Pressure control valve control method and apparatus, and semiconductor processing device

Abstract

A pressure control valve control method and apparatus, and a semiconductor processing device. The control method comprises: in response to a detected actual pressure value of a controlled component not reaching a preset target pressure value, determining a first remaining time required for the actual pressure value to reach the target pressure value; in response to the first remaining time being greater than a preset time threshold, using a PID algorithm to calculate a first adjustment amount with respect to the difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value; on the basis of a control parameter of a pressure control valve required for enabling the actual pressure value of the controlled component to reach the target pressure value, adjusting the first adjustment amount, so as to obtain a second adjustment amount; and on the basis of the second adjustment amount, adjusting the control parameter of the pressure control valve, so that a second remaining time for the controlled component to reach the target pressure value is less than the first remaining time.

Description

Pressure control valve control method, control device and semiconductor processing equipment TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of semiconductor process, and particularly relates to a pressure control valve control method, a control device and a semiconductor processing equipment. BACKGROUND

[0002] At present, in the semiconductor process, the response time of pressure control is an important factor affecting the process result, and the semiconductor process requires fast response, stable maintenance and high precision of pressure control. The existing pressure control process mainly uses a PID (Proportional Integral Differential) algorithm to perform real-time control on a semiconductor process chamber. Specifically, the PID algorithm is used to control pressure by using the difference between the measured pressure and the set pressure and the PID control coefficient to dynamically adjust the opening of the valve plate, thereby controlling the chamber pressure.

[0003] However, when the valve diameter of the pressure control device is large, the movable stroke of the valve plate is also large accordingly, which leads to an increase in the pressure control response time based on the PID algorithm, making it difficult to meet the requirements of the process on the pressure control response time, and thus leading to a small pressure change rate and a long pressure stabilization time, which may reduce the overall process efficiency of the semiconductor process. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application provides a pressure control valve control method, a control device and a semiconductor processing equipment, which can solve the problem of long time required for adjusting the internal pressure of the controlled component to the target pressure value in the existing pressure control process.

[0005] The present application provides a pressure control valve control method applied to a semiconductor processing equipment, which comprises:

[0006] In response to the actual pressure value of the controlled component not reaching the preset target pressure value, a first remaining time required for the actual pressure value to reach the target pressure value is determined;

[0007] In response to the first remaining time being greater than a preset time threshold, a first adjustment amount is calculated by using a PID algorithm on the difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value;

[0008] The first adjustment amount is adjusted based on the control parameter of the pressure control valve required for the actual pressure value of the controlled component to reach the target pressure value, to obtain a second adjustment amount;

[0009] The control parameter of the pressure control valve is adjusted according to the second adjustment amount, so that the second remaining time required for the controlled component to reach the target pressure value is less than the first remaining time.

[0010] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: in response to the first remaining time being less than or equal to the preset time threshold, adopting a PID algorithm to calculate a first adjustment amount based on a difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value, and adjusting the control parameter of the pressure control valve according to the first adjustment amount.

[0011] In some embodiments, the step of adjusting the first adjustment amount based on the control parameter required for the actual pressure value of the controlled component to reach the target pressure value comprises:

[0012] calculating a total adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve;

[0013] calculating a compensation adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve, the compensation adjustment amount being a product of a preset adjustment coefficient and the total adjustment amount; wherein the preset adjustment coefficient is greater than 0 and less than 1;

[0014] calculating a sum of the first adjustment amount and the compensation adjustment amount as the second adjustment amount.

[0015] In some embodiments, the step of determining the first remaining time required for the actual pressure value to reach the target pressure value comprises:

[0016] calculating a difference between the actual pressure value detected at a current time and the target pressure value;

[0017] calculating a change rate of the actual pressure value detected within a preset time period;

[0018] calculating the first remaining time required for the actual pressure value of the controlled component to reach the target pressure value since the current time; wherein the first remaining time is equal to a ratio of the difference and the change rate.

[0019] In some embodiments, the step of calculating the total adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve comprises:

[0020] calculating a ratio of the actual pressure value of the controlled component detected and the current control parameter of the pressure control valve;

[0021] calculating a ratio of a difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value and the ratio as the total adjustment amount.

[0022] In some embodiments, the control parameter of the pressure control valve comprises a valve opening value of the pressure control valve.

[0023] In some embodiments, the preset time threshold is a difference between a preset response time and a current control time.

[0024] The preset response duration is less than or equal to a process expected pressure control duration.

[0025] The current control duration is a cumulative duration from a time point of starting to control the pressure control valve to a current time point, or the current control duration is a cumulative duration from a time point when the difference reaches a preset target difference to the current time point.

[0026] In some embodiments, before the step of determining the first remaining time required for the actual pressure value to reach the target pressure value, the method further comprises:

[0027] determining whether a difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value is greater than a preset target difference; if yes, a subsequent step is continued; if no, the step of determining whether the difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value is greater than the preset target difference is returned to.

[0028] After adjusting the control parameter of the pressure control valve, the method further comprises:

[0029] returning to the step of determining whether the difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value is greater than the preset target difference.

[0030] As another technical solution, the application further provides a pressure control valve control device applied to a semiconductor processing equipment; the device comprises a pressure detection unit and a control unit, wherein,

[0031] The pressure detection unit is configured to detect an actual pressure value of a controlled component and send the actual pressure value to the control unit.

[0032] The control unit is configured to control the pressure control valve by using the pressure control valve control method described above.

[0033] In some embodiments, the control unit comprises a first calculation module and a second calculation module.

[0034] The first calculation module is configured to calculate the first adjustment amount by using a PID algorithm.

[0035] The second calculation module is configured to calculate a total adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve, and calculate a compensation adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve according to the total adjustment amount; the second calculation module is further configured to obtain the first adjustment amount, calculate a sum of the first adjustment amount and the compensation adjustment amount, and take the sum as the second adjustment amount.

[0036] As another technical solution, the application further provides a semiconductor processing equipment, comprising a process chamber, a pressure control valve and a controller; the pressure control valve is used for controlling the internal pressure of the process chamber; the controller comprises at least one processor and at least one memory, and the memory stores a computer program which is executed by the processor to realize the pressure control valve control method as described above.

[0037] The application has the following beneficial effects:

[0038] The pressure control valve control method provided by the application embodiment comprises the step of initially determining the first remaining time required by the actual pressure value of the controlled component to the preset target pressure value, so as to determine whether the PID algorithm alone will result in too long pressure control time by estimating the remaining time to reach the target pressure value. Specifically, if the first remaining time is greater than the preset time threshold, it means that the PID algorithm alone will result in too long pressure control time; in this case, the application embodiment proposes to first calculate the first adjustment amount by using the PID algorithm, and then further adjust the first adjustment amount, so as to realize that the second remaining time for the controlled component to reach the target pressure value can be less than the previously estimated first remaining time by adjusting the first adjustment amount, that is, the time length required for the controlled component to reach the target pressure value can be shortened. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0039] Fig. 1 is a flowchart of the pressure control valve control method provided by the application embodiment;

[0040] Fig. 2 is another flowchart of the pressure control valve control method provided by the application embodiment;

[0041] Fig. 3 is a flowchart of the calculation adjustment amount step under the condition that the first remaining time is greater than the preset time threshold in the pressure control valve control method provided by the application embodiment;

[0042] Fig. 4 is another flowchart of the pressure control valve control method provided by the application embodiment;

[0043] Fig. 5 is another flowchart of the pressure control valve control method provided by the application embodiment;

[0044] Fig. 6 is a control pressure curve and valve movement curve diagram obtained by using the pressure control valve control method proposed by the application embodiment and the existing PID algorithm to control the pressure control valve. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] In order for those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of the application, the application will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments.

[0046] It can be understood that the specific embodiments and drawings described herein are only used to explain the application, and not to limit the application.

[0047] It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0048] It can be understood that, for the convenience of description, only parts related to the embodiments of the present application are shown in the drawings of the present application, and parts irrelevant to the embodiments of the present application are not shown in the drawings.

[0049] It can be understood that, in the case of no conflict, the functions and steps marked in the flowcharts and block diagrams of the embodiments of the present application can occur in an order different from that marked in the drawings.

[0050] Please refer to FIG. 1, the present embodiment provides a control method of a pressure control valve, which is applied to a semiconductor processing equipment; the method comprises:

[0051] S1, in response to the actual pressure value of the detected controlled component not reaching the preset target pressure value, determining a first remaining time required for the actual pressure value to reach the target pressure value;

[0052] The above step S1 is used to estimate the time length required for the controlled component to reach the target pressure value at the current pressure change speed;

[0053] For example, the above controlled component is a component such as a process chamber or a reaction chamber, which needs to adjust the internal environment gas pressure by using negative feedback control; specifically, such component needs to adjust the internal pressure value according to the difference by using negative feedback, so as to continuously reduce the difference and stabilize at the target pressure value;

[0054] S21, in response to the first remaining time being greater than the preset time threshold, calculating a first adjustment amount by using a PID algorithm on the difference between the actual pressure difference and the preset target pressure value;

[0055] S22, adjusting the first adjustment amount based on the control parameter required for the actual pressure value of the controlled component to reach the target pressure value, to obtain a second adjustment amount;

[0056] S23, adjusting the control parameter of the pressure control valve according to the second adjustment amount, so that the second remaining time for the controlled component to reach the target pressure value is less than the first remaining time.

[0057] The setting of the preset time threshold can be related to an upper limit of the required pressure control time of the process, for example, less than or equal to the required pressure control time of the process, so as to determine whether the pressure control process remaining time is too long by judging whether the first remaining time is greater than the preset time threshold, and further determine whether the pressure control process remaining time exceeds the process requirement. Specifically, if the first remaining time is greater than the preset time threshold, it means that adjusting the pressure at the current pressure change rate will cause the pressure control time to be too long. In this case, the steps S21-S23 proposed in this embodiment first calculate the first adjustment amount by using the PID algorithm, and then further adjust the first adjustment amount, so that the second adjustment amount (i.e., the adjusted first adjustment amount) can be greater than the initial first adjustment amount. In this way, adjusting the control parameters of the pressure control valve using the second adjustment amount can achieve that the second remaining time for the controlled component to reach the target pressure value is less than the first remaining time, that is, the time required for the controlled component to reach the target pressure value can be shortened, thereby improving the pressure control response speed and shortening the time required for the controlled component to reach the target pressure value.

[0058] In actual application, the large-size pressure control valve has a larger valve port size and a larger flux. Therefore, if the adjustment amount of the large-size pressure control valve is too small, the actual pressure adjustment range of the large-size pressure control valve on the controlled component is also small. The single control amount of the control method proposed in this embodiment is greater than the first adjustment amount calculated by the PID algorithm, so the efficiency of the large-size pressure control valve in controlling the pressure of the controlled component can be effectively improved. It can be seen that, compared with the technical solution in the related art which only uses the PID algorithm for adjustment, the pressure control valve control method proposed in this embodiment is more suitable for controlling the large-size pressure control valve. Specifically, taking a large-size pressure control valve with a valve port diameter ranging from 40 mm to 600 mm as an example, the pressure control valve control method proposed in this embodiment is used to control such a pressure control valve. The time required for the internal pressure of the controlled component to reach the target pressure value is far shorter than the time required by the PID algorithm used in the related art.

[0059] Moreover, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1, the pressure control valve control method further includes:

[0060] S31, in response to the first remaining time being less than or equal to the preset time threshold, calculating a first adjustment amount by using a PID algorithm on a difference between the actual pressure value and the preset target pressure value;

[0061] S32, adjusting the control parameters of the pressure control valve according to the first adjustment amount.

[0062] Specifically, if the estimated first remaining time is less than or equal to the preset time threshold, it means that the pressure control time does not exceed the required pressure control time of the process. In this case, the first adjustment amount calculated by using the PID algorithm can be used to adjust the pressure control valve.

[0063] It is to be noted that the pressure control valve control method can be performed in cycles, so as to perform the above pressure control step in multiple cycles to achieve multiple adjustments. Moreover, when the pressure of the controlled component needs to be maintained at the target pressure value, for example, during a process phase of a process chamber, the above cycle process is continuously performed to continuously control the pressure of the controlled component during the process; and when the pressure value of the controlled component does not need to be maintained at the target pressure value, for example, after the process chamber completes the process, the above cycle process is ended. That is, the pressure control valve control method can be ended after reaching a cycle end condition such as reaching an end time of the process phase or reaching a preset cycle number, which is not shown in FIGS. 1-5.

[0064] In some specific embodiments, the control parameter of the pressure control valve can be an opening value of the pressure control valve, which is usually expressed in percentage; for example, when the valve is fully opened, the opening value of the pressure control valve is 100%; for another example, when the valve is fully closed, the opening value of the pressure control valve is 0%.

[0065] Further, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the above step S1 specifically includes the following steps:

[0066] S11, calculating a difference between the actual pressure value detected at the current time and the target pressure value;

[0067] It is to be noted that the "current time" in the above step S11 is the time when the step S11 is started;

[0068] S12, calculating a variation rate of the actual pressure value detected within a preset time period;

[0069] Specifically, the "preset time period" in the above step S12 is a preset time length, which is usually very short but sufficient to detect the variation rate of the actual pressure value, so that the calculated variation rate can represent the pressure variation speed of the controlled component within the preset time period;

[0070] S13, calculating a first remaining time required for the actual pressure value of the controlled component to reach the target pressure value since the current time; wherein the first remaining time is equal to the ratio of the difference between the actual pressure value detected at the current time and the target pressure value to the variation rate of the actual pressure value. Specifically, the first remaining time is the time required for the internal pressure of the controlled component to reach the target pressure value with the above actual detected variation rate of the actual pressure value.

[0071] Further, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the above step S22, i.e., the step of adjusting the first adjustment amount, specifically includes the following steps:

[0072] S221, calculating a total adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve;

[0073] Specifically, the total adjustment amount is an adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve required for the actual pressure value of the controlled component to reach the target pressure value;

[0074] S222, calculating a compensation adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve, the compensation adjustment amount being a product of a preset adjustment coefficient and the total adjustment amount; wherein the preset adjustment coefficient is greater than 0 and less than 1;

[0075] S223, calculating a sum of the first adjustment amount and the compensation adjustment amount, and taking the sum as the second adjustment amount.

[0076] In this way, the compensation adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve is calculated according to the total adjustment amount, and the sum of the first adjustment amount and the compensation adjustment amount (i.e., the second adjustment amount) is calculated and output to the pressure control valve, so as to increase the single adjustment amount of the pressure control valve on the basis of the first adjustment amount obtained by using the PID algorithm, that is, the second adjustment amount is controlled to adjust the pressure control valve in one cycle, so as to improve the pressure control response speed and shorten the time required for the controlled component to reach the target pressure value.

[0077] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3, the step S221 of calculating the total adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve further includes:

[0078] S2211, calculating a ratio of the detected actual pressure value of the controlled component to the current control parameter of the pressure control valve;

[0079] Specifically, the step S2211 can calculate a ratio of the actual pressure value of the process chamber to the current opening value of the pressure control valve;

[0080] S2212, calculating a ratio of a difference between the actual pressure value of the controlled component and the preset target pressure value to the ratio, as the total adjustment amount.

[0081] Specifically, the step S2212 can use the following formula for calculation:

[0082] Pos = Err / Pepo;

[0083] Wherein, Pos is the total adjustment amount; Err is the difference between the detected actual pressure value of the controlled component and the preset target pressure value; and Pepo is the ratio of the actual pressure value of the controlled component to the current control parameter of the pressure control valve.

[0084] The step S2211 proposed in this embodiment can simplify the actual pressure value of the controlled component and the opening of the pressure control valve into a proportional relationship, so as to estimate the relationship between the internal pressure of the controlled component and the opening of the pressure control valve. Furthermore, in the subsequent step of calculating the total adjustment amount, the adjustment amount of the pressure control valve required for the controlled component to reach the target pressure can be estimated by calculating the ratio of the difference to the ratio.

[0085] It should be noted that the relationship between the opening of the pressure control valve and the pressure of the controlled component is related to the position where the pressure control valve is arranged in the controlled component; taking the process chamber as an example, if the pressure control valve is arranged at the gas outlet end of the process chamber, the opening of the pressure control valve and the pressure inside the process chamber are negatively correlated, that is, the larger the opening of the pressure control valve, the greater the exhaust volume, and the smaller the pressure inside the process chamber; if the pressure control valve is arranged at the gas inlet end of the process chamber, the opening of the pressure control valve and the pressure inside the process chamber are positively correlated, that is, the larger the opening of the pressure control valve, the greater the gas inlet volume, and the greater the pressure inside the process chamber.

[0086] Exemplarily, the compensation adjustment amount in the step S222 can be calculated by the following formula: Pos2 = Gain x Pos;

[0087] Wherein, Pos2 is the compensation adjustment amount; Gain is the adjustment coefficient; Pos is the total adjustment amount. Since the adjustment coefficient Gain is greater than 0 and less than 1, the final calculated compensation adjustment amount will be less than the total adjustment amount, so as to avoid the single adjustment amount of the pressure control valve being too large to cause the actual pressure change range inside the controlled component to be too large, and thus to avoid the pressure overshoot phenomenon of the controlled component, so as to avoid the damage of the controlled component or the failure of the process in which the controlled component participates.

[0088] Exemplarily, the adjustment coefficient can be obtained by multiple pressure control tests on the pressure control valve and the controlled device actually applied, so that the adjustment coefficient can meet: when the single adjustment amount of the pressure control valve is the sum of the first adjustment amount and the compensation adjustment amount (i.e. the second adjustment amount), the pressure change range inside the controlled component is within the specified safe range, and at the same time, the total time length for the actual pressure value inside the controlled component to reach the preset target pressure value is within the process expected time length range, so as to shorten the time length required for the controlled component to reach the target pressure value, and also to avoid the occurrence of pressure overshoot phenomenon.

[0089] Exemplarily, the process of obtaining the adjustment coefficient can include:

[0090] Obtaining multiple adjustment coefficient test values, and the multiple adjustment coefficient test values are all in the interval (0, 1);

[0091] Multiple pressure control tests are performed on the pressure control valve of the controlled component by using the above pressure control valve control method, and the adjustment coefficient used in each pressure control test is one of the multiple adjustment coefficient test values;

[0092] The total pressure control time length used in the multiple pressure control processes is recorded, and the pressure control curve in the multiple pressure control processes is recorded; wherein, the pressure control curve is the actual pressure-time curve;

[0093] The test value of the adjustment coefficient used in the pressure control process meeting the condition that the total pressure control time is within the expected time range of the process and the pressure control curve fluctuation is within the specified safe range is taken as the adjustment coefficient.

[0094] It should be noted that different controlled components may have different internal environments in terms of volume, shape, etc., and different pressure control valves may have different valve port sizes, valve port shapes, different valve core structures, etc., which will affect the total pressure control time and pressure control curve fluctuation of the pressure control process. Therefore, before pressure control based on different controlled components and different pressure control valves, the above process of obtaining the adjustment coefficient can be performed to make the adjustment coefficient used in the pressure control process as applicable as possible to the corresponding controlled component and pressure control valve, so as to shorten the actual pressure control time of the corresponding pressure control process as much as possible and avoid pressure overshoot during the pressure control process.

[0095] Moreover, as the adjustment coefficient is derived from multiple tests on the actual controlled component, the sum of the compensation adjustment amount obtained by multiplying the adjustment coefficient by the total adjustment amount and the first adjustment amount (i.e., the second adjustment amount) will not exceed the total adjustment amount, so the control of the pressure control valve will not have the problem of controlling the pressure control valve to overtravel.

[0096] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, before step S1, the pressure control valve control method further includes:

[0097] S0, determining whether the difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value is greater than a preset target difference value;

[0098] If not, return to step S0 to continuously determine whether the difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value is greater than the preset target difference value; if yes, continue with the subsequent step S1.

[0099] Moreover, after the completion of the above step S23 or step S32, i.e., after the adjustment of the control parameters of the pressure control valve, it further includes:

[0100] Return to the above step S0 to determine the difference between the actual pressure value of the adjusted controlled component and the preset target pressure value.

[0101] Specifically, after completing the step S23 or the step S32 once, the adjustment of the control parameter of the pressure control valve is completed, and the difference between the actual pressure value of the controlled component detected and the preset target pressure value is the difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value after the adjustment once. Further, it is judged whether the difference is greater than the preset target difference, so as to verify the result of the previous adjustment. Specifically, if the judgment result of the step S0 is no, i.e., the difference is less than or equal to the preset target difference, it is indicated that the internal pressure of the controlled component has reached the target pressure, and thus the controlled component does not need to be adjusted, and then the step S0 can be returned to continue to monitor the internal pressure of the controlled component. If the judgment result is yes, i.e., the difference is greater than the preset target difference, it is indicated that the internal pressure of the controlled component has not reached the target pressure, and the subsequent steps are continued to control the internal pressure of the controlled component by controlling the opening value of the pressure control valve. In this way, before each cycle starts, it can be verified whether the difference between the actual pressure value of the controlled component and the preset target pressure value reaches the preset target difference, so as to continuously monitor the actual pressure value of the controlled component, and avoid repeatedly adjusting the pressure control valve when the difference reaches the control requirement, and only the step S0 is cycled, so that the frequency of monitoring the internal pressure of the controlled component can be improved, and thus the internal pressure fluctuation of the controlled component can be detected in time.

[0102] Alternatively, in some other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5, after the step S23 or the step S32 is completed, i.e., after the signal is output to the pressure control valve, the pressure control valve control method further includes:

[0103] S4, detecting the actual pressure value of the current controlled component and calculating the difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value;

[0104] S5, judging whether the difference is greater than the preset target difference;

[0105] If no, the step S4 is returned; if yes, the step S1 is returned, and the subsequent steps are continued to adjust the control parameter of the pressure control valve again.

[0106] Specifically, if the determination result of step S5 is no, i.e. the difference is less than or equal to the preset target difference, it indicates that the internal pressure of the controlled component is about to reach the target pressure, and no further adjustment is needed. The process returns to step S4 to continue monitoring the internal pressure of the controlled component. If the determination result is yes, i.e. the difference is greater than the preset target difference, it indicates that the internal pressure of the controlled component is still away from the target pressure, and the process returns to step S1 and enters the next cycle. In this way, by adding step S4, a step of verifying the difference between the actual pressure value of the controlled component and the preset target pressure value is added at the end of each cycle to verify whether the difference reaches the preset target difference, thereby realizing continuous monitoring of the actual pressure value of the controlled component, and avoiding repeated cycles of steps S1-S5 when the difference meets the control requirements, and only cycling steps S4 and S5, improving the frequency of monitoring the internal pressure of the controlled component, and thus the internal pressure of the controlled component can be detected in a timely manner.

[0107] For example, the preset target difference can be 0, so that determining that the difference is not greater than the preset target difference means that the actual pressure value of the controlled component is consistent with the preset target pressure value.

[0108] In some embodiments, the preset time threshold is the difference between a preset response time and the current control time. The preset response time is less than or equal to the process expected pressure control time. Specifically, the process expected pressure control time refers to the time required for the process expected pressure control valve to be controlled to the target pressure value of the controlled component, which can be preset by the operator or pre-called from the process recipe. By setting the preset response time to be less than or equal to the process expected pressure control time, the step of calculating the compensation adjustment amount can be introduced in advance when the first adjustment amount calculated by the PID algorithm cannot control the pressure control valve to reach the target pressure value of the controlled component within the process expected pressure control time, thereby improving the pressure control speed in a timely manner. For example, if the process expected pressure control time is 2s, the preset response time can be 1s.

[0109] The current control duration is the cumulative duration from the time when the control valve is started to be controlled to the current time, i.e., the total duration from the initial time when the control process is started to the current time; or, the current control duration can also be the cumulative duration from the time when the difference reaches the preset difference to the current time, i.e., when the internal pressure of the controlled component is controlled to a stable state, a sudden disturbance such as intake flow fluctuation or exhaust flow fluctuation occurs, causing the internal pressure of the controlled component to fluctuate again, the time when the fluctuation occurs is detected as a new initial time, so as to restart the timing and perform secondary pressure control when the internal pressure of the controlled component fluctuates again, so as to monitor whether the PID algorithm pressure control duration is too long in the secondary pressure control stage, and increase the compensation adjustment amount when the PID algorithm pressure control duration is too long, thereby shortening the duration required for the controlled component to reach the target pressure value again.

[0110] For example, in actual operation, the difference between the preset response duration and the current control duration can be calculated in the step of judging whether the first remaining time is greater than the preset time threshold, and the difference is compared with the first remaining time; specifically, it can be judged whether the following inequality holds: T1>N-T0

[0111] Wherein, T1 is the first remaining time; N is the preset response duration; T0 is the current control duration.

[0112] Alternatively, in actual operation, the sum of the first remaining time and the current control duration can also be calculated first, and the sum is compared with the preset response duration; specifically, it can be judged whether the following inequality holds: T1+T0>N

[0113] Wherein, T1 is the first remaining time; T0 is the current control duration; N is the preset response duration.

[0114] In some embodiments, the step S31, i.e., the step of calculating the first adjustment amount of the control parameter of the control valve by using the PID algorithm, comprises:

[0115] The first adjustment amount is calculated according to the difference and the preset PID control coefficient.

[0116] For example, the PID algorithm used in the step S31 can be the following formula: Pos1=K1×(Err-Err_last)+K2×Err

[0117] Wherein, Pos1 is the first adjustment amount; K1 and K2 are constant coefficients which are fixed or variable; Err is the difference between the current internal pressure of the controlled component and the target pressure value; Err_last is the difference between the internal pressure of the controlled component in the last cycle and the target pressure value.

[0118] It should be noted that the specific calculation method used in the PID algorithm is not limited to the above calculation method, and other calculation methods can also be used. Moreover, the multiple constant coefficients in the formula used by the PID algorithm can be obtained through multiple tests or simulations.

[0119] Based on the above embodiment, the application further provides a specific control process of the pressure control valve, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0120] S01, detecting the actual pressure value of the controlled component at present;

[0121] S02, calculating the difference between the actual pressure value of the detected controlled component and the preset target pressure value, and determining whether the difference is greater than the preset target difference; if yes, proceed to step S03; if no, return to step S01;

[0122] S03, calculating the change rate of the actual pressure value of the detected controlled component in a preset time period;

[0123] S04, calculating the ratio of the above difference and the change rate as the first remaining time;

[0124] S05, determining whether the first remaining time is less than or equal to the preset time threshold;

[0125] If yes, the first adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve is calculated by using the PID algorithm, and is output to the pressure control valve;

[0126] If no, the following steps are continued;

[0127] S06, calculating the ratio of the actual pressure value of the detected controlled component and the current control parameter of the pressure control valve;

[0128] S07, calculating the ratio of the difference between the actual pressure value of the controlled component and the preset target pressure value and the ratio as the total adjustment amount;

[0129] S08, calculating the product of the preset adjustment coefficient and the total adjustment amount to obtain the compensation adjustment amount;

[0130] S09, calculating the first adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve by using the PID algorithm, calculating the sum of the first adjustment amount and the compensation adjustment amount, and outputting the sum value (i.e. the second adjustment amount) to the pressure control valve;

[0131] If the controlled component does not complete the process, return to step S01; if the controlled component completes the process, end the entire pressure control process.

[0132] Fig. 6 shows the pressure control curve and the valve movement curve obtained by using the pressure control method proposed in the embodiment and the existing pressure control method based on the PID algorithm, wherein the pressure control curve shows the trend of the internal pressure of the controlled component changing with time, and the valve movement curve shows the trend of the opening of the pressure control valve changing with time; t0-t3 shown in Fig. 6 are all time points; and Fig. 6 also shows the setting curve of the target pressure. As can be seen from Fig. 6, during the period between t0 and t1, i.e. in the initial stage of pressure control, the pressure control curve obtained by using the method proposed in the embodiment is almost identical to the pressure control curve and the valve movement curve obtained by using the existing PID algorithm, because the time used for pressure control in this stage is less than the preset time threshold, and therefore the method proposed in the embodiment controls the pressure control valve according to the first adjustment amount calculated by the PID algorithm, and the first adjustment amount is almost identical to the result obtained by the existing PID algorithm. After t1, the pressure control curve and the valve movement curve obtained by using the method proposed in the embodiment change more quickly than the pressure control curve and the valve movement curve obtained by using the existing PID algorithm, because the first remaining time calculated by step S3 in the method proposed in the embodiment is greater than the preset time threshold, and therefore the method proposed in the embodiment controls the pressure control valve according to the sum of the first adjustment amount and the compensation adjustment amount, and the sum is much greater than the adjustment amount obtained by the existing PID algorithm. Moreover, as can be seen from Fig. 6, the target pressure can be reached at t2 by using the method proposed in the embodiment, and the pressure control is completed, while the target pressure can be reached at t3 by using the existing PID algorithm; it can be seen that, compared with the existing PID algorithm, the pressure control method proposed in the embodiment can effectively shorten the pressure control time.

[0133] As another technical solution, the embodiment further provides a pressure control valve control device for controlling the pressure of a controlled component. The pressure control device comprises a pressure control valve, a pressure detection unit and a control unit; wherein the pressure detection unit is configured to detect the actual pressure value of the controlled component and send the actual pressure value to the control unit. The control unit is configured to control the pressure control valve by using the pressure control method of the pressure control valve. Specifically, the control unit can execute the operation steps and the judgment steps in the pressure control method of the pressure control valve, and output the finally obtained first adjustment amount to the pressure control valve.

[0134] In actual application, the pressure control valve usually comprises a valve body, an opening adjusting mechanism and a valve controller. The valve body has a fluid flow channel for fluid flow. The opening adjusting mechanism is movable in the fluid flow channel to adjust the opening of the fluid flow channel and thus the flow of fluid in the fluid flow channel. The valve controller is configured to receive the control signal sent by the control unit and control the valve to adjust the opening of the fluid flow channel according to the received control signal. Moreover, the valve controller can also monitor the opening of the fluid flow channel and send the opening value signal to the control unit.

[0135] For example, the pressure control valve can be a gate valve, a butterfly valve, or a ball valve.

[0136] Further, in some embodiments, the control unit comprises a first calculation module and a second calculation module. The first calculation module is configured to calculate the first adjustment amount by using a PID algorithm. The second calculation module is configured to calculate a total adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve, and calculate a compensation adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve according to the total adjustment amount. The second calculation module is further configured to obtain the first adjustment amount, calculate a sum of the first adjustment amount and the compensation adjustment amount, and take the sum as the second adjustment amount.

[0137] Specifically, in an actual process, the first calculation module can use a calculation unit in an existing control unit for PID algorithm. That is, the second calculation unit can be added to the existing PID control unit, so that the pressure control valve control device of the present embodiment can be obtained by improving the existing control unit.

[0138] In some embodiments, the control unit further comprises a user interaction unit configured to provide an interface for an operator to input the preset values such as the target pressure value, the preset adjustment coefficient, the process expected pressure control time length, and the preset target difference value.

[0139] In some embodiments, the control unit can be integrated into a total control system of a semiconductor processing device, and the control unit can obtain the values such as the target pressure value, the process expected pressure control time length, and the preset target difference value from a process recipe stored in the total control system.

[0140] As another technical solution, the present embodiment further provides a semiconductor processing device comprising a process chamber, a pressure control valve, and a controller. The pressure control valve is configured to control the internal pressure of the process chamber. The controller comprises at least one processor and at least one memory, and the memory stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed by the processor, the pressure control valve control method described above is realized.

[0141] In some embodiments, the semiconductor processing device further comprises a vacuum pump connected to the gas outlet end of the process chamber and configured to extract the gas inside the process chamber. Specifically, in actual application, during the vacuum extraction stage before the start of the semiconductor process, the vacuum pump can extract the gas inside the process chamber to make the internal environment of the process chamber reach an almost vacuum state. During this stage, the pressure control valve control method described above can be used to control the pressure control valve arranged at the gas outlet end of the process chamber, so that the internal pressure value of the process chamber can quickly reach the target pressure value.

[0142] It should be noted that the pressure control valve control method provided in the embodiment is not limited to be applied to the stage of vacuumizing the process chamber, but can also be applied to the stage of ventilating the process chamber or the stage of stabilizing pressure of the process chamber, etc.

[0143] It can be understood that the above embodiments are only exemplary embodiments adopted for illustrating the principles of the present application, and the present application is not limited thereto. Various modifications and improvements can be made by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and essence of the present application, and these modifications and improvements are also considered as the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A pressure control valve control method applied to a semiconductor processing apparatus; wherein, The method comprises: in response to the detected actual pressure value of the controlled component not reaching the preset target pressure value, determining a first remaining time required for the actual pressure value to reach the target pressure value; in response to the first remaining time being greater than a preset time threshold, calculating a first adjustment amount for the difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value using a PID algorithm; adjusting the first adjustment amount based on the control parameter of the pressure control valve required for the actual pressure value of the controlled component to reach the target pressure value to obtain a second adjustment amount; adjusting the control parameter of the pressure control valve according to the second adjustment amount, so that the second remaining time required for the controlled component to reach the target pressure value is less than the first remaining time.

2. The pressure control valve control method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: in response to the first remaining time being less than or equal to the preset time threshold, calculating a first adjustment amount for the difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value using a PID algorithm, and adjusting the control parameter of the pressure control valve according to the first adjustment amount.

3. The pressure control valve control method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The step of adjusting the first adjustment amount based on the control parameter required for the actual pressure value of the controlled component to reach the target pressure value comprises: calculating a total adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve; calculating a compensation adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve, the compensation adjustment amount being a product of a preset adjustment coefficient and the total adjustment amount; wherein the preset adjustment coefficient is greater than 0 and less than 1; calculating the sum of the first adjustment amount and the compensation adjustment amount as the second adjustment amount.

4. The pressure control valve control method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein The step of determining the first remaining time required for the actual pressure value to reach the target pressure value comprises: calculating the difference between the actual pressure value detected at the current time and the target pressure value; calculating the rate of change of the actual pressure value detected within a preset time period; calculating the first remaining time required for the actual pressure value of the controlled component to reach the target pressure value from the current time; wherein the first remaining time is equal to the ratio of the difference and the rate of change.

5. The pressure control valve control method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein The step of calculating the total adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve comprises: calculating the ratio of the detected actual pressure value of the controlled component and the current control parameter of the pressure control valve; calculating the ratio of the difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value and the ratio as the total adjustment amount.

6. The pressure control valve control method according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein The control parameter of the pressure control valve includes the valve opening value of the pressure control valve.

7. The pressure control valve control method according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein The preset time threshold is the difference between a preset response time and a current control time; The preset response time is less than or equal to the process expected pressure control time; The current control time is the cumulative time from the time when the pressure control valve starts to be controlled to the current time; or, the current control time is the cumulative time from the time when the difference reaches a preset target difference to the current time.

8. The pressure control valve control method according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein, Before the step of determining the first remaining time required for the actual pressure value to reach the target pressure value, the method further comprises: determining whether the difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value is greater than a preset target difference value; if yes, continuing with the following step; if no, returning to the step of determining whether the difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value is greater than a preset target difference value; after adjusting the control parameter of the pressure control valve, further comprising: returning to the step of determining whether the difference between the actual pressure value and the target pressure value is greater than a preset target difference value.

9. A pressure control valve control device applied to a semiconductor processing apparatus; wherein, comprising a pressure detection unit and a control unit, wherein, the pressure detection unit is configured to detect an actual pressure value of a controlled component and send the actual pressure value to the control unit; the control unit is configured to control the pressure control valve by using the pressure control valve control method according to any one of claims 1-8.

10. The pressure control valve control device of claim 9, wherein, the control unit comprises a first calculation module and a second calculation module; the first calculation module is configured to calculate the first adjustment amount by using a PID algorithm; the second calculation module is configured to calculate a total adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve, and calculate a compensation adjustment amount of the control parameter of the pressure control valve according to the total adjustment amount; the second calculation module is further configured to obtain the first adjustment amount, calculate a sum of the first adjustment amount and the compensation adjustment amount, and take the sum as the second adjustment amount.

11. A semiconductor processing apparatus comprising a process chamber, a pressure control valve, and a controller, wherein, the pressure control valve is configured to control the internal pressure of the process chamber; the controller comprises at least one processor and at least one memory, the memory stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by the processor to implement the pressure control valve control method according to any one of claims 1-8.

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