Substrate Processing System, Substrate Processing Apparatus, Method for Manufacturing Semiconductor Device, and Program

Abstract

To provide a technology that allows stable acquisition of device data included in a substrate processing device.SOLUTION: A technology according to the present disclosure includes a substrate processing device including a control unit capable of controlling processing of a substrate according to a recipe having at least one step, and a first storage unit capable of storing device data reported during processing of the substrate, and a data management unit that is connected to at least one of the substrate processing devices, and can specify the number of steps included in the data to be acquired such that the data falls within a predefined data acquisition range.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing system, a substrate processing apparatus, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] When manufacturing semiconductor devices (semiconductor devices) such as Large Scale Integrated circuits (LSIs) and Dynamic Random Access Memories (DRAMs), generally, a substrate processing apparatus that performs various processes on a semiconductor substrate such as a silicon (Si) wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrate" or "wafer") is used. Further, as such a substrate processing apparatus, for example, Patent Document 1 below describes one that is communicably connected to a group management apparatus and manages various data of the substrate processing apparatus by the group management apparatus.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When managing one or a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses by a data management unit such as the group management apparatus described in Patent Document 1 above, various process data (hereinafter simply referred to as "data") acquired by sensors or the like mounted on the substrate processing apparatus during substrate processing execution may be acquired. Then, the data acquired here may be analyzed, for example, to know the state of the substrate processing apparatus as a management target. In order to acquire such data, the data management unit searches for and extracts target data from various data stored in one substrate processing apparatus.

[0005] Here, if the number of sensors provided in a single substrate processing apparatus is large or the content of the substrate processing to be performed is complex, the total data size of the data acquired in the above-described single substrate processing apparatus increases. Therefore, in some cases, the data size of the data exceeds the size that can be held in the memory of the data management unit, and processes such as data acquisition and conversion of the data format after acquisition may not be stably performed.

[0006] The present disclosure provides a technique capable of stably acquiring data possessed by a substrate processing apparatus in consideration of the above points.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a control unit capable of controlling the processing of a substrate by a recipe having at least one step, and a first storage unit capable of storing data of an apparatus reported during the processing of the substrate; a substrate processing apparatus having a data management unit connected to at least one of the substrate processing apparatuses and capable of specifying the number of steps included in the data to be acquired so that the data falls within a predefined data acquirable range when acquiring the data; A technique including is provided.

Effects of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it becomes possible to stably acquire data possessed by a substrate processing apparatus.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment for carrying out the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the drawings used in the following description are all schematic, and the dimensional relationships and ratios of each element shown in the drawings do not necessarily match the actual ones. Furthermore, the dimensional relationships and ratios of each element do not necessarily match even among a plurality of drawings.

[0011] <Schematic Configuration of Substrate Processing System> FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing system 1 according to the present embodiment includes one or more (three in FIG. 1) substrate processing apparatuses 10-1, 10-2, 10-3 and a data management unit 20 communicably connected to these substrate processing apparatuses 10-1, 10-2, 10-3.

[0012] The substrate processing apparatuses 10-1, 10-2, 10-3 may be apparatuses that perform various processes on a wafer 200 constituting a semiconductor device. Also, the data management unit 20 may be an apparatus for managing these one or more substrate processing apparatuses 10-1, 10-2, 10-3.

[0013] Hereinafter, an example of each of the substrate processing apparatuses 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 described above and an example of the data management unit 20 will be described in order. In the following description, as an example of a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3, a case where a batch-type substrate processing apparatus 10 that processes a plurality of substrates at a time is adopted will be described. However, the substrate processing apparatus in the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described aspect, and for example, it can also be a single-wafer type substrate processing apparatus that processes one or several substrates at a time. Similarly, hereinafter, a case where a substrate processing apparatus 10 having a hot-wall type processing furnace is adopted will be described. However, the substrate processing apparatus in the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described aspect, and it can also be a substrate processing apparatus having a cold-wall type processing furnace.

[0014] <Schematic Configuration of Substrate Processing Apparatus> FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 2, a vertical processing furnace included in one substrate processing apparatus 10 is shown in a longitudinal sectional view. Further, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line A-A shown in FIG. 2.

[0015] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the substrate processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can mainly include a processing furnace 202 provided with a heater 207. The heater 207 can have, for example, a cylindrical shape and may be vertically installed by being supported by a holding plate. Further, this heater 207 can also function as an activation mechanism (excitation unit) that activates (excites) a gas with heat.

[0016] Inside the heater 207, a reaction tube 203 may be arranged concentrically with the heater 207. This reaction tube 203 is, for example, made of quartz (SiO 2) or may be made of a heat-resistant material such as silicon carbide (SiC), and may be formed in a cylindrical shape with its upper end closed and its lower end open. Below the reaction tube 203, a manifold 209 may be disposed concentrically with the reaction tube 203. This manifold 209 can be made of a metal material such as stainless steel (SUS), for example, and may be formed in a cylindrical shape with its upper and lower ends open. The upper end portion of the manifold 209 may be engaged with the lower end portion of the reaction tube 203 and configured to support the reaction tube 203.

[0017] An O-ring 220a as a seal member may be provided between the manifold 209 and the reaction tube 203. The reaction tube 203 can be installed vertically in the same manner as the heater 207. And mainly, the reaction tube 203 and the manifold 209 described above can constitute a processing container (reaction container). A processing chamber 201 may be formed in the cylindrical hollow portion of the processing container. The processing chamber 201 may be configured to accommodate a wafer 200 as a substrate. Various processes can be performed on the wafer 200 in this processing chamber 201.

[0018] In the processing chamber 201, nozzles 249a to 249c as the first to third supply units may be respectively provided so as to penetrate the side wall of the manifold 209. Hereinafter, these nozzles 249a to 249c will also be referred to as the first to third nozzles respectively. The nozzles 249a to 249c may be made of a heat-resistant material such as quartz or SiC, for example. Further, gas supply pipes 232a to 232c may be respectively connected to the nozzles 249a to 249c. These three nozzles 249a to 249c are different nozzles, and each of the nozzles 249a and 249c may be provided adjacent to the nozzle 249b. Note that the notation of a range such as "the first to third supply units" in this specification means that the minimum value and the maximum value are included in the range.

[0019] In the gas supply pipes 232a to 232c, a mass flow controller (hereinafter also referred to as "MFC") 241a to 241c, which is a flow rate controller (flow rate control unit), and valves 243a to 243c, which are on-off valves, may be provided in order from the upstream side of the gas flow. Further, gas supply pipes 232d and 232e may be connected to the downstream sides of the valves 243a and 243b of the gas supply pipes 232a and 232b, respectively. Furthermore, gas supply pipes 232f and 232g may be connected to the downstream side of the valve 243c of the gas supply pipe 232c, respectively. In the gas supply pipes 232d to 232g, MFCs 241d to 241g and valves 243d to 243g may be provided in order from the upstream side of the gas flow, respectively. The gas supply pipes 232a to 232g can be made of a metal material such as SUS, for example.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, the nozzles 249a to 249c may be provided so as to rise upward in the arrangement direction of the wafers 200 along the upper part from the lower part of the inner wall of the reaction tube 203 in an annular space in a plan view between the inner wall of the reaction tube 203 and the wafers 200. That is, the nozzles 249a to 249c may be provided along the wafer arrangement region on the side of the wafer arrangement region where the wafers 200 are arranged, in a region that horizontally surrounds the wafer arrangement region.

[0021] In a plan view, the nozzle 249b may be arranged so as to face the exhaust port 231a, which will be described later, in a straight line across the center of the wafer 200 carried into the processing chamber 201. Further, the nozzles 249a and 249c may be arranged so as to sandwich the straight line L passing through the centers of the nozzle 249b and the exhaust port 231a from both sides along the inner wall of the reaction tube 203 (that is, the outer peripheral portion of the wafer 200). The straight line L is also a straight line passing through the nozzle 249b and the center of the wafer 200. That is, it can also be said that the nozzle 249c is provided on the side opposite to the nozzle 249a with the straight line L interposed therebetween. The nozzles 249a and 249c may be arranged symmetrically with respect to the straight line L as the axis of symmetry.

[0022] On the side surfaces of the nozzles 249a to 249c, gas supply holes 250a to 250c for supplying gas may be respectively provided. The gas supply holes 250a to 250c are each opened so as to face (opposite) the exhaust port 231a in a plan view, and it is possible to supply gas toward the wafer 200. A plurality of the gas supply holes 250a to 250c may be provided from the lower part to the upper part of the reaction tube 203.

[0023] From the gas supply pipe 232a, as a source gas, for example, a gas containing silicon (Si) as a main element constituting a film formed on the wafer 200, that is, a halosilane gas which is one of the Si-containing gases, may be supplied. This halosilane gas can be supplied into the processing chamber 201 via the MFC241a, the valve 243a, and the nozzle 249a. A halosilane is a silane containing Si and a halogen element. The halosilane gas can act as a film-forming gas, that is, a Si source. The halogen element includes chlorine (Cl), fluorine (F), bromine (Br), iodine (I), and the like. As the halosilane gas, for example, a chlorosilane gas containing Si and Cl can be used.

[0024] From the gas supply pipe 232b, for example, a fluorine (F)-containing gas may be supplied. This F-containing gas can be supplied into the processing chamber 201 via the MFC241b, the valve 243b, and the nozzle 249b. The F-containing gas can act as a reforming gas or an etching gas.

[0025] From the gas supply pipe 232c, as a reaction gas, for example, a hydrogen nitride gas which is a nitrogen (N)-containing gas may be supplied into the processing chamber 201 via the MFC241c, the valve 243c, and the nozzle 249c. The hydrogen nitride gas can act as a film-forming gas, that is, an N source (nitriding gas).

[0026] From the gas supply pipe 232g, for example, as a Si-containing gas, an aminosilane-based gas (hereinafter also referred to as "AS gas") which is a gas containing Si and an amino group can be supplied. This AS gas can be supplied into the processing chamber 201 via the MFC 241g, the valve 243g, the gas supply pipe 232c, and the nozzle 249c. The Si-containing gas can act as a reforming gas.

[0027] From the gas supply pipes 232d to 232f, for example, inert gases can be respectively supplied into the processing chamber 201 via the MFCs 241d to 241f, the valves 243d to 243f, the gas supply pipes 232a to 232c, and the nozzles 249a to 249c. The inert gas can act as a purge gas, a carrier gas, a dilution gas, or the like.

[0028] Primarily, the film-forming gas supply system (raw material gas supply system, reaction gas supply system) can be constituted by the gas supply pipes 232a, 232c, the MFCs 241a, 241c, and the valves 243a, 243c. Also, primarily, the Si-containing gas supply system (in other words, the AS gas supply system) can be constituted by the gas supply pipe 232g, the MFC 241g, and the valve 243g. Furthermore, primarily, the F-containing gas supply system can be constituted by the gas supply pipe 232b, the MFC 241b, and the valve 243b. Moreover, primarily, the inert gas supply system can be constituted by the gas supply pipes 232d to 232f, the MFCs 241d to 241f, and the valves 243d to 243f. The Si-containing gas supply system and the F-containing gas supply system can also be referred to as the reforming gas supply system.

[0029] Any one or all of the above various supply systems may be configured as an integrated supply system 248 in which valves 243a to 243g, MFCs 241a to 241g, etc. are integrated. This integrated supply system 248 is connected to each of the gas supply pipes 232a to 232g, and the supply operations of various gases into the gas supply pipes 232a to 232g (i.e., the opening and closing operations of the valves 243a to 243g, the flow rate adjustment operations by the MFCs 241a to 241g, etc.) can be configured to be controlled by a controller 121 described later. The integrated supply system 248 can be configured as an integrated unit of an integrated type or a split type, and can be attached to and detached from the gas supply pipes 232a to 232g, etc. in units of integrated units. Thereby, maintenance, replacement, addition, etc. of the integrated supply system 248 can be performed in units of integrated units.

[0030] An exhaust port 231a for exhausting the atmosphere in the processing chamber 201 may be provided below the side wall of the reaction tube 203. As shown in FIG. 2, this exhaust port 231a may be provided at a position facing (opposite to) the nozzles 249a to 249c (more specifically, the gas supply holes 250a to 250c) with the wafer 200 interposed therebetween in a plan view. The exhaust port 231a may be provided along the upper part from the lower part of the side wall of the reaction tube 203, that is, along the wafer arrangement region. An exhaust pipe 231 may be connected to the exhaust port 231a. A vacuum pump 246 as a vacuum exhaust device may be connected to the exhaust pipe 231 via a pressure sensor 245 as a pressure detector for detecting the pressure in the processing chamber 201 and an Auto Pressure Controller (APC) valve 244 as a pressure regulator.

[0031] The APC valve 244 may be configured to evacuate and stop evacuating the processing chamber 201 by opening and closing the valve with the vacuum pump 246 operating. Further, the APC valve 244 may be configured to adjust the pressure in the processing chamber 201 by adjusting the valve opening based on the pressure information detected by the pressure sensor 245 with the vacuum pump 246 operating. Mainly, the exhaust system can be constituted by the exhaust pipe 231, the APC valve 244, and the pressure sensor 245. This exhaust system may include the vacuum pump 246.

[0032] Below the manifold 209, a seal cap 219 may be provided as a furnace lid that can airtightly close the lower end opening of the manifold 209. The seal cap 219 may be made of a metal material such as SUS and can be formed in a substantially disk shape. Further, an O-ring 220b may be provided on the upper surface of the seal cap 219 as a seal member that contacts the lower end of the manifold 209. Below the seal cap 219, a rotation mechanism 267 for rotating the boat 217 described later may be installed. The rotation shaft 255 of the rotation mechanism 267 may penetrate the seal cap 219 and be connected to the boat 217. The rotation mechanism 267 may be configured to rotate the wafer 200 by rotating the boat 217.

[0033] The seal cap 219 may be configured to be vertically lifted and lowered by a boat elevator 115 as a lifting mechanism installed outside the reaction tube 203. The boat elevator 115 may function as a transfer device for loading and unloading the wafer 200 into and out of the processing chamber 201 by lifting and lowering the seal cap 219.

[0034] The boat 217 as a substrate support may be configured to vertically align a plurality of wafers 200, for example, two or more and 250 or less wafers, in a horizontal posture and centered with respect to each other in multiple stages, that is, arranged at intervals. This boat 217 may be made of a heat-resistant material such as quartz or SiC. A heat insulating plate 218 made of a heat-resistant material such as quartz or SiC may be supported in multiple stages below the boat 217.

[0035] A temperature sensor 263 as a temperature detector may be installed in the reaction tube 203. By adjusting the energization of the heater 207 based on the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor 263, the temperature in the processing chamber 201 can be made to have a desired temperature distribution. This temperature sensor 263 may be provided, for example, along the inner wall of the reaction tube 203.

[0036] FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory diagram schematically showing an example of the hardware configuration of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 4, for ease of understanding, one substrate processing apparatus 10 and one data management unit 20 are shown respectively.

[0037] The substrate processing apparatus 10 includes a controller 121 that can function as a control unit 11 (to be described later) for controlling a series of processes of a wafer 200 as a substrate. As shown in FIG. 4, this controller 121 can be configured as a computer including at least a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 121a as an example of a processor, a Random Access Memory (RAM) 121b as an example of a memory, a storage device 121c as an example of a storage, and an input / output (I / O) port 121d. The RAM 121b, the storage device 121c, and the I / O port 121d may be capable of exchanging data with the CPU 121a via an internal bus 121e.

[0038] The storage device 121c can be configured with a non-temporary computer-readable recording medium such as, for example, a Read Only Memory (ROM), a flash memory, a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), or a Solid State Drive (SSD). In the storage device 121c, it is preferable that a control program for controlling each operation of the substrate processing apparatus 10, a process recipe, etc. in which procedures and conditions for substrate processing described later are described, are stored in a readable state.

[0039] The above-described process recipe (hereinafter, also simply referred to as "recipe") constitutes various information for performing substrate processing, and is composed of at least one step for substrate processing. This recipe may include, for example, a plurality of steps constituting a series of substrate processing and control information of various components when each step is executed. Further, this recipe may be combined so that the controller 121 can execute each procedure in the substrate processing to obtain a predetermined result, and can function as one program. In this regard, when the term "program" is used in this specification, it may include only the recipe alone, only the control program alone, or both of them.

[0040] The RAM 121b may function as a memory area for temporarily holding programs, data, etc. read by the CPU 121a.

[0041] The I / O port 121d may be a port for connecting to various components of the above-described substrate processing apparatus 10. For example, the MFCs 241a to 241g, the valves 243a to 243g, the pressure sensor 245, the APC valve 244, the vacuum pump 246, the temperature sensor 263, the heater 207, the rotation mechanism 267, and the boat elevator 115 may be connected to the I / O port 121d. Note that the components connected to the I / O port 121d are not limited to those described above.

[0042] The CPU 121a can be configured to read and execute a control program from the storage device 121c, and to read a recipe from the storage device 121c in response to an input of an operation command from the input / output device 122, which will be described later. The CPU 121a controls the flow rate adjustment operations of various gases by the MFCs 241a to 241g, the opening and closing operations of the valves 243a to 243g, the opening and closing operations and pressure adjustment operations of the APC valve 244, the startup and stop of the vacuum pump 246, the temperature adjustment operation of the heater 207 based on the temperature sensor 263, the rotation and rotation speed adjustment operations of the boat 217 by the rotation mechanism 267, and the lifting and lowering operations of the boat 217 by the boat elevator 115 so as to conform to the content of the read recipe.

[0043] The controller 121 including the above-described configuration may be connected to the input / output device 122, the external storage device 123, and the communication interface (I / F) 124. Among these, the input / output device 122 may be a user interface configured by an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a pointing device, or a display device such as a monitor, either alone or in combination.

[0044] The external storage device 123 can be configured by a non-temporary computer-readable recording medium such as a magnetic disk such as an HDD, an optical disk such as a CD, a magneto-optical disk such as an MO, a USB memory, a semiconductor memory such as an SSD, or the like. At least one of the external storage device 123 and the above-described storage device 121c can function as the first storage unit 12, which will be described later.

[0045] The communication interface 124 may be an interface enabling wired or wireless communication for transmitting and receiving various signals between the substrate processing apparatus 10 and the data management unit 20. The communication interface 124 can function as the communication unit 13, which will be described later.

[0046] FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing an example of each function of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Also in FIG. 5, as in FIG. 4, for the purpose of facilitating understanding, one substrate processing apparatus 10 and one data management unit 20 are shown respectively. As shown in FIG. 5, the substrate processing apparatus 10 can include a control unit 11, a first storage unit 12, and a communication unit 13 on the substrate processing apparatus side.

[0047] The control unit 11 can be mainly realized by the controller 121 described above. This control unit 11 may control various components of the substrate processing apparatus 10 based on a recipe to realize substrate processing. Further, this control unit 11 may include a data collection unit 14 that collects data reported during the processing when substrate processing is executed based on a recipe.

[0048] The first storage unit 12 can be mainly realized by the storage device 121c and the external storage device 123 described above. This first storage unit 12 can be capable of storing the data collected by the data collection unit 14. The data stored in the first storage unit 12 is preferably stored in association with the executed recipe, more preferably each step in the recipe.

[0049] The communication unit 13 on the substrate processing apparatus side can be mainly realized by the communication interface 124 described above. This communication unit 13 on the substrate processing apparatus side may be for performing data communication with the data management unit 20.

[0050] <Schematic Configuration of Data Management Unit> The data management unit 20 is connected to at least one substrate processing apparatus 10. Specifically, the data management unit 20 according to the present embodiment may be an apparatus capable of managing a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, such as a group management apparatus or a file server. This data management unit 20 may be connectable to the data management server 2 via the Internet or the like. Further, this data management server 2 may be a server capable of analyzing the files received from the data management unit 20, such as a Fault Detection and Classification (FDC) analysis server.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 4, the data management unit 20 can be configured by a computer including at least a CPU 301 as an example of a processor, a RAM 302 as an example of a memory, a storage device 303 as an example of a storage, and a communication interface 304 that realizes data communication with the substrate processing apparatuses 10-1, 10-2, 10-3. Further, this data management unit 20 may include an operation unit 305 for input operations by a user (specifically, an apparatus operator, an apparatus administrator, an apparatus engineer, a maintenance staff, or a worker, etc.).

[0052] The storage device 303 can be configured by a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium such as a ROM, a flash memory, an HDD, or an SSD. In the storage device 303, management information of each of the substrate processing apparatuses 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, data acquired from each of the substrate processing apparatuses 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, or data files obtained by converting the data into a predetermined data format may be stored in a readable state.

[0053] The CPU 301 can be used to control various operations in the data management unit 20. Examples of various operations in the data management unit 20 include acquiring data from each of the substrate processing apparatuses 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, and changing the data format of the acquired data.

[0054] The RAM 302 may function as a memory area (in other words, a work area) that temporarily holds data and the like related to various operations executed by the CPU 301.

[0055] The communication interface 304 may be an interface that enables wired or wireless communication for transmitting and receiving various signals between the data management unit 20 and each substrate processing device 10-1, 10-2, 10-3. The communication standard used for this communication interface 304 may conform to the standard of the communication interface 124 on the substrate processing device 10 side.

[0056] The operation unit 305 may be capable of receiving input of operation commands from the user. Specifically, this operation unit 305 can be configured as a user interface composed of an input device, a display device, etc., alone or in combination, similar to the input / output device 122 of the substrate processing device 10.

[0057] The data management unit 20 including the above-described hardware configuration can mainly exhibit the following functions. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the data management unit 20 according to the present embodiment can include a data acquisition unit 21, a file generation unit 22, a second storage unit 23, and a communication unit 24 on the data management unit side. Among the above-described configurations, the data acquisition unit 21 and the file generation unit 22 can be mainly realized by the CPU 301. Similarly, the second storage unit 23 can be mainly realized by the storage device 303, and the communication unit 24 can be mainly realized by the communication interface 304.

[0058] The data acquisition unit 21 may be for acquiring data related to a specific recipe executed by a specific substrate processing apparatus 10 based on an input of an operation command by a user or the like. Here, it should be particularly noted that the data acquired by the data acquisition unit 21 according to the present embodiment is acquired in units of steps, not in units of recipes. In this way, when the acquired data is acquired in units of steps, the data size of the acquired data can be kept smaller than when acquired in units of recipes. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the data size of the acquired data from exceeding the capacity of the memory of the data management unit 20.

[0059] The file generation unit 22 may be for filing the data acquired by the data acquisition unit 21 in units of recipes. The file generation unit 22 may be for converting data composed of time-series data of sensor outputs (for example, raw waveform data of various sensors) into files of different data formats. More specifically, the file generation unit 22 may be capable of converting the acquired data into a data format that is easy to analyze by a data management server 2 or the like, for example, a file in JSON format. Also, for example, it may be capable of converting into a file in CSV format or an XML format file. By performing such data conversion, the analysis of the data can be carried out smoothly. Also, it is preferable that the data format of the file can be specified in advance. By being able to specify the data format, data suitable for the use purpose of the file can be prepared.

[0060] In addition, since the data acquired by the data acquisition unit 21 is acquired in step units, simply converting one piece of data may not complete the file generation in recipe units by the file generation unit 22. Therefore, among the data acquired by the data acquisition unit 21, it is preferable that the data included in the same recipe be stored together as one file. As a result, all the data files stored in the second storage unit 23 can be files generated in recipe units, facilitating their use in subsequent processes such as analysis. As a method of storing data together in one file, the file may be generated in a batch when all the data constituting one recipe has been acquired. Alternatively, at the timing of converting the acquired data into a file, it may be checked whether a file of the data constituting the same recipe has already been created. If a file of the data constituting the same recipe has already been created, the most recently acquired data may be written to the file to update the one file.

[0061] The second storage unit 23 may store the data acquired by the data management unit 20 as files. More specifically, it may store the data files generated by converting the data acquired by the data acquisition unit 21 into files in recipe units by the file generation unit 22. A plurality of data files acquired from each substrate processing apparatus 10-1, 10-2, 10-3 and generated as files may be stored in the second storage unit 23.

[0062] This second storage unit 23 may include a capacity monitoring unit (not shown) that monitors its data capacity. The capacity monitoring unit monitors the data capacity of the second storage unit 23, particularly the remaining data capacity. When saving a new file, if the file is saved exceeding the remaining data capacity, it is preferable that the old files in the second storage unit 23 be deleted. In this way, by monitoring the remaining data capacity of the second storage unit 23 and deleting old files when the data capacity of the new file exceeds the remaining data capacity, file storage errors can be eliminated.

[0063] In addition, when the above-mentioned old file is deleted, it is preferable to notify that the file has been deleted as history information. Such notification can be performed, for example, via the operation unit 305 of the data management unit 20. By performing such notification, the user can be informed that the old file has been deleted, and an effect of promoting the arrangement of data in the second storage unit 23 can be expected.

[0064] The communication unit 24 on the data management unit side may be for performing data communication with each of the substrate processing apparatuses 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3. In addition, the communication unit 24 on the data management unit side can also perform data communication with an external device such as the data management server 2, for example.

[0065] By the way, in the data acquisition unit 21, as described above, data is acquired in step units. However, in order to reduce the data size of the data acquired at one time, for example, if data is acquired every one step (or several steps), although the data size of the data to be acquired becomes smaller, it may take a long time to acquire data related to one recipe.

[0066] Specifically, as described above, the data reported during substrate processing is stored in the first storage unit 12 within the substrate processing apparatus 10. Therefore, when the data management unit 20 acquires specific data, it searches the first storage unit 12 to obtain the corresponding data. On the other hand, the steps included in a recipe usually have different execution times (hereinafter, this time is referred to as the "step execution time") for each step, and in the shortest case, it may include about 1 second. Also, the number of steps constituting one recipe is assumed to exceed 100 steps. Then, when the data acquisition unit 21 attempts to acquire data for a recipe that includes many relatively short-time steps and has a relatively large total number of steps, if data search and acquisition are performed for each step as described above, the time required for data search may be longer than the step execution time. Also, usually, an overhead time occurs each time data is searched, so the time required for data acquisition increases in proportion to the number of searches. Due to such circumstances, simply acquiring data in step units may cause an event that requires a long time for file creation.

[0067] In consideration of the above points, the data acquisition unit 21 according to the present embodiment employs a configuration that includes a step number calculation unit 25 that calculates the number of steps corresponding to the data that can be acquired at one time, in addition to acquiring data in step units.

[0068] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of one recipe information acquired by the data management unit and the corresponding data. The data constituting one recipe acquired by the data management unit 20, particularly the data acquisition unit 21, may include time-series monitor data of sensors within the substrate processing apparatus 10 reported during recipe execution, associated with information regarding each step, as shown in FIG. 6. Also, the recipe information may include, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, m (m is an integer of 1 or more) step information arranged in time series. Each step information may include a step execution time.

[0069] As the data according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, it can include the monitored data of the temperature in the processing furnace 202, the monitored data of the supply amounts of various gases supplied from the gas supply pipes 232a to 232g, the monitored data of the pressure in the processing furnace 202, and the monitored data of the open / closed states of the APC valve 244 (or valves 243a to 243g). Among the above-mentioned monitored data, the temperature in the processing furnace 202 can be specified by referring to the output signal of the temperature sensor 263, the supply amount of the gas can be specified by referring to the output signals of the MFCs 241a to 241g, and the pressure in the processing furnace 202 can be specified by referring to the output signal of the pressure sensor 245 respectively.

[0070] When the data acquisition unit 21 according to this embodiment acquires data constituting a certain recipe including, for example, m steps as shown in FIG. 6, the data is acquired in multiple times in step units. And at that time, the number of steps included in the data acquired at one time is calculated by the step number calculation unit 25.

[0071] The step number calculation unit 25 may be able to calculate the number of steps constituting the data that can be acquired at one time when acquiring the data of a specific recipe. In order to calculate the number of steps constituting the data to be acquired, a data acquirable range (or simply referred to as "range") is defined in advance for this step number calculation unit 25.

[0072] The data acquirable range is a value set in consideration of the memory capacity, and for example, it can indicate the time from the start of data acquisition to the end of data acquisition of the data acquired in the data management unit 20. In relation to this, it is preferable that a step execution time is set for each step constituting the recipe. And the step number calculation unit 25 may calculate the number of steps that fit within the data acquirable range by using the step execution time set for each step. In this way, by adjusting with reference to the step execution time of the data to be acquired from the data acquirable range, the data size of the data acquired at one time can be adjusted to an optimal size relatively easily.

[0073] The above-mentioned data acquisition range may be set in consideration of the number of means capable of detecting data that can be collected by the substrate processing apparatus 10 during substrate processing. In other words, the data acquisition range may be changeable according to the number of sensors connected to the substrate processing apparatus 10. Specifically, if the number of sensors of the substrate processing apparatus 10 is relatively large, the data acquisition range may be made relatively short, and if the number of sensors of the substrate processing apparatus 10 is relatively small, the data acquisition range may be made relatively long. In this way, regardless of the functions of the substrate processing apparatus 10, etc., the data size of the acquired data can be stabilized. Therefore, the data acquisition range T according to the present embodiment is specified by the following formula (1). [Number] Here, S is the number of sensors of the substrate processing apparatus 10, F is the maximum allowable data size, and α is the output file size of sensor data per second. The data size F is set with a margin of at least 10% of the allowable capacity of the usable memory, and is a threshold for preventing data from being acquired beyond the allowable capacity of the usable memory.

[0074] FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the number of sensors of the substrate processing apparatus and the data acquisition range. In this FIG. 7, the relationship between the number of sensors of the substrate processing apparatus 10 specified by the above formula (1) and the data acquisition range is exemplarily shown. In the graph shown in this FIG. 7, for example, the maximum allowable data size F of the data acquired at one time is set to 1.8 gigabytes (GB), and the output file size α of sensor data per second is set to 600 bytes / second (Byte / sec).

[0075] According to the example shown in FIG. 7, for example, when the number of sensors mounted on the substrate processing apparatus 10 is 3000, the data acquisition available range (i.e., the time from the start to the end of the acquisition of a single piece of data to be acquired) may be set to 1000 seconds. Here, the "number of sensors" mentioned here may include not only the number of temperature sensors 263 and pressure sensors 245, but also the number of actuators related to the generation of monitor data such as MFCs 241a to 241g and APC valves 244. In this case, the control signals of the actuators can be used for the generation of monitor data.

[0076] In the step number calculation unit 25 where the above-described data acquisition available range is defined, the step number can be calculated by the following method. That is, when acquiring data of a specific single recipe, first, it is confirmed whether the step execution time set for a single step included in the data acquired at one time is equal to or less than the predefined data acquisition available range. Here, when the step execution time of a single step is equal to or less than the data acquisition available range, after adding the step execution time of this single step to the data acquisition time, the step following this single step is added to the data to be acquired. Then, by repeating the operation of adding the above-described steps until immediately before exceeding the data acquisition available range, it is possible to specify the number of steps whose data acquisition time of the data to be acquired is the same as or slightly shorter than the data acquisition available range. Therefore, the number of steps included in the data to be acquired can be calculated.

[0077] The number of steps calculated by the above method is used when specifying the number of steps included in the data acquired by the data acquisition unit 21, and the data corresponding to the number of steps specified here is acquired from the substrate processing apparatus 10 by the data acquisition unit 21. The calculation of the above-described number of steps and the acquisition of data may be sequentially performed until the acquisition of all data included in a single recipe is completed.

[0078] By acquiring data using the above method, it is possible to reduce the data size of the acquired data and substantially eliminate the possibility of exceeding the data size that can be held in the memory (i.e., RAM 302) of the data management unit 20. Also, it is possible to suppress the lengthening of the time required for data acquisition associated with the lengthening of the data search time as in the case of acquiring data in one-step units. From the above, in the substrate processing system and the substrate processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, it is possible to stably acquire the data possessed by the substrate processing apparatus 10.

[0079] <Method for manufacturing semiconductor device> Next, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present embodiment will be described. Note that the method for manufacturing a semiconductor device described below exemplifies one realized using the above-described substrate processing system 1, but the method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present embodiment can also be implemented using a substrate processing system other than the substrate processing system 1. Also, below, among a series of manufacturing processes as a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, the process until data corresponding to an arbitrary recipe (for example, the recipe shown in FIG. 6) implemented in one substrate processing apparatus 10 is acquired in one data management unit 20 and a file is generated will be mainly described. Note that the specific structures of the substrate processing apparatus 10 and the data management unit 20 and the like will be reused from the above description, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0080] FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present embodiment, first, in the substrate processing apparatus 10, processing of a substrate is executed by a recipe having at least one step (step S11). Also, data reported during the processing of this substrate is collected by the data collection unit 14 and stored in the first storage unit 12 in a state associated with each step in the recipe (step S12). The above-described steps S11 and S12 may be implemented regardless of the subsequent steps and may be implemented in parallel with the subsequent steps.

[0081] For example, when the acquisition of data for a specific recipe is requested due to an input of an operation command by a user or the like, the data management unit 20 executes a process for acquiring the data. Specifically, first, device information of the substrate processing apparatus 10 that is the target of data acquisition is acquired (step S13). The device information acquired here may include at least information on the number of sensors included in the substrate processing apparatus 10. Also, step S13 may be stored in advance in the data management unit 20 before executing the process for acquiring data.

[0082] When the data management unit 20 acquires the device information of the substrate processing apparatus 10, next, based on the device information, the data management unit 20 specifies a data acquisition possible range used by the step number calculation unit 25 (step S14). In the present embodiment, the data acquisition possible range is specified as an arbitrary time.

[0083] Next, the data management unit 20 acquires recipe information of the data to be acquired from the substrate processing apparatus 10 (step S15). The recipe information shall include at least one step. Also, this step may include a step execution time. Then, the data management unit 20 that has acquired the recipe information specifies the total number of steps n (n is an integer of 1 or more) included in the target recipe (step S16). At this time, in addition to the total number of steps, it is preferable to specify the step execution time of each step together.

[0084] When the number of steps of the recipe is specified, the manufacturing method of the semiconductor device according to the present embodiment then calculates the number of steps included in the data to be acquired so that the data to be acquired falls within the data acquisition possible range when acquiring the data (steps S17 to S19). In the following description, as a specific example, the case of acquiring the data of the recipe shown in FIG. 6 will be described.

[0085] To calculate the number of steps included in the data to be acquired, first, the step execution time of one step among the plurality of steps included in the recipe, for example, step 1 which is executed earliest in the recipe shown in FIG. 6, is acquired (step S17). Next, the step execution time of step 1 acquired in step S17 is added to the data acquisition time (step S18). Here, the data acquisition time is the time obtained by adding the step execution times of the steps that can be included in the data acquired at one time.

[0086] The updated data acquisition time in step S18 is compared with the data acquisition possible range specified in step S14 to specify whether the data acquisition time has exceeded the data acquisition possible range (step S19). If the data acquisition time is within the data acquisition possible range (No in step S19), the process returns to step S17, and steps S17 to S19 are executed for the step to be executed next to one step, for example, step 2 in FIG. 6.

[0087] The above steps S17 to S19 are repeated until the data acquisition time exceeds the data acquisition possible range. When the data acquisition time exceeds the data acquisition possible range (Yes in step S19), the step corresponding to the step execution time added to the data acquisition time so far is specified as the number of steps of the data acquired at one time. However, the step corresponding to the step execution time added most recently to the data acquisition time is not included in the number of steps. Specifically, for example, if the result of adding the step execution time of step 4 to the data acquisition time causes the data acquisition time to exceed the data acquisition possible range, the steps corresponding to the step execution times added up to immediately before the step execution time of step 4 is added, that is, steps 1 to 3, are specified as the number of steps included in the data acquired at one time.

[0088] Once the number of steps included in the data to be acquired at one time is specified, the data management unit 20 requests the substrate processing apparatus 10 for the data corresponding to the specified number of steps via the communication unit 24 (step S20). When the substrate processing apparatus 10 receives the above-mentioned request, it searches the first storage unit 12 to collect the corresponding data (step S21), and transmits the collected data to the data management unit 20 via the communication unit 13. In addition, in accordance with the specified number of steps, if the number of steps included in the data requested in step S20 is subtracted from the number of steps specified in step S16, it is preferable because the remaining number of steps to be acquired in step S23 described later can be easily specified.

[0089] When the data management unit 20 receives the requested data from the substrate processing apparatus 10, it creates a file by converting the acquired data into a data format specified in advance by the file generation unit 22 (step S22). At this time, if a file of data related to the same recipe has already been created, it is preferable to write the converted data of the data received this time to the already created file to make it one file.

[0090] When the file generation is completed in step S22, the data management unit 20 checks whether there are any steps that have not yet been acquired in the same recipe. Specifically, it determines whether the remaining number of steps specified in step S16 and updated in accordance with step S20 is zero (step S23). If the remaining number of steps is not zero (No in step S23), since there is still data to be acquired, the process returns to step S17 and a series of processes are repeated. Specifically, if the data corresponding to steps 1 to 3 has been acquired in the most recent step S20, the processes after step S17 are executed again to acquire the data corresponding to steps 4 and later. At this time, it is preferable to reset the data acquisition time updated in the most recent calculation step.

[0091] In step S23, when it is determined that the remaining number of steps is zero (Yes in step S23), the data management unit 20 determines that all the data of a specific recipe has been acquired, and completes a series of processes for acquiring the data. At this time, the file generated in step S22 may be stored in the second storage unit 23 as a data file generated for each recipe.

[0092] Note that if the steps after step S17 described above are repeated, the remaining number of steps may become zero before the data acquisition time reaches the data acquirable range. In that case, step S19 is skipped, and the number of steps corresponding to the step execution time added to the data acquisition time so far is identified as the number of steps included in the data acquired at one time, and the processes from step S20 onward may be executed.

[0093] Also, generally, the step execution time of one step is mostly relatively short (for example, about several seconds to several minutes). However, in some cases, the step execution time of one step may be long, and it is also assumed that the data acquirable range may be exceeded only by the step execution time of that one step. In such a case, it is advisable to divide the one step into two or more divided steps and handle each divided step as one step. By adopting such a measure, even when acquiring data of a recipe including a step with a long step execution time, the data size of the data acquired at one time can be adjusted to an optimal size.

[0094] The manufacturing method of the semiconductor device according to the above-described embodiment can be realized by the controller 121 of the substrate processing apparatus 10 and the CPU 301 of the data management unit 20 operating each component. Therefore, the manufacturing method of the semiconductor device described above can be provided in the form of a program stored in an arbitrary recording device or the like that causes the above-described controller 121 and CPU 301 to execute predetermined processing. Further, this program can be provided in the form of an application provided by a server device (not shown) arranged on a network or a cloud-based data processing platform, or in a form stored in a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium.

[0095] As described above, according to the substrate processing system 1, the substrate processing apparatus 10, and the manufacturing method of the semiconductor device according to the present embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus can stably acquire data.

[0096] As an option, in the substrate processing system 1, the substrate processing apparatus 10, and the manufacturing method of the semiconductor device described above, the range in which data can be acquired is exemplified as the time from the start of data acquisition to the completion of data acquisition, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Specifically, the range in which data can be acquired can be set as the data volume associated with the capacity of the memory of the data management unit 20. In this case, the range in which data can be acquired can be, for example, 1.8 GB or less. Thus, by setting the range in which data can be acquired as the data volume, the data size of the data acquired at one time can be adjusted to an optimal size, similar to the case where the above-described time is used.

[0097] As another form, the data management unit 20 may be included in the substrate processing apparatus 10, or may generate a data file within the substrate processing apparatus 10. In this case, the communication interface 124 may be connected to the data management server 2 via the Internet or the like, and the generated data file may be passed to the data management server 2. Also in this form, the same effects as those of the above-described form can be obtained. Further, in this form, since the generation and management of the data file are performed by the substrate processing apparatus alone, the communication load on the network of the data can be reduced.

[0098] The above-described embodiments are merely examples, and thus the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made and implemented without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. And all of them are included in the technical idea of the present disclosure. Also, in the present disclosure, each component may exist alone or two or more may exist as long as there is no contradiction. Further, the various aspects and modifications described above can be used in appropriate combinations.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0099] 1 Substrate processing system 10, 10-1, 10-2, 10-3 Substrate processing apparatus 20 Data management unit 11 Control unit 12 First storage unit 200 Wafer (an example of a substrate)

Claims

1. A substrate processing apparatus having a control unit capable of controlling the processing of a substrate according to a recipe having at least one step, and a first storage unit capable of storing device data reported during the processing of the substrate; A data management unit connected to at least one of the substrate processing apparatuses and capable of specifying the number of steps included in the data to be acquired so that the data falls within a predefined data acquirable range when acquiring the data; Comprising: A substrate processing system, wherein the range is changeable according to the number of sensors connected to the substrate processing apparatus.

2. A substrate processing apparatus having a control unit capable of controlling the processing of a substrate according to a recipe having at least one step, and a first storage unit capable of storing device data reported during the processing of the substrate; A data management unit connected to at least one of the substrate processing apparatuses and capable of specifying the number of steps included in the data to be acquired so that the data falls within a predefined data acquirable range when acquiring the data; Comprising: A step execution time is set for the step; The range indicates a time range from the start of acquisition to the end of acquisition of the data acquired in the data management unit; When the data management unit acquires the data, if the step execution time set for one step included in the data to be acquired is within the range, the data management unit adds the step following the one step to the data to be acquired, and repeats the operation of adding the steps until immediately before the sum of the step execution times of the added multiple steps exceeds the range, thereby being able to specify the number of steps included in the data to be acquired. A substrate processing system.

3. The substrate processing system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the data management unit includes a second storage unit for storing the acquired data as a file.

4. The substrate processing system according to claim 3, wherein the file is stored in the second storage unit in units of the recipe, and data included in the same recipe is stored as one file.

5. The substrate processing system according to claim 3, wherein the data is stored as the file in the second storage unit in a data format different from the data format when the data is acquired by the data management unit.

6. The substrate processing system according to claim 5, wherein the data format of the file can be specified in advance.

7. The substrate processing system according to claim 2, wherein when the step execution time set for the step exceeds the range, the data management unit divides and acquires the data of the step.

8. The substrate processing system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the data size that can be acquired within the range is 1.8 GB or less.

9. The substrate processing system according to claim 4, wherein the data management unit monitors the capacity of the second storage unit, and when the file is stored exceeding the capacity, deletes old files in the second storage unit.

10. The substrate processing system according to claim 9, wherein when the data management unit deletes the old file, it notifies that the file has been deleted as history information.

11. A first storage unit capable of storing data of a substrate processing apparatus reported during processing of a substrate; A communication unit that can be connected to a data management unit that acquires the data; A control unit capable of controlling the processing of the substrate by a recipe having at least one step, and when the number of steps included in the data from which the data acquired from the data management unit is within a predefined data acquisition possible range is specified, capable of instructing the storage unit to collect data corresponding to the number of steps; Comprising: A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the range can be changed according to the number of sensors connected to the substrate processing apparatus.

12. A step of executing processing of a substrate by a recipe having at least one step; A step of storing data of the apparatus reported during the processing of the substrate; A step of calculating the number of steps included in the data to be acquired such that the data to be acquired falls within a predefined data acquisition possible range when the data is acquired; Comprising: A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein the range can be changed according to the number of sensors connected to the apparatus that executes the processing of the substrate.

13. A step of executing processing of a substrate by a recipe having at least one step; A step of storing data of the apparatus reported during the processing of the substrate; A step of calculating the number of steps included in the data to be acquired such that the data to be acquired falls within a predefined data acquisition range when the data is acquired; Comprising: A step execution time is set for the step; The range indicates a time range from the start of acquisition to the end of acquisition of the data to be acquired; The step of calculating the number of steps is such that when the step execution time set for one step included in the data to be acquired is within the range, the step following the one step is added to the data to be acquired, and the operation of adding the steps is repeated until immediately before the total of the step execution times of the added plurality of steps exceeds the range, thereby calculating the number of steps included in the data to be acquired. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device.

14. A program for causing a computer to execute the steps described in Claim 12 or Claim 13 in a substrate processing apparatus.

Images