Film forming apparatus and film forming method

Abstract

To provide a film deposition apparatus that can prevent a film deposition failure when depositing a film to a substrate, and to provide a method for depositing a film.SOLUTION: A film deposition apparatus for depositing a film to a substrate includes: a treatment vessel; a stage on which a substrate which is provided in the treatment vessel is placed; a film deposition part for depositing a film to a substrate placed in the stage; a shutter movable between a shielding position of shielding a substrate placed on the stage and a retreat position of retreating from the stage so as to allow the film deposition part to deposit a film to the substrate; and a film thickness measurement part including a film thickness meter for measuring a thickness of a film which is formed on the shutter located in the shielding position by the film deposition part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a film forming apparatus and a film forming method. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART In the manufacture of electronic devices such as semiconductor devices, a film formation process is performed to form a film on a substrate. As a film formation apparatus used in the film formation process, for example, a film formation apparatus as described in Patent Document 1 is known. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2013 / 179575 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present disclosure provides a film formation apparatus and a film formation method that can prevent film formation abnormalities from occurring when a film is formed on a substrate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A film formation apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an apparatus for forming a film on a substrate, the apparatus comprising: a processing vessel; a stage for placing a substrate thereon, the processing vessel being provided with a film forming device; and a film forming device for forming a film on the substrate placed on the stage. At least two a film formation processing unit; a shutter that is movable between a shielding position that shields the substrate on the stage and a retracted position that retracts from the stage and allows the film formation processing on the substrate by the film formation processing unit; and a film thickness measuring unit having a film thickness measuring device that measures the film thickness of a film formed on the shutter at the shielding position by the film formation processing unit. a control unit that controls processing in the film forming apparatus; With The control unit controls one of the film forming units to form a film on the shutter at the shielding position, and then controls the film thickness measurement unit to measure the film thickness of the film formed on the shutter, and when a film formation abnormality is detected from the film thickness measurement result, controls the other film forming unit to perform the film forming process. . [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present disclosure, a film formation apparatus and a film formation method are provided that can prevent film formation abnormalities from occurring when a film is formed on a substrate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a film forming apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 2 is a diagram illustrating the rotational operation of the disc shutter in the film forming apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is a plan view showing a film thickness measuring unit provided in the disc shutter in the film forming apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the film forming apparatus of FIG. 1 in a state where the disc shutter is retracted. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a film forming apparatus according to one embodiment, FIG. 2 is a diagram explaining the rotational operation of the disk shutter in the film forming apparatus of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a film thickness measurement unit provided in the disk shutter in the film forming apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which the disk shutter is retracted in the film forming apparatus of FIG. 1.

[0009] The film forming apparatus 1 is configured as a sputtering apparatus that forms a film by sputtering (sputter film formation) on a substrate W. Examples of the substrate W include, but are not limited to, a wafer made of a semiconductor such as Si, glass, ceramics, or the like.

[0010] The film forming apparatus 1 includes a processing chamber 10, a stage 20, sputter particle emitting units 30a and 30b, a gas supply unit 40, a disk shutter unit 50, a film thickness measuring unit 60, and a control unit .

[0011] The processing vessel 10 is made of, for example, aluminum and defines a processing chamber in which the substrate W is processed. The processing vessel 10 is connected to a ground potential. The processing vessel 10 has a vessel body 10a with an open top and a lid body 10b provided to close the top opening of the vessel body 10a. The lid body 10b has a truncated cone shape.

[0012] An exhaust port 11 is formed at the bottom of the processing vessel 10, and an exhaust device 12 is connected to the exhaust port 11. The exhaust device 12 includes a pressure control valve and a vacuum pump, and the inside of the processing vessel 10 is evacuated to a predetermined vacuum level by the exhaust device 12.

[0013] A loading / unloading port 13 is formed in a sidewall of the processing vessel 10 for loading / unloading the substrate W between the processing vessel 10 and an adjacent transfer chamber (not shown). The loading / unloading port 13 is opened and closed by a gate valve .

[0014] The stage 20 has a substantially circular plate shape and is disposed near the bottom of the processing vessel 10 to hold the substrate W horizontally. In this embodiment, the stage 20 has a base 21 and an electrostatic chuck 22. The base 21 is made of, for example, aluminum. The electrostatic chuck 22 is made of a dielectric material and has an electrode (not shown) disposed therein. A DC voltage is applied to the electrode from a DC power supply (not shown), and the resulting electrostatic force electrostatically attracts the substrate W to the surface of the electrostatic chuck 22. A temperature control mechanism (not shown) having a heater and / or a cooling medium flow path is disposed inside the base 21.

[0015] The stage 20 is driven by a driving mechanism 26. The driving mechanism 26 is provided below the processing vessel 10, and a support shaft 27 extends upward from the driving mechanism 26, penetrates the bottom wall of the processing vessel 10, and has its tip connected to the center of the bottom surface of the stage 20. The driving mechanism 26 is configured to rotate and elevate the stage 20 via the support shaft 27. A sealing member 28 seals the gap between the support shaft 27 and the bottom wall of the processing vessel 10. The provision of the sealing member 28 allows the support shaft 27 to rotate and elevate while maintaining the inside of the processing vessel 10 in a vacuum state. An example of the sealing member 28 is a magnetic fluid seal.

[0016] The sputter particle emission units 30a and 30b function as processing mechanisms for performing sputter film formation and include target holders (electrodes) 31a and 31b, targets 32a and 32b, power supplies 33a and 33b, and magnets 34a and 34b, respectively.

[0017] Target holders 31a and 31b are made of a conductive material and are attached via insulating members 35a and 35b at different positions on the inclined surface of lid 10b of processing chamber 10. In this example, target holders 31a and 31b are provided at positions facing each other, but this is not limitative and they can be provided at any positions.

[0018] The targets 32a and 32b are held by the target holders 31a and 31b, are rectangular, and are made of a material containing the constituent elements of the film to be formed. The material of the targets 32a and 32b can be a metal, such as Mg, but is not limited to this.

[0019] The power supplies 33a and 33b are DC power supplies and supply power to the targets 32a and 32b via the target holders 31a and 31b. The power supplies 33a and 33b may be AC ​​power supplies (high frequency power supplies). When the targets 32a and 32b are made of insulating materials, an AC power supply (high frequency power supply) is used.

[0020] The magnets 34a and 34b are provided on the backside of the target holders 31a and 31b. The magnets 34a and 34b apply a leakage magnetic field to the targets 32a and 32b to perform magnetron sputtering. The magnets 34a and 34b are configured to oscillate along the backside of the target holders 31a and 31b by a magnet driving unit (not shown).

[0021] Ring-shaped members 36a and 36b that regulate the direction of emission of sputtered particles are provided on the outer periphery of the surfaces of targets 32a and 32b, respectively. Ring-shaped members 36a and 36b are grounded.

[0022] It should be noted that voltages may be applied from both power sources 33a and 33b to both targets 32a and 32b, or to only one of them. The number of sputter particle emission portions is not limited to two.

[0023] A target shielding member 81 is provided below the sputter particle emission units 30a and 30b. The target shielding member 81 has a truncated cone shape that conforms to the lid 10b of the processing vessel 10, and has an opening 82 formed therein that is sized to accommodate the targets 32a and 32b. The target shielding member 81 is rotated by a rotation mechanism 83, and by aligning the opening 82 with at least one of the targets 32a and 32b, the target corresponding to the opening 82 is opened. On the other hand, the targets not corresponding to the openings 82 are closed. This allows sputter particles to be emitted from the target corresponding to the opening 82 to the substrate W. Furthermore, by shielding at least one of the targets 32a and 32b with the shielding member 81, sputter cleaning of the shielded target is possible.

[0024] A shielding member 84 is provided above the stage 20 so as to extend from the outer edge of the upper surface of the stage 20 to the vicinity of the lower end of the target shielding member 81. The shielding member 84 has the function of preventing sputtered particles from reaching the wall of the processing vessel 10.

[0025] The gas supply unit 40 includes a gas supply source 41, a gas supply pipe 42 extending from the gas supply source 41, a flow rate controller 43 provided on the gas supply pipe 42, and a gas introduction member 44. A rare gas such as Ar is supplied from the gas supply source 41 into the processing vessel 10 via the gas supply pipe 42 and the gas introduction member 44 as a sputtering gas to be excited in the processing vessel 10.

[0026] With sputtering gas supplied into the processing vessel 10 from the gas supply unit 40, a voltage is applied from the power supplies 33a and / or 33b to the targets 32a and / or 32b via the target holders 31a and 31b, causing the sputtering gas to dissociate around the targets 32a and / or 32b. At this time, the leakage magnetic fields of the magnets 34a and 34b are applied to the periphery of the targets 32a and / or 32b, concentrating around the targets 32a and / or 32b to form magnetron plasma. In this state, positive ions in the plasma collide with the targets 32a and / or 32b, causing sputter particles to be emitted from the targets 32a and / or 32b and deposited on the substrate W.

[0027] The disk shutter unit 50 is a device generally provided in this type of apparatus, and includes a disk shutter 51, an arm 52, a rotating shaft 53, and a rotating mechanism 54. The disk shutter 51 is disk-shaped, has a diameter larger than the substrate W, and has the function of shielding the substrate W placed on the stage 20. Shielding the substrate W on the stage 20 by the disk shutter 51 prevents sputtered particles from reaching the substrate W. The disk shutter 51 is originally intended to shield the substrate W during conditioning, etc., but in this embodiment, as will be described later, prior to film formation on the substrate W, sputtered particles are deposited and the film thickness of the resulting film is measured by the film thickness measuring unit 60.

[0028] The arm 52 functions as a pivoting member that supports and pivots the disc shutter 51 via a support member 55 .

[0029] The rotation shaft 53 is an axis for rotating the arm 52, and is connected to the end of the arm 52 and extends vertically downward, penetrating the bottom wall of the processing vessel 10. The rotation mechanism 54 is provided below the processing vessel 10 and rotates the rotation shaft 53. When the rotation mechanism 54 rotates the rotation shaft 53, the arm 52 is rotated, and as shown in FIG. 2, the disk shutter 51 is configured to rotate between a shielding position indicated by a solid line where it covers the substrate W and a retracted position indicated by a two-dot chain line where it is retracted from the stage 20. When the disk shutter 51 is positioned at the retracted position, sputtered particles from the sputtered particle emission portions 30a and 30b reach the substrate W, enabling sputtering film formation.

[0030] The film thickness measuring unit 60 has a function of measuring the film thickness of the film formed on the disc shutter 51 when sputtering film formation is performed in the state of FIG. 1 in which the substrate W is shielded by the disc shutter 51.

[0031] In this example, the film thickness measuring unit 60 has a quartz oscillator 61 as a film thickness measuring device provided on the surface of the disc shutter 51. A plurality of quartz oscillators 61 as film thickness measuring devices are provided on the surface of the disc shutter 51, for example, five as shown in Fig. 3. In the example of Fig. 3, one quartz oscillator 61 is provided at the center of the surface of the disc shutter 51, and four are provided evenly around the periphery.

[0032] The quartz crystal oscillator 61 is composed of a quartz crystal plate and a pair of electrodes sandwiching the quartz crystal plate, and vibrates due to the piezoelectric properties of the quartz crystal when an AC voltage is applied to the quartz crystal plate via the electrodes. The resonant frequency of the quartz crystal oscillator 61 varies depending on the mass of the sputtered particles deposited on the quartz crystal oscillator 61, so the film thickness can be detected from this resonant frequency. Furthermore, the film thickness distribution can be determined from the film thickness values ​​of multiple quartz crystal oscillators 61.

[0033] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, with the substrate W shielded by the disk shutter 51, a voltage is applied from the power source 33a or 33b to the target 32a or 32b via the target holder 31a or 31b to perform sputtering film formation on the surface of the disk shutter 51, and the state of film formation by the target 32a or 32b can be grasped from the film thickness before film formation on the substrate W.

[0034] The control unit 70 is made up of a computer and controls each component of the film forming apparatus 1, such as the power supplies 33a and 33b, the exhaust device 12, the drive mechanism 26, the gas supply unit 40, and the rotation mechanism 54. The control unit 70 has a main control unit made up of a CPU that controls these components, as well as an input device, an output device, a display device, and a storage device. The storage device stores parameters for various processes performed in the film forming apparatus 1 and also has a storage medium that stores programs for controlling the processes performed in the film forming apparatus 1, i.e., process recipes. The main control unit calls up a predetermined process recipe stored in the storage medium and causes the film forming apparatus 1 to perform a process based on the process recipe.

[0035] The control unit 70 also controls the power supply to a crystal oscillator power supply (not shown) that supplies power to the crystal oscillator 61, and receives the resonant frequency detected by the crystal oscillator 61 when a film is formed by sputtering on the surface of the disc shutter 51, and calculates the film thickness of the deposited film.

[0036] Next, a description will be given of the operation of the film forming apparatus 1 configured as above. The following operation is performed under the control of the control unit .

[0037] 4, with the disk shutter 50 retracted, the substrate W is carried into the processing chamber 10 by a transfer device (not shown) and placed on the stage 20. Next, the disk shutter 51 is rotated by the rotation mechanism 54 via the rotation shaft 53 and the arm 52, so that the disk shutter 51 shields the substrate W on the stage 20, as shown in FIG.

[0038] Next, sputtering film formation is performed in the state shown in Fig. 1. The film formation conditions at this time are basically the same as those for the next step of film formation on the substrate W. Film formation at this time is performed separately for the target 32a and the target 32b.

[0039] Then, the thickness of the film deposited using each target is measured by the quartz crystal oscillator 61, which is a film thickness measuring device of the film thickness measuring unit 60. As described above, the film thickness measuring unit 60 detects the film thickness of the deposited sputtered particles by changes in the resonance frequency of the quartz crystal oscillator 61. Furthermore, the film thickness distribution can be grasped from the film thickness values ​​of the multiple quartz crystal oscillators 61.

[0040] When the substrate W is shielded by the disk shutter 51, the disk shutter 51 is positioned close to the substrate W on the stage 20, and therefore the film thickness when sputter-deposited on the disk shutter 51 can be considered to be the same as on the substrate W. Therefore, the film thickness of the film sputter-deposited on the disk shutter 51 can be measured by the quartz oscillator 61, which is a film thickness measuring device of the film thickness measuring unit 60, and the film formation state can be grasped based on the measurement result.

[0041] That is, film formation abnormalities such as a sudden change in the film formation rate or film formation distribution may occur due to the progression of target erosion or a hardware abnormality in the film formation apparatus 1, and if a film formation process is performed on the substrate W in this state, it may lead to product defects. Therefore, by utilizing a disk shutter 51 that is generally provided in a sputtering apparatus, a film is formed by sputtering on the disk shutter 51 prior to film formation on the substrate W, and the film thickness is measured by the film thickness measurement unit 60 to grasp the film formation state. At this time, if a film formation abnormality such as a change in the film formation rate or film formation distribution is found, appropriate measures can be taken, and film formation abnormalities on the substrate W can be prevented in advance.

[0042] Next, sputtering film formation is performed on the substrate W, and the film formation process at this time is determined based on the result of film thickness measurement of the film deposited on the disc shutter 51 by the film thickness measurement unit 60.

[0043] If a film formation abnormality is determined during film formation using either target 32a or target 32b in film thickness measurement by quartz oscillator 61 of film thickness measurement unit 60, measures such as performing sputter film formation on substrate W using the normal target are taken. If both targets are abnormal, film formation on substrate W may be performed after maintenance is performed.

[0044] Furthermore, if a change in the film formation rate is found as a result of film thickness measurement by the film thickness measurement unit 60, the film formation abnormality on the substrate W can be avoided by adjusting the film formation time when forming a film on the next substrate W.

[0045] If the result of measuring the film thickness on the disk shutter 51 shows no abnormality in the film formation, the film may be formed on the substrate W as is. Alternatively, the film formation rate may be calculated from the result of measuring the film thickness of the film deposited on the disk shutter 51, and the calculated film formation rate may be fed back when forming a film on the substrate W in the next process. This makes it possible to improve the film thickness accuracy when forming a film on the substrate W.

[0046] During sputtering film formation on the substrate W, the disk shutter 51 is retracted from the shielding position A above the substrate W to the retracted position B, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 4. In this state, an inert gas, such as Ar gas, is introduced as a sputtering gas from the gas supply unit 40 into the processing vessel 10, and the pressure inside the processing vessel 10 is adjusted to a predetermined level by the exhaust device 12. Then, the sputtering film formation is performed while the stage 20 is rotated by the drive mechanism 26.

[0047] When using a target 32a for sputtering deposition on a substrate W, a voltage is applied from a power supply 33a to the target 32a via a target holder 31a to generate plasma, and a magnetic field is generated by driving a magnet 34a. This causes positive ions in the plasma to collide with the target 32a, and sputtered particles made of the constituent metals of the target 32a are emitted from the target 32a. The emitted sputtered particles are deposited on the substrate W to form a desired film.

[0048] Furthermore, when target 32b is used, plasma is generated by applying a voltage to target 32b from power supply 33b via target holder 31b, and magnet 34b is driven to generate a magnetic field, thereby depositing a desired film on substrate W in the same manner.

[0049] Furthermore, when sputter particles are to be emitted from both targets 32a and 32b, voltages may be applied from power sources 33a and 33b to targets 32a and 32b via target holders 31a and 31b.

[0050] When there is an unused target among the targets 32a and 32b, the target can be shielded by the target shielding member 81.

[0051] After the sputtering film formation is performed as described above, power supply to the targets 32a and / or 32b is stopped, the processing chamber is purged, and then the substrate W is unloaded from the processing chamber .

[0052] In addition, before sputtering film formation, the sputter particle emission units 30a and 30b perform dummy runs and conditioning, and by retracting the disk shutter 51 at this time, excess film does not adhere to the quartz oscillator 61 of the film thickness measurement unit 60, and the maintenance cycle of the quartz oscillator 61 can be prevented from becoming shorter.

[0053] According to this embodiment, prior to sputtering film formation on the substrate W, sputtering film formation is performed on the disk shutter 51 with the substrate shielded by the disk shutter 51, and the film thickness is measured by the film thickness measuring unit 60. In this way, prior to sputtering film formation on the substrate W, the film thickness of the film formed on the disk shutter 51 located close to the substrate W is measured, and from the film thickness measurement result, it is possible to detect a film thickness equivalent to that of the film formed on the substrate W. Therefore, by measuring the film thickness of the film formed on the disk shutter 51 by the film thickness measuring unit 60, it is possible to grasp the film formation state on the disk shutter 51 and prevent abnormal film formation on the substrate W.

[0054] In addition, the film formation rate is calculated from the film thickness measurement results of the film deposited on the disk shutter 51, and the results are fed back to the control unit 70, and the results are reflected in the processing recipe when forming a film on the substrate W in the next process, thereby improving the film thickness accuracy when forming a film on the substrate W.

[0055] <Other applications> Although the embodiments have been described above, the disclosed embodiments should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The above embodiments may be omitted, substituted, or modified in various ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

[0056] For example, in the above embodiment, a quartz oscillator is used as the film thickness measuring device of the film thickness measuring unit, but this is not limited to this and other film thickness measuring devices may be used, such as those using optical sensors, etc. Furthermore, the number of film thickness measuring devices is not limited to that in the above embodiment and may be one or more.

[0057] Furthermore, although a sputtering device is used as the film forming device, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to various film forming devices. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 1; Film deposition equipment 10. Processing container 10a: Container body 10b; Lid body 20 Stage 30a, 30b: Sputter particle emission section (processing mechanism) 32a, 32b; Target 33a,33b;Power supply 40: Gas supply unit 50:Disc shutter section 51;Disc shutter 52;Arm 60: Film thickness measurement section 61: Quartz crystal oscillator (film thickness measuring device) W; substrate

Claims

1. A film forming apparatus for performing a film forming process on a substrate, A processing vessel; a stage provided in the processing chamber for placing a substrate thereon; at least two film formation processing units that perform film formation processing on the substrate placed on the stage; a shutter that is movable between a shielding position that shields the substrate on the stage and a retracted position that retracts from the stage and allows the film formation processing unit to perform a film formation processing on the substrate; a film thickness measuring unit having a film thickness measuring device that measures the film thickness formed on the shutter at the shielding position by the film forming unit; a control unit that controls processing in the film forming apparatus; and The control unit causes one of the film forming processing units to form a film on the shutter at the shielding position, and then causes the film thickness measurement unit to measure the film thickness of the film formed on the shutter, and if a film formation abnormality is detected from the film thickness measurement result, controls the film forming device so that the film forming process is performed by the other film forming processing unit.

2. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the film thickness measuring unit includes a plurality of the film thickness measuring devices.

3. 3. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the film thickness measuring device has a quartz oscillator provided on the surface of the shutter.

4. 3. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the film forming processing section has a sputter particle emitting section that emits sputter particles from a target onto the substrate placed on the stage, and forms a film by sputtering.

5. A film formation method for performing a film formation process on a substrate, a film formation apparatus including a processing vessel, a stage provided in the processing vessel on which a substrate is placed, at least two film formation processing units that perform film formation processing on the substrate placed on the stage, a shutter that is movable between a shielding position that shields the substrate on the stage and a retracted position that is retracted from the stage, and a film thickness measuring unit that has a film thickness measuring device that measures the film thickness of a film formed on the shutter at the shielding position by the film formation processing units, placing the shutter in the blocking position; forming a film on the shutter by one of the film forming units; measuring the film thickness of the film on the shutter by the film thickness measuring device of the film thickness measuring unit; a step of determining whether or not there is a film formation abnormality based on the film thickness measurement result by the film thickness measuring device; When a film formation abnormality is detected, the shutter is positioned at a retracted position, and the other film formation processing unit performs film formation processing on the substrate; The film forming method includes the steps of:

6. The film forming method according to claim 5 , wherein the film thickness measuring unit includes a plurality of the film thickness measuring devices.

7. 7. The film deposition method according to claim 5, wherein the film thickness measuring device has a quartz oscillator provided on the surface of the shutter.

8. 7. The film formation method according to claim 5, wherein the film formation processing section has a sputter particle emission section that emits sputter particles from a target onto the substrate placed on the stage, and the film is formed by sputtering.

Images