Plasma Tool RF Sensor Data Compression for Process Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In plasma tools, the large amount of data collected during wafer processing is overwhelming and inefficient, making it difficult to determine which data is critical for optimized processing.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for compressing sensor data in a plasma tool, which includes receiving measurement signals from sensors coupled to the RF transmission path, converting them to digital form, processing the data to reduce its amount while maintaining critical information, and sending the compressed data to a controller for controlling the plasma tool.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If all sensor data is collected and transmitted during wafer processing, then complete information is available for analysis, but data transmission burden and storage requirements become overwhelming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the critical features from the sensor data stream - specifically peak-to-peak values, average frequency, and average phase - and transmits only these extracted features to the controller. This extraction principle resolves the contradiction by removing unnecessary data while preserving the essential information needed for plasma process control.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of transmitting the complete raw sensor data, the system creates simplified copies or representations of the data - namely the calculated statistical features (max peak-to-peak, average frequency, average phase). These copied features convey the essential process state information with minimal data volume.
2Measurement precision
If raw sensor data is transmitted without compression, then all measurement details are preserved, but processing efficiency and transmission speed decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the most significant measurement characteristics from the raw sensor data - the peak-to-peak values indicating signal amplitude, average frequency for oscillation rate, and average phase for timing information. This extraction maintains measurement precision for the critical parameters while dramatically improving processing efficiency by reducing data volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the raw time-domain sensor signals into different parameter representations - converting continuous waveforms into discrete statistical parameters (maximum peak-to-peak, average frequency, average phase). This parameter transformation preserves the essential measurement information in a compressed, easily processable format.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for compressing data are described. One of the methods includes receiving a plurality of measurement signals from one or more sensors coupled to a radio frequency (RF) transmission path of a plasma tool. The RF transmission path is from an output of an RF generator to an electrode of a plasma chamber. The method includes converting the plurality of measurement signals from an analog form to a digital form to sample data and processing the data to reduce an amount of the data. The amount of the data is compressed to output compressed data. The method includes sending the compressed data to a controller for controlling the plasma tool.