Automatic fine-tuning device for a desired temperature profile

Abstract

The embodiments disclosed in this specification include a method of setting a target profile. In one embodiment, the method includes obtaining a first gain curve at one or more temperature sensor offsets and obtaining a second gain curve at one or more zone multipliers. In one embodiment, the method further includes combining the first gain curve and the second gain curve into a thermal model. In one embodiment, the method further includes obtaining a reference data set and using the thermal model to generate temperature sensor offsets and / or zone multipliers for application to the reference data set to generate a target profile.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross - reference to Related Applications This application claims the priority of U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 835,711, filed on June 8, 2022, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] Embodiments relate to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, and more particularly, to processes and equipment for performing temperature profile adjustment.

Background Art

[0003] In rapid thermal processing (RTP) tools, a thermal oxidation process is typically performed. The RTP tool includes an array of lamps used to heat a substrate below. In many modern RTP tools, this lamp is controlled in multiple zones. Each zone typically extends radially from the center of the RTP tool. For example, depending on the implementation form, three or more lamp zones may be used. Further, heating control can be informed by feedback provided by one or more temperature sensors such as pyrometers. In some cases, the number of pyrometers is different from the number of lamp zones. That is, a single pyrometer may be used to measure the temperature corresponding to two or more lamp zones. Therefore, the resolution of temperature control may be sub - optimal.

[0004] In a specific case, it is desirable to have a flat temperature profile at the center. A flat temperature profile at the center refers to the temperature across the entire central part of a substantially flat substrate. As a result of the temperature profile being flat at the center, the oxide thickness may become relatively constant across the entire center of the substrate. However, since a single pyrometer is used to achieve feedback control to the center of the substrate, the lamp zones at the center of the substrate do not have individual feedback control. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve a flat profile at the center. Similarly, it is difficult to enable other temperature profiles (e.g., edge - cold or edge - hot) using existing solutions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Embodiments disclosed herein include a method of setting a target profile. In one embodiment, the method includes obtaining a first gain curve at one or more temperature sensor offsets and obtaining a second gain curve at one or more zone multipliers. In one embodiment, the method further includes combining the first gain curve and the second gain curve into a thermal model. In one embodiment, the method further includes obtaining a reference data set and using the thermal model to generate temperature sensor offsets and / or zone multipliers for generating a target profile and applying them to the reference data set.

[0006] Embodiments disclosed herein may also include a semiconductor processing tool. In one embodiment, the semiconductor processing tool may include a processing chamber, an array of lamps across the processing chamber, the array of lamps comprising a plurality of lamp zones, and a plurality of temperature sensors, wherein the number of temperature sensors is less than the number of lamp zones. In one embodiment, the semiconductor processing tool may further include a thermal model for generating temperature sensor offsets and / or zone multipliers configured to generate a target temperature profile.

[0007] The embodiments disclosed herein may also include a method for setting a target temperature profile in a heat treatment chamber. In one embodiment, the method may include obtaining a first gain curve at one or more temperature sensor offsets of a plurality of temperature sensors, and obtaining a second gain curve at one or more zone multipliers in a plurality of lamp zones, where the number of zone multipliers is greater than the number of temperature sensors. In one embodiment, the method may further include combining the first gain curve and the second gain curve into a thermal model, obtaining a reference data set, and using the thermal model to generate temperature sensor offsets and / or zone multipliers and applying them to the reference data set to generate a target temperature profile.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

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[0009] The systems described herein include processes and apparatus for performing temperature profile adjustments. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known aspects have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments needlessly. Further, it should be understood that the various embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings are illustrative representations and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0010] As described above, it is currently difficult to control the temperature profile of a rapid thermal processing (RTP) tool. This is due, in part, to the difference between the number of lamp zones and the number of temperature sensor zones. When the number of temperature sensor zones is less than the number of lamp zones, the temperature sensor zones must partially overlap two or more lamp zones. As a result, even when the temperatures obtained by the various lamp zones are different, the temperature feedback will be applied uniformly to the multiple lamp zones. In a specific case, this makes it difficult to achieve a flat temperature profile at the center. Other profiles (e.g., edge hot or edge cold) may also be difficult to obtain using existing control processes.

[0011] As used herein, a "flat center" profile may refer to a profile in which the central region of the substrate has a substantially flat temperature profile. It should be understood that the central region will typically not have a perfectly flat temperature profile, but the overall shape of the profile may be flat. For example, the trend line of the central region may be generally parallel to the X-axis (e.g., within 15 degrees parallel to the X-axis). Although temperature is being described, it should be understood that a "flat center" profile (or other profile) may, in some cases, also apply to a thickness profile. In such a thickness profile, the central region of the substrate may have a film (e.g., an oxide film) with a substantially uniform thickness. Generally, the film thickness profile will substantially match the temperature profile used to form the film.

[0012] As used herein, an "edge hot" profile may refer to a temperature profile in which the temperature at the edge is higher than the central temperature, and an "edge cold" profile may refer to a temperature profile in which the temperature at the edge is lower than the central temperature. Although specific profiles (e.g., flat center, hot edge, cold edge) are described, it should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein can be adjusted to produce any desired temperature or thickness profile.

[0013] To improve the resolution of temperature profile control, the embodiments disclosed herein include the use of both a temperature offset and a zone multiplier. The temperature offset may be an offset applied to the measured temperature (e.g., the temperature measured by a pyrometer). The temperature offset may be used to locally increase or decrease the value of the measured temperature. The zone multiplier may be a gain value applied to the power of a lamp zone. For example, the power supplied to a lamp zone may be increased or decreased by a certain percentage. Thus, rather than having a single variable for controlling the temperature profile, multiple knobs can be used to adjust the temperature profile to achieve the desired result.

[0014] In one embodiment, the process of generating a desired temperature profile may include obtaining a first gain curve and a second gain curve. The first gain curve may include one or more temperature offsets, and the second gain curve may include one or more zone multipliers. The first and second gain curves may be determined by performing measurements on one or more substrates that are processed using various temperature offsets and zone multipliers. The first and second gain curves may then be combined and integrated into a thermal model. The thermal model may be a physics-based model that maps the thermal performance of the RTP tool. In one embodiment, the process may then move on to obtaining a reference dataset. For example, the reference dataset may be provided by measurements of previously processed substrates. In one embodiment, the process may then move on to generating temperature sensor offsets and / or zone multipliers using the thermal model and applying them to the reference dataset in order to generate a target profile.

[0015] Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic view of a lamp array of an RTP tool 100 according to one embodiment is shown. The RTP tool 100 may be used to form a layer on a substrate (not shown). For example, an oxide layer may be formed on the substrate. In other embodiments, the RTP tool 100 may be used for an annealing process. In one embodiment, the lamp array may include a plurality of lamp zones 130. For example, lamp zone 130 A ~130 E is shown in FIG. 1. However, it should be understood that the tool 100 may include any number of lamp zones 130. For example, in some embodiments, the tool 100 may include 12 or more lamp zones.

[0016] The lamp zones 130 may be substantially concentric regions. The central lamp zone 130 E may be substantially circular, and the remaining lamp zones 130 A ~130 D are the central lamp zone 130E It may be a concentric ring around E . Each lamp zone 130 may include a plurality of individual lamps (not shown). In some embodiments, the lamp zone 130 may have a non-uniform number of lamps. For example, the number of lamps in the central lamp zone 130 E may be different from the number of lamps in the lamp zone 130 D at other positions.

[0017] In one embodiment, the RTP tool 100 may also include one or more temperature sensing regions 116. For example, three temperature sensing regions 116 A ~116 C are shown in FIG. 1. The temperature sensing regions 116 may include a central region 116 C , an intermediate region 116 B , and an outer region 116 C . The central region 116 C may be used for feedback control of the region from the center of the tool 100 to the first dashed line, the intermediate region 116 B may be used for feedback control between the first dashed line and the second dashed line, and the outer region 116 C may be used for feedback control between the second dashed line and the outer periphery of the tool 100. Each region 116 A ~116 C may be equipped with a single temperature sensor. In one embodiment, the temperature sensor may be any temperature sensor architecture. For example, the temperature sensor may be a pyrometer or the like.

[0018] As shown in the figure, the number of lamp zones 130 is different from the number of temperature sensor regions 116. Specifically, the number of lamp zones 130 is greater than the number of temperature sensor regions 116. Therefore, each of the temperature sensing regions 116 may be used to provide feedback to two or more lamp zones 130. When the only feedback source is the temperature sensing region 116, it is difficult to achieve high-resolution control of the temperature profile (and the corresponding film thickness profile). Therefore, the embodiments disclosed herein use both a temperature offset and a zone multiplier to provide the desired profile in tool 100. The temperature offset and zone multiplier are described in more detail below.

[0019] Referring next to FIG. 2, a cross-sectional view of a processing chamber 200 according to one embodiment is shown. In one embodiment, chamber 200 may comprise any type of semiconductor manufacturing chamber that may require precise substrate temperature control. In the illustrated embodiment, a chamber 200 without plasma functionality is shown. However, it should be understood that chamber 200 may also include the ability to perform various processing regimes using plasma.

[0020] In one embodiment, chamber 200 may comprise a chamber body 220. Chamber body 220 may include any suitable material, such as stainless steel. In one embodiment, a coating (not shown) may be applied over the entire inner surface of chamber body 220. For example, this coating may be a seasoning layer or a protective layer of the chamber. In one embodiment, gas 221 may enter chamber 200 through a first portion of chamber body 220, and gas 222 may exit the tool through a second portion of chamber body 220. Although gases 221 and 222 are shown as entering and exiting through chamber body 220, it should be understood that this gas may enter and exit this chamber through any portion of chamber 200 depending on the type of chamber 200 being used.

[0021] In one embodiment, a substrate support 215 and a susceptor 217 are provided within the chamber. The substrate support 215 and the susceptor 217 are configured to hold and / or fix the substrate 210. For example, the substrate 210 may be a semiconductor substrate such as a silicon wafer. The substrate 210 may have any suitable form factor. For example, the diameter of the substrate 210 may be 300 mm, 450 mm, or any standard wafer form factor. Further, other substrates 210 may be used within the chamber 200. For example, depending on the embodiment, a glass substrate, a ceramic substrate, etc. may be used. In one embodiment, the substrate support 215 and the susceptor 217 may be configured to rotate. This rotation enables improvement of temperature uniformity across the entire substrate 210.

[0022] The susceptor 217 may include any type of chucking architecture to fix the substrate 210. Depending on the embodiment, the susceptor 217 may include an electrostatic chucking (ESC) architecture. In such an embodiment, the substrate 210 is fixed to the susceptor 217 by electrostatic force. Other embodiments may include a vacuum chucking architecture for the susceptor 217. In one embodiment, the susceptor 217 and the substrate support 215 may include a quartz material, or another material that is at least substantially transparent to infrared radiation. Thus, the temperature of the back surface of the substrate 210 can be obtained by the pyrometer 216.

[0023] In one embodiment, the chamber 200 may include a lid 225. This lid 225 may sometimes be referred to as a chamber dome. It should be understood that the lid 225 is formed as a dome, but may have any architecture (e.g., planar, etc.). The lid 225 may be formed from a material that is at least substantially transparent to infrared radiation. For example, the lid 225 may include quartz, etc.

[0024] In one embodiment, the chamber 200 may also include a bottom cover 227. The bottom cover 227 may cover the bottom surface of the chamber 285. The bottom cover 227 may include a material that is at least substantially transparent to infrared radiation. Thus, the thermometer 216 on the bottom side of the chamber 200 can be used to measure the temperature of the bottom surface of the substrate 210. In one embodiment, the bottom cover 227 may be connected to the substrate support 215. More specifically, the substrate support 215 may penetrate through the bottom cover 227. The bottom cover 227 is connected to the substrate support 215 in a configuration that allows the substrate support 215 to rotate freely.

[0025] In one embodiment, a plurality of lamps 230 may be provided outside the internal space of the chamber 200. The internal space of the tool may refer to the space defined by the lid 225, the chamber body 220, and the bottom cover 227. That is, the lamps 230 are not provided within the internal space of the chamber 200 where substrate processing is performed. In the illustrated embodiment, five sets of lamps 230 A ~230 E are provided across the entire upper surface of the lid 225. Each of the lamps 230 A ~230 E represents a different lamp region. The lamp 230 A may be for the outer zone of the substrate 210, and the lamps 230 B ~230 D may be for the intermediate zone of the substrate 210, and the lamp 230 E may be for the central zone of the substrate 210. The lamps 230 A ~230 EIt may be focused on different zones by a reflector (not shown) provided around the lamp 230. Although one or two lamps 230 are shown in each zone, it should be understood that any number of lamps may be used to heat each zone of the substrate 210. In the illustrated embodiment, five front-side lamp zones are shown. However, it should be understood that in other embodiments, six or more lamp zones may be included. For example, the reflector structure may include six or more zones to achieve further enhanced temperature control across the entire surface of the substrate 210.

[0026] In one embodiment, a plurality of pyrometers 216 A ~216 C may be provided through the bottom cover 227. The pyrometer 216 may be focused on the back surface of the substrate 210. In one embodiment, the number of pyrometers 216 may be different from the number of heating zones on the substrate 210. For example, five heating zones are shown in FIG. 2, and three pyrometers 216 A ~216 C are provided. The pyrometer 216 A may measure the temperature in the outer region of the substrate 210, the pyrometer 216 B may measure the temperature in the middle region of the substrate 210, and the pyrometer 216 C may measure the temperature in the central region of the substrate 210.

[0027] Next, referring to FIG. 3, a graph of the thickness profiles of a first substrate 371 and a second substrate 372 according to one embodiment is shown. The first substrate 371 is manufactured using an existing feedback architecture and a controller architecture. As shown in the figure, there is a significant peak in the central region (for example, between -50 mm and 50 mm). This is due in part to the width of the first pyrometer zone P A . As shown in the figure, the first pyrometer zone P A extends from approximately -100 mm to 100 mm. This is significantly wider than the width of the first lamp zone Z A . The first lamp zone Z Amay range from about -50 mm to 50 mm. However, particularly in the relatively narrow first lamp zone Z A there is no feedback control. As a result, it becomes impossible to reduce the thickness of the central region of the first substrate 371.

[0028] In contrast, the second substrate 372 includes a profile with a flat center. That is, the trend line of the second substrate 372 in the intermediate region is substantially parallel to the X-axis. The second substrate 372 can form this desirable profile using the embodiments disclosed herein. Specifically, both the temperature offset (at the pyrometer) and the zone multiplier (at each lamp zone) may be used in combination to achieve relatively high-resolution control of the profile. That is, even though the temperature feedback from P A is wider than the central region, the central region can still be made flat. The reason is that the zone multiplier in the central lamp Z A can be used to reduce the thermal energy supplied to the central region.

[0029] More specifically, gain curves are plotted for both the temperature sensor offset and the zone multiplier in each of the lamp zones. That is, a record of the change due to a particular temperature offset or zone multiplier can be obtained as a gain curve. The gain curve can then be applied to the thermal model to generate the offsets required to create a particular profile.

[0030] Next, referring to FIG. 4A, a graph of gain curves at various temperature offsets according to one embodiment is shown. Each of the gain curves corresponds to one of the temperature sensors in the tool 100. For example, FIG. 4A shows three gain curves. The gain curve 373 is for the central pyrometer (T1), the gain curve 374 is for the intermediate pyrometer (T2), and the gain curve 375 is for the outer pyrometer (T3). As shown in FIG. 4A, an offset of 1° C. is given to each of the pyrometers.

[0031] Each of the gain curves may represent a change in the profile due to an offset. That is, each of the gain curves 373-375 may be generated by processing various substrates and measuring those substrates. Each substrate is processed using one of three offsets. For example, curve 373 shows the profile when a 1° C. offset is applied to the central pyrometer T1 and the other pyrometers T2 and T3 are not modified. Curve 374 shows the profile when a 1° C. offset is applied to the intermediate pyrometer T2 and the other pyrometers T1 and T3 are not modified. Curve 375 shows the profile when a 1° C. offset is applied to the outer pyrometer T3 and the other pyrometers T1 and T2 are not modified. As shown in the figure, each offset generally corresponds to an increased thickness in the modified region. For example, the profile of the central region increases on line 373, the profile of the intermediate region increases on line 374, and the profile of the outer region increases on line 375.

[0032] Referring now to FIG. 4B, a graph of gain curves at various zone multipliers according to one embodiment is shown. Each of the gain curves corresponds to one of the lamp zones in tool 100. For example, six gain curves are shown in FIG. 4B. As shown in FIG. 4B, each of the zones has a zone multiplier of +0.01. Zone 1 (Z1) may be at the center of tool 100, and zone 6 (Z6) may be at the outer edge of tool 100. Zones 2-5 (Z2-Z5) may be provided between zone 1 and zone 6.

[0033] Each of the gain curves may represent a change in the profile due to the zone multiplier. That is, each of the gain curves Z1 - Z6 may be generated by processing various substrates and measuring those substrates. Each substrate is processed using one of six zone multipliers. For example, curve Z1 shows the profile when a zone multiplier of +0.01 is applied to the central lamp zone and the other lamp zones Z2 - Z6 are unchanged. As shown in the figure, the zone multiplier generally corresponds to an increased thickness in the modified region. For example, it is observed that the profile of the central region increases in central zone Z1 and increases towards the edge in the outer zone (e.g., Z6).

[0034] Referring next to FIG. 5, a flowchart of a process 580 for generating a target profile according to one embodiment is shown. In one embodiment, the target profile may be a temperature profile, a film thickness profile, etc. Depending on the embodiment, the target profile may be a flat - centered profile, an edge - hot profile, an edge - cold profile, or any other profile necessary to process the substrate.

[0035] In one embodiment, process 580 may begin with an operation 581 that includes obtaining a first gain curve at one or more temperature sensor offsets. In one embodiment, there may be three or more temperature sensors that can provide gain curves. In one embodiment, each of the first gain curves may be obtained using a process similar to the process described above with respect to FIG. 4A. That is, a temperature offset may be applied to one of the temperature sensors, and the remaining temperature sensors remain unmodified. The substrate may be processed under such conditions, and measurement of the substrate (e.g., film thickness) is effected. Each of the temperature sensors may be investigated using such a process to yield a set of gain curves at the temperature offset.

[0036] In one embodiment, process 580 may move to operation 581 which includes obtaining a second gain curve at one or more zone multipliers. Each zone multiplier may be applied to a different lamp zone. In one embodiment, the number of lamp zones may be greater than the number of temperature sensors. For example, the number of lamp zones may be four or more lamp zones. In one embodiment, a process similar to the process described above with respect to FIG. 4B may be used to obtain each of the second gain curves. That is, the zone multiplier may be applied to an individual lamp zone and the remaining lamp zones are not modified. The substrate may be processed under such conditions and measurements of the substrate (e.g., film thickness) are provided. Each of the lamp zones may be investigated using such a process to provide a set of gain curves at the zone multiplier.

[0037] In one embodiment, process 580 may move to operation 583 which includes combining the first gain curve and the second gain curve into a thermal model. In one embodiment, the thermal model may include a physics-based model of the thermal characteristics of tool 100. For example, heat transfer equations, other physical properties, etc. may be used to determine the results on the substrate. In a specific embodiment, the accuracy of the thermal model can be improved using data obtained from the first gain curve and the second gain curve.

[0038] In one embodiment, process 580 may move to operation 584 which includes obtaining a reference data set. In one embodiment, this reference data set may be obtained by performing measurements on substrates processed with existing strategies. In other embodiments (e.g., in subsequent iterations of process 580), the reference data set may be obtained from the thermal model itself. In yet another embodiment, the reference data set may be obtained from the power consumption log information of the substrate processing. That is, the reference data set may be measured data or calculated data.

[0039] In one embodiment, process 580 may move to operation 585, which includes generating a temperature sensor offset and / or a zone multiplier using a thermal model and applying it to a reference dataset in order to generate a target profile. For example, existing measures used to generate the reference dataset may be modified by one or more temperature sensor offsets and / or one or more zone modifiers. The thermal model may use an equation solver to minimize non-uniformity in a given profile. For example, the thermal model may use any commercially available solver solution to minimize profile non-uniformity.

[0040] Next, referring to FIG. 6A, a graph of the thickness across the radius of the substrate is shown for the reference data and the estimated thickness presented by the model. As shown in the figure, the reference data includes a wider range of thickness values than the estimated values across the diameter of the substrate. This reduces non-uniformity and improves the results compared to existing process measures.

[0041] Next, referring to FIG. 6B, a graph of the thickness across the radius of the substrate is shown for the reference data and the updated process measure. The model line is the actual measurement data obtained after running the substrate using the updated process measure that includes the temperature offset and / or the zone multiplier. As shown in the figure, the model line has a non-uniformity similar to the non-uniformity estimated in FIG. 6A. Therefore, it is considered that the thermal model was able to correctly improve the process measure. Furthermore, the thermal model may be used to modify this measure to achieve any desired profile type.

[0042] Next, referring to FIG. 7, there is shown a block diagram of an exemplary computer system 700 of a processing tool according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, computer system 700 is coupled to a processing tool and controls processing on this processing tool. Computer system 700 may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines within a local area network (LAN), intranet, extranet, or the Internet. Computer system 700 may operate as a server or client machine in a client-server network environment or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. Computer system 700 may be any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (either sequentially or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine, such as a personal computer (PC), tablet PC, set-top box (STB), personal digital assistant (PDA), cellular phone, web appliance, server, network router, switch or bridge, or the like. Further, although only a single machine is shown for computer system 700, the term "machine" shall also include any collection of machines (e.g., computers) that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies described herein.

[0043] The computer system 700 may include a computer program product or software 722 having a persistent and machine-readable medium storing each instruction, and these instructions may be used to program the computer system 700 (or other electronic device) to execute the process according to the embodiment. The machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, the machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) medium includes machine (e.g., computer) readable storage media (e.g., read-only memory ("ROM"), random access memory ("RAM"), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, etc.), machine (e.g., computer) readable transmission media (electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals (e.g., infrared signals, digital signals, etc.)), and the like.

[0044] In one embodiment, the computer system 700 includes a system processor 702, a main memory 704 (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as read-only memory ("ROM"), flash memory, synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), or Rambus DRAM (RDRAM)), a static memory 706 (e.g., flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), and a secondary memory 718 (e.g., a data storage device), which communicate with each other via a bus 730.

[0045] The system processor 702 represents one or more general-purpose processing devices, such as a micro system processor, a central processing unit, etc. More specifically, the system processor may be a complex instruction set computing (CISC) micro system processor, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) micro system processor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) micro system processor, a system processor implementing other instruction sets, or a system processor implementing a combination of instruction sets. The system processor 702 may also be one or more dedicated processing devices, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal system processor (DSP), a network system processor, etc. The system processor 702 is configured to execute processing logic 726 for performing the operations described herein.

[0046] The computer system 700 may further include a system network interface device 708 for communicating with other devices or machines. The computer system 700 may also include a video display device 710 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode display device (LED), or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device 712 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 714 (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generating device 716 (e.g., a speaker).

[0047] The secondary memory 718 may include a machine-accessible storage medium 732 (or, more specifically, a computer-readable storage medium) in which one or more instruction sets (e.g., software 722) are stored that embody any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The software 722 may also be fully or at least partially present in the main memory 704 and / or within the system processor 702 while being executed by the computer system 700, and the main memory 704 and the system processor 702 also constitute a machine-readable storage medium. The software 722 may further be transmitted and received across the network 720 via the system network interface device 708. In one embodiment, the network interface device 708 may operate using RF coupling, optical coupling, acoustic coupling, or inductive coupling.

[0048] Although the machine-accessible storage medium 732 is shown as a single medium in an exemplary embodiment, the term "machine-readable storage medium" should be considered to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized database or a distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) that store one or more instruction sets. The term "machine-readable storage medium" should also be considered to include any medium that can store or encode a set of instructions for execution by a machine that enables the machine to execute any one or more of this methodology. Thus, the term "machine-readable storage medium" should be considered to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memory, as well as optical and magnetic media.

[0049] In the foregoing specification, specific and exemplary embodiments have been described. It will be apparent that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, this specification and each drawing are to be construed in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense.

Claims

1. A method for setting a target profile, comprising: obtaining a first gain curve at one or more temperature sensor offsets; obtaining a second gain curve at one or more zone multipliers; combining the first gain curve and the second gain curve into a thermal model; obtaining a reference data set; using the thermal model to generate a temperature sensor offset and / or a zone multiplier and applying it to the reference data set to generate the target profile. A method comprising the above.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the profile is an edge hot profile.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the profile is an edge cold profile.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the profile is a flat profile at the center.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first gain curve includes temperature sensor offsets at three or more temperature sensors.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second gain curve includes zone multipliers in four or more zones.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the number of temperature sensors is less than the number of zones.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first temperature sensor measures the temperature of an area of a substrate controlled by two or more zones.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference data set is obtained by measuring a previously processed substrate.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference data set is a previously calculated value from the thermal model.

11. A processing chamber; an array of lamps across the entire processing chamber, the array of lamps comprising a plurality of lamp zones; a plurality of temperature sensors, wherein the number of temperature sensors is less than the number of lamp zones; a thermal model configured to generate a temperature sensor offset and / or a zone multiplier to generate a target temperature profile. A semiconductor processing tool comprising the above.

12. The semiconductor processing tool according to claim 11, wherein the temperature profile is an edge hot profile.

13. The semiconductor processing tool according to claim 11, wherein the temperature profile is an edge cold profile.

14. The semiconductor processing tool according to claim 11, wherein the temperature profile is a flat profile at the center.

15. The semiconductor processing tool according to claim 11, wherein the semiconductor processing tool is a thermal oxidation tool.

16. The semiconductor processing tool according to claim 11, wherein the thermal model is informed by a first gain curve at one or more temperature sensor offsets and a second gain curve at one or more zone multipliers.

17. The semiconductor processing tool according to claim 16, wherein the first gain curve includes temperature sensor offsets at three or more temperature sensors, and the second gain curve includes zone multipliers at four or more lamp zones.

18. A method for setting a target temperature profile in a heat treatment chamber, comprising: obtaining a first gain curve at one or more temperature sensor offsets of a plurality of temperature sensors; obtaining a second gain curve at one or more zone multipliers in a plurality of lamp zones, wherein the number of zone multipliers is greater than the number of temperature sensors; combining the first gain curve and the second gain curve to form a thermal model; obtaining a reference data set; generating temperature sensor offsets and / or zone multipliers using the thermal model and applying them to the reference data set to generate the target temperature profile. A method comprising the above steps.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the temperature profile is an edge hot profile, an edge cold profile, or a flat profile at the center.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein the reference data set is obtained from measurements of previously processed substrates.

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