cluster ion beam is optimized, which solves the time-consuming and labor-intensive problems of solid surface treatment in the existing technology and achieves efficient and precise film thickness uniformity and flatness.

CN120099478BActive Publication Date: 2025-09-19OPTORUN CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202510293348.2
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2024-06-14
Filing Date
2025-03-13
Publication Date
2025-09-19
Estimated Expiration
2045-03-13

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In existing technologies, it is difficult to achieve uniform and efficient film thickness distribution in solid surface treatment. Repeated trimming and measurement are required, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and there is a risk of over-trimming.

Method used

By denoising and smoothing the film thickness distribution, using gas cluster ion beam to simulate the surface profile, and optimizing the scanning method, precise surface treatment is achieved. This includes filtering, surface profile simulation, surface treatment, result measurement and target value comparison, and repeated adjustments until the target value is reached.

Benefits of technology

It achieves efficient and precise surface treatment, reduces the number of trimming scans, and ensures the uniformity and flatness of film thickness distribution.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The present application relates to a solid surface treatment device and method, wherein the solid surface treatment device flattens the surface of a solid using a gas cluster ion beam. The device is configured to first perform a predetermined filtering process on the film thickness of the solid; simulate the surface profile of the solid based on the results of the predetermined filtering process of the solid and the trimming profile of the gas cluster ion beam obtained by a removal amount function; perform surface treatment (Trimming) of the solid based on the results of the surface profile simulation; measure the results of the surface treatment (Trimming); compare the measured surface treatment results with a target value (Target); and repeat the above-mentioned processes until the surface treatment results match the target value. The solid surface treatment device according to the present application can perform high-precision and sufficient surface treatment with a small amount of trimming when trimming solids such as thin films using GCIB.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to a solid surface treatment device and method for irradiating a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) onto the surface of a solid such as an optical film or a semiconductor wafer to perform surface processing on the solid. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, film thickness and surface roughness have been considered as device parameters that determine the functionality of metal electrodes in RF filters, MEMS, optoelectronic devices, etc.

[0003] Among them, post-processing is required, that is, surface treatment (finishing) to make the thickness of the solid uniform, so that the solid surface reaches nanometer-level smoothness and reaches the target film thickness.

[0004] Gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) has attracted much attention as a trimming source because, unlike a single ion beam, atoms in the irradiated area are not only sputtered but also move laterally parallel to the wafer surface. This is called the lateral sputtering effect, which makes the surface easy to flatten.

[0005] On the other hand, although the beam diameter after focusing by a single lens or other means is approximately several millimeters, the ion current in the beam cross section is not uniform, but rather exhibits a profile with a peak at the center of the beam. Therefore, it can be seen that the etching rate distribution in the beam cross section roughly reflects the current profile.

[0006] Therefore, in solids such as optical thin films, in order to achieve a uniform and desired film thickness in the area to be trimmed, it is necessary to scan the beam and / or the solid while taking into account the ion current profile and / or trimming distribution of the beam.

[0007] Related patent document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 52312382. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The technical problem to be solved by this application

[0009] Traditionally, a method for achieving a uniform and desired film thickness has been to sequentially irradiate the areas to be etched with a beam, measure the film thickness after completion, and if there are any higher areas, further etching is performed to reduce the film thickness distribution. This process of trimming and measuring is repeated until the desired film thickness distribution is achieved.

[0010] Another existing method is to change the scanning speed and acceleration to make the entire trimming area uniform, but still improve the film thickness distribution by repeating trimming and measurement.

[0011] That is, in the past, adjusting the distribution based solely on actual measurement results required repeated trimming and measurement, which not only consumed a lot of processing time but also had the risk of over-trimming.

[0012] In addition, as mentioned above, the film thickness distribution must be measured before trimming. However, if the film thickness profile has steep indentations, it is difficult to determine the beam dwell time and scanning speed through experiments. Trimming and measurement must be repeated to gradually make the film thickness distribution uniform.

[0013] This may cause the process to become complicated, requiring an increased number of repetitions, or the film thickness distribution may differ from the expected distribution.

[0014] Furthermore, since beam parameters such as pressing pressure, processing pressure, and acceleration voltage are closely related to the beam trimming distribution, the trimming plan must be adjusted from scratch through experiments every time the parameters are changed, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

[0015] Therefore, the present application is completed with a focus on the problems of the above-mentioned prior art, and aims to provide a solid surface treatment device and method, which can perform surface treatment efficiently and precisely to make the thickness of the solid uniform by applying denoising and / or smoothing processing to the film thickness distribution measured before trimming.

[0016] In addition, the solid surface treatment device and method provided in the present application optimizes the scanning method of the ion beam on the solid through simulation before trimming, so that high-precision flattening processing and film thickness processing can be performed with less trimming scanning.

[0017] The technical solution of this application

[0018] In order to solve the above technical problems, according to one aspect of the present application, a solid surface treatment device is provided, which performs surface treatment for making the thickness of a solid uniform by using a gas cluster ion beam, and has a control unit for controlling the surface treatment of the solid, wherein the control unit controls the following steps:

[0019] (a) performing a predetermined filtering process on the film thickness of the solid;

[0020] (b) simulating the surface profile of the solid based on the result of the predetermined filtering process on the solid and the trimmed profile of the gas cluster ion beam obtained by a removal amount function;

[0021] (c) performing surface treatment (Trimming) of the solid based on the result of the surface profile simulation of the solid;

[0022] (d) measuring the result of the surface treatment (Trimming);

[0023] (e) comparing the measured surface treatment result with a target value (Target); and

[0024] (f) Repeating the treatments (a) to (e) until the surface treatment result matches the target value.

[0025] According to another aspect of the present application, a solid surface treatment method is provided, wherein a solid surface treatment is performed in a solid surface treatment device, wherein the solid surface treatment device performs surface treatment for making the thickness of the solid uniform using a gas cluster ion beam under the control of a control unit, and the solid surface treatment method includes the following steps:

[0026] (a) performing a predetermined filtering process on the film thickness of the solid by the control unit;

[0027] (b) performing, by the control unit, surface profile simulation of the solid based on a result of the predetermined filtering process on the solid and a trimming profile of the gas cluster ion beam obtained by a removal amount function;

[0028] (c) performing surface trimming of the solid based on a result of a surface profile simulation of the solid by the control unit;

[0029] (d) measuring the result of the surface treatment (Trimming) by the control unit;

[0030] (e) comparing the measured result of the surface treatment with a target value (Target) by the control unit; and

[0031] (f) The control unit repeatedly performs the processes (a) to (e) until the result of the surface treatment matches the target value.

[0032] Beneficial effects of this application

[0033] Compared with the prior art, the present application has the advantage that, when surface treatment (trim) of a solid is performed by GCIB, sufficient flattening and film thickness processing with good precision can be performed with fewer trimming scans. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Figure 1 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a solid surface treatment device 1 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0035] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 The block diagram of the internal structure of the control unit 33 is shown.

[0036] Figure 3 is Figure 1 Flowchart of solid surface treatment performed by the solid surface treatment device 1 shown.

[0037] Figure 4 This is a functional block diagram of the surface treatment of the solid body 27 performed by the control unit 33 .

[0038] Figure 5 This is a functional block diagram of the pre-processing 48 of the thin film 27 as a sample and the surface profile simulation processing of the thin film 27, which are implemented by the surface profile simulation program.

[0039] Figure 6 These are explanatory diagrams respectively showing an example of preprocessing by the preprocessing unit 55 , an example of stay time map creation processing by the stay time map creation unit 61 , and an example of GCIB plan creation processing by the GCIB plan creation unit 63 .

[0040] Figure 7 It is a conceptual presentation Figure 4 A conceptual diagram of the selection process in the surface profile simulation process 51 is shown.

[0041] Figure 8 This is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing how a residence time map is calculated based on the residence time (Dwell time) of charged particles.

[0042] Description of Reference Numerals

[0043] 1-Solid surface treatment device, 3-Raw material gas, 5-Nozzle, 7-Cluster generation chamber, 9-Separator, 11-Gas cluster beam, 13-Ion generator, 17-Accelerating electrode, 19-Magnetic field concentrator, 21-Sputtering chamber, 23-Neutralizer, 25-Pinhole, 27-Thin film (target, solid), 28-Faraday cup, 33-Control unit, 35-RAM, 37-ROM, 39-Display screen, 41-Keyboard, 43-Mouse, 45-CPU, 48-Preprocessing, 51-Surface profile simulation processing, 52-Surface treatment, 54-Measurement processing, 55-Preprocessing unit, 56-Target value, 57-Selection processing unit, 59-Residence time algorithm design unit, 61-Residence time map production unit, 63-GCIB plan production unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application. Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used herein should be the usual meanings understood by people with ordinary skills in the field to which this application belongs. The words "including" and similar words used in this article mean that the elements or objects appearing before the word cover the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. Unless otherwise specified, the "connection" described in this article can be a direct connection or an indirect connection, that is, connection through an intermediate.

[0045] Hereinafter, the solid surface treatment device and the solid surface treatment method using the same according to the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0046] Figure 1 Schematic diagram showing the structure of a solid surface treatment device for implementing the present application.

[0047] Note that this solid surface treatment apparatus performs surface treatment for making the thickness of a solid uniform, and the solid is an optical film used in an optical device, a semiconductor wafer used in a semiconductor device, or the like.

[0048] This embodiment describes surface treatment of an optical film to achieve a uniform thickness for a solid. The surface treatment comprises three steps: (a) surface roughness removal, (b) alignment to a target thickness, and (c) patterning.

[0049] It should be noted that the present application can also be used for planarizing the surface of semiconductor wafers used in semiconductor devices, and is not limited to surface treatment of optical films. In addition, it can be used for fine patterns of any shape formed on solid bodies.

[0050] in addition, Figure 1 The solid surface processing apparatus shown is an example, and any configuration may be used as long as it is a solid surface processing apparatus capable of executing a solid surface processing program including a surface profile simulation process described later.

[0051] like Figure 1 As shown, in the solid surface treatment apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the raw material gas 3 is injected into the vacuum cluster generation chamber 7 via the nozzle 5 , and the gas molecules of the raw material gas 3 condense in the cluster generation chamber 7 to generate clusters.

[0052] The size of the cluster is determined by the particle size distribution based on the size and shape of the nozzle 5 and the gas pressure and temperature at the nozzle outlet 5a.

[0053] The clusters generated in the cluster generation chamber 7 pass through the separator 9 and are introduced as a gas cluster beam 11 . The ion generator 13 irradiates the gas cluster beam with thermal electrons to ionize the neutral clusters, thereby forming an ionized gas cluster beam (GCIB) 15 .

[0054] The GCIB 15 is accelerated by the accelerating electrode 17 , focused by the magnetic field concentrator 19 , and then injected into the sputtering chamber 21 .

[0055] The GCIB 15 injected into the sputtering chamber 21 is positively charged. The positively charged GCIB 15 is electrically neutralized by the neutralizer 23 , formed into a predetermined beam diameter by the aperture 25 , and then irradiated onto the surface of a target object 27 made of a solid.

[0056] In this embodiment, an optical thin film is provided as a solid.

[0057] A Faraday cup 28 is provided behind a thin film 27 as a solid target at a predetermined distance from the thin film 27 to detect charged particles. The Faraday cup 28 is a metal cup that captures charged particles in a vacuum and detects the charged particles.

[0058] It should be noted that the solids, films, and targets appearing in this specification belong to the same technical features in the solid surface treatment process.

[0059] It should be noted that the sputtering chamber 21 is filled with a rare gas such as Ar, and by using a chemically active gas (such as SF6), the surface of the target thin film 27 can be treated (trimmed).

[0060] A target 27 , which is a thin film to be irradiated with GCIB, is fixed to a target support 29 provided in the sputtering chamber 17 via a turntable.

[0061] It should be noted that the target support 29 may be installed in such a manner that the GCIB 15 is irradiated toward the surface of the target film 27 , ie, the surface to be processed, at a predetermined irradiation angle.

[0062] The solid surface treatment device 1 is equipped with an irradiation angle setting mechanism (not shown), which can change the irradiation angle and irradiation angle of the GCIB 15, and is also equipped with a scanning mechanism (not shown), which changes the relative position of the film 27 with respect to the GCIB 15 in the XY direction.

[0063] Furthermore, the solid surface treatment apparatus 1 includes a pattern structure measuring device 31 such as an atomic force microscope for measuring the pattern structure (microstructure) of the thin film 27 to obtain shape data thereof. The measured shape data is input to a control unit 33 described later.

[0064] The solid surface treatment device 1 has a control unit 33 composed of a personal computer, etc. The control unit 33 performs a process of flattening the surface of the thin film to achieve the required film thickness (a process of making the thickness of the thin film 27 uniform), and at the same time performs control, that is, before the solid surface treatment, in order to optimize the trajectory drawn by the gas cluster beam (GCIB) 15, that is, the scanning pattern, the measured GCIB trimming profile is used to simulate the surface profile within the thin film surface, thereby obtaining the GCIB scheme described later.

[0065] To this end, the control unit 33 stores a solid surface treatment program and a surface profile simulation program. The solid surface treatment program is used to flatten the thin film surface to achieve a desired film thickness; the surface profile simulation program is used to simulate the surface profile of the solid.

[0066] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 The block diagram of the internal structure of the control unit 33 is shown.

[0067] like Figure 2 As shown, the control unit 33 is a personal computer (PC) composed of a RAM 35 and a ROM 37, a display screen 39, a keyboard 41, a mouse 43 and a CPU 45. The CPU 45 is configured to perform the control described later in accordance with the solid surface treatment program and the surface profile simulation program stored in the ROM 37 based on instructions input by the operator through the keyboard 41 and the mouse 43.

[0068] It should be noted that the solid surface treatment program may include a surface profile simulation program.

[0069] Next, a method for treating a thin film surface using the solid surface treatment apparatus 1 will be described.

[0070] Here, as a solid surface treatment method, a method of flattening the surface of the thin film 27 to obtain a desired film thickness has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to flattening the surface of a semiconductor wafer such as a silicon substrate.

[0071] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 Flowchart of surface treatment performed by the solid surface treatment device 1 shown.

[0072] In this surface treatment, in order to obtain a thin film flattened to a desired film thickness, a surface profile simulation process is performed, that is, a scanning pattern on the surface of the thin film 27 is optimized.

[0073] First, in Figure 3 In step 101 , the control unit 33 performs pre-processing on the film 27 .

[0074] That is, if Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 1 , as pre-processing, a predetermined filter is performed on the film thickness (wafer thickness) of the thin film 27 .

[0075] It should be noted that the film thickness (wafer thickness) of the thin film 27 is obtained from the surface profile of the sample measured in advance.

[0076] Figure 4This is a functional block diagram of the surface treatment of the thin film 27 performed by the control unit 33 .

[0077] This filtering is performed using a filter such as a Kalman filter, a median filter, or a convolution filter.

[0078] The filtering performed here as pre-processing 48 is for noise removal.

[0079] That is, film defects (such as nodules and pits) and measurement noise from the measuring instrument often cause the obtained measurement data to deviate from the actual surface profile.

[0080] Therefore, in the present application, the above-mentioned filtering method is used to remove the large and small noises present in the measurement data.

[0081] Specifically, the SN ratios of the filters are calculated, the SN ratios of the filters are compared, and the filter with the largest SN ratio is selected.

[0082] Thereby, a correct film thickness distribution is obtained.

[0083] It should be noted that the filter used for filtering in the above-mentioned preprocessing unit 55 may include a Kalman filter, a median filter, or a convolution filter, etc. In addition to the above-mentioned filters, any filter may be used as long as it can remove noise from the measurement value to make it close to the actual surface contour.

[0084] Next, in step 103, the control unit 33 performs a surface profile simulation process 51 (see FIG. 5 ) for simulating the surface profile within the thin film surface based on the film thickness of the thin film 27 and the trimmed profile of the GCIB after the filtering as the pre-processing 48. Figure 4 ).

[0085] It should be noted that the trimmed profile of the GCIB is obtained by a removal amount function based on the profile of the GCIB measured in advance.

[0086] Among them, as the content of the surface profile simulation processing 51, Figure 5 As shown, the residence time algorithm is designed based on the result of filtering as the pre-processing 48 on the film thickness of the sample thin film 27 and the trimming profile of the GCIB obtained from the removal amount function.

[0087] It should be noted that GCIB is controlled by scanning speed and acceleration. Here, the scanning speed is set to 0 mm / s, and the time for the beam to stay at one place and dig deep is defined as the dwell time.

[0088] It should be noted that the trimmed profile of the GCIB of the sample thin film 27 is obtained using a removal amount function described later.

[0089] The surface profile simulation of the thin film 27 is performed by the control unit 33 according to a surface profile simulation program.

[0090] Here, Figure 4 The pre-processing 48 and the surface profile simulation processing 51 of the thin film 27 as a sample performed by the surface profile simulation program can be understood as a black box performed by the aforementioned surface profile simulation program.

[0091] Figure 5 This is a functional block diagram of the pre-processing 48 of the thin film 27 as a sample and the surface profile simulation processing of the thin film 27 implemented by the aforementioned surface profile simulation program.

[0092] That is, in this Figure 5 In FIG. 5 , the pre-processing 48 and the surface profile simulation processing 51 of the thin film 27 as a sample are represented as the black box 53 implemented by the surface profile simulation program.

[0093] like Figure 5 As shown, the aforementioned black box 53 implemented by the surface profile simulation program is composed of the following: a preprocessing unit 55, which performs filtering as preprocessing 48 on the film thickness of the thin film 27 as a sample; a selection processing unit 57, which receives the result of the preprocessing 48 performed by the preprocessing unit 55 and performs selection processing, and the selection processing is used to design the aforementioned residence time algorithm (DTA); a residence time algorithm (DTA) design unit 59, which designs the residence time algorithm (DTA) based on the combination of the five elements selected by the selection processing unit 57 and the trimmed profile of the GCIB obtained by the removal function; a residence time map creation unit 61, which creates a residence time map based on the residence time algorithm (DTA) designed by the residence time algorithm (DTA) design unit 59; and a GCIB plan creation unit 63, which creates a GCIB plan based on the residence time map from the residence time map creation unit 61.

[0094] Next, each component of the black box 53 will be described.

[0095] First, in the pre-processing unit 55 , as described above, the wafer thickness of the sample thin film 27 is filtered using any filter such as a Kalman filter, a median filter, or a convolution filter.

[0096] Note that, as the filter used in the filtering process, any filter other than the above-mentioned filters may be used as long as it can remove noise from the measured value and make it close to the actual surface profile.

[0097] Figure 6 These are explanatory diagrams respectively showing an example of preprocessing by the preprocessing unit 55 , an example of stay time map creation processing by the stay time map creation unit 61 , and an example of GCIB plan creation processing by the GCIB plan creation unit 63 .

[0098] exist Figure 6 In FIG. 1 , (a) shows a case where data on the film thickness (wafer thickness) of a sample thin film 27 is pre-processed by a median filter.

[0099] Next, in the selection processing unit 57, a process is automatically combined using five elements: a layering module, a remapping module, a deconvolution solver AD, an iteration module, and a calibration module. The deconvolution solver AD in this case represents the inclusion of at least four deconvolution algorithms in the deconvolution processing of the selection processing unit 57.

[0100] Among them, in order to obtain the best combination, the above five elements are automatically combined.

[0101] That is, the algorithm used for simulation (DTA: Dwell Time Algorithm) goes through a series of processes consisting of layer processing, remapping, deconvolution processing, iterative processing, and calibration processing. Each processing has multiple options, so the number of these combinations is huge.

[0102] Therefore, the residual sum of squares (RMS) of all automatic combinations can be calculated here and the optimal solution can be automatically found.

[0103] That is, here, the residual sum of squares (rms) of each combination of the hierarchical process, the remapping process, the deconvolution process, the iterative process, and the calibration process is calculated, and the smallest one among the calculation results is automatically selected.

[0104] Furthermore, in a specific distribution, the smallest rms does not necessarily represent the true distribution; therefore, the user can also use the rms as a reference to select a combination that reproduces the true distribution and incorporate it into the solution.

[0105] Among them, the layering module refers to the process of freely selecting 1 layer, 2 layers to N layers, the remapping module is the process of freely selecting the edge processing method of the film thickness data, the deconvolution solver AD is the process of freely selecting algorithms such as FFT, the iterative module is the process of freely selecting the number of iterations from 1, 2 to N times, and the calibration module is the process of correcting the distribution of the beam.

[0106] Figure 7 It is conceptually shown Figure 4 A conceptual diagram of the selection process in the surface profile simulation process 51 is shown.

[0107] like Figure 7 As shown, the film thickness of the film 27 is optimized to obtain a residence time diagram.

[0108] The feature of the present application is that, as described above, an algorithm consisting of many processes and complex combinations can be designed.

[0109] Next, the dwell time algorithm (DTA) design unit 59 designs a dwell time algorithm (DTA) based on the combination of the five elements selected by the selection processing unit 57 and the trimmed profile of the GCIB obtained by the removal amount function.

[0110] As mentioned above, the dwell time is the time it takes for the beam to dwell in one location and dig deep when the scan speed is set to 0 mm / s in a GCIB controlled by scan speed and acceleration. The dwell time algorithm (DTA) is used to calculate the dwell time map based on this dwell time.

[0111] The design principle of the residence time algorithm (DTA) is explained.

[0112] First, the removal amount Z(z,y) is modeled in the following equation (1) as a convolution between the ion beam removal amount function (BRF) b(z,y) and the residence time map t(z,y).

[0113]

[0114] Among them, * represents the convolution operation.

[0115] Thus, calculation is performed to obtain the residence time map t(z, y) based on the removal amount Z(z, y) and the beam removal amount function (BRF) b(z, y). This calculation is deconvolution processing.

[0116] Therefore, by obtaining a residence time map using such a residence time algorithm (DTA), creating a GCIB recipe, and making the film thickness of the thin film 27 uniform using the GCIB that conforms to the recipe, a more precise surface treatment can be achieved.

[0117] Next, the stay time map creating unit 61 calculates a stay time map based on the stay time algorithm (DTA) designed by the stay time algorithm (DTA) designing unit 59 .

[0118] That is, the residence time map t(z,y) is calculated using the above-mentioned formula (1).

[0119] Figure 8 This is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing how a residence time map is calculated based on the residence time (Dwell time) of charged particles.

[0120] Figure 8 The middle part shows the case where the scans (a) to (c) are performed in sequence and the residence time diagram is calculated, and (d) shows the result after the scan.

[0121] In this way, the scanning pattern can be optimized by obtaining a dwell time map using a dwell time algorithm (DTA).

[0122] Next, based on this residence time diagram, a GCIB recipe is prepared as described below. By making the film thickness of the thin film 27 uniform using the GCIB that conforms to this recipe, a higher-precision surface treatment can be achieved.

[0123] Furthermore, by designing the above-mentioned dwell time algorithm (DTA), obtaining the dwell time map, and optimizing the scanning pattern, the number of surface treatments (trimming) of the thin film 27 described later can be significantly reduced.

[0124] exist Figure 6 , (b) shows an example of a residence time map calculated based on a residence time algorithm (DTA).

[0125] Next, the GCIB plan creation unit 63 creates a GCIB plan based on the stay time map t(z, y) from the stay time map creation unit 61 .

[0126] That is, according to the residence time graph t(z,y), for example, Figure 6 As shown in (c), the value of the GCIB speed at each position on the X axis and the value of the GCIB speed at each position on the Y axis are obtained and used as the GCIB plan. Figure 4 The surface treatment (finishing) 52 of the film 27 is shown.

[0127] Then, return Figure 3 In step 105, the control unit 33 performs surface treatment (trim) 52 of the film 27 using GCIB according to the GCIB scheme (see Figure 4 ), where the GCIB scheme is based on the residence time map obtained through the design process 51 of the residence time algorithm (DTA) mentioned above.

[0128] That is, by etching the target surface of the thin film 27 , the pattern structure is trimmed (adjusted) to planarize the target surface while making the thin film 27 have a desired film thickness.

[0129] Next, the surface treatment (conditioning) of the thin film 27 by GCIB will be described.

[0130] In step 105 , the etching amount is calculated according to the GCIB scheme so that the microstructure reaches the desired design size, wherein the GCIB scheme is based on the dwell time map obtained by the design process 51 of the dwell time algorithm (DTA).

[0131] Then, the film 27 is set by an irradiation angle setting mechanism (not shown) so as to form a predetermined irradiation angle θ and an irradiation angle φ with respect to the GCIB.

[0132] It should be noted that the target support 29 is installed in such a manner that the GCIB 15 is irradiated at a predetermined irradiation angle toward the film surface of the target film 27 , that is, the surface to be processed.

[0133] Next, various conditions are set, including the etching amount calculated above, the material of the target thin film 27 and its etching rate, the gas species of the GCIB, the acceleration energy, etc. Based on the above conditions, the dose is determined with reference to a database (not shown), and gas cluster ion beam irradiation treatment is performed based on the dose.

[0134] That is, based on the above-mentioned dosage, the control unit 33 controls the generation unit (not shown) of the raw gas 3, the ion generator 13, the accelerating electrode 17, the magnetic field concentrator 19, the neutralizer 23, the irradiation angle setting mechanism (not shown), the scanning mechanism (not shown), etc., and performs gas cluster ion beam irradiation treatment on the surface of the thin film 27, thereby performing surface treatment (trimming) on ​​the thin film 27 through GCIB.

[0135] Next, in step 107, the control unit 33 obtains the film thickness, pattern, uniformity, and other results of the surface-treated thin film 27 ( Figure 4 54).

[0136] That is, the control unit 33 measures the transmission spectrum of the thin film 27 and analyzes it while taking light interference into account to determine the film thickness. The spectrum is measured and analyzed by changing the measurement position to obtain the film thickness distribution.

[0137] Next, in step 109, the control unit 33 compares the measured surface treatment (finishing) result of the film, i.e., the film thickness, pattern, and uniformity, with the target value (Target) of the film to determine whether the measured surface treatment result of the film is the target value (Target) 56 of the film (see Figure 4 ).

[0138] If the result of the thin film surface treatment (trimming) measured in step 109 is the target value (Target) of 56 for the thin film (Yes), the entire thin film surface treatment is completed.

[0139] As a result, the scanning pattern on the surface of the thin film 27 is optimized, and the surface of the thin film 27 is unexpectedly flattened, thereby obtaining a desired film thickness.

[0140] In addition, if the measured result of the surface treatment (trimming) of the film is not the target value (Target) of the film (No), return to the residence time algorithm (DTA) design processing 51 of the above-mentioned step 101, and repeat the processing of the above-mentioned steps 101 to 107 through the control unit 33 until the result of the surface treatment (trimming) of the film is consistent with the target value (Target).

[0141] It should be noted that in this embodiment, as described above, since the residence time algorithm (DTA) is designed by surface profile simulation and the residence time map is obtained, the surface treatment (finishing) result of the film is immediately consistent with the target value (Target) (for example, once).

[0142] Therefore, the surface treatment (trimming) result of the thin film is made consistent with the target value (Target) by performing the surface treatment (trimming) of the thin film very few times.

[0143] In summary, according to the embodiment of the present invention, as described above, surface treatment (trimming) 52 is performed by GCIB to make the thickness of the film 27 uniform according to the GCIB scheme, wherein the GCIB scheme is based on the residence time diagram obtained by surface profile simulation including design processing of the residence time algorithm (DTA), and therefore, surface treatment with good precision can be performed with fewer trimming scans.

[0144] The preferred embodiments of the present application are described above, but it should not be understood that the description and drawings constituting part of the present disclosure are limited thereto. Various embodiments not described herein are also included.

[0145] That is, the solid surface treatment apparatus of the present embodiment is an example, and any configuration may be employed as long as the solid surface treatment apparatus executes the thin film surface flattening program including the surface profile simulation program.

[0146] In addition, as the filter used in the filtering process of the above-mentioned pre-processing unit 55, a Kalman filter, a median filter or a convolution filter may be cited, but in addition to the above-mentioned filters, any filter may be used as long as it can remove noise from the measured value and make it close to the actual surface contour.

[0147] In addition, in this embodiment, although the solid surface treatment device performs surface treatment of thin films, it can also be applied to semiconductor wafers used in semiconductor devices as solids, and can also be applied to fine patterns of any shape formed on solids.

[0148] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A solid surface treatment device that performs surface treatment for making the thickness of a solid uniform by using a gas cluster ion beam, comprising a control unit for controlling the surface treatment of the solid, wherein the control unit controls the following steps: (a) performing a predetermined filtering process on the film thickness of the solid; (b) simulating the surface profile of the solid according to the result of the predetermined filtering process of the solid and the trimming profile of the gas cluster ion beam obtained by using a removal amount function; (c) performing surface treatment on the solid based on the result of the surface profile simulation of the solid; (d) determining the results of the surface treatment; (e) comparing the measured surface treatment result with a target value; as well as (f) Repeating the treatments (a) to (e) until the surface treatment result matches the target value.

2. The solid surface treatment device according to claim 1, wherein: The surface profile simulation of the solid is composed of the following processes: performing a method selection process for designing a residence time algorithm based on the results of the specified filtering of the solid; designing a dwell time algorithm based on the trimming profile of the gas cluster ion beam and the above-selected method; Producing a residence time map based on the design of the residence time algorithm; and An ion beam irradiation plan is prepared according to the prepared dwell time map.

3. The solid surface treatment device according to claim 2, wherein: The method selection processing is composed of a processing that is automatically combined with the following five elements: free selection of layered processing of 1 layer, 2 layers to N layers, free selection of remapping processing of edge processing method of film thickness data, free selection of deconvolution processing AD including algorithms such as FFT, free selection of iterative processing of 1 time, 2 times to N times of iteration, and calibration processing of trimming distribution of correction beam.

4. A solid surface treatment method, comprising: performing surface treatment of the solid in a solid surface treatment device, wherein the solid surface treatment device performs surface treatment for making the thickness of the solid uniform by using a gas cluster ion beam under the control of a control unit, and comprising the following steps: (a) performing a predetermined filtering process on the film thickness of the solid by the control unit; (b) performing, by the control unit, a surface profile simulation of the solid based on a result of the predetermined filtering process on the solid and a trimmed profile of the gas cluster ion beam obtained by a removal amount function; (c) performing, by the control unit, surface treatment on the solid based on a result of a surface profile simulation of the solid; (d) measuring the result of the surface treatment by the control unit; (e) comparing, by the control unit, the measured result of the surface treatment with a target value; as well as (f) The control unit repeatedly performs the processes (a) to (e) until the result of the surface treatment matches the target value. 5 . A solid surface treatment program for causing the control unit to execute the solid surface treatment method according to claim 4 .

Citation Information

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