Semiconductor process equipment control method and semiconductor process equipment

Abstract

The application provides a semiconductor process equipment control method and a semiconductor process equipment; in the semiconductor process equipment control method, when the deposition process chamber is idle for a long time, the target material cleaning process is performed on the deposition process chamber, the wafer is pretreated in the degassing process chamber, and after the pretreatment process and the target material cleaning process are completed, the deposition process is performed on the pretreated wafer in the deposition process chamber, so that the pretreated wafer can enter the deposition process chamber for process processing under the condition of low thermal energy loss after the target material cleaning process is completed, thereby not only reducing the temperature loss of the pretreated wafer before process processing, effectively reducing the resistance change caused by the idle effect of the deposition process chamber, improving the stability of the sheet resistance of the thin film, but also improving the production capacity of the semiconductor process equipment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor processing technology, and in particular to semiconductor process equipment control methods and semiconductor process equipment. Background Technology

[0002] In semiconductor manufacturing processes, physical vapor deposition (PVD) is a widely used thin film deposition technique. Among these techniques, titanium nitride (TiN) films, due to their excellent conductivity, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and good adhesion to other materials, have important applications in integrated circuit manufacturing and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). For example, in integrated circuits, TiN films are often used as diffusion barrier layers and electrode materials, and their performance directly affects the performance and reliability of the devices.

[0003] However, in actual production processes, the decrease in surface temperature of the wafer during transport leads to a significant increase in the sheet resistance (Rs) of the TiN thin film. Sheet resistance is a crucial indicator of the conductivity of a thin film; increased sheet resistance signifies decreased conductivity, which negatively impacts subsequent semiconductor device manufacturing processes. For example, in chip manufacturing, if the sheet resistance of the TiN thin film is increased when used as an electrode material, it will lead to increased power consumption during current transport, affecting chip operating speed and stability, and potentially even causing device failure.

[0004] Currently, the conventional methods to address the issue of increased sheet resistance in TiN films after they have been left idle are simple surface cleaning or brief annealing at room temperature. However, neither of these methods can significantly reduce the sheet resistance of TiN films back to their initial good state, thus affecting the quality of the processing. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor process equipment control method and semiconductor process equipment to alleviate the above-mentioned problems.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a semiconductor process equipment control method. The semiconductor process equipment includes a deposition process chamber and a degassing process chamber. The method includes: when executing a process task, obtaining the idle time of the deposition process chamber; if the idle time is not less than a preset time, controlling the wafer to enter the degassing process chamber for pretreatment, and simultaneously controlling the deposition process chamber to perform a target cleaning process; when both the pretreatment and target cleaning processes are completed, moving the pretreated wafer from the degassing process chamber to the deposition process chamber for deposition processing.

[0007] Optionally, the method further includes: if the idle time is less than a preset time, controlling the wafer to enter the degassing process chamber for pretreatment; after the pretreatment process is completed, moving the pretreated wafer from the degassing process chamber to the deposition process chamber for deposition processing.

[0008] Optionally, the degassing process chamber is also equipped with a heater; the steps of controlling the wafer to enter the degassing process chamber for pre-processing include: when the wafer enters the degassing process chamber, firstly, process gas is introduced into the degassing process chamber, and the pressure of the degassing process chamber is controlled to reach a preset pressure value; and, the heater is controlled to heat the wafer at a preset temperature for a specified time.

[0009] Optionally, the process gas is a nitrogen-containing gas.

[0010] Optionally, the flow rate of the process gas is 1000 sccm to 2000 sccm.

[0011] Optionally, the preset pressure value is 5 to 10 torr.

[0012] Optionally, the semiconductor process equipment further includes a cooling chamber, and the step of moving the pre-treated wafer from the degassing process chamber to the deposition process chamber includes: moving the pre-treated wafer from the degassing process chamber to the deposition process chamber via the cooling chamber; wherein the wafer is not cooled in the cooling chamber.

[0013] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present invention also provide a semiconductor process apparatus, including a controller and a plurality of process chambers; wherein the controller is used to control the plurality of process chambers using the method described in the first aspect.

[0014] Optionally, the multiple process chambers include: a deposition process chamber, a degassing process chamber, and a cooling chamber.

[0015] Thirdly, embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the method described in the first aspect.

[0016] The embodiments of the present invention bring the following beneficial effects:

[0017] This invention provides a semiconductor process equipment control method and semiconductor process equipment. When executing a process task, the idle time of the deposition process chamber is obtained. If the idle time is not less than a preset time, the wafer is controlled to enter the degassing process chamber for pretreatment, and the deposition process chamber is controlled to perform target cleaning. When both the pretreatment and target cleaning processes are completed, the pretreated wafer is moved from the degassing process chamber to the deposition process chamber for deposition processing. The above control method, when the deposition process chamber is idle for a long time, performs a target cleaning process in the deposition process chamber and a pre-treatment process on the wafer in the degassing process chamber. After both the pre-treatment and target cleaning processes are completed, the pre-treated wafer is deposited in the deposition process chamber. This allows the pre-treated wafer to enter the deposition process chamber for processing with lower heat loss after the target cleaning process is completed. This not only reduces the temperature loss of the pre-treated wafer before processing, but also effectively reduces the change in sheet resistance caused by the idle effect of the deposition process chamber, improves the stability of the sheet resistance of the thin film, and increases the productivity of semiconductor process equipment.

[0018] Other features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the following description, and will be apparent in part from the description, or may be learned by practicing the invention. The objects and other advantages of the invention are realized and obtained through the structures particularly pointed out in the description and the drawings.

[0019] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, preferred embodiments are described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the specific embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 A flowchart of a semiconductor process equipment control method provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the thickness TK of the TiN thin film for two samples provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the sheet resistance of two TiN thin films provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 A flowchart of another semiconductor process equipment control method provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0025] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0026] To facilitate understanding of this embodiment, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below.

[0027] Example 1

[0028] This invention provides a method for controlling semiconductor process equipment; wherein the semiconductor process equipment includes a deposition process chamber and a degassing process chamber; the specific structure of the semiconductor process equipment can be referred to in the prior art, and will not be described in detail here. Figure 1 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0029] Step S102: When performing a process task, obtain the idle time of the deposition process chamber.

[0030] Specifically, when the semiconductor process equipment needs to execute a new process job, the controller of the semiconductor process equipment first obtains the idle time of the deposition process chamber. The idle time is the duration of the deposition process chamber from the previous moment to the current moment, where the previous moment is the time when the deposition process chamber completed the previous process job, and the current moment is the time when the deposition process chamber needs to execute the new process job. Therefore, when the deposition process chamber is idle, the controller obtains the idle time of the deposition process chamber and controls the semiconductor process equipment according to the idle time to reduce the change in sheet resistance caused by the idle effect of the deposition process chamber and improve the stability of the sheet resistance of the thin film.

[0031] Step S104: If the idle time is not less than the preset time, control the wafer to enter the degassing process chamber for pretreatment, and at the same time control the deposition process chamber for target cleaning.

[0032] After the controller obtains the idle time, it first determines whether the idle time is not less than the preset time. If so, it indicates that the deposition process chamber has been idle for a long time. At this time, the controller controls the wafer to enter the degassing process chamber for pre-processing, and simultaneously controls the deposition process chamber to perform the target cleaning process. That is, by controlling the target cleaning process in the deposition process chamber and the wafer to enter the degassing process chamber for pre-processing in parallel, the pre-processed wafer can enter the deposition process chamber for processing with lower heat loss after the target cleaning process is completed. This not only reduces the temperature loss of the pre-processed wafer before processing, but also effectively reduces the change in sheet resistance caused by the idle effect of the deposition process chamber, improves the stability of the sheet resistance of the thin film, and increases the productivity of semiconductor process equipment.

[0033] The target cleaning process, also known as pasting, primarily aims to remove surface impurities and defects generated on the target during production or when the chamber is filled with atmospheric air. In practical applications, the conventional approach is to perform target cleaning at fixed intervals to ensure preheating during a certain period of idle time in the deposition chamber, thus avoiding impact on process stability. However, when there is excess capacity, this process unnecessarily increases target consumption. Excessive target consumption leads to more frequent target replacements, increasing the time cost of semiconductor processing equipment and reducing equipment utilization.

[0034] Based on this, in this embodiment of the invention, when the idle time is not less than a preset time, the deposition chamber is controlled to perform a target cleaning process to improve the condition of the target itself in the deposition chamber. Furthermore, if the target cleaning process is not performed, a discharge phenomenon will occur on the target surface. This surface discharge will create a potential hazard for normal processes and introduce numerous problems such as particles into the deposition chamber. Therefore, controlling the deposition chamber to perform a target cleaning process when the idle time is not less than the preset time not only ensures the quality of the target in the deposition chamber, thereby guaranteeing the processing quality of the deposition chamber, but also reduces the number of times the target cleaning process is performed compared to a fixed interval method, reducing target consumption and replacement frequency, thus saving time costs and increasing the production capacity of semiconductor process equipment.

[0035] It should be noted that the specific target cleaning process can refer to existing technologies, and will not be described in detail here. Furthermore, the preset time is preferably 30 minutes, but can be adjusted adaptively according to actual conditions.

[0036] Step S106: After the pretreatment process and target cleaning process are completed, the pretreated wafer is moved from the degassing process chamber to the deposition process chamber and the deposition process is performed.

[0037] The semiconductor process equipment control method provided in this invention allows for target cleaning of the deposition process chamber and pre-treatment of the wafer in a degassing process chamber when the deposition process chamber is idle for a long time. After both the pre-treatment and target cleaning processes are completed, the pre-treated wafer is deposited in the deposition process chamber. This allows the pre-treated wafer to enter the deposition process chamber for processing with lower heat loss after the target cleaning process is completed. This not only reduces the temperature loss of the pre-treated wafer before processing and effectively reduces the sheet resistance change caused by the idle effect of the deposition process chamber, thus improving the stability of the sheet resistance of the thin film, but also increases the throughput of the semiconductor process equipment.

[0038] In one embodiment, the method further includes: if the idle time is less than a preset time, controlling the wafer to enter the degassing process chamber for pretreatment; after the pretreatment process is completed, moving the pretreated wafer from the degassing process chamber to the deposition process chamber for deposition processing.

[0039] When the idle time is less than the preset time, it indicates that the idle time of the deposition process chamber is short. At this time, there is no need to perform target cleaning process on the deposition process chamber. Only the wafer needs to be pre-treated in the degassing process chamber and then enter the deposition process chamber for processing. This reduces the temperature loss of the pre-treated wafer before processing, effectively reduces the change in sheet resistance caused by the idle effect of the deposition process chamber, and improves the stability of the sheet resistance of the thin film.

[0040] In one embodiment, the degassing process chamber is further provided with a heater; the step of controlling the wafer to enter the degassing process chamber for pre-processing includes: when the wafer enters the degassing process chamber, firstly, process gas is introduced into the degassing process chamber, and the pressure of the degassing process chamber is controlled to reach a preset pressure value; and, the heater is controlled to heat the wafer at a preset temperature for a specified duration.

[0041] Specifically, in the pretreatment process, process gas is first introduced into the degassing chamber. This process gas is a nitrogen-containing gas, such as nitrogen (N2), or a mixture of nitrogen and other elements (excluding fluorine). The flow rate of the process gas is 1000 sccm to 2000 sccm. Then, the pressure in the degassing chamber is controlled to reach a preset pressure value, for example, by using a butterfly valve to control the pressure to reach the preset pressure value (e.g., 7 torr) and maintain it. Here, the preset pressure value is 5 torr to 10 torr. Next, the heater is turned on, and the wafer is heated to a preset temperature (e.g., 350°C) until the heating time reaches the specified duration (e.g., 50 seconds). This achieves the preheating treatment of the wafer through the degassing chamber.

[0042] Therefore, the above pretreatment can also be called wafer heating pretreatment. This pretreatment step is simple, requires no complicated equipment or operating procedures, and is easy to implement in actual production. When the target cleaning process is carried out in the deposition process chamber, the wafer is preheated through the degassing process chamber. This allows the pretreated wafer to enter the deposition process chamber for processing with lower heat loss after the target cleaning process is completed. This reduces the temperature loss of the pretreated wafer before processing, effectively reduces the sheet resistance change caused by the idle effect of the deposition process chamber, and thus obtains a thin film with lower sheet resistance, reducing process complexity and operation difficulty.

[0043] Specifically, when the target cleaning process in the deposition process chamber is completed, all gases in the degassing process chamber are first shut off, and after evacuation, the wafer is removed from the degassing process chamber and transferred to the deposition process chamber for deposition processing.

[0044] In one embodiment, the semiconductor process equipment further includes a cooling chamber, and the step of moving the pre-treated wafer from the degassing process chamber to the deposition process chamber includes: moving the pre-treated wafer from the degassing process chamber to the deposition process chamber via the cooling chamber; wherein the wafer is not cooled in the cooling chamber.

[0045] Specifically, for some semiconductor process equipment, after the wafer has undergone heating pretreatment in the degassing process chamber, it cannot be directly transferred from the degassing process chamber to the deposition process chamber. Instead, it needs to be transferred from the degassing process chamber to the deposition process chamber via a cooling chamber. In this case, the wafer passes through the cooling chamber, but no cooling process is performed in the cooling chamber. This avoids the temperature loss of the pretreated wafer before the processing, effectively reduces the sheet resistance change caused by the idle effect of the deposition process chamber, and improves the stability of the sheet resistance of the thin film.

[0046] In summary, the semiconductor process equipment control method provided by the embodiments of the present invention enables the pre-processing of the wafer through the degassing process chamber when the deposition process chamber is idle for a long time. At the same time, the target cleaning process is performed on the deposition process chamber. This allows the pre-processed wafer to enter the deposition process chamber for processing with lower heat loss after the target cleaning process is completed. This reduces the temperature loss of the pre-processed wafer before processing and effectively reduces the change in sheet resistance caused by the idle effect of the deposition process chamber.

[0047] Experiments have shown that, under the same process formulation, substrate, and other process conditions, depositing TiN films of the same thickness, such as... Figure 2As shown, Sample 1 is a TiN film with a thickness TK that does not use the embodiment of the present invention, and Sample 2 is a TiN film with a thickness TK that uses the embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the sheet resistance of the TiN film in both samples is as follows: Figure 3 As shown, the sheet resistance of TiN thin films can be reduced by 35% to 40% by using the embodiments of the present invention. That is, in actual production, when the thickness of TiN thin films is stably controlled within the target range (such as close to 300 nm), the sheet resistance of TiN thin films can be significantly reduced by using the embodiments of the present invention, thereby significantly improving the conductivity of the thin film and reducing the possibility of adverse effects on subsequent semiconductor device manufacturing processes.

[0048] Furthermore, by ensuring that pre-treated wafers can enter the deposition process chamber for processing with low heat loss immediately after the target cleaning process is completed, the amount of process gas and heater used in the degassing process chamber is reduced. At the same time, the continuous wafer loading and unloading within the same time frame increases the chamber utilization rate, thereby improving the capacity of semiconductor process equipment.

[0049] Example 2

[0050] Based on the above method embodiments, this invention also provides another semiconductor process equipment control method, such as... Figure 4 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0051] Step S402: New process task triggered, obtain the idle time of the deposition process chamber; that is, when the semiconductor process equipment needs to execute a new process task (Job), the controller of the semiconductor process equipment first obtains the idle time of the deposition process chamber.

[0052] Step S404: Idle time ≥ 30 min; that is, determine whether the idle time is not less than the preset time (30 min). If yes, then execute steps S406 and S408 simultaneously. If no, then execute step S416.

[0053] Step S406: Control the target cleaning process in the deposition process chamber.

[0054] Step S408: Control the wafer to enter the degassing process chamber for pre-processing.

[0055] Step S410: After the wafer pretreatment is completed, wait in the degassing process chamber for the target cleaning process to finish.

[0056] Specifically, during the synchronous control of the target cleaning process in the deposition chamber and the pretreatment process in the degassing chamber, if the wafer completes the pretreatment process in the degassing chamber first, the wafer waits in the degassing chamber until the target cleaning process in the deposition chamber is completed. This avoids the wafer leaving the degassing chamber immediately after the pretreatment process, which would cause temperature loss before the deposition process and result in a large change in the sheet resistance of the thin film, thus reducing the stability of the sheet resistance of the thin film.

[0057] In step S412, the wafer enters the cooling chamber but does not undergo a cooling process.

[0058] Step S414: The wafer enters the deposition process chamber for deposition processing.

[0059] Step S416: Control the wafer to enter the degassing process chamber for pre-processing.

[0060] In step S418, the wafer enters the cooling chamber but does not undergo a cooling process.

[0061] In step S420, the wafer enters the deposition process chamber for deposition processing.

[0062] In summary, the semiconductor process equipment control method provided by the embodiments of the present invention is applicable to PVD or CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) machines, and is particularly effective in optimizing the sheet resistance performance of thin films when the deposition process chamber is put back into use after being idle. This method enables pre-treated wafers to enter the deposition process chamber for processing with lower heat loss after the target cleaning process is completed. This not only reduces the temperature loss of the pre-treated wafers before processing, effectively reduces the sheet resistance change caused by the idle effect of the deposition process chamber, and improves the stability of the sheet resistance of the thin film, but also increases the throughput of the semiconductor process equipment.

[0063] Example 3:

[0064] This invention also provides a semiconductor process apparatus, including a controller and multiple process chambers; wherein the controller controls the multiple process chambers using the method described above. The multiple process chambers include a deposition process chamber, a degassing process chamber, and a cooling chamber. The specific structures of each process chamber can be found in the prior art, and will not be described in detail here.

[0065] The semiconductor process equipment provided in this embodiment of the invention has the same technical features as the semiconductor process equipment control method provided in the above embodiments, so it can also solve the same technical problems and achieve the same technical effects.

[0066] This embodiment also provides a machine-readable storage medium storing machine-executable instructions. When the machine-executable instructions are invoked and executed by a processor, the machine-executable instructions cause the processor to implement the above-described semiconductor process equipment control method.

[0067] The semiconductor process equipment control method and the computer program product of the semiconductor process equipment provided in the embodiments of the present invention include a computer-readable storage medium storing program code. The instructions included in the program code can be used to execute the methods described in the preceding method embodiments. For specific implementation, please refer to the method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0068] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working process of the system and apparatus described above can be referred to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0069] Furthermore, in the description of the embodiments of the present invention, 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 the present invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0070] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a processor-executable, non-volatile, computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this invention, essentially, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0071] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing the invention and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0072] Finally, it should be noted that the above-described embodiments are merely specific implementations of the present invention, used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit it. The scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that any person skilled in the art can still modify or easily conceive of changes to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention, or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features; and these modifications, changes, or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and should all be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for controlling semiconductor process equipment, the semiconductor process equipment comprising: A deposition process chamber and a degassing process chamber; characterized in that the method comprises: When performing a process task, the idle time of the deposition process chamber is obtained; If the idle time is not less than a preset time, the wafer is controlled to enter the degassing process chamber for pretreatment, and the target cleaning process is controlled to be performed in the deposition process chamber. When the pretreatment process and the target cleaning process are completed, the pretreated wafer is moved from the degassing process chamber to the deposition process chamber for deposition processing. If the idle time is less than the preset time, the wafer is controlled to enter the degassing process chamber for pretreatment; after the pretreatment process is completed, the pretreated wafer is moved from the degassing process chamber to the deposition process chamber for deposition processing.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The degassing process chamber is also equipped with a heater; the step of controlling the wafer to enter the degassing process chamber for pretreatment includes: After the wafer enters the degassing process chamber, process gas is first introduced into the degassing process chamber, and the pressure in the degassing process chamber is controlled to reach a preset pressure value; and the heater is controlled to heat the wafer at a preset temperature for a specified duration.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The process gas is a nitrogen-containing gas.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The flow rate of the process gas is 1000 sccm to 2000 sccm.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The preset pressure value is 5 torr to 10 torr.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The semiconductor process equipment further includes a cooling chamber, and the step of moving the pretreated wafer from the degassing process chamber to the deposition process chamber includes: The pre-treated wafer is moved from the degassing process chamber to the deposition process chamber via the cooling chamber; wherein the wafer is not cooled in the cooling chamber.

7. A semiconductor process apparatus, characterized in that, It includes a controller and multiple process chambers; wherein the controller is used to control the multiple process chambers using the method described in any one of claims 1-6.

8. The semiconductor process equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that, The plurality of process chambers include: a deposition process chamber, a degassing process chamber, and a cooling chamber.

9. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the method described in any one of claims 1-6.

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