Method of controlling a dual chamber etching apparatus and dual chamber etching apparatus

By adjusting the auxiliary gas flow rate and the swing valve opening in the dual-cavity etching equipment, the dual-cavity operating environment is simulated, solving the problem of inconsistent etching rates between single and dual heads, achieving efficient and uniform etching results, and improving equipment utilization and production efficiency.

CN121215570BActive Publication Date: 2026-02-13SHANGHAI BANGXIN SEMI TECHNOLOGY CO LTD
View PDF 2 Cites 0 Cited by

Patent Information

Application Number
CN202511767370.2
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2025-11-28
Publication Date
2026-02-13
Estimated Expiration
2045-11-28

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Traditional single-cavity etching equipment is difficult to meet the requirements of high precision and high throughput. Dual-cavity etching equipment has inconsistent etching rates during single and dual-head operations, resulting in a decrease in wafer process uniformity and yield.

Method used

A control method for a dual-cavity etching apparatus is provided. By using an auxiliary gas control pipeline and a control module, the auxiliary gas flow rate and the swing valve opening are adjusted to simulate the physical environment of dual-cavity operation, ensuring the environmental consistency between single-cavity etching and dual-cavity etching processes. A machine learning model is used to optimize the gas flow rate setting and the swing valve opening.

Benefits of technology

It improves the consistency between single-cavity and dual-cavity etching rates, enhances product uniformity and yield, simplifies process development and maintenance, increases equipment utilization and production efficiency, and is suitable for gas load requirements of different process formulations.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

Smart Images

  • Figure CN121215570B_ABST
    Figure CN121215570B_ABST
Patent Text Reader

Abstract

The application provides a control method of a double-cavity etching device and the double-cavity etching device. The control method comprises the following steps: providing the double-cavity etching device, which comprises a first reaction cavity, a second reaction cavity, an auxiliary gas control pipeline in communication with the first reaction cavity, an exhaust pipeline provided with a swing valve, and a control module; transmitting wafers of the same batch to the first reaction cavity and the second reaction cavity respectively to perform N rounds of double-cavity etching processes, and the swing valve sends a first opening degree of the swing valve when the double-cavity etching process is performed to the control module; transmitting the remaining wafers of the batch which are insufficient for the double-cavity etching process to the second reaction cavity to perform a single-cavity etching process, and the control module controls the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver auxiliary gas into the first reaction cavity and adjusts the flow of the delivered auxiliary gas until the real-time opening degree of the swing valve when the single-cavity etching process is performed in the second reaction cavity is driven to be adapted to the first opening degree. The application solves the problem that the single-cavity etching rate is inconsistent with the double-cavity etching rate.
Need to check novelty before this filing date? Find Prior Art

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductor technology, and in particular to a control method of a double-cavity etching device and the double-cavity etching device. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the continuous advancement of semiconductor manufacturing technology to smaller process nodes, such as from 28nm to 7nm, 5nm and below, the precision and stability of the etching process are increasingly demanding. In advanced processes, the number of etching procedures is greatly increased, which makes it difficult for traditional single-cavity etching devices to meet the dual demands of high precision and high yield, and double-cavity etching devices have emerged as the times require. Double-head (double-cavity) etching devices are key equipment in modern micro-nano manufacturing, which achieves a balance between efficiency and precision through ingenious design. Such devices usually refer to integrating two independent etching units (such as two reaction cavities or two laser heads) in one system to achieve synchronous or parallel processing tasks, which improves production efficiency while ensuring etching quality.

[0003] When a batch of wafers is at the end of the process flow, the number of wafers is insufficient to fill both cavities at the same time, the most reasonable and economical way is to concentrate the remaining small number of wafers in one of the cavities to complete the last etching, while the other cavity remains empty. However, this will lead to the "single-double-head effect", that is, there is a difference between the etching rate of single-head operation and the etching rate of double-head operation, which is mainly caused by two factors: one is the difference in gas dynamics, when double-cavity operation, the gas load is large, to maintain the pressure, the valve opening is large; when single-cavity operation, the gas load is small, the valve opening is small, different valve openings mean different flow fields, gas residence time and particle transport efficiency in the chamber. The second is the difference in chemical environment, when double-cavity operation, the by-products produced by the two chambers will slightly diffuse each other through the shared exhaust pipeline, affecting the chemical equilibrium in the chamber; when single-cavity operation, only one chamber produces by-products, the chemical environment is cleaner. These physical and chemical environment differences directly lead to the inconsistency between single-cavity etching rate and double-cavity etching rate, which seriously affects the process uniformity and yield of wafers in the same batch, especially those wafers processed in single-cavity mode at the end of the batch. SUMMARY

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to provide a control method of a double-cavity etching device and the double-cavity etching device to solve the problem of inconsistency between single-cavity etching rate and double-cavity etching rate.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the first aspect of the present application provides a control method of a double-cavity etching device, comprising the following steps:

[0006] The double-cavity etching device comprises a first reaction cavity, a second reaction cavity, an auxiliary gas control pipeline, an exhaust pipeline and a control module, the auxiliary gas control pipeline is communicated with the first reaction cavity, the exhaust pipeline is communicated with the first reaction cavity and the second reaction cavity respectively, and the exhaust pipeline is provided with a swing valve, and the control module is connected with the auxiliary gas control pipeline and the swing valve respectively;

[0007] The same batch of wafers is transmitted to the first reaction cavity and the second reaction cavity respectively to perform N rounds of double-cavity etching processes, N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and the swing valve sends the first opening degree of the swing valve for maintaining the target cavity pressure to the control module when the double-cavity etching process is performed;

[0008] When the remaining wafers of the batch are insufficient to perform the double-cavity etching process, the N+1th round of process is performed, the remaining wafers of the batch are transmitted to the second reaction cavity to perform a single-cavity etching process, the control module controls the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver auxiliary gas into the first reaction cavity, and adjusts the flow of the delivered auxiliary gas according to an adjustment mode until the real-time opening degree of the swing valve is driven to be adapted to the first opening degree when the single-cavity etching process is performed in the second reaction cavity.

[0009] Preferably, the step that the control module controls the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver auxiliary gas into the first reaction cavity and adjusts the flow of the delivered auxiliary gas according to an adjustment mode until the real-time opening degree of the swing valve is driven to be adapted to the first opening degree when the single-cavity etching process is performed in the second reaction cavity comprises:

[0010] The control module selects an adjustment mode and obtains a target opening degree of the swing valve when the single-cavity etching process is performed according to the selected adjustment mode, and the adjustment mode comprises a forward feedback adjustment mode based on first opening degree data when the double-cavity etching process is performed on the wafers of the batch and a backward feedback adjustment mode based on etching rate data when the double-cavity etching process and the single-cavity etching process are performed on the wafers of historical batches;

[0011] The control module obtains an initial gas flow of the delivered auxiliary gas when the single-cavity etching process is performed according to the target opening degree and an initial gas flow setting formula;

[0012] The control module controls the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver auxiliary gas into the first reaction cavity at the initial gas flow, and adjusts the flow of the delivered auxiliary gas according to the comparison result of the real-time opening degree of the swing valve and the target opening degree until the real-time opening degree of the swing valve reaches the target opening degree.

[0013] Preferably, the control method of the double-cavity etching device further comprises the steps of:

[0014] After each batch of wafers completes the single-chamber etching process, the control module records and stores a first data pair, which includes: a target opening degree of the swing valve when each batch of wafers performs the single-chamber etching process, and a steady-state gas flow of the auxiliary gas corresponding to the target opening degree;

[0015] The control module trains and fits the stored plurality of first data pairs through a machine learning model to generate the initial gas flow setting formula.

[0016] Preferably, the expression of the initial gas flow setting formula is:

[0017] X = AY + B,

[0018] wherein X is the initial gas flow of the auxiliary gas, Y is the target opening degree of the swing valve when performing the single-chamber etching process, A is a proportional coefficient, and B is a flow bias.

[0019] Preferably, the control module selects the front feedback adjustment mode; and the step of obtaining the target opening degree of the swing valve when performing the single-chamber etching process according to the front feedback adjustment mode includes:

[0020] The control module calculates an arithmetic mean of N first opening degrees when the batch of wafers performs N rounds of the double-chamber etching process to obtain an average reference opening degree of the batch;

[0021] The control module obtains the target opening degree of the swing valve when the batch of wafers performs the single-chamber etching process according to the average reference opening degree and a front feedback swing valve opening degree correction formula.

[0022] Preferably, the control method of the double-chamber etching device further includes the step of:

[0023] After each batch of wafers completes the etching process, the control module records and stores a second data pair, which includes: the average reference opening degree of the swing valve when each batch of wafers performs N rounds of the double-chamber etching process and the target opening degree of the swing valve when the batch of wafers performs the single-chamber etching process;

[0024] The control module trains and fits the stored plurality of second data pairs through a machine learning model to generate the front feedback swing valve opening degree correction formula.

[0025] Preferably, the expression of the front feedback swing valve opening degree correction formula is:

[0026] Y = aY1 + b,

[0027] Y=Y1+α(Y2-Y1)+β, wherein Y is the target opening degree of the swing valve when the batch of wafers is subjected to the single-cavity etching process, Y1 is the average reference opening degree of the swing valve when the batch of wafers is subjected to N rounds of the double-cavity etching process, α is a weight coefficient, and β is a deviation correction amount.

[0028] Preferably, the double-cavity etching device further comprises an etching rate detection device; and the control method of the double-cavity etching device further comprises the step of: the etching rate detection device detecting a first etching rate of each batch of wafers subjected to the double-cavity etching process and a second etching rate of each batch of wafers subjected to the single-cavity etching process and sending the first etching rate and the second etching rate to the control module.

[0029] Preferably, the control module selects the post-feedback adjustment mode; and the step of obtaining the target opening degree of the swing valve when the batch of wafers is subjected to the single-cavity etching process according to the post-feedback adjustment mode comprises:

[0030] The control module obtains a first average etching rate and a second average etching rate of M-1 batches of wafers, the first average etching rate being an arithmetic mean of all the first etching rates of the M-1 batches of wafers subjected to N rounds of the double-cavity etching process, and the second average etching rate being an arithmetic mean of all the second etching rates of the M-1 batches of wafers subjected to the single-cavity etching process, M being a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

[0031] The control module obtains the target opening degree of the swing valve when the Mth batch of wafers is subjected to the single-cavity etching process according to the first average etching rate, the second average etching rate, the target opening degree of the swing valve when the M-1th batch of wafers is subjected to the single-cavity etching process, and a post-feedback swing valve opening degree correction formula.

[0032] Preferably, the post-feedback swing valve opening degree correction formula has the expression:

[0033] Y=Y1+α(Y2-Y1)+β, wherein Y is the target opening degree of the swing valve when the batch of wafers is subjected to the single-cavity etching process, Y1 is the average reference opening degree of the swing valve when the batch of wafers is subjected to N rounds of the double-cavity etching process, α is a weight coefficient, and β is a deviation correction amount.

[0034] Y=Y1+α(Y2-Y1)+β, wherein Y is the target opening degree of the swing valve when the batch of wafers is subjected to the single-cavity etching process, Y1 is the average reference opening degree of the swing valve when the batch of wafers is subjected to N rounds of the double-cavity etching process, α is a weight coefficient, and β is a deviation correction amount.

[0035] Preferably, the auxiliary gas control pipeline comprises a gas delivery pipeline and a gas flow regulating valve arranged on the gas delivery pipeline, two ends of the gas delivery pipeline being respectively connected to an auxiliary gas supply end and the first reaction cavity; and the step of the control module controlling the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver auxiliary gas into the first reaction cavity and adjusting the flow of the delivered auxiliary gas according to the adjustment mode comprises:

[0036] The control module sends an opening instruction to the gas flow regulating valve, so that the auxiliary gas enters the first reaction chamber from the auxiliary gas supply end through the gas delivery pipeline;

[0037] During the single-chamber etching process, the control module adjusts the opening degree of the gas flow regulating valve according to the adjustment mode and the real-time opening degree of the swing valve until the real-time opening degree of the swing valve is driven to be adapted to the first opening degree.

[0038] Preferably, the double-chamber etching device further comprises a mechanical arm for conveying wafers, the mechanical arm being connected to the control module, and the auxiliary gas control pipeline further communicating with the second reaction chamber;

[0039] When the remaining wafers in the batch are insufficient for double-chamber synchronous etching, the steps of performing the N+1th round of process include:

[0040] The mechanical arm transmits the remaining wafers in the batch to any one of the first reaction chamber and the second reaction chamber for the single-chamber etching process, and sends the reaction chamber identification information carrying the wafers to the control module;

[0041] The control module determines an idle reaction chamber among the first reaction chamber and the second reaction chamber according to the received reaction chamber identification information, and controls the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver the auxiliary gas into the idle reaction chamber.

[0042] In a second aspect, the double-chamber etching device comprises a first reaction chamber, a second reaction chamber, an auxiliary gas control pipeline, an exhaust pipeline, and a control module. The auxiliary gas control pipeline is in communication with the first reaction chamber. The exhaust pipeline is in communication with the first reaction chamber and the second reaction chamber respectively. The exhaust pipeline is provided with a swing valve. The swing valve is used to maintain a target chamber pressure and send the first opening degree of the swing valve during a double-chamber etching process and the real-time opening degree of the swing valve during a single-chamber etching process in the second reaction chamber to the control module. The control module is connected with the auxiliary gas control pipeline and the swing valve respectively. The control module is used to control the transmission of wafers in the same batch to the first reaction chamber and the second reaction chamber respectively for N rounds of double-chamber etching processes. N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. When the remaining wafers in the batch are insufficient for the double-chamber etching process, the control module controls the execution of the N+1 round of process, the transmission of the remaining wafers in the batch to the second reaction chamber for single-chamber etching process, and the delivery of auxiliary gas from the auxiliary gas control pipeline to the first reaction chamber. The flow of the delivered auxiliary gas is adjusted according to an adjustment mode until the real-time opening degree of the swing valve during the single-chamber etching process in the second reaction chamber is driven to be adapted to the first opening degree.

[0043] The control method of the double-chamber etching device and the double-chamber etching device have the following advantages:

[0044] (1) In the present application, the auxiliary gas control pipeline in communication with the first reaction chamber is provided. When the remaining wafers in a batch of wafers are insufficient for double-chamber synchronous etching (i.e., the number of wafers is insufficient to fill two reaction chambers at the same time), the remaining wafers in the batch are transmitted to the second reaction chamber for single-chamber etching process, and auxiliary gas is injected into the idle first reaction chamber, thereby simulating the total gas load during double-chamber operation. However, the first reaction chamber itself does not react, avoiding the introduction of new chemical reaction interference. This ingeniously isolates the difference in chemical environment, primarily ensuring the consistency of the physical environment, which is one of the most critical factors affecting the etching rate. This ensures that the physical environment (pressure, flow field) in the reaction chamber under the single-chamber etching process and the double-chamber etching process is highly similar, thereby facilitating the consistency of the single-chamber etching rate and the double-chamber etching rate, and improving the uniformity and yield of the product.

[0045] (2) The present application eliminates the need to worry about the "end-of-batch effect" and allows more flexible production scheduling. Even if only a few wafers are left at the end, production can be immediately started without waiting for a full batch, avoiding the situation where single-chamber operation is deliberately avoided due to concerns about inconsistent processes. This enables the device to operate at the highest efficiency, improving overall equipment utilization and production efficiency.

[0046] (3) The application weakens the condition of difference from the root by ingenious "simulated load" design, reduces or even cancels the requirement for two sets of process formulas, simplifies the complexity of process development and maintenance, and saves a large amount of time and wafer test cost.

[0047] (4) The application has strong universality and is applicable to processes with different gas load requirements under different process formulas. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0048] Figure 1 A flowchart of a control method of a dual-cavity etching device of an embodiment of the application.

[0049] Figure 2 A structural diagram of a dual-cavity etching device of an embodiment of the application.

[0050] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0051] 1, first reaction cavity; 2, second reaction cavity; 3, exhaust pipeline; 4, swing valve; 5, first branch pipeline; 6, second branch pipeline; 7, first gas flow regulating valve; 8, second gas flow regulating valve; 9, process gas output pipeline; 10, electrostatic chuck; 11, wafer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the embodiments of the application clearer, the technical scheme in the embodiments of the application will be clearly and completely described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are some of the embodiments of the application, rather than all the embodiments of the application. Based on the embodiments in the application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor fall within the scope of protection of the application. Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used herein should have the usual meaning understood by those skilled in the art. The "comprise" and similar words used herein mean that the elements or objects before the word cover the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects.

[0053] To overcome the problems in the prior art, the embodiments of the application provide a control method of a dual-cavity etching device and a dual-cavity etching device to solve the problem of inconsistent single-cavity etching rate and dual-cavity etching rate.

[0054] In some embodiments of the application, with reference to Figure 1 The control method of the dual-cavity etching device comprises the following steps:

[0055] S1, provide a dual-chamber etching device, the dual-chamber etching device includes a first reaction chamber, a second reaction chamber, an auxiliary gas control pipeline, an exhaust pipeline and a control module, the auxiliary gas control pipeline is communicated with the first reaction chamber, the exhaust pipeline is communicated with the first reaction chamber and the second reaction chamber respectively, and the exhaust pipeline is provided with a swing valve, and the control module is connected with the auxiliary gas control pipeline and the swing valve respectively;

[0056] S2, the same batch of wafers is transmitted to the first reaction chamber and the second reaction chamber respectively to carry out N rounds of dual-chamber etching process, N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and the swing valve sends the first opening degree of the swing valve for maintaining the target chamber pressure to the control module when carrying out the dual-chamber etching process;

[0057] S3, when the remaining wafers of the batch are insufficient to carry out the dual-chamber etching process, the N+1 round of process is executed, the remaining wafers of the batch are transmitted to the second reaction chamber to carry out single-chamber etching process, the control module controls the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver auxiliary gas into the first reaction chamber, and adjusts the flow of the delivered auxiliary gas according to the adjustment mode, so that the real-time opening degree of the swing valve is driven to be adapted to the first opening degree when the single-chamber etching process is carried out in the second reaction chamber.

[0058] In the application, the auxiliary gas control pipeline communicated with the first reaction chamber is arranged, and when the remaining wafers of a batch of wafers are insufficient to carry out dual-chamber synchronous etching (i.e. the number of wafers is insufficient to fill two reaction chambers at the same time), the remaining wafers of the batch are transmitted to the second reaction chamber to carry out single-chamber etching process, the control module controls the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver auxiliary gas into the first reaction chamber, and adjusts the flow of the delivered auxiliary gas according to the adjustment mode, so that the real-time opening degree of the swing valve is driven and adapted to the first opening degree when the single-chamber etching process is carried out in the second reaction chamber, that is, by injecting auxiliary gas into the idle first reaction chamber when the single-chamber etching process is carried out, the total gas load when the dual-chamber operation is simulated, but the first reaction chamber itself does not react, avoiding the introduction of new chemical reaction interference, which ingeniously isolates the difference of the chemical environment, primarily ensures the consistency of the physical environment, and the physical environment is one of the most critical factors affecting the etching rate, so as to ensure that the physical environment (pressure, flow field) in the reaction chamber under the single-chamber etching process and the dual-chamber etching process is highly similar, thereby facilitating to improve the consistency of the single-chamber etching rate and the dual-chamber etching rate, and improving the uniformity and yield of the product.

[0059] In addition, the application can arrange production more flexibly without worrying about the "end-of-lot effect", even if only a few wafers are left, it can be immediately put into production without waiting for a whole batch, avoiding the situation of deliberately avoiding single-cavity operation due to fear of process inconsistency, enabling the equipment to run at the highest efficiency, improving the overall equipment utilization and production efficiency.

[0060] Traditionally, in order to match the process differences between single and double cavities, engineers need to develop two different process recipes (such as adjusting power, pressure, main gas flow, etc.) for the two modes, which is a time-consuming, material-consuming and complex debugging process. The application cleverly designs a "simulated load" to weaken the conditions for the difference to occur from the root, reducing or even eliminating the need for two sets of process recipes, simplifying the complexity of process development and maintenance, and saving a lot of time and wafer test costs. At the same time, the application is versatile and suitable for different gas load requirements under different process recipes.

[0061] In the present embodiment, in the first N double-cavity etching processes, the cavity environment (temperature, pressure, polymer state in the cavity) in each etching process may be different due to the deposition of etching reaction products on the inner wall of the cavity and in the reaction area of the cavity, so that the first opening degree of the swing valve in each of the first N double-cavity etching processes is different. The real-time opening degree of the swing valve is driven and adapted to the first opening degree, which can be understood as, in some embodiments, the real-time opening degree is equal to the average opening degree of the first opening degree of the swing valve in the first N double-cavity etching processes (i.e. the arithmetic mean of the N first opening degrees). In other embodiments, the real-time opening degree is greater than or equal to the minimum first opening degree of the swing valve in the first N double-cavity etching processes, and the real-time opening degree is less than or equal to the maximum first opening degree of the swing valve in the first N double-cavity etching processes.

[0062] In some embodiments of the application, the auxiliary gas is an inert gas, including helium, argon or nitrogen, etc.

[0063] In some embodiments of the application, the control module controls the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver auxiliary gas into the first reaction cavity, and adjusts the flow of the delivered auxiliary gas according to the adjustment mode, and the step of driving the real-time opening degree of the swing valve to be adapted to the first opening degree when the single-cavity etching process is performed in the second reaction cavity includes:

[0064] The control module selects an adjustment mode and obtains a target opening degree of the swing valve when the single-cavity etching process is performed according to the selected adjustment mode, and the adjustment mode includes a front feedback adjustment mode based on the first opening degree data when the double-cavity etching process is performed on the current batch of wafers and a back feedback adjustment mode based on the etching rate data when the double-cavity etching process and the single-cavity etching process are performed on the historical batch of wafers.

[0065] The control module obtains an initial gas flow of the auxiliary gas delivered when performing the single-chamber etching process according to the target opening degree and an initial gas flow setting formula;

[0066] The control module controls the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver the auxiliary gas into the first reaction chamber at the initial gas flow, and adjusts the flow of the auxiliary gas delivered according to a comparison result of the real-time opening degree of the swing valve and the target opening degree until the real-time opening degree of the swing valve reaches the target opening degree.

[0067] In the embodiment, the control module controls the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver the auxiliary gas into the first reaction chamber at the initial gas flow, so that the gas flow that enables the swing valve to achieve the target opening degree can be quickly delivered into the first reaction chamber, the time for adjusting the gas flow is greatly shortened, and the response speed is improved. Moreover, the application is not terminated at adjusting to the initial gas flow, but dynamically adjusts the flow of the auxiliary gas according to the comparison result of the real-time opening degree of the swing valve and the target opening degree, so that the swing valve can achieve the target opening degree, thereby being beneficial to overcoming errors caused by environmental influences, model errors and process disturbances, ensuring control accuracy and stability, enabling the application to quickly respond and accurately lock the target opening degree, ensuring high consistency of the single-chamber etching process environment and the dual-chamber etching process environment, thereby effectively eliminating the "single-dual head effect", and enabling the application to realize intelligent process control without manual intervention, which is beneficial to continuously compensating for any factors that may cause the swing valve opening degree to drift (such as gas pressure fluctuations, pump performance degradation, etc.), thereby ensuring that subsequent batches of wafers can be processed in the same process environment as in the dual-chamber mode under the single-chamber mode, and significantly improving the repeatability and yield of production.

[0068] In the embodiment, the real-time opening degree is most preferably consistent with the target opening degree, but because of factors such as device aging, the real-time opening degree cannot be consistent with the target opening degree, in which case the difference between the real-time opening degree and the target opening degree can be within a preset range, which can be set according to actual needs.

[0069] In some embodiments of the application, the control method of the dual-chamber etching device further includes the steps of:

[0070] After each batch of wafers completes the single-chamber etching process, the control module records and stores a first data pair, the first data pair including: a target opening degree of the swing valve when each batch of wafers performs the single-chamber etching process, and a steady-state gas flow of the auxiliary gas corresponding to the target opening degree.

[0071] The control module trains and fits the stored plurality of first data pairs by a machine learning model to generate the initial gas flow setting formula.

[0072] The device state will drift over time (such as pump oil performance degradation, chamber wall deposition, MFC precision drift, etc.), compared with the traditional control parameter which is fixed once set. In the embodiment, the stored plurality of first data pairs are trained and fitted by a machine learning model to generate the initial gas flow setting formula, so that the slow drift can be automatically tracked and compensated. Through continuous learning, the model will continuously fine-tune the initial gas flow setting formula, ensuring that the precision of single and double chamber etching process matching can always be maintained at a high level, thereby ensuring the long-term yield and stability of the product. Moreover, the embodiment is not only suitable for the establishment of the initial formula of the new device, but also can dynamically optimize the initial gas flow setting formula as the number of accumulated first data pairs increases, so that the required initial gas flow can be more accurately predicted according to the target opening of the valve. That is, it is beneficial to obtain more accurate initial gas flow, thereby shortening the gas flow adjustment time, reducing the stable waiting time of each single chamber etching process, improving the response speed, and facilitating the rapid and accurate matching of the flow of the auxiliary gas delivered in the first reaction chamber and the target opening of the valve. For production lines that frequently perform single chamber operations, the overall productivity of the device can be effectively improved. At the same time, the device can be continuously optimized throughout its life cycle. When the production line switches products and uses different etching gases, pressures or powers, the required "simulated load" is also different. The machine learning model can establish different sub-models or a unified complex model for different main process recipes, and automatically provide the most suitable initial gas flow for each recipe, so that it can adapt to different process recipes, has strong versatility, and realizes accurate matching of the full process menu.

[0073] In some specific embodiments of the application, for the first batch of wafers of a brand-new etching process, the first data pair includes: the real-time opening of the valve when the valve is adapted to the first opening during the single chamber etching process of the batch of wafers, and the steady-state gas flow of the auxiliary gas corresponding to the real-time opening when the valve is adapted to the first opening.

[0074] In some embodiments of the application, the expression of the initial gas flow setting formula is:

[0075] X = AY + B,

[0076] Wherein, X is the initial gas flow of the auxiliary gas, Y is the target opening of the valve during the single chamber etching process, A is a proportional coefficient, and B is a flow bias.

[0077] In the embodiment, the proportional coefficient A represents the auxiliary gas flow variation required to drive the swing valve opening unit variation, reflecting the "conductance" characteristics of the etching system vacuum pipeline, which is related to the chamber volume, pipeline size and pump pumping strength, etc., and the flow bias B represents the gas load required to maintain the system base pressure, which is used to compensate for the actual vacuum background.

[0078] In the embodiment, the initial gas flow setting formula is a linear model, which is simple to calculate and has extremely fast response speed, so that the control module can quickly calculate the required initial gas flow at the beginning of each single-chamber etching process, quickly pull the process environment to the vicinity of the target state (target opening of the swing valve), significantly shorten the process stabilization waiting time, and thus directly improve the beat and overall equipment efficiency in the single-chamber production mode. Moreover, the linear model is the most basic and mature model in machine learning, which has fast training speed, relatively small required data volume, and is not prone to overfitting, ensuring the reliability and efficiency of the self-learning process.

[0079] In some embodiments of the application, the control module selects the front feedback adjustment mode; the step of obtaining the target opening of the swing valve during the single-chamber etching process according to the front feedback adjustment mode comprises:

[0080] The control module calculates the arithmetic mean of N first openings during N rounds of double-chamber etching processes of the current batch of wafers to obtain the average reference opening of the current batch;

[0081] The control module obtains the target opening of the swing valve during the single-chamber etching process of the current batch of wafers according to the average reference opening and the front feedback swing valve opening correction formula.

[0082] In this embodiment, the target opening degree of the swing valve in the single-cavity mode is obtained by using the arithmetic mean of the first opening degrees of the same batch of wafers in the N double-cavity modes, i.e., the average reference opening degree, which ensures that the physical environment (exhaust dynamics characterized by the swing valve opening degree) of the wafer at the end of each batch is highly similar to that of other wafers in the batch, so that the etching difference between wafers in the same batch caused by production mode switching is eliminated at the root, which is beneficial to improve the uniformity of products in batch manufacturing and improve the yield of products. Moreover, the arithmetic mean is used as the target, the algorithm is simple, fast and has low system resource occupation, which is very suitable for real-time execution on the production machine; at the same time, the average value itself has a filtering effect, which can smooth out random fluctuations (such as slight perturbations in gas pressure and slight jitter in RF power) that may occur in a single process, and extract a "characteristic opening degree" that represents the stable process state of the batch, thereby helping to make the obtained target opening degree very stable and reliable, avoiding the instability that may be caused by using a single instantaneous value. There may be slight process drifts (such as different concentrations of box gases and differences in environmental temperature and humidity) between different batches. The present embodiment does not rely on a fixed and preset target opening degree, but dynamically sets the target opening degree according to the arithmetic mean of the first opening degrees of the batch during the double-cavity etching process, so that even if there is a slow drift between batches, it can be automatically tracked, and the single-cavity etching process is always consistent with the double-cavity etching process reference of the batch, improving the intelligent level and adaptive ability of control.

[0083] In some embodiments of the present application, the control method of the double-cavity etching device further comprises the steps of:

[0084] After the etching process of each batch of wafers is completed, the control module records and stores a second data pair, which includes: the average reference opening degree of the swing valve when each batch of wafers is subjected to N rounds of double-cavity etching process and the target opening degree of the swing valve when the batch of wafers is subjected to single-cavity etching process;

[0085] The control module trains and fits the stored plurality of second data pairs through a machine learning model to generate the front feedback swing valve opening degree correction formula.

[0086] In this embodiment, the machine learning model can mine the potential and complex relationship between the average reference opening in the dual-chamber etching process and the target opening in the optimal single-chamber etching process, thereby actively predicting and compensating for systematic deviations that are hidden by simple averaging, so that the precision of the single-chamber process environment and the dual-chamber process environment can be matched more accurately, and the uniformity of the product can be improved. Moreover, as the second data pairs are continuously accumulated, the pre-feedback swing valve opening correction formula will become more and more accurate, so that it can track and adapt to the slow aging of the equipment over time, forming an intelligent system with a performance spiral upward, and ensuring the process stability of the equipment throughout its life cycle. At the same time, when producing different products (i.e., switching the main process formula) or using different equipment (due to slight differences in mechanical tolerance, pump speed characteristics, pipeline flow rate, etc.), the matching relationship between single-chamber and dual-chamber will change. The present application can automatically select the most suitable correction formula for each product formula or equipment, greatly enhancing the adaptability and robustness of the method in multi-product and complex process flow, and achieving a more accurate control effect than other general models or empirical formulas.

[0087] In some embodiments of the present application, the step of training and fitting the stored plurality of second data pairs by the control module through the machine learning model to generate the pre-feedback swing valve opening correction formula comprises:

[0088] Model training: the control module inputs the accumulated plurality of second data pairs as a training set into a machine learning model for calculation and fitting to generate or update the pre-feedback swing valve opening correction model; wherein the pre-feedback swing valve opening correction model takes the average reference opening as input and outputs a more accurate target opening.

[0089] Formula generation: the mathematical expression of the trained pre-feedback swing valve opening correction model is defined as the pre-feedback swing valve opening correction formula and applied in the subsequent pre-feedback adjustment mode.

[0090] In some embodiments of the present application, the expression of the pre-feedback swing valve opening correction formula is:

[0091] Y = aY1 + β,

[0092] wherein Y is the target opening of the swing valve when the single-chamber etching process is performed on the batch of wafers, Y1 is the average reference opening of the swing valve when the dual-chamber etching process is performed on the batch of wafers for N times, a is a weight coefficient, and β is a deviation correction amount.

[0093] In the embodiment, the weight coefficient a is used to correct the opening ratio deviation caused by the nonlinearity of the system flow conductance under the double-cavity etching process and the single-cavity etching process. If a≠1, it indicates that the system has significant non-idealness, and the deviation of a from 1.0 reveals the nonlinearity strength of the flow conductance characteristics of the vacuum system under the single-cavity and double-cavity loads. The deviation correction quantity β is used to compensate for the inherent system error caused by the chamber asymmetry, sensor zero drift, etc. The non-zero value can directly quantify the systematic inherent deviation caused by the manufacturing tolerance, chamber asymmetry, sensor calibration error, etc. Engineers can quickly diagnose the equipment state by observing the values of a and β, and provide a reasonable starting point based on physical meaning for the parameter initialization of new equipment, greatly shortening the debugging period. The linear formula ingeniously separates the variables. The average reference opening Y1 carries the "commonness" information of a specific batch process, while a and β capture and quantify the "individuality" (i.e. the unique nonlinearity and inherent deviation) of a specific device, so that different (a, β) parameter groups can be called to flexibly adapt to different working points when switching different process recipes, realizing precise and personalized control across process recipes.

[0094] In the embodiment, the front feedback swing valve opening correction formula is a linear model formula, which is simple to calculate and has extremely fast response speed, so that the control module can quickly calculate the required target opening at the beginning of each single-cavity etching process, ensuring the immediacy and stability of the process start. Moreover, the linear model is the most basic and mature model in machine learning, which has fast training speed, relatively small required data volume, and is not prone to overfitting, ensuring the reliability and efficiency of the self-learning process.

[0095] In some specific embodiments of the application, the control module inputs the average reference opening of the swing valve when the Mth batch of wafers is subjected to the double-cavity etching process into the front feedback swing valve opening correction formula, so as to obtain the target opening of the swing valve when the Mth batch of wafers is subjected to the single-cavity etching process. Then, the target opening is input into the initial gas flow setting formula, so as to obtain the initial gas flow of the auxiliary gas delivered into the first reaction cavity when the Mth batch of wafers is subjected to the single-cavity etching process.

[0096] In some embodiments of the application, the double-cavity etching device further comprises an etching rate detection device, and the control method of the double-cavity etching device further comprises the following steps:

[0097] The etching rate detection device detects the first etching rate of each batch of wafers subjected to the double-cavity etching process and the second etching rate of each batch of wafers subjected to the single-cavity etching process and sends them to the control module.

[0098] In some embodiments of the present application, the etching rate detection device comprises an in-situ ellipsometer, a laser interference endpoint detection system or optical emission spectroscopy.

[0099] In some embodiments of the present application, the control module selects the post-feedback adjustment mode; and the step of obtaining the target opening degree of the swing valve during the single-chamber etching process according to the post-feedback adjustment mode comprises:

[0100] The control module obtains a first average etching rate and a second average etching rate of M-1 batches of wafers, the first average etching rate being an arithmetic mean of all the first etching rates of the M-1 batches of wafers during N rounds of the double-chamber etching process, and the second average etching rate being an arithmetic mean of all the second etching rates of the M-1 batches of wafers during the single-chamber etching process, M being a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0101] The control module obtains the target opening degree of the swing valve during the single-chamber etching process of the Mth batch of wafers according to the first average etching rate, the second average etching rate, the target opening degree of the swing valve during the single-chamber etching process of the M-1th batch of wafers, and a post-feedback swing valve opening degree correction formula.

[0102] In the present embodiment, the M-1 batches of wafers are subjected to N rounds of the double-chamber etching process, i.e., there are M-1 batches of wafers, and each batch of wafers is subjected to N rounds of the double-chamber etching process, so the first average etching rate is an arithmetic mean of (M-1)×N first etching rates. The M-1 batches of wafers are subjected to the single-chamber etching process, i.e., there are M-1 batches of wafers, and each batch of wafers is subjected to the single-chamber etching process only at the N+1th time, so the second average etching rate is an arithmetic mean of (M-1) second etching rates.

[0103] In the embodiment, the physical parameter matched with the former feedback regulation mode, i.e., the average reference opening degree, is different from the latter feedback regulation mode, which takes the final effect of the process, i.e., the etching rate, as the controlled target and evaluation standard, so as to ensure that no matter how complex the root cause of the rate difference between the single and double chambers is, the system can automatically optimize towards the ultimate goal of "consistent rate", actively monitor the process effect, and continuously optimize its own behavior accordingly, so as to ultimately achieve and maintain the consistency of products in the dynamically changing production environment, and realize the intelligent process control in the true sense. Moreover, the latter feedback regulation mode adopts an iterative optimization strategy, and instead of making drastic adjustments based on the data of a single batch, it gradually and stably corrects the average etching rate difference between the double-chamber etching process and the single-chamber etching process based on multiple batches of wafers and in combination with the target opening degree used in the last batch, so that the single-batch process control is expanded to multi-batch collaborative optimization, batch-to-batch adaptive control is realized, and the risk of system oscillation and excessive adjustment is effectively prevented, thereby ensuring the stability and reliability of the production process. The latter feedback regulation mode can compensate for complex systematic deviations that are not covered by the former feedback regulation mode, for example, if the concentration of the etching source gas changes slowly or the seasoning state of the chamber wall drifts for a long time, it will affect the etching rate. By continuously monitoring the historical average etching rate and adjusting the target opening degree, the latter feedback regulation mode can automatically track and compensate for these slowly changing interference factors, so as to ensure that the equipment maintains excellent process matching accuracy for a production cycle of several weeks or months.

[0104] The front feedback adjustment mode is equivalent to valve opening data recorded when N rounds of the double-cavity etching process are performed on M batches of wafers, an average reference opening is obtained by calculating the arithmetic mean of N first openings, and a target opening of the single-cavity etching process for the M batches of wafers is predicted according to a front feedback valve opening correction formula; the rear feedback adjustment mode is equivalent to etching rate data of M-1 historical batches, a difference between a first average etching rate and a second average etching rate is calculated, the target opening data of the M-1 batches of wafers are combined, and a target opening of the single-cavity etching process for the M batches of wafers is iteratively optimized according to a rear feedback valve opening correction formula. The front feedback adjustment mode can be regarded as a fast and accurate "coarse adjustment" for solving deterministic and predictable single-double-cavity differences, and the rear feedback adjustment mode can be regarded as a fine and slow "fine adjustment" for coping with random, slow-changing and difficult-to-model system drift. The two modes combined form a composite intelligent control system that can cope with various complex working conditions and provide process stability guarantee for nanoscale manufacturing. Specifically, the control module automatically selects or combines the two adjustment modes according to device status, process requirements and historical performance indicators to achieve optimal process matching effect. The target opening of the valve for the first batch of wafers performing the single-cavity etching process can only be obtained by using the front feedback adjustment mode.

[0105] In some embodiments of the application, the expression of the rear feedback valve opening correction formula is:

[0106] Y = α1(A1-B1) + Y2,

[0107] wherein Y is the target opening of the valve for the M batches of wafers performing the single-cavity etching process, A1 is the first average etching rate, B1 is the second average etching rate, Y2 is the target opening of the valve for the M-1 batches of wafers performing the single-cavity etching process, and α1 is a conversion coefficient of valve opening and etching rate.

[0108] In this embodiment, the conversion coefficient α1 of valve opening and etching rate is the amount of change in valve opening required to compensate for a unit etching rate difference, which can be determined by regression analysis of historical data to obtain an initial value of α1, and the training parameters of the machine learning model are accumulated with production batches to realize online self-tuning and continuous optimization.

[0109] In this embodiment, the difference between the historical average values of the single-cavity etching rate and the double-cavity etching rate is taken as the core adjustment driving force to ensure that the correction direction is always directed towards the ultimate goal of rate consistency. Through the accumulation and progressive adjustment of the deviation of continuous batches, precise progressive optimization based on rate deviation is realized, which is conducive to eliminating steady-state process errors and achieving perfect matching of single-cavity and double-cavity etching rates. The adjustment strategy based on historical average values rather than instantaneous values can effectively filter random fluctuation interference and ensure the smooth convergence of the optimization process. Moreover, the post-feedback swing valve opening correction formula can track the trend between batches, and the adjustment strategy based on batch average values focuses on the compensation of slow-changing process drifts such as equipment aging and seasonal environmental changes, thereby ensuring the repeatability and stability of the process. Furthermore, as the production batches accumulate, the system continuously optimizes the a1 coefficient to achieve continuous improvement and adaptive evolution of control accuracy. By monitoring the difference between the first average etching rate A1 and the second average etching rate B1 of consecutive batches, equipment performance degradation can be predicted, and data support can be provided for equipment fault diagnosis and preventive maintenance. The combination of the rapidity of the pre-feedback adjustment mode and the accuracy of the post-feedback adjustment mode achieves all-round process optimization, and the existence of the post-feedback adjustment mode enables the pre-feedback adjustment mode to be gradually corrected through subsequent batches even if there is an error, thereby improving the robustness of the system.

[0110] In some specific embodiments of the present application, the control module inputs the first average etching rate of M-1 batches of wafers, the second average etching rate of M-1 batches of wafers, and the target opening degree of the swing valve when the M-1th batch of wafers is subjected to the single-cavity etching process into the post-feedback swing valve opening correction formula, thereby obtaining the target opening degree of the swing valve when the Mth batch of wafers is subjected to the single-cavity etching process. Then, the target opening degree is input into the initial gas flow setting formula, thereby obtaining the initial gas flow of the auxiliary gas delivered into the first reaction cavity when the Mth batch of wafers is subjected to the single-cavity etching process.

[0111] In some embodiments of the present application, the control method further comprises the step of: the control module constructs a swing valve opening correction model and generates a post-feedback swing valve opening correction formula through a machine learning model.

[0112] In some embodiments of the present application, the specific steps of generating the post-feedback swing valve opening correction formula include:

[0113] S100, training data set construction: collect process data of M-1 consecutive historical batches to construct a training set, wherein each training sample contains:

[0114] Input features: the arithmetic mean of all the first etching rates of M-1 batches of wafers subjected to N rounds of the double-cavity etching process, i.e., the first average etching rate, the arithmetic mean of all the second etching rates of M-1 batches of wafers subjected to the single-cavity etching process, i.e., the second average etching rate, and the target opening degree of the swing valve when the M-1th batch of wafers is subjected to the single-cavity etching process;

[0115] Output label: the target opening degree of the swing valve when the Mth batch of wafers is subjected to the single-cavity etching process;

[0116] S200, machine learning model training: a supervised learning algorithm is used to fit the training set, a nonlinear mapping relationship from input features (A1, B1, Y2) to output label Y is established, and a swing valve opening degree correction model is formed;

[0117] S300, correction formula generation: the swing valve opening degree correction model after training is expressed as a mathematical function form, as the after-feedback swing valve opening degree correction formula:

[0118] Y = α1(A1-B1) + Y2.

[0119] The embodiment can effectively eliminate process systematic deviation by continuously monitoring the deviation of the actual etching rate from the target value and automatically adjusting the swing valve opening degree setting value of the next batch, forming a closed-loop negative feedback control. By considering the process state of the historical batches, the system can identify and compensate for the slow drift and cumulative effect of the device performance, prevent the gradual deterioration of the process parameters, and enable the system to automatically adjust the parameters in the face of gas concentration fluctuations, changes in environmental temperature and humidity, and aging of device components, thereby maintaining the high consistency of the process results. Moreover, the machine learning model can automatically discover the complex nonlinear relationship between the etching rate and the swing valve opening degree from a large amount of process data, enabling dynamic adjustment of the process parameters, ensuring long-term process stability, and gradually approaching the theoretical optimal process window to achieve the process precision that is difficult to achieve by traditional methods. The same learning framework can adapt to different etching recipes, and the intelligent optimization of the entire process menu can be realized through recipe-specific model parameters. Each production batch becomes a sample for system learning, and as the amount of data increases and the model is continuously optimized, the system control precision presents a spiral upward trend, reducing the dependence on manual debugging and realizing self-optimization and adaptive adjustment of process parameters.

[0120] In some embodiments of the application, the auxiliary gas control pipeline includes a gas delivery pipeline and a gas flow regulating valve arranged on the gas delivery pipeline, two ends of the gas delivery pipeline are respectively connected with an auxiliary gas supply end and the first reaction cavity; and the step of controlling the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver auxiliary gas into the first reaction cavity and adjusting the flow of the delivered auxiliary gas according to the adjusting mode comprises:

[0121] The control module sends an opening instruction to the gas flow regulating valve, so that the auxiliary gas enters the first reaction cavity from the auxiliary gas supply end through the gas delivery pipeline;

[0122] During the single-cavity etching process, the control module adjusts the opening degree of the gas flow regulating valve according to the adjusting mode and the real-time opening degree of the swing valve until the real-time opening degree of the swing valve is driven to be adapted to the first opening degree.

[0123] In this embodiment, through the special gas flow regulating valve and the independent gas delivery pipeline, the system can quickly establish a "simulated load" in the first reaction cavity.

[0124] In some embodiments of the present application, the gas flow regulating valve includes a mass flow controller, a proportional valve or a precision needle valve, etc., which can realize a flow control accuracy within ±1% to ensure the accuracy of the gas simulation.

[0125] In some embodiments of the present application, the dual-cavity etching device further comprises a mechanical arm for conveying wafers, the mechanical arm is connected with the control module, and the auxiliary gas control pipeline further communicates with the second reaction cavity.

[0126] When the remaining wafers in the batch are insufficient for dual-cavity synchronous etching, the steps of performing the N+1th process include:

[0127] The mechanical arm transmits the remaining wafers in the batch to any one of the first reaction cavity and the second reaction cavity for the single-cavity etching process, and sends the reaction cavity identification information carrying the wafers to the control module.

[0128] The control module determines the idle reaction cavity among the first reaction cavity and the second reaction cavity according to the received reaction cavity identification information, and controls the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver the auxiliary gas into the idle reaction cavity.

[0129] In this embodiment, the reaction cavity carrying wafers can be preferentially selected to have a better conditioning state of the inner wall of the cavity and a more stable process history, so as to ensure that the starting conditions of the single-cavity etching process are optimal. Moreover, by flexibly selecting the carrying cavity, it is ensured that both reaction cavities can be fully used to improve the overall utilization of the equipment. At the same time, it allows the process tasks of each reaction cavity to be flexibly arranged according to actual production needs, thereby enhancing the flexibility of production scheduling.

[0130] In some embodiments of the present application, reference is made to Figure 2The double-cavity etching device comprises a first reaction cavity 1, a second reaction cavity 2, an auxiliary gas control pipeline, an exhaust pipeline 3 and a control module, the auxiliary gas control pipeline is communicated with the first reaction cavity 1, the exhaust pipeline 3 is communicated with the first reaction cavity 1 and the second reaction cavity 2 respectively, and the exhaust pipeline 3 is provided with a swing valve 4, the swing valve 4 is used for maintaining a target cavity pressure and sending a first opening degree of the swing valve 4 when a double-cavity etching process is performed to the control module, and a real-time opening degree of the swing valve 4 when the second reaction cavity 2 performs the single-cavity etching process; the control module is connected with the auxiliary gas control pipeline and the swing valve 4 respectively, the control module is used for controlling a same batch of wafers 11 to be transmitted to the first reaction cavity 1 and the second reaction cavity 2 to perform N rounds of double-cavity etching processes, N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and when the remaining wafers 11 of the batch are insufficient to perform the double-cavity etching process, the control module controls to perform the N+1 round of process, and the remaining wafers 11 of the batch are transmitted to the second reaction cavity 2 to perform the single-cavity etching process, and the control module is further used for controlling the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver auxiliary gas into the first reaction cavity 1, and adjusting the flow of the delivered auxiliary gas according to an adjustment mode, until the real-time opening degree of the swing valve 4 is driven to be adapted to the first opening degree when the second reaction cavity 2 performs the single-cavity etching process.

[0131] In some embodiments of the present application, with reference to Figure 2 The auxiliary gas control pipeline comprises a gas delivery pipeline and a gas flow adjusting valve arranged on the gas delivery pipeline, and two ends of the gas delivery pipeline are respectively communicated with an auxiliary gas supply end and the first reaction cavity 1. Through the special gas flow adjusting valve and the independent gas delivery pipeline, the system can quickly establish the "simulated load" in the first reaction cavity 1.

[0132] In some specific embodiments of the present application, with reference to Figure 2The auxiliary gas control pipeline further includes a first branch pipeline 5 and a second branch pipeline 6. One end of the first branch pipeline 5 and the second branch pipeline 6 is connected to the gas delivery pipeline, and the other end of the first branch pipeline 5 and the second branch pipeline 6 are respectively connected to the first reaction chamber 1 and the second reaction chamber 2. The gas flow regulating valve includes a first gas flow regulating valve 7 and a second gas flow regulating valve 8. The first gas flow regulating valve 7 is disposed in the first branch pipeline 5, and the second gas flow regulating valve 8 is disposed in the second branch pipeline 6. This allows for the priority selection of reaction chambers with better inner wall stabilization and more stable process history to carry the wafer 11, ensuring optimal starting conditions for the single-chamber etching process. Moreover, by flexibly selecting the carrying chamber, it ensures that both reaction chambers can be fully utilized, improving the overall utilization rate of the equipment. At the same time, it allows for flexible arrangement of process tasks for each reaction chamber according to actual production needs, enhancing the flexibility of production scheduling.

[0133] In some specific embodiments of the present invention, reference is made to Figure 2 The dual-cavity etching apparatus further includes a process gas output pipeline 9 and an electrostatic chuck 10. The process gas output pipeline 9 is connected to the first reaction chamber 1 and the second reaction chamber 2, respectively. The electrostatic chuck 10 is used to support the wafer 11. Specifically, the other structures of the dual-cavity etching apparatus are conventional configurations in the art and will not be described in detail here.

[0134] In some embodiments of the present invention, the etching gas supplied by the process gas output pipeline 9 includes, but is not limited to, common fluorine-based gases (such as C). x F y C x H y F z Common etching gases include SF6, NF3, etc., common chlorine-based gases (such as Cl2, BCl3, SiCl4, CCl4, etc.), and other common etching gases such as HBr.

[0135] In some embodiments of the present invention, the dual-cavity etching equipment includes, but is not limited to, inductively coupled plasma (ICP), capacitively coupled plasma (CCP), chemical dry etching (CDE), and resist stripping equipment.

[0136] In some embodiments of the present invention, the etching material on the wafer includes, but is not limited to, Si and its compounds, metals and their compounds, and other types of compound semiconductors.

[0137] While the embodiments of the application have been illustrated and described in detail, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made to the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the application, as described in the claims. Moreover, the application described is not limited in its application to the details set forth in the description or illustrated in the drawings. The application is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways.

Claims

1. A control method of a dual-chamber etching apparatus, characterized by, The method comprises the following steps: providing a dual-chamber etching device, the dual-chamber etching device comprising a first reaction chamber, a second reaction chamber, an auxiliary gas control pipeline, an exhaust pipeline and a control module, the auxiliary gas control pipeline being in communication with the first reaction chamber, the exhaust pipeline being in communication with the first reaction chamber and the second reaction chamber respectively, and the exhaust pipeline being provided with a swing valve, and the control module being connected with the auxiliary gas control pipeline and the swing valve respectively; transmitting wafers of the same batch to the first reaction chamber and the second reaction chamber respectively to perform N rounds of dual-chamber etching processes, N being a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and the swing valve sending a first opening degree of the swing valve for maintaining a target chamber pressure to the control module when the dual-chamber etching process is performed; when the remaining wafers of the batch are insufficient to perform the dual-chamber etching process, performing an N+1th round of process, transmitting the remaining wafers of the batch to the second reaction chamber to perform a single-chamber etching process, and the control module controlling the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver auxiliary gas into the first reaction chamber and adjusting the flow of the delivered auxiliary gas according to an adjustment mode until the real-time opening degree of the swing valve is driven to be adapted to the first opening degree when the single-chamber etching process is performed in the second reaction chamber.

2. The control method of a dual-chamber etching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The step of the control module controlling the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver auxiliary gas into the first reaction chamber and adjusting the flow of the delivered auxiliary gas according to an adjustment mode until the real-time opening degree of the swing valve is driven to be adapted to the first opening degree when the single-chamber etching process is performed in the second reaction chamber comprises: the control module selecting an adjustment mode and obtaining a target opening degree of the swing valve when the single-chamber etching process is performed according to the selected adjustment mode, the adjustment mode comprising a front feedback adjustment mode based on first opening degree data when the dual-chamber etching process is performed on wafers of the batch and a back feedback adjustment mode based on etching rate data when the dual-chamber etching process and the single-chamber etching process are performed on wafers of historical batches; the control module obtaining an initial gas flow according to the target opening degree and an initial gas flow setting formula to deliver the auxiliary gas when the single-chamber etching process is performed; the control module controlling the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver auxiliary gas into the first reaction chamber at the initial gas flow and adjusting the flow of the delivered auxiliary gas according to a comparison result of the real-time opening degree of the swing valve and the target opening degree until the real-time opening degree of the swing valve reaches the target opening degree.

3. The control method of a dual-chamber etching apparatus according to claim 2, wherein Further comprising the steps of: after each batch of wafers completes the single-chamber etching process, the control module records and stores a first data pair, the first data pair comprising a target opening degree of the swing valve when the single-chamber etching process is performed on wafers of each batch and a steady-state gas flow of the auxiliary gas corresponding to the target opening degree for reaching the target opening degree; the control module trains and fits a plurality of the stored first data pairs through a machine learning model to generate the initial gas flow setting formula.

4. The control method of a dual-chamber etching apparatus according to claim 2, wherein The expression of the initial gas flow setting formula is: X = AY + B, Wherein, X is the initial gas flow of the auxiliary gas, Y is the target opening of the swing valve when the single-chamber etching process is performed, A is a proportional coefficient, and B is a flow offset.

5. The control method of a dual-chamber etching apparatus according to claim 2, wherein The control module selects the front feedback adjustment mode; The step of obtaining the target opening of the swing valve when the single-chamber etching process is performed according to the front feedback adjustment mode comprises: The control module calculates an arithmetic average of N first openings when N rounds of the double-chamber etching process are performed on the batch of wafers to obtain an average reference opening of the batch; The control module obtains the target opening of the swing valve when the single-chamber etching process is performed on the batch of wafers according to the average reference opening and a front feedback swing valve opening correction formula.

6. The control method of a dual-chamber etching apparatus according to claim 5, wherein Further comprising steps of: After the etching process is completed on each batch of wafers, the control module records and stores a second data pair, which comprises the average reference opening of the swing valve when N rounds of the double-chamber etching process are performed on each batch of wafers and the target opening of the swing valve when the single-chamber etching process is performed on the batch of wafers; The control module trains and fits the stored plurality of second data pairs through a machine learning model to generate the front feedback swing valve opening correction formula.

7. The control method of a dual-chamber etching apparatus according to claim 5, wherein The expression of the front feedback swing valve opening correction formula is: Y=αY1+β, Wherein, Y is the target opening of the swing valve when the single-chamber etching process is performed on the batch of wafers, Y1 is the average reference opening of the swing valve when N rounds of the double-chamber etching process are performed on the batch of wafers, α is a weight coefficient, and β is a deviation correction.

8. The control method of a dual-chamber etching apparatus according to claim 2, wherein The double-chamber etching device further comprises an etching rate detection apparatus; The control method of the double-chamber etching device further comprises the step that the etching rate detection apparatus detects the first etching rate when the double-chamber etching process is performed on each batch of wafers and the second etching rate when the single-chamber etching process is performed and sends them to the control module.

9. The control method of a dual-chamber etching apparatus according to claim 8, wherein The control module selects the front feedback adjustment mode; The step of obtaining the target opening of the swing valve when the single-chamber etching process is performed according to the front feedback adjustment mode comprises: The control module obtains a first average etching rate and a second average etching rate of M-1 batches of wafers, the first average etching rate being an arithmetic average of all the first etching rates when N rounds of the double-chamber etching process are performed on the M-1 batches of wafers, and the second average etching rate being an arithmetic average of all the second etching rates when the single-chamber etching process is performed on the M-1 batches of wafers, M being a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; The control module obtains the target opening of the swing valve when the single-chamber etching process is performed on the Mth batch of wafers according to the first average etching rate, the second average etching rate, the target opening of the swing valve when the single-chamber etching process is performed on the M-1th batch of wafers, and a back feedback swing valve opening correction formula.

10. The control method of a dual-chamber etching apparatus according to claim 9, wherein The expression of the back feedback swing valve opening correction formula is: Y=α1(A1-B1)+Y2, Wherein, Y is the target opening degree of the swing valve when the Mth batch of wafers undergoes the single-cavity etching process; A1 is the first average etching rate; B1 is the second average etching rate; Y2 is the target opening degree of the swing valve when the M-1th batch of wafers undergoes the single-cavity etching process; and α1 is the conversion coefficient between the swing valve opening degree and the etching rate.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein: The auxiliary gas control pipeline includes a gas delivery pipeline and a gas flow regulating valve installed on the gas delivery pipeline. The two ends of the gas delivery pipeline are respectively connected to the auxiliary gas supply end and the first reaction chamber. The steps of the control module controlling the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver auxiliary gas into the first reaction chamber and adjusting the flow rate of the delivered auxiliary gas according to the adjustment mode include: The control module sends an opening command to the gas flow regulating valve, so that the auxiliary gas enters the first reaction chamber from the auxiliary gas supply end through the gas delivery pipeline; During the single-cavity etching process, the control module adjusts the opening of the gas flow regulating valve according to the adjustment mode and the real-time opening degree sent by the swing valve, until the real-time opening degree of the swing valve is driven to match the first opening degree.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein: The dual-cavity etching apparatus also includes a robotic arm for transferring wafers, the robotic arm being connected to the control module, and the auxiliary gas control pipeline being connected to the second reaction chamber; When the remaining wafers in this batch are insufficient for dual-cavity simultaneous etching, the steps for performing the N+1th round of the process include: The robotic arm transfers the remaining wafers in the batch to either the first or the second reaction chamber for the single-chamber etching process, and sends the identification information of the reaction chamber carrying the wafers to the control module. The control module determines the idle reaction chamber in the first reaction chamber and the second reaction chamber based on the received reaction chamber identification information, and controls the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver the auxiliary gas into the idle reaction chamber.

13. A dual chamber etching apparatus, comprising: The system includes a first reaction chamber, a second reaction chamber, an auxiliary gas control pipeline, an exhaust pipeline, and a control module. The auxiliary gas control pipeline is connected to the first reaction chamber, and the exhaust pipeline is connected to both the first and second reaction chambers. The exhaust pipeline is equipped with a swing valve, which is used to maintain the target chamber pressure and send the first opening degree of the swing valve when performing a dual-chamber etching process and the real-time opening degree of the swing valve when performing a single-chamber etching process in the second reaction chamber to the control module. The control module is connected with the auxiliary gas control pipeline and the swing valve respectively, and is used for controlling the same batch of wafers to be transmitted to the first reaction cavity and the second reaction cavity respectively to perform N rounds of double-cavity etching processes, N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and when the remaining wafers of the batch are insufficient to perform the double-cavity etching process, the control module controls to perform the N+1 round of process, and the remaining wafers of the batch are transmitted to the second reaction cavity to perform single-cavity etching process, and the control module is also used for controlling the auxiliary gas control pipeline to deliver auxiliary gas into the first reaction cavity, and adjusting the flow of the delivered auxiliary gas according to an adjustment mode, until the real-time opening degree of the swing valve is driven to be matched with the first opening degree when the single-cavity etching process is performed in the second reaction cavity.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Etching rate compensation method and semiconductor process equipment

    CN118866742A

  • Two-stage pressure regulation plasma etching cleaning equipment and wafer processing method

    CN120527276A