Gas circuit control method, gas circuit control apparatus, and semiconductor processing equipment

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductors, and specifically relates to a gas circuit control method, a gas circuit control apparatus, and semiconductor processing equipment. The gas circuit control method comprises: acquiring a selection instruction for an operation mode; and enabling a gas circuit interlock condition corresponding to the operation mode, and controlling a gas circuit system to execute a task corresponding to the operation mode. The gas circuit control apparatus comprises: a mode selection tool, an upper computer, a controller, and an execution member. The semiconductor processing equipment comprises the gas circuit control apparatus. The embodiments of the present application can ensure the efficiency and accuracy of fault analysis, positioning and removal in a corresponding operation mode, simplify the operation process, and ensure the process efficiency and accuracy.

Description

Gas path control method, gas path control device and semiconductor process equipment TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductor, in particular to a gas path control method, a gas path control device and a semiconductor process equipment. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the process of manufacturing semiconductor products, a plurality of different semiconductor processes and semiconductor process equipment are involved, for example, the semiconductor process equipment involved includes diffusion furnace, oxidation furnace, LPCVD (Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition) furnace, crystal growth furnace, vacuum furnace, etc., and the semiconductor processes involved include compound semiconductor crystal growth, epitaxy, thin film deposition, oxidation diffusion, vacuum sintering, etc. In the process of thin film deposition, some special gases (hereinafter referred to as special gases) are used, such as SiH4 (silane, also known as tetrahydrogen silane), NH3 (ammonia), F2 (fluorine), HF (hydrogen fluoride), SiH2Cl2 (dichlorosilane), etc. Some special gases have dangerous properties such as flammability, explosiveness and toxicity. If different special gases are mixed, chemical reactions may occur, causing accidents. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid mixing different types of special gases into the reaction chamber at the same time, and to avoid leakage of special gases to the outside of the reaction chamber. In order to avoid these situations, during the maintenance of semiconductor equipment and the operation of process, the gas path interlocking or gas path interlocking of the special gas path must be performed.

[0003] When the gas path interlocking is set for the semiconductor gas path, the interlocking conditions for the semiconductor process are set, for example, the interlocking conditions for the opening sequence of the valve in the semiconductor gas path, the state of the equipment before opening, etc. In the process of installing, maintaining and processing semiconductor equipment, different interlocking conditions are required for the gas path under different operation modes, for example, during the operation of pipeline cleaning, pipeline leak detection and pipeline passivation, the number and specific content of the interlocking conditions of the gas valve are different. In the related art, the same interlocking conditions are used for the interlocking alarm information of different operation modes. Therefore, the interlocking alarm information cannot automatically filter the interlocking conditions corresponding to the operation mode, and cannot automatically shield the interlocking conditions irrelevant to the operation mode or even contradictory to the operation mode, thereby interfering with subsequent fault analysis, fault positioning and fault elimination. In order to avoid such situations, before the operation mode is enabled, a worker with rich experience must manually shield the irrelevant or even contradictory interlocking conditions in the gas path control program. However, the manual shielding method has the disadvantages of complicated operation, low efficiency and high error rate. SUMMARY

[0004] The application aims to provide a gas path control method, a gas path control device and a semiconductor process equipment to solve the technical problem that the unrelated interlocking conditions cannot be automatically shielded to interfere with fault analysis and fault positioning.

[0005] The gas path control method provided by the application is used for controlling a gas path system of a semiconductor process equipment, the gas path system has multiple operation modes, the multiple operation modes are independent of each other, and each operation mode has a corresponding gas path interlocking condition; the control method comprises the following steps:

[0006] acquiring a selection instruction of the operation mode;

[0007] enabling the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode, and controlling the gas path system to perform a task corresponding to the operation mode.

[0008] In some embodiments, after the step of acquiring the selection instruction of the operation mode and before the step of enabling the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode, the control method further comprises the following steps:

[0009] judging whether an actual initial state of the semiconductor process equipment meets a preset initial state requirement corresponding to the operation mode;

[0010] If the actual initial state meets the preset initial state requirement, the selection instruction of the operation mode is valid.

[0011] In some embodiments, the control method further comprises the following steps:

[0012] If the actual initial state does not meet the preset initial state requirement, the selection instruction of the operation mode is invalid, and initial state alarm information is outputted;

[0013] According to the initial state alarm information, the actual initial state of the semiconductor process equipment is repaired.

[0014] In some embodiments, the gas path system comprises a display module, and the control method further comprises the following steps:

[0015] If the actual initial state meets the preset initial state requirement, the selection instruction of the operation mode is valid, and the display module is controlled to display the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode.

[0016] In some embodiments, the gas path system comprises a host computer and a controller, the display module is arranged in the host computer, the controller has a register, and the total number of gas path interlocking conditions in the gas path system is N; the step of controlling the display module to display the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode comprises the following steps:

[0017] Each execution element is assigned a register, and the register adopts a binary identifier;

[0018] The gas path interlocking conditions are sequentially numbered from small to large, and are arranged from right to left. The gas path interlocking conditions that need to be retained in each operation mode are marked as "1", and the gas path interlocking conditions that need to be shielded are marked as "0";

[0019] The display module is controlled to display the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to "1".

[0020] In some embodiments, the control of the gas path system to perform tasks corresponding to the operation mode comprises:

[0021] The actual execution state and the preset execution state of each gas path interlocking condition of the gas path system in the operation mode are obtained in real time;

[0022] If the actual execution state is inconsistent with the preset execution state, the gas path interlocking condition that is inconsistent does not meet the interlocking requirement, and it is determined that there is a faulty execution element in the gas path interlocking condition that is inconsistent, and an interlocking alarm information is output.

[0023] In some embodiments, the interlocking alarm information includes a first identifier; and the control of the gas path system to perform tasks corresponding to the operation mode further comprises:

[0024] If the first identifier exists, a fault self-recovery instruction is obtained;

[0025] The faulty execution element is controlled to execute a remote fault self-recovery instruction;

[0026] If the remote fault self-recovery instruction is executed successfully, and the first identifier does not exist, the corresponding task in the operation mode is continued to be executed;

[0027] If the remote fault self-recovery instruction fails, an information instruction for manual troubleshooting is output, and after manual troubleshooting, the corresponding task in the operation mode is continued to be executed.

[0028] In some embodiments, if the execution element of the gas path interlocking condition includes a first execution element capable of being remotely controlled to open and close and a second execution element that needs to be manually controlled to open and close, the first execution element includes a normally open intermediate relay, the second execution element includes a normally closed intermediate relay, and the switch of the normally open intermediate relay is electrically connected in series with the switch of the normally closed intermediate relay;

[0029] The control of the faulty execution element to execute a remote fault self-recovery instruction comprises:

[0030] The controller remotely controls the energization of the coil of the normally open intermediate relay, and the normally open intermediate relay is closed.

[0031] In some embodiments, the control of the gas path system to perform a task corresponding to the operation mode comprises:

[0032] If the actual execution state of the gas path interlocking condition is consistent with the preset execution state, a second identifier is displayed.

[0033] If the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode is the second identifier, the corresponding task in the operation mode is executed.

[0034] In some embodiments, the control method further comprises:

[0035] If the task corresponding to the operation mode has been executed and the actual state of the semiconductor process equipment meets the preset target state requirement, an end instruction of the operation mode is output.

[0036] In some embodiments, the operation mode comprises at least one of a pipe cleaning mode, a pipe leak detection mode, a pipe passivation mode, and an unenabled mode.

[0037] The unenabled mode comprises all gas path interlocking conditions involved in each operation mode of the gas path system.

[0038] The gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the pipe cleaning mode is part of the gas path interlocking condition in the unenabled mode.

[0039] The gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the pipe leak detection mode is part of the gas path interlocking condition in the unenabled mode.

[0040] The gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the pipe passivation mode is part of the gas path interlocking condition in the unenabled mode.

[0041] In some embodiments, a plurality of operation modes are independently embedded in the controller in the form of function subprogram modules, and each function subprogram module encapsulates the corresponding gas path interlocking condition content associated with the corresponding operation mode for direct calling by the corresponding operation mode.

[0042] The gas path control device provided by the embodiments of the present application is used to execute the above control method, and the control device comprises:

[0043] A mode selection tool is configured to select an operation mode.

[0044] A host computer is configured to store preset states of a semiconductor process equipment and has a human-computer interaction module, wherein the preset states comprise a preset initial state and a preset target state.

[0045] a controller connected to the mode selection tool and the host computer respectively, configured to acquire a selection instruction of the operation mode, and enable a gas path interlock condition corresponding to the operation mode to control the gas path system to perform a task corresponding to the operation mode;

[0046] an execution component connected to the controller, configured to feed back an actual state of the semiconductor process equipment to the controller, the actual state including an actual initial state and an actual execution state.

[0047] The semiconductor process equipment provided in the embodiments of the present application comprises the gas path control device described above.

[0048] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer readable storage medium, and the computer readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is run by a processor to execute the steps of the control method described above.

[0049] The gas path control method, the gas path control device and the semiconductor process equipment provided in the embodiments of the present application all have at least the following beneficial effects:

[0050] Since the gas path system in the semiconductor process equipment is provided with multiple operation modes, each operation mode has a corresponding gas path interlock condition, when a certain operation mode is selected, the gas path system will enable the gas path interlock condition corresponding to the operation mode, and correspondingly perform a task corresponding to the operation mode, and in this process, the gas path interlock conditions irrelevant or contradictory to the operation mode are automatically shielded; in this way, when the interlock alarm information in different processes changes, the interlock alarm information can automatically filter the interlock conditions corresponding to the operation mode in the working state according to the enabled state of the operation mode, thereby avoiding irrelevant or contradictory interlock conditions to interfere with fault analysis, fault positioning and fault elimination under the operation mode, ensuring the efficiency and accuracy of fault analysis, positioning and elimination under the corresponding operation mode, simplifying the operation process, and ensuring the process efficiency and accuracy.

[0051] . BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0052] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the related art, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or the related art description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor on the basis of the provided drawings.

[0053] FIG. 1a is a schematic diagram of a key valve opening sequence performed according to an interlock principle in the related art;

[0054] Fig. 1b is a schematic diagram of a key valve opening sequence in a pipeline cleaning operation mode in the prior art;

[0055] Fig. 2a is a schematic diagram of a key valve opening sequence in another pipeline cleaning operation mode in the prior art;

[0056] Fig. 2b is a schematic diagram of a key valve opening sequence in a pipeline detection operation mode in the prior art;

[0057] Fig. 3a is a schematic diagram of a key valve opening sequence in another pipeline cleaning operation mode in the prior art;

[0058] Fig. 3b is a schematic diagram of a key valve opening sequence in a pipeline leak detection operation mode in the prior art;

[0059] Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of one of the gas path control methods provided in the embodiments of the present application;

[0060] Fig. 5a is a schematic diagram of the working process of an operation mode selection tool in the embodiments of the present application;

[0061] Fig. 5b is a schematic diagram of a specific example flow of the working process of an operation mode selection tool in the embodiments of the present application;

[0062] Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of the shielding of interlocking conditions by an operation mode selection tool in the embodiments of the present application;

[0063] Fig. 7 is another schematic diagram of a gas path control method provided in the embodiments of the present application;

[0064] Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a system safety self-check in the embodiments of the present application;

[0065] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of the initial state of a pipeline passivation device in the embodiments of the present application;

[0066] Fig. 10a is a schematic diagram of a fault positioning and troubleshooting flow in a pipeline leak detection operation mode in the prior art, in which all nine interlocking conditions are not met;

[0067] Fig. 10b is a schematic diagram of a fault positioning and troubleshooting flow in a pipeline leak detection operation mode in the embodiments of the present application;

[0068] Fig. 11a is a schematic diagram of an example vacuum pump and other devices connected thereto provided in the embodiments of the present application;

[0069] Fig. 11b is a schematic diagram of the control information interaction mode of the vacuum pump in Fig. 11a;

[0070] Fig. 12a is a schematic diagram of the signal control circuit structure of the vacuum pump in Fig. 11a, corresponding to Fig. 12b;

[0071] Fig. 12b is a schematic diagram of the circuit control loop structure of the vacuum pump corresponding to Fig. 12a;

[0072] Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of the vacuum pump fault self-recovery process in the pipeline passivation operation mode according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram of the hardware platform structure and connection structure according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram of the function subroutine block calling and running according to an embodiment of the present application, taken as an example of the pipeline passivation operation mode. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0075] The technical solutions of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall within the scope of the present application.

[0076] The present application will be described in further detail below with reference to specific examples and accompanying drawings.

[0077] In the process of semiconductor products, gas path interlocking conditions can be set during semiconductor equipment maintenance and process operation to interlock or interlock the gas path, so as to avoid the mixing of different types of special gases entering the reaction chamber at the same time, avoid the leakage of special gases to the outside of the reaction chamber, and cause dangerous accidents. In related technologies, the safety interlocking condition refers to the interlocking setting of the execution sequence, state, etc. of each execution part in the gas path system, for example, the opening sequence of the valve in the gas path system, the confirmation of the state of the semiconductor equipment before the valve is opened, and specifically, for example: the opening prerequisite of the front-end valve of the special gas pipeline is that the rear-end valve must be in the open state, the mixed special gas is not allowed to enter the semiconductor process chamber at the same time, the gas of the same mass flow controller is not allowed to enter the semiconductor process chamber and the vacuum exhaust valve at the same time, the cleaning special gas inlet valve and the special gas inlet valve cannot be opened at the same time to enter the mass flow controller, and the semiconductor process equipment with bottom extraction identification is allowed to enter the special gas.

[0078] Among them, in the process of installing / maintaining semiconductor process equipment, there are multiple operation modes, including: pipeline cleaning operation mode, pipeline leak detection operation mode, pipeline passivation operation mode, and the interlocking conditions required in each operation mode are different, which are illustrated as follows.

[0079] As shown in FIG. 1a and FIG. 1b, FIG. 1a is the valve opening sequence performed according to the interlocking principle, when valve 120 is opened, it is necessary to ensure that valve 121 is in an open state earlier than valve 120, and when valve 121 is opened, it is necessary to ensure that valve 67 is in an open state earlier than valve 121. By setting the valve opening sequence in this way, a gas delivery path from the gas source supply box to the reaction chamber can be formed, so that the gas can be smoothly delivered from the gas source supply box to the reaction chamber. FIG. 1b is the valve opening condition of the pipeline cleaning operation mode. In this mode, it is necessary to pass the purge gas (Purge N2) through the mass flow meter back into the special gas F2 pipeline, so that N2 fills the N2 pipeline before the mass flow meter and the F2 pipeline, and maintains for a certain period of time. As can be seen, in the pipeline cleaning operation mode of FIG. 1b, valve 120 needs to be opened, and valve 121 needs to be closed, which is obviously inconsistent with the interlocking principle in FIG. 1a that "valve 120 is closed when valve 121 is closed". In order to make the pipeline cleaning operation proceed smoothly, the corresponding interlocking conditions are manually shielded in the related technology, for example, the opening sequence of valve 120 and valve 121 is manually shielded.

[0080] As shown in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b, FIG. 2a is the valve opening sequence performed according to the interlocking principle, when valve 120 is opened, it is necessary to ensure that valve 121 is in an open state earlier than valve 120, and when valve 121 is opened, it is necessary to ensure that valve 67 is in an open state earlier than valve 121. By setting the valve opening sequence in this way, a gas delivery path from the gas source supply box to the reaction chamber can be formed, so that the gas can be smoothly delivered from the gas source supply box to the reaction chamber; in addition, since there is a risk after NH3 is mixed with F2, therefore, the two special gases are not allowed to be simultaneously introduced into the reaction chamber, and therefore, valve 103 and valve 120 are not allowed to be simultaneously opened. FIG. 2b is the valve opening condition of the pipeline leak detection operation mode. In this mode, it is usually applied to the first installation stage or the regular maintenance stage of the client, and all valves in the gas inlet box need to be simultaneously opened (as shown in FIG. 2b), and N2 is introduced, that is, N2 is introduced into the Purge N2 pipeline and the special gas (F2, NH3) pipeline, so that N2 fills the entire pipeline before the end valve 67 leading to the reaction chamber. At this time, valve 102, valve 103, valve 104, valve 119, valve 120, valve 121, and valve 122 need to be simultaneously opened under the condition that valve 67 is closed. Obviously, this is inconsistent with the interlocking principle described in FIG. 2a that "valve 121 is in a closed state when valve 67 is in a closed state" and "valve 103 and valve 120 are not allowed to be simultaneously opened". In order to make the pipeline detection operation proceed smoothly, the corresponding interlocking conditions are manually shielded in the related technology, for example, the opening sequence of valve 120 and valve 121 and the interlocking condition that valve 103 and valve 120 cannot be simultaneously opened are manually shielded.

[0081] As shown in FIG. 3a and FIG. 3b, FIG. 3a is a valve opening sequence performed according to the interlocking principle, when valve 120 is opened, it is necessary to ensure that valve 121 is in an open state earlier than valve 120, and when valve 121 is opened, it is necessary to ensure that valve 67 is in an open state earlier than valve 121. By setting the valve opening sequence in this way, a gas delivery path from the gas source supply box to the reaction chamber can be formed, so that the gas can be smoothly delivered from the gas source supply box to the reaction chamber. FIG. 3b is the valve opening condition of the pipeline passivation operation mode. In this mode, when the end valve 67 and the vacuum valve 26 leading to the reaction chamber are closed, the valves 121 and 122 at the front ends of the two valves are opened to fill the pipeline in front of the valves 67 and 26 with passivation special gas F2, and further to realize pipeline passivation. This is obviously inconsistent with the interlocking principle in FIG. 3b, that is, "valve 121 is in a closed state when valve 67 is in a closed state". In order to smoothly carry out the pipeline passivation operation, the corresponding interlocking conditions are manually shielded in the related art, for example, the interlocking condition of the opening sequence of valves 121 and 67 is manually shielded.

[0082] From the above analysis, it can be seen that in different pipeline operation modes, such as pipeline cleaning operation mode, pipeline detection operation mode, and pipeline passivation operation mode, the number and specific content of the interlocking conditions for a certain valve are different in different operation modes. In the related art, the interlocking alarm information content cannot be automatically filtered according to the operation mode enabled state. If the corresponding interlocking condition cannot be shielded, the same interlocking condition will be used in different operation modes, which will interfere with subsequent operation fault analysis, fault location and fault elimination in the corresponding operation mode, affecting the fault location efficiency and accuracy. In the related art, the corresponding interlocking condition is manually shielded. During the process of manually shielding the interlocking condition, there is a risk of contacting the special gas due to manual operation of the corresponding actuator (such as a valve), so there is a safety risk. Because manual operation is added, the working time in the corresponding operation mode is increased, which affects the operation efficiency of the semiconductor process equipment.

[0083] The embodiments of the present application provide a gas path control method, a gas path control device and a semiconductor process equipment. The operation mode is mainly selected by an operation mode selection tool. In the process, only the corresponding gas path interlocking condition is called in the operation mode in the enabled state, which can automatically shield the interlocking condition irrelevant or contradictory to it, and further realize one-key operation in the operation mode, ensure the efficiency and accuracy of fault analysis, positioning and elimination in the corresponding operation mode, simplify the operation process, and ensure the process efficiency and accuracy. The specific implementation is as follows.

[0084] The gas path control method provided by the embodiments of the present application is used for controlling a gas path system of a semiconductor process equipment, the gas path system has multiple operation modes, the multiple operation modes are independent of each other, and each operation mode has a corresponding gas path interlocking condition; as shown in FIG. 4, the control method comprises the following steps:

[0085] S102, obtaining a selection instruction of an operation mode;

[0086] S108, enabling the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode, and controlling the gas path system to perform a task corresponding to the operation mode.

[0087] In the embodiments of the present application, since the gas path system in the semiconductor process equipment is provided with multiple operation modes, each operation mode has a corresponding gas path interlocking condition, which is equivalent to packaging the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to each operation mode in the operation mode, when a certain operation mode is selected, the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode is enabled accordingly, and the task content corresponding to the operation mode is performed accordingly, in this process, the gas path interlocking conditions irrelevant or contradictory to the operation mode are automatically shielded; in this way, when the interlocking alarm information (including the number and specific content of the interlocking conditions) in different processes changes, the interlocking alarm information can be automatically filtered according to the enabled state of the operation mode to obtain the interlocking conditions corresponding to the operation mode in the working state, that is, the interlocking alarm information will be different with different operation modes, thereby avoiding the interference of irrelevant or contradictory interlocking conditions on the fault analysis, fault positioning and fault elimination in the operation mode, and ensuring the efficiency and accuracy of the fault analysis, positioning and elimination in the corresponding operation mode; that is, after the operation mode is successfully selected, the system can automatically select the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode according to the operation mode, automatically shield irrelevant or even contradictory gas path interlocking conditions, and thus will not interfere with the subsequent system fault analysis, fault positioning and fault elimination, simplifying the operation process and ensuring the process efficiency and accuracy.

[0088] Specifically, the plurality of operation modes can be embedded in the controller independently in the form of function subprogram modules, each function subprogram module encapsulating corresponding air path interlocking condition content associated with the corresponding operation mode for direct calling by the corresponding operation mode; each operation mode corresponds to a function subprogram module, each function subprogram module being pre-stored in the controller and encapsulating air path interlocking conditions corresponding to the corresponding operation mode, these air path interlocking conditions only including air path interlocking conditions related to the operation mode and excluding air path interlocking conditions irrelevant to or contradictory to the operation mode, which is equivalent to packaging air path interlocking conditions only related to the operation mode in a function subprogram module, associating the function subprogram module with the operation mode, corresponding to the operation mode, when the operation mode is selected and takes effect, each air path interlocking condition in the function subprogram module can be directly called, thereby directly shielding air path interlocking conditions irrelevant to or contradictory to the operation mode. As can be seen, when thus set, under each operation mode, interlocking alarm information will be automatically screened and matched with corresponding air path interlocking conditions, irrelevant (shielded) interlocking alarm information will not be thrown out, thereby realizing the accuracy and intelligence of interlocking alarm information and facilitating quick fault location and troubleshooting, shortening subsequent system recovery time and improving equipment operation efficiency.

[0089] In the embodiments of the present application, the operation mode can be provided with multiple modes, for example, can include at least one of the pipeline cleaning operation mode, the pipeline leak detection operation mode, the pipeline passivation operation mode, the ozone (Q3) passivation operation mode, and the unenabled mode; in general, different operation modes need to shield different interlocking conditions, and the same execution member (for example, a valve PV in the gas path system) has different interlocking alarm information (ALARM_PV_OPEN_INTERLOCK) contents in different operation modes. The unenabled mode is that the gas path system is in an "unenabled operation mode selection" state, that is, the operation mode selection function is in an unenabled state, as shown in Table 1, the unenabled mode includes all gas path interlocking conditions involved in each operation mode of the gas path system, such as N = 9 gas path interlocking conditions. The gas path interlocking conditions corresponding to the pipeline cleaning operation mode are part of the gas path interlocking conditions in the unenabled mode, such as gas path interlocking conditions 1-3, 5, 7, and 9 in Table 1, and interlocking conditions 4, 6, and 8 need to be shielded, that is, the interlocking alarm information does not include interlocking conditions 4, 6, and 8, and even if the interlocking conditions 4, 6, and 8 are not met, the state is considered normal in the pipeline cleaning operation mode, and the interlocking alarm does not need to be triggered; the gas path interlocking conditions corresponding to the pipeline leak detection operation mode are part of the gas path interlocking conditions in the unenabled mode, such as gas path interlocking condition 2 in Table 1, and interlocking conditions 1, 3-9 need to be shielded; the gas path interlocking conditions corresponding to the pipeline passivation operation mode are part of the gas path interlocking conditions in the unenabled mode, such as gas path interlocking conditions 1-3, 5, 7, and 9 in Table 1, and interlocking conditions 4, 6, and 8 need to be shielded.

[0090] Table 1: Specific contents of interlocking conditions corresponding to different operation modes of PV154

[0091] In combination with Table 1, the interlocking condition information is as shown in Table 2.

[0092] Table 2: Specific information of interlocking conditions

[0093] Specifically, for ease of operation, a plurality of operation modes can be numbered as shown in Table 3, for example, the pipeline cleaning operation mode is defined as operation mode one, the pipeline leak detection operation mode is defined as operation mode two, the pipeline passivation operation mode is defined as operation mode three, and the ozone (Q3) passivation operation mode is defined as operation mode four; the operation mode selection tool can select a knob, and operation modes one to four are arranged along the circumference of the knob, and the corresponding operation mode is selected by rotating the knob to different positions, for example, when the pipeline cleaning operation is needed, the knob is rotated until the pointer points to operation mode one (pipeline cleaning operation mode), at this time the mode selection tool transmits the selection instruction to the controller, and the controller performs subsequent operations according to the mode selection instruction obtained. In this embodiment, the function selection / switching of the operation mode is realized by the knob, which has the advantages of simple operation, high visualization, safety and reliability. In addition, during the operation mode selection process, only the knob is rotated, and no intervention is made to the system flow and program, so the privacy, integrity and security of the underlying program of the system are not affected.

[0094] It should be noted that the switching tool can also be selected in other ways in addition to the above-mentioned knob, for example, a plurality of buttons can be selected, each button corresponding to an operation mode, or a function selection button can be used, the corresponding operation mode can be selected by pressing the button a certain number of times, or a handle can be used, and the handle can be swung or slid to the corresponding operation mode to select the operation mode. Of course, other ways can also be selected, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. In addition, other modes can also be set for the operation mode, for example, a standby operation mode can be additionally set, and when it is necessary to expand the operation mode, corresponding function modules can be added to the original system on this basis, without the need to replace the entire system.

[0095] Table 3: Operation mode and enable state indication

[0096] The above-mentioned operation mode selection tool belongs to hardware, and the function subprogram module corresponding to each operation mode belongs to a program function module. After the operation mode selection tool is associated with each function subprogram module, one-key enablement of hardware and program function modules can be realized. Compared with related technologies, manual matching, selection and operation based on experience are not needed, time is saved, the error rate is reduced, and the device reliability and operation efficiency are improved. Taking the metal pipeline passivation operation mode in the daily maintenance steps of the semiconductor thin film deposition equipment as an example, in related technologies, the key parameters and their setting process are as follows:

[0097] A101, control and maintain the reaction chamber pressure value P1;

[0098] A102, a certain amount of active gas (special gas) F2 is introduced under temperature condition T1, and F2 is used for passivating the metal pipeline;

[0099] A103, the active gas F2 is introduced for a time M1 to ensure that the corresponding parts of the device are filled with F2;

[0100] A104, the pressure value P2 of the reaction chamber is controlled;

[0101] A105, the temperature T1 and the pressure P2 are maintained for a time M2.

[0102] In the related art, when the above process steps are switched and parameters are issued, manual single-step operation is required, the process is complicated, time-consuming, and some irrelevant or contradictory bottom interlocking conditions need to be shielded (for example, in step A103, in order to fully fill the pipeline with the active gas F2, some gas path valves with mutual exclusion relationship need to be opened at the same time), at this time, the corresponding bottom interlocking conditions need to be manually shielded, which increases the execution difficulty and requires higher professional skills of the operator. It should be noted that the bottom interlocking condition here can be understood as the interlocking condition when the operation mode selection is not enabled. In the related art, when the gas path system is complex, more bottom interlocking conditions will be involved, and in fact only a small number of interlocking conditions are required under the corresponding operation mode, at this time, the remaining most interlocking conditions need to be manually shielded, the number of these interlocking conditions may exceed the shielding upper limit (for example, 32) of the controller (such as PLC), thus, the entire task content under one operation mode cannot be completed at one time and needs to be performed in batches, which is time-consuming.

[0103] As shown in FIG. 5a, in the embodiment of the present application, the mode selection tool (which can also be a mode switching tool) is used for human-computer interaction to select the corresponding operation mode, which is fed back to the controller. After the controller accepts the mode selection, data analysis and subprogram calling are performed, for example, whether the initial state requirement under the operation mode is met is analyzed, if yes, the interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode (such as the interlocking condition encapsulated in the corresponding function subprogram module) is called, and then the controller sends a work instruction to the remote executor, and the executor interacts with the controller, for example: corresponding parameters, data, and state, when all the executors complete the task, the entire process task is completed. Taking operation mode three as an example, the working process is further described in detail.

[0104] As shown in FIG. 5b, in the embodiment of the present application, the mode selection tool is used to realize the process of pipeline passivation operation:

[0105] C101, it is confirmed that the device needs to be switched to operation mode three;

[0106] C102, the operation mode selection tool is switched to operation mode three, for example, the knob of the operation mode selection tool is rotated and the arrow points to operation mode three;

[0107] C103, the controller determines whether the actual state of the semiconductor process equipment meets the initial state requirement corresponding to the third operation mode, and outputs an alarm information if it does not meet, and the operation mode fails to wake up; if it meets, the next step is continued;

[0108] C104, the controller identifies and interprets the selected state of the third operation mode, and the corresponding flag register B03 of the third operation mode is assigned a value of 1; specifically, for example: the four registers B01-B04 correspond to four different operation modes, when the third operation mode is enabled, the corresponding register B03 is assigned a value of 1, i.e. B03 = 1;

[0109] C105, when B03 = 1, trigger and call the corresponding function subprogram module 03 (for example, the function subprogram module 01 corresponding to the pipeline cleaning operation module, the function subprogram module 02 corresponding to the pipeline leak detection operation module, the function subprogram module 03 corresponding to the pipeline passivation operation module, and the function subprogram module 04 corresponding to the ozone passivation operation module), complete the sub-command issuing (for example: chamber pressure control command in the above step A101, etc.), parameter issuing (pressure value P1, temperature value T1, gas inlet time M1, etc.);

[0110] C106, the controller reads the corresponding data of the feedback information of the remote execution member (for example: the open and close state feedback of the gas path valve, the position and speed feedback of the motion component driver, and the real-time voltage, current and power feedback of the thyristor power controller) in real time through the read-write module, and judges the execution progress and end state of the operation task under this operation mode.

[0111] C107, when all operation tasks under this operation mode are completed, the controller compares and judges the received execution member state feedback information and the set target state (the target temperature, pressure, position and other parameters after the completion of the set mode), if the two states are consistent, the controller outputs the operation mode execution completion signal, which can be an indicator light to display that the operation mode has been successfully executed.

[0112] From the above process, in the embodiments of the present application, only the operation mode needs to be selected by the mode selection tool. For example, after selecting the pipeline passivation operation mode described above, the system will directly call the function subroutine module corresponding to the operation mode, so that irrelevant or contradictory underlying interlocking conditions can be directly shielded without manual shielding, simplifying the process, shortening the process time, and reducing the execution difficulty. In addition, due to the setting of the function subroutine module, the corresponding interlocking conditions have been encapsulated in the subroutine in advance. When it needs to be called, the subroutine is directly called, and the operation task content under the corresponding operation mode can be implemented at one time. The automatic shielding of other interlocking conditions is realized, and manual shielding of the remaining interlocking conditions is not needed. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, there is no limit to the number of underlying interlocking conditions. It is not only suitable for simple gas path systems, but also suitable for complex gas path systems, has a wide range of applications, and improves the equipment operation efficiency.

[0113] The mode selection tool for gas path interlocking shielding is illustrated below. As shown in FIG. 6, F2 valve opening under a certain operation mode is taken as an example. After selecting the corresponding operation mode, the valve interlocking conditions 1, 2 and 4 of the special gas F2 are selectively automatically shielded. This is because the controller internally embeds integrated function subroutine modules corresponding to each operation mode. In this operation mode, the corresponding interlocking conditions 1, 2 and 4 need to be shielded, and the shielding information is written into the function subroutine module. When the operation mode is selected and the operation mode function wakes up successfully, the function subroutine module will be directly triggered and called. Subsequent steps will automatically run, eliminating the tedious operation of manually searching and shielding in the interactive interface in related technologies, reducing the error probability, improving the reliability, saving the operation time, and improving the operation efficiency.

[0114] In a semiconductor process equipment process, different operation modes have different requirements for the initial state of the semiconductor process equipment. For example, before the pipeline cleaning operation mode is started, the initial state of the semiconductor process equipment needs to meet the preset initial state requirement of the pipeline cleaning operation mode, including: confirming that the plant service hand valve, pipeline gas valve, etc. are in a closed state, confirming that N2 is normally introduced into the equipment inlet box inlet, setting the temperature of each temperature zone of each process chamber to a preset temperature (for example, room temperature 20°C), and setting the vacuum valve of the exhaust end to a closed state; before the pipeline passivation operation mode is started, the actual initial state of the semiconductor process equipment needs to meet the preset initial state requirement of the pipeline passivation operation mode, including: the vacuum pump and the exhaust device are normally operated, the process transmission rear door (LA rear door) is in a closed state, each exhaust pressure is normal without alarm, and the equipment leak rate detection is completed. When the process transmission rear door is not in a closed state, this item is not a dangerous item in the conventional equipment hazard diagnosis, but when the process transmission rear door is not in a closed state in the pipeline passivation operation mode, it will affect personal safety and process effect. Therefore, in the pipeline passivation operation mode, if the process transmission rear door is not closed, it is an abnormal state. Therefore, for some interlocking conditions corresponding to the state, in the conventional state judgment, it does not belong to the dangerous state, but in some operation modes, it may not meet the initial state requirement. If it still operates in the operation mode, it will affect the smooth progress of the operation mode, or affect the process effect, or be judged as a dangerous state.

[0115] To avoid the occurrence of the above dangerous conditions, it is necessary to identify the dangerous state of the initial state of the semiconductor process equipment in each operation mode. In related technologies, when identifying the initial state of the semiconductor process equipment, the same judgment content and judgment process are used for dangerous identification according to the operation mode (or process type). Specifically, in each operation mode, the same interlocking condition needs to be judged one by one, and some items that do not belong to the dangerous state also need to be judged one by one, resulting in more judgment content, longer time consumption, and inability to make differentiated, targeted, and detailed accurate judgments, resulting in a low level of judgment accuracy. For example, for the interlocking condition of a PV valve, the interlocking condition of the PV valve is different in different operation modes (see Table 1), and cannot be automatically detected according to the selected operation mode, which consumes time and effort and affects the accuracy of the judgment.

[0116] In the embodiments of the present application, the dangerous identification method is significantly different from the dangerous identification method in related technologies. In the embodiments of the present application, the state abnormality judgment is performed according to the preset initial state requirement of each operation mode. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, after step S102 and before step S108, the method further includes the following steps:

[0117] S104, judging whether the actual initial state of the semiconductor process equipment meets the preset initial state requirement corresponding to the operation mode;

[0118] S106, if the actual initial state meets the preset initial state requirement, the selection instruction of the operation mode is valid.

[0119] The above steps are set such that if the actual state of the semiconductor process equipment meets the preset state requirement corresponding to the operation mode, the operation mode can be valid, if the actual state of the semiconductor process equipment does not meet the preset state requirement corresponding to the operation mode, the operation mode will not be valid, in other words, the selection instruction of the operation mode is invalid, at this time, the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode cannot be enabled, and the task content corresponding to the operation mode is not executed, so the setting not only enables the gas path system to identify the danger of the initial state of the semiconductor process equipment before each operation mode, but also, since only the relevant initial state under the corresponding operation mode is judged, the judgment content and process are reduced compared with the related art, the time consumption is short, the danger identification can be distinguished, targeted and accurate, and the danger identification accuracy is improved.

[0120] The control method provided by the embodiment of the application can also set the self-detection, danger condition alarm prompt and initial state repair steps for each operation mode, as shown in FIG. 7, and the specific steps are as follows:

[0121] S110, if the actual initial state does not meet the preset initial state requirement, the selection instruction of the operation mode is invalid, and the initial state alarm information is outputted;

[0122] S112, repairing the actual initial state of the semiconductor process equipment according to the initial state alarm information.

[0123] In this way, the possibility of failure caused by the initial state of the semiconductor process equipment can be excluded before the operation mode is enabled, thereby improving the overall safety of the semiconductor process equipment.

[0124] Specifically, the self-detection, danger condition alarm prompt and initial state repair steps are specifically introduced below by taking the pipe passivation operation mode as an example, as shown in FIG. 8, including the following steps:

[0125] Q101, preset initial state requirement under the pipeline passivation operation mode; wherein, as shown in FIG. 9, the initial state requirement under the operation mode includes: vacuum pump normal operation (Pump Running), exhaust system normal operation (Scrubber Running), LA delivery door closed, chamber pressure ≤5mtorr, N2 sent to the gas inlet A via HV (Hand valve), RG (Regulator); wherein, the pipeline pressure is detected by PT (pressure transducer), and the MFC is a mass flow controller (Mass Flow Controller);

[0126] Q102, selecting the pipeline passivation operation mode (operation mode three) through the operation mode selection tool;

[0127] Q103, judging whether the actual initial state of the semiconductor process equipment meets the preset initial state requirement, if yes, executing step Q104; if not, executing step Q105;

[0128] Q104, then waking up the pipeline passivation operation mode (operation mode three) function, and executing step Q107;

[0129] Q105, controlling the semiconductor process equipment to stop operation, and outputting alarm information;

[0130] Q106, according to the alarm information, repairing the initial state of the semiconductor process equipment until the preset initial state requirement is met; and executing step Q104;

[0131] Q107, executing the specific task content under the pipeline passivation operation mode.

[0132] In the above specific example of the pipeline passivation operation mode, the target state management module, the state diagnosis module and the system decision module are involved, wherein, the target state management module is used for presetting the initial state requirement corresponding to each operation mode, see step Q101; the state diagnosis module is used for performing targeted state self-detection according to the selected operation mode, see step Q103; and the system decision module is used for executing the specific task content contained in the operation mode according to the diagnosis result of the state self-detection, see steps Q105 and Q107. As known from the above, in the embodiment of the present application, the system safety self-detection function can perform corresponding state self-judgment according to different operation modes, has the safety self-detection function, improves the judgment accuracy and judgment efficiency, and improves the equipment safety and reliability.

[0133] In the embodiment of the present application, the gas path system includes a display module, and the control method further includes the following steps:

[0134] In S114, if the actual initial state meets the preset initial state requirement, the selection instruction of the operation mode is effective, and the control display module displays the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode. The display module can improve the visualization.

[0135] In the embodiment of the present application, the control method further comprises the steps of:

[0136] In S116, if the task corresponding to the operation mode has been executed and the actual state of the semiconductor process equipment meets the preset target state requirement, an end instruction of the operation mode is output.

[0137] In the embodiment of the present application, the gas path system comprises a host computer, the display module is arranged on the host computer, for example, the display module is a display screen of the host computer; the controller has a register; the total number of the gas path interlocking conditions in the gas path system is N, and S108 comprises the following steps:

[0138] In S10801, each execution member is allocated a register, and the register adopts binary identification;

[0139] In S10802, each gas path interlocking condition is sequentially numbered from small to large, and is arranged from right to left, the gas path interlocking condition that needs to be retained under each operation mode is identified as "1", and the gas path interlocking condition that needs to be shielded is identified as "0";

[0140] In S10803, the display module displays the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the identification "1".

[0141] Specifically, in the embodiments of the present application, N=9 is taken as an example, i.e., there are 9 gas path interlocking conditions, and the actuator is taken as an example of a gas valve, for example, the gas valve is provided with 256, each gas valve is allocated a register R used to match the selection of the gas path interlocking condition, and the 256 gas valves correspond to R1-R256 respectively, the register R is displayed in binary form, and 16 Bit bits are provided, i.e., Bit0-Bit15, each Bit bit has two state values, i.e., 0 and 1, which respectively represent that the interlocking condition corresponding to the Bit bit does not need to be displayed and needs to be displayed, i.e., the interlocking condition corresponding to the state value 1 is the interlocking condition required by the corresponding operation mode, and needs to be displayed, and the interlocking condition corresponding to the state value 0 is the interlocking condition not required by the corresponding operation mode, which needs to be shielded and does not need to be displayed. As shown in Tables 4 and 5, for example, when the gas valve PV154 is opened, the interlocking conditions 1-9 correspond to the Bit0-Bit8 of PV154, when the unenabled mode is selected, all the interlocking conditions 1-9 need to be displayed, at this time, the corresponding values of the Bit bits of R154 are 0000 0001 1111 1111 (from right to left, corresponding to Bit0-Bit15 respectively); when the pipeline cleaning operation mode is enabled, the corresponding values of the Bit bits of R154 are 0000 0001 0101 0111; when the pipeline leak detection operation mode is enabled, the corresponding values of the Bit bits of R154 are 0000 0000 0000 0010; it can be seen that in the embodiments of the present application, the corresponding R register configuration table can be made according to the shielding requirements of the interlocking conditions of each operation mode. According to the actually selected operation mode, the host computer obtains the R register values under the corresponding operation mode, as shown in Tables 4 and 5, and screens out the interlocking condition contents that need to be displayed.

[0142] Table 4: Interlocking alarm content availability under each operation mode, wherein "√" represents the interlocking alarm information that needs to be displayed under the corresponding mode; "X" represents the interlocking alarm information that does not need to be displayed under the corresponding mode; "To FV" represents the gas flow path through the valve Final Valve pipeline; "To VENT" represents the gas flow path through the VENT pipeline; "STS" represents Status, and "PV154-STS" represents the state of the valve PV154.

[0143] Table 5: ALRM_PV154_OPEN_INTERLOCK alarm interlocking information availability display

[0144] In Table 5, "●" represents that the actual state is consistent with the target state, and "○" represents that the actual state is inconsistent with the target state.

[0145] It should be noted that the interlocking conditions corresponding to each table in Tables 1-2, 4-5 are corresponding, and the interlocking conditions 1-9 are sequentially arranged from top to bottom; wherein, the interlocking condition 1 "PV153" in Tables 1, 2 and 4 corresponds to the interlocking condition 1 "PV153 HF N2" in Table 5, and "HF N2" is the position and function mark of the valve PV153, which means: the inlet valve of the HF special gas pipeline for purging N2, and the purging N2 is used for pipeline cleaning; the interlocking condition 3 "TO FV-PV155" and the interlocking condition 8 "TO VT-PV156" in Tables 1, 2, 4 and 5, the valve PV155 is the second inlet valve of the HF special gas, which can be identified as "PV155 HF 2nd", and the valve PV156 is the valve for the HF special gas into the VENT pipeline, which can be identified as "PV156 HF V".

[0146] In the embodiment of the present application, in step S108, the control gas path system executes tasks corresponding to the operation mode, including steps of:

[0147] S10805, real-time acquisition of the actual execution state and the preset execution state of each gas path interlocking condition of the gas path system in the operation mode;

[0148] S10806, if the actual execution state is inconsistent with the preset execution state, the inconsistent gas path interlocking condition does not meet the interlocking requirement, it is determined that there is a fault execution part in the inconsistent gas path interlocking condition, and an interlocking alarm information is output.

[0149] In the embodiments of the present application, the above steps can accurately and effectively display the interlock alarm information corresponding to each operation mode, and help to quickly locate and troubleshoot faults. Still taking the PV154 opening as an example, as shown in Tables 4 and 5. In the related art, when the operation mode selection is not enabled, as shown in FIG. 10a, the manual pipeline leak detection operation is performed, the pipeline leak detection is started, and if the PV154 has an interlock alarm, it is necessary to determine whether the actual state of the interlock conditions 1-9 is consistent with the target state. If there is an inconsistency, it is determined that the alarm reason is that the actual state of the interlock conditions is inconsistent with the target state, and the inconsistent interlock conditions are sequentially excluded from the abnormal state. Referring to FIG. 10a, since the operation mode selection is not enabled, that is, the interlock conditions 1-9 exist in each operation mode, and each interlock condition cannot be automatically shielded, therefore, in the corresponding operation mode, the number of inconsistent interlock conditions and target states, in addition to the interlock conditions corresponding to the operation mode, there can also be interlock conditions irrelevant or contradictory to the operation mode, that is, the number of inconsistencies is large. For the pipeline leak detection operation mode, in addition to the interlock condition 2 related to the operation mode, there are also 8 irrelevant or contradictory interlock conditions. When an alarm occurs, the alarm reason not only exists in the interlock condition 2, but also can exist in the interlock conditions 1, 3-9. Taking the actual state of the interlock conditions 1-9 as an example, that is, it is determined that the alarm reason is that the actual state of the interlock conditions 1-9 is inconsistent with the target state, then the abnormal state of the interlock conditions 1-9 needs to be sequentially excluded, that is, 9 interlock conditions need to be checked one by one, and then it can be finally determined which interlock conditions do not meet the requirements. Then, according to the execution member corresponding to the interlock condition that does not meet the requirements, the corresponding recovery operation is performed. In fact, among the 9 interlock conditions, 8 interlock conditions irrelevant to the operation mode need to be manually shielded, which are interlock conditions 1, 3-9, and only interlock condition 2 needs to be retained. Obviously, this operation method causes waste of manpower, time and resources.

[0150] In the embodiment of the present application, in the case of enabling the job mode selection, as shown in FIG. 10b, after selecting the pipeline detection mode, only one piece of corresponding valid interlock alarm information (i.e., interlock condition 2) in this mode is automatically screened out, and the alarm reason is also only this one piece, so that the alarm reason can be locked as the actual state of this one piece of interlock condition being inconsistent with the interlock condition, and then the abnormal state of this one piece of interlock condition is excluded. Since the pipeline leak detection job mode only includes interlock condition 2 corresponding to this job mode, when troubleshooting, only interlock condition 2 needs to be excluded. That is, only once of exclusion is needed, and there is no need to troubleshoot the other 8 pieces of interlock condition. The interlock alarm information can be quickly locked as interlock condition 2, and then the execution member related to this interlock condition 2 can be recovered. If compared in terms of time, if the job mode selection function is not enabled, the time for troubleshooting, fault positioning and fault exclusion can be 9 hours, but if the pipeline leak detection job mode in the embodiment of the present application is enabled, only 1 hour is needed. The embodiment has the advantages of high fault positioning accuracy, short fault exclusion time and high efficiency, and effectively avoids the waste of manpower, time and resources.

[0151] In the related art, since there is no fault self-recovery function, when alarm information occurs in the process, the current process can only be interrupted, and the process flow can be resumed only after manual troubleshooting. Therefore, the process efficiency is seriously affected. Compared with the related art, in the embodiment of the present application, since the fault self-recovery function is provided, when alarm information occurs, the remote self-recovery function can be tried to exclude the fault in time, thereby improving the process efficiency. This will be further described below.

[0152] In the embodiment of the present application, the interlock alarm information includes a first identifier; in step S108, the gas path system is controlled to perform a task corresponding to the job mode, and further includes the following steps:

[0153] S10807, if the first identifier exists, a fault self-recovery instruction is acquired; wherein the first identifier is, for example, “O” in Table 5, indicating that the actual state of the interlock condition corresponding to the identifier in the corresponding job mode is inconsistent with the target state, and the interlock fault information is output, and the fault needs to be excluded, and the self-recovery instruction is acquired to try to remotely self-recover;

[0154] S10808, a remote fault self-recovery instruction is controlled to be executed by the fault execution member;

[0155] S10809, if the remote fault self-recovery instruction is successfully executed and the first identifier does not exist, the corresponding task in the job mode is continuously executed; for example, if the first identifier “O” does not exist in the interlock condition content, and the second identifier “●” is displayed in the interlock condition content, it indicates that the interlock condition is met in the corresponding job mode, and at this time, the gas path system in this job mode is in a normal process state, so that the corresponding process task in this job mode can be continuously executed.

[0156] If the remote fault self-recovery instruction fails to execute, the system outputs an instruction to manually remove the fault, and continues to execute the corresponding task in the operation mode after the fault is manually removed; for some actuators in the gas path system in the corresponding operation mode, some actuators have remote self-recovery characteristics, and some actuators do not have remote self-recovery characteristics. When the remote fault self-recovery instruction fails to execute, the fault actuator is likely to be an actuator that does not have remote self-recovery characteristics. At this time, the actuator can be quickly located, and manual fault removal can be timely implemented to ensure process efficiency.

[0157] In the embodiment of the present application, in step S108, the control gas path system executes tasks corresponding to the operation mode, including the steps of:

[0158] 10811, if the actual execution state of the gas path interlocking condition is consistent with the preset execution state, a second mark "●" is displayed;

[0159] S10812, if the gas path interlocking conditions corresponding to the operation mode are all the second mark "●", the corresponding task in the operation mode is executed.

[0160] Based on the above steps, if the actuator corresponding to the interlocking condition has remote fault self-recovery characteristics, when the actual state of the interlocking condition is inconsistent with the preset state (target state), the system can implement fault self-recovery. At this time, no manual intervention is required, and the semiconductor process equipment can continue to operate safely and stably without stopping the current process. Only when the corresponding actuator does not have remote fault self-recovery characteristics, the fault can be manually removed.

[0161] In the embodiment of the present application, if the actuators of the gas path interlocking condition include first actuators that can be remotely controlled to open and close and second actuators that need to be manually controlled to open and close, the first actuators include normally open intermediate relays, and the second actuators include normally closed intermediate relays. The switch of the normally open intermediate relay and the switch of the normally closed intermediate relay are electrically connected in series; specifically, in step S10808, the controller remotely controls the normally open intermediate relay to be powered, and the switch of the normally open intermediate relay is closed.

[0162] Take the pipeline leak detection operation mode as an example, please continue to refer to Table 4, in this operation mode, the interlock alarm reason is only one, for vacuum pump stop (Pump Down). The vacuum pump can be used as one of the actuators of the gas circuit system, and the gas circuit connection structure is set as shown in Figure 11a. The vacuum pump (Pump) is connected with the reaction chamber (Tube) through the vacuum valve (VEC valve), and the pressure control of the reaction chamber is realized by adjusting the opening angle (0-100%) of the vacuum valve. The signal control circuit structure is shown in Figure 11b. The vacuum valve is connected with the PLC controller to interact with the opening degree signal and the pressure signal. The host computer is connected with the PLC controller to interact with the feedback instruction (such as state information) and the control instruction. The vacuum pump is connected with the PLC controller to interact with the feedback instruction (such as state information) and the control instruction. The vacuum pump is connected with the plant through the gas flow control device (Pump Gas Flow), the exhaust pressure control device (Pump Exhaust Pressure) and the water flow control device (Pump Water Flow). The gas flow control device is used to control the gas flow to ensure the pumping speed of the vacuum pump. The exhaust pressure control device is used to control the exhaust pressure to ensure the stability of the vacuum pump. The water flow control device is used to control the fluid medium state to ensure the sealing, lubrication and cooling of the vacuum pump. For the vacuum pump, when the gas flow control device, the exhaust pressure control device and the water flow control device are abnormal, self-recovery can be realized through remote control. When the vacuum valve is abnormal, self-recovery cannot be realized through remote control. The implementation principle and circuit connection structure of the vacuum pump fault self-recovery of the embodiment of the application are further described in combination with Figures 12a and 12b.

[0163] As shown in FIG. 12a and FIG. 12b, the circuit connection structure of the vacuum pump includes relays K01, K02, K03, K04, K05; wherein K01 is a self-recovery enabled relay for air flow control device, and is a normally open relay, when its coil "A11, A12" is powered, the normally open contact 11, 12 will be closed; K02 is a self-recovery enabled relay for exhaust control device, and is a normally open relay, when its coil "A21, A22" is powered, the normally open contact "21, 22" will be closed; K03 is a self-recovery enabled relay for water flow control device, and is a normally open relay, when its coil "A31, A32" is powered, the normally open contact "31, 32" will be closed; K04 is a normally open relay for plant gas, exhaust pressure, and water supply normal flag, and is a normally open relay, its coil has two ends "A41, A42", and has three pairs of contacts "41, 42" "43, 44" "45, 46", when its coil "A41, A42" is powered, the three pairs of normally open contacts "41, 42" "43, 44" "45, 46" will be closed; K05 is a normally closed relay for angle abnormal flag of vacuum valve, and is a normally closed relay, its coil has two ends "A51, A52", and has three pairs of contacts "51, 52" "53, 54" "55, 56", when its coil "A51, A52" is powered, the three pairs of normally closed contacts "51, 52" "53, 54" "55, 56" will be opened; when the vacuum pump of the system positioning appears abnormal stop, and executes fault self-recovery, the controller receives the interlocking condition abnormal information and makes comprehensive judgment, and the controller is still taken as an example.

[0164] Please continue to refer to Figure 12a and Figure 12b, the circuit connection structure includes signal control circuit structure and circuit control loop structure; wherein, as shown in Figure 12a, in the signal control circuit structure, the air flow control device, the exhaust pressure controller, the water flow control device are connected to the vacuum pump control circuit board, the vacuum pump control circuit board, the vacuum valve (VEC) and the upper computer are connected to the PLC input module, the coils "A11, A12" of the relay K01, the coils "A21, A22" of the relay K02, the coils "A31, A32" of the relay K03, the coils "A41, A42" of the relay K04, the coils "A51, A52" of the relay K05 are connected to the PLC output module; as shown in Figure 12b, in the circuit control loop structure, the normally open valve of the relay K01, the normally open valve of the relay K04, the normally closed valve of the relay K05 are connected in series and formed in the first branch, the normally open valve of the relay K02, the normally open valve of the relay K04, the normally closed valve of the relay K05 are connected in series and formed in the second branch, the normally open valve of the relay K03, the normally open valve of the relay K04, the normally closed valve of the relay K05 are connected in series and formed in the third branch, the first branch, the second branch, the third branch are connected to the PLC input module, the PLC input module, the PLC output module are connected to the vacuum pump control circuit board.

[0165] The recovery principle of the vacuum pump fault is introduced in detail below in combination with the above-mentioned circuit connection structure: assuming that the cause of the vacuum pump fault is the abnormality of the air flow control device, the PLC input module obtains the abnormal signal, the PLC output module controls the coils "A11, A12" of the relay K01 to be powered, the normally open contacts "11, 12" of K01 are closed; at the same time, the PLC input module obtains that the water, gas and pressure supply are normal, the PLC output module controls the coils "A41, A42" of the relay K04 to be powered, the normally open contacts "41, 42" of K04 are closed; at the same time, the PLC input module obtains the feedback signal of the vacuum valve and judges that the actual state of the angle of the vacuum valve is normal, then the PLC output module keeps the coils "A51, A52" of the relay K05 from being powered, so that the normally closed contacts "51, 52" of K05 remain closed; at this time, the air flow control loop is in a closed state, after the PLC input module receives the signal that the air flow control loop is in a closed state, the PLC output module transmits the information to the vacuum pump control circuit board to perform the specific self-recovery action of the air flow controller. If the actual state of the angle of the vacuum valve is not normal, the PLC output module controls the coils "A51, A52" of the relay K05 to be powered, the normally closed contacts "51, 52" of K05 are disconnected, at this time, the air flow control loop cannot be closed, and the vacuum pump fault cannot be self-recovered, that is, the vacuum pump fault self-recovery fails, and the system will prompt: the angle of the vacuum valve is abnormal, and manual further processing is required.

[0166] The specific process of self-recovery of the vacuum pump in the pipeline leak detection operation mode is shown in FIG. 13, including the following steps:

[0167] W101, preset the interlock alarm processing mechanism of the air valve PV154 in the pipeline leak detection operation mode, including the initial state requirements and function subprogram modules in the corresponding mode as described above;

[0168] W102, run the pipeline leak detection operation mode;

[0169] W103, set the process state of PV154 to "OPEN";

[0170] W104, determine whether the process state meets the interlock condition in the pipeline leak detection operation mode; if yes, execute step W110; if no, execute step W105;

[0171] W105, execute the preset self-recovery processing scheme; the processing scheme is described above in relation to the circuit connection structure (as shown in FIGS. 12a and 12b), which will not be repeated here;

[0172] W106, issue a Pump remote start command;

[0173] W107, determine whether the Pump successfully executes the remote start; if yes, execute step W110; if no, execute step W108;

[0174] W108, indicate a self-recovery failure alarm and wait for manual processing;

[0175] W109, run the Pump after manual troubleshooting;

[0176] W110, control PV154 to be in the "OPEN" state;

[0177] W111, continue to execute other task contents in the leak detection operation mode.

[0178] The vacuum pump, as a vacuum generating device for the low-pressure furnace tube, is an essential device in the chemical vapor deposition process, atomic layer deposition process, and thin film deposition process. Whether it can run stably and continuously directly determines the quality of key process parameters such as deposition rate, film thickness, film uniformity, and particle size. Therefore, in the process of each operation mode, the stable operation of the vacuum pump should be maintained as much as possible. When the vacuum pump appears abnormal, the vacuum pump fault should be recovered to normal state as soon as possible, which is crucial for vertical furnace low-pressure process products. In the embodiments of the present application, the vacuum pump can realize self-recovery function after failure, greatly improving the operation efficiency and overall stability of the low-pressure equipment, and ensuring the index parameters of the low-pressure process products.

[0179] The embodiment of the present application also provides a gas circuit control device used for executing the control method, as shown in Figure 14, the control device comprises a mode selection tool, a host computer, a controller and an execution part.

[0180] The mode selection tool is used for selecting an operation mode, and a hardware switching tool such as a rotary knob can be selected. The mode selection tool is installed in a manual operation area and used for enabling and switching a corresponding operation mode. A state indicating lamp can be provided for each operation mode, for example, when a certain operation mode is enabled, the state indicating lamp corresponding to the operation mode is always green.

[0181] The host computer is used for storing preset states, operation modes and gas circuit interlocking conditions of a semiconductor process equipment, and has a man-machine interaction module, wherein the preset states include preset initial states and preset target states. The host computer can be arranged at the front end of the whole equipment and provided with a display to realize man-machine interaction, and provide an artificial intervention interface used for setting and modifying parameters such as temperature, pressure, flow, movement and the like required by each operation mode.

[0182] The controller is connected to the mode selection tool and the host computer respectively and used for obtaining a selection instruction of an operation mode, judging whether an actual initial state of the semiconductor process equipment meets preset initial state requirements corresponding to the operation mode, and if the actual initial state meets the preset initial state requirements, the selection instruction of the operation mode is effective, a gas circuit interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode is enabled, and the gas circuit system is controlled to execute a task corresponding to the operation mode. The host computer and the controller are connected through Ether Net to realize interactive communication, and the controller and the mode selection tool are connected through Device Net to realize signal interactive communication. In addition, the controller stores function subprogram modules corresponding to each operation mode, each function subprogram is embedded in a program module in a packaged form in the controller, which has a function corresponding to each operation module. The calling of each function subprogram module is conditional, and the instructions in the subprogram will not be executed when it is not called, so that the use of the function subprogram module can reduce scanning time, make the whole program function clear, easy to check and maintain, and reduce storage space.

[0183] Taking the pipeline passivation operation mode as an example, the controller judges whether the actual state of the semiconductor process equipment meets the initial state requirement of the pipeline passivation operation mode (such as Pump, Scrubber normal operation, the equipment has no related alarm, the transmission LA back door is in the closed state, the exhaust pressure is normal without alarm, the equipment leak rate detection has been completed, etc.), if not, output alarm prompt, gear function wake-up fails; if it meets the initial state requirement, the gear function wakes up successfully, then the function sub-module is called, as shown in FIG. 15, the value of the flag register B03 corresponding to the function subprogram module of the pipeline passivation operation mode in the controller changes from 0 to 1, that is, B03 = 1, the corresponding function subprogram module (denoted as BLOCK3) in the controller is called, and the controller starts to read the corresponding running parameter information (such as temperature, pressure, flow, motion state, etc.) issued by the upper computer. After receiving the start command and parameter setting, the function control area (such as temperature control 03 area, pressure control 03 area, flow control 03 area, motion control 03 area) corresponding to the function subprogram module starts to run, and sends the running parameter information to the remote execution component, for example, the execution component includes: an electromagnetic pilot valve for executing the opening and closing of the gas valve, a driver and a motor for executing the action of the motion mechanism, and "Valve MFC", "Vac Controller", "Sensor", "Shutter", "Elevator", "SCR" as shown in FIG. 15, etc. The remote execution component will make corresponding actions according to the operation instructions received.

[0184] It should be noted that, as shown in FIG. 15, "03" in the function control area (such as temperature control 03 area) corresponding to the function subprogram module is used to distinguish the identification of other function subprogram modules, and has no actual limiting meaning, which can correspond to the identification "03" in the flag register B03 of the function subprogram module; Valve MFC represents a mass flow control assembly, which integrates a mass flow controller and a gas valve located at the inlet and outlet of the mass flow controller. The mass flow control assembly has a valve interlocking shielding function related to the corresponding operation mode. When B03 = 1 for the pipeline passivation mode, the related valves in this mode will meet the corresponding interlocking conditions, that is, the contradictory or irrelevant interlocking conditions will be shielded.

[0185] The execution part is connected to the controller to interact information with the controller, for example, the execution part feeds back actual states of the semiconductor process equipment to the controller, the actual states include actual initial states and actual execution states, for example, temperature signals of a temperature module, pressure signals of a pressure module, flow signals of a flow module, running signals of a motion module, etc., the controller sends operation instructions to the execution part, for example, temperature control, pressure control, etc.; the controller and the execution part can be connected through Device Net to realize signal interaction communication. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the preset state is also the target state.

[0186] It should be noted that the Device Net network supports communication between sensors and execution parts and higher-level devices (such as programmable controllers PLC and computers), and it is connected through a cable with the functions of power cable and signal line cable to provide simple and economical wiring options.

[0187] The gas path control device has all the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned gas path control method, which will not be repeated here.

[0188] The embodiments of the present application also provide a semiconductor process equipment, which comprises the above-mentioned gas path control device. The semiconductor process equipment has all the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned gas path control method / device, which will not be repeated here.

[0189] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program is run by a processor to execute the steps of the above-mentioned control method.

[0190] In summary, the gas path control method, control device and semiconductor process equipment provided by the embodiments of the present application actually adopt a combination of hardware and software operation mode selection / switching mode, wherein the hardware part mainly takes an operation mode selection tool (such as a knob) as a physical carrier, and defines / names each operation mode, realizes visualization, and pre-stores function subprogram modules corresponding to each operation mode in the controller, which is equivalent to pre-setting the process control scheme of the corresponding operation mode. According to the process characteristics and interlock shielding requirements of each operation mode, the overall call of each corresponding function subprogram module is realized through the operation mode selection tool, and one-key operation of the semiconductor process equipment operation mode is realized.

[0191] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "horizontal" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, which is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, therefore it cannot be understood as a limitation of the present application.

[0192] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the term "mounting" should be understood broadly, for example, it can be fixedly connected, or detachably connected, or integrally connected; it can be mechanically connected, or electrically connected; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the communication inside two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meaning of the above-mentioned terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0193] Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and not to limit them; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or make equivalent replacement for part or all of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. An air path control method characterized by, A gas path system for controlling a semiconductor process equipment, the gas path system having a plurality of operation modes, the plurality of operation modes being independent of each other and each having a gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the respective operation mode; The control method comprises the following steps: obtaining a selection instruction of the operation mode; enabling the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode to control the gas path system to perform a task corresponding to the operation mode.

2. The control method according to claim 1, characterized by, After the step of obtaining the selection instruction of the operation mode and before the step of enabling the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode, the control method further comprises the following steps: determining whether an actual initial state of the semiconductor process equipment meets a preset initial state requirement corresponding to the operation mode; if the actual initial state meets the preset initial state requirement, the selection instruction of the operation mode is valid.

3. The control method according to claim 2, characterized by, The control method further comprises the following steps: if the actual initial state does not meet the preset initial state requirement, the selection instruction of the operation mode is invalid, and an initial state alarm information is outputted; according to the initial state alarm information, the actual initial state of the semiconductor process equipment is repaired.

4. The control method according to claim 3, characterized by The gas path system comprises a display module, and the control method further comprises the following steps: if the actual initial state meets the preset initial state requirement, the selection instruction of the operation mode is valid, and the display module is controlled to display the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode.

5. The control method according to claim 4, characterized by The gas path system comprises a host computer and a controller, the display module is arranged in the host computer, the controller has a register, the total number of the gas path interlocking conditions in the gas path system is N, and the step of controlling the display module to display the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode comprises: each execution member is allocated a register, and the register adopts binary identification; each of the gas path interlocking conditions is sequentially numbered from small to large and arranged from right to left, the gas path interlocking condition to be retained under each operation mode is identified as "1", and the gas path interlocking condition to be shielded is identified as "0"; the display module is controlled to display the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the identification of "1".

6. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by, The step of controlling the gas path system to perform the task corresponding to the operation mode comprises: real-time acquisition of actual execution states and preset execution states of each gas path interlocking condition of the gas path system under the operation mode; if the actual execution state is inconsistent with the preset execution state, the gas path interlocking condition inconsistent with the preset execution state does not meet the interlocking requirement, a fault execution member is determined to exist in the gas path interlocking condition inconsistent with the preset execution state, and an interlocking alarm information is outputted.

7. The control method according to claim 6, characterized by The interlocking alarm information comprises a first identification, and the step of controlling the gas path system to perform the task corresponding to the operation mode further comprises: if the first identification exists, a fault self-recovery instruction is obtained; the fault execution member is controlled to execute a remote fault self-recovery instruction; if the remote fault self-recovery instruction is executed successfully and the first identification does not exist, the corresponding task under the operation mode is continued to be executed; If the remote fault self-recovery instruction fails to execute, an information instruction for manual fault elimination is outputted, and after the manual fault elimination, the corresponding task in the operation mode is continued to execute.

8. The control method according to claim 7, wherein, If the execution part of the gas path interlocking condition includes a first execution part capable of being remotely controlled to be turned on and off and a second execution part capable of being manually controlled to be turned on and off, the first execution part includes a normally open intermediate relay, and the second execution part includes a normally closed intermediate relay, the switch of the normally open intermediate relay is electrically connected in series with the switch of the normally closed intermediate relay; The control of the execution part to execute the remote fault self-recovery instruction includes remote control of the controller to make the coil of the normally open intermediate relay be powered, so that the switch of the normally open intermediate relay is closed.

9. The control method according to claim 6, characterized by, The control of the gas path system to execute the task corresponding to the operation mode includes: If the actual execution state of the gas path interlocking condition is consistent with the preset execution state, a second identifier is displayed; If the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode is the second identifier, the corresponding task in the operation mode is executed.

10. The control method according to claim 6, characterized by The control method further includes: If the task corresponding to the operation mode has been executed and the actual state of the semiconductor process equipment meets the preset target state requirement, an end instruction of the operation mode is outputted.

11. The control method according to claim 6, characterized by, The operation mode includes at least one of a pipe cleaning mode, a pipe leak detection mode, a pipe passivation mode, and an unenabled mode; The unenabled mode includes all gas path interlocking conditions involved in each operation mode of the gas path system; The gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the pipe cleaning mode is part of the gas path interlocking conditions in the unenabled mode; The gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the pipe leak detection mode is part of the gas path interlocking conditions in the unenabled mode; The gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the pipe passivation mode is part of the gas path interlocking conditions in the unenabled mode.

12. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by, A plurality of the operation modes are independently embedded in the controller in the form of functional subprogram modules, and each functional subprogram module encapsulates the corresponding gas path interlocking condition content associated with the corresponding operation mode for direct calling of the corresponding operation mode.

13. An air path control device characterized by comprising: The control device is used to execute the control method according to any one of claims 1-12, and the control device includes: a mode selection tool for selecting an operation mode; a host computer for storing preset states of a semiconductor process equipment, and having a man-machine interaction module, wherein the preset states include a preset initial state and a preset target state; a controller connected to the mode selection tool and the host computer, respectively, for acquiring a selection instruction of the operation mode, enabling the gas path interlocking condition corresponding to the operation mode, and controlling the gas path system to execute the task corresponding to the operation mode; an execution part connected to the controller, for feeding back an actual state of the semiconductor process equipment to the controller, wherein the actual state includes an actual initial state and an actual execution state.

14. A semiconductor process apparatus, characterized by, The gas path control device according to claim 13.

15. A computer readable storage medium characterized by: The computer readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is run by the processor to execute the steps of the control method in any one of claims 1-12.

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