Plasma Substrate Gap Monitoring With Optical Interlock Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In plasma substrate treatment, maintaining a consistent gap between the electric field members and the substrate is crucial for accurate processing, but variations due to operational defects, foreign substances, or plasma damage lead to decreased yield and increased maintenance time, making it difficult to determine the exact cause of gap discrepancies.
Innovation Solution
A substrate treating apparatus and method that includes a gap determination unit using light irradiation and reception to measure the gap between the substrate and dielectric plate, a driving unit with pulse measurement, and displacement measurement to ensure the support unit moves correctly, allowing for interlocks to identify and address issues such as foreign substances or damage, thereby maintaining process efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual inspection of parts inside the chamber is performed to determine the cause of gap changes, then the exact cause can be identified, but the maintenance time increases and process efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical inspection with an optical measurement system. A light source emits light through the gap between the substrate and dielectric plate, and a photodetector measures the transmitted light intensity to calculate the gap distance using the relationship between light intensity and gap size. This automated optical system eliminates the need for manual disassembly and inspection, providing precise gap measurements while significantly reducing maintenance time.
Solution Approach 2:
The measurement system enables the apparatus to self-diagnose gap issues without requiring external manual intervention. The control unit automatically compares measured gap values with preset reference values and identifies potential causes (foreign substances, plasma damage, driving unit defects) based on the deviation patterns, allowing the system to self-assess its condition and guide maintenance activities.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the gap between members forming an electric field and the substrate is not kept constant, then operational flexibility is improved, but the substrate treatment accuracy decreases and process yield drops
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback control system where the gap measurement unit continuously monitors the actual gap distance between the substrate and dielectric plate. The control unit compares this measured value with the target gap value from the recipe, and when deviations are detected, the system can trigger alerts or automatically adjust the support unit position to restore the correct gap, ensuring consistent treatment accuracy while allowing operational flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The support unit is designed with dynamic adjustment capability, allowing the gap to be modified during operation. The driving unit can pulse-move the support unit to adjust the substrate position, enabling the system to adapt to varying conditions while maintaining the required gap precision for accurate substrate treatment according to different recipes.
3Reliability
If frequent maintenance checks are performed to prevent gap issues, then process reliability is improved, but the productivity decreases due to increased downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The measurement system performs gap measurements continuously or at predetermined intervals during substrate treatment processes, rather than waiting for problems to occur. By detecting gap deviations early, the system can alert operators to potential issues (foreign substances, plasma damage, driving unit defects) before they significantly impact process quality, enabling proactive maintenance scheduling that minimizes downtime while ensuring process reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient substrate treatment by ensuring accurate gap maintenance, reducing maintenance time, and predicting when maintenance is needed, thus improving process yield and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a gap determination unit that measures a gap between the substrate and the dielectric plate
Implementation Method 2
a plasma source that generates plasma by exciting gas
Data Source
AI summary
The inventive concept provides a substrate treating method. The substrate treating method includes taking in a substrate to a treating space to mount on a support unit; upwardly moving the support unit after mounting the substrate on the support unit; determining whether the support unit moves normally after the upwardly moving the support unit; and treating the substrate by generating a plasma in the treating space, and wherein at the determining whether the support unit moves normally, before the plasma is generated at the treating space at the treating the substrate, whether a pulse distance matching a predetermined distance data according to a pulse value of a driving unit which pulse-moves a moving body which moves the support unit in a top/down direction, matches a movement distance of the moving body is determined, and an interlock is generated if the pulse distance and the movement distance is different.