Substrate Processing Sensor Switchover for Stable Film Formation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate processing systems face challenges in achieving consistent film formation results due to fluctuations in external factors like air pressure, especially when sensors for measuring these factors break down, making it difficult to calculate optimal film formation times.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing system with a master-slave sensor configuration that allows switching to a slave sensor as a new master if the primary sensor fails, enabling continuous data acquisition and calculation of processing times to adjust film formation conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single master sensor is used to measure external factors, then the system can calculate optimal film formation time, but the system fails when the sensor breaks down
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-configures a slave sensor in standby mode before the master sensor fails. This preliminary preparation ensures that when the master sensor breaks down, the slave sensor is already positioned and configured to take over immediately, eliminating the need for reactive sensor replacement or system shutdown.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a redundant slave sensor as a protective measure against master sensor failure. This beforehand cushioning creates a safety buffer that prevents system failure when the master sensor breaks down, allowing continuous monitoring and calculation of film formation time without interruption.
2Manufacturing precision
If the system uses a single sensor for measurement, then the device complexity is low, but the film formation results become inconsistent when external factors fluctuate and sensor fails
Solution Approach 1:
The slave sensor is pre-positioned and pre-configured in the system before any failure occurs. This preliminary setup ensures that when the master sensor fails, the transition to the slave sensor is seamless, maintaining manufacturing precision without requiring complex real-time decision-making or system reconfiguration.
Solution Approach 2:
The slave sensor serves as a functional copy of the master sensor, duplicating its measurement capabilities. This copying approach allows the system to maintain the same measurement quality and film formation calculation accuracy even after the master sensor fails, without introducing fundamentally different measurement methods.
3Reliability
If the system switches from master sensor to slave sensor when failure occurs, then sensor reliability is maintained, but the control system becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The slave sensor is designed to automatically assume the master sensor's role when failure is detected, without requiring complex manual intervention or sophisticated switching logic. The system essentially serves itself by having the standby sensor take over control functions automatically, reducing the complexity of the switching control mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a technique that includes: a process chamber configured to process a substrate; a memory configured to store sensor data obtained from at least two sensors, which have a master-slave relationship and are capable of obtaining a same type of data; a monitor configured to, if the sensor data satisfies a predetermined condition, determine that the sensor corresponding to the sensor data is abnormal; a switch configured to, if the sensor determined to be abnormal is a master sensor, switch a slave sensor which is a sensor other than the master sensor among the sensors to a new master sensor; a calculator configured to calculate a processing time for the substrate from the sensor data of the master sensor; and a controller configured to obtain the processing time calculated by the calculator before processing the substrate and control the processing of the substrate using the obtained processing time.