|Número de publicación||US7375035 B2|
|Tipo de publicación||Concesión|
|Número de solicitud||US 10/426,593|
|Fecha de publicación||20 May 2008|
|Fecha de presentación||29 Abr 2003|
|Fecha de prioridad||29 Abr 2003|
|También publicado como||US20040220699|
|Número de publicación||10426593, 426593, US 7375035 B2, US 7375035B2, US-B2-7375035, US7375035 B2, US7375035B2|
|Inventores||Craig R. Heden, Albert R. DePetrillo, Robert M. McGuire|
|Cesionario original||Ronal Systems Corporation|
|Exportar cita||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Citas de patentes (106), Otras citas (1), Clasificaciones (37), Eventos legales (3)|
|Enlaces externos: USPTO, Cesión de USPTO, Espacenet|
The present invention generally relates to computer interface techniques and in particular, to a host and ancillary tool interface methodology for distributed processing.
In the prior art system of
In addition to managing the processing of the semiconductor wafer 31, the host tool 10 may have other important tasks to perform. Therefore, it is useful to distribute the semiconductor processing so that the ancillary tool 20 generates the product and provides it to the process chamber 30 with minimal to no supervision from the host tool 10, while at the same time, performing such function at the appropriate time according to the process recipe. When the ancillary tool 20 is manufactured and distributed by a different vendor than the host tool 10, however, the two tools may be designed for different operating systems and/or communication protocols, thus complicating the task of interfacing the two tools with each other.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a host and ancillary tool interface methodology for distributed processing.
Another object is to provide a host and ancillary tool interface methodology that requires minimal host tool supervision of the ancillary tool's generation of a product.
Another object is to provide a host and ancillary tool interface methodology that provides ancillary tool generation of a product in a transparent manner to the host tool.
Still another object is to provide a host and ancillary tool interface methodology that does not require host and ancillary tools to have the same operating system or communication protocol.
These and additional objects are accomplished by the various aspects of the present invention, wherein briefly stated, one aspect is a method for interfacing host and ancillary tools, comprising: activating a control line of a host tool when a product is to be provided; and generating and providing the product when activation of the control line is detected by an ancillary tool.
Another aspect is an apparatus for generating and providing a product as part of a process, comprising: a host tool configured to manage a process and activate a control line when a product is to be provided as part of the process; and an ancillary tool configured to generate and provide the product when activation of the control line is detected.
Another aspect is an apparatus for generating and providing a product as part of a process, comprising an ancillary tool configured to generate a product when the ancillary tool detects activation of a control line activated by a host tool configured to activate the control line when the product is to be provided as part of a process managed by the host tool.
Another aspect is a system for semiconductor processing, comprising: a process chamber for housing at least one semiconductor wafer for semiconductor processing; a host tool configured to manage the semiconductor processing and activate a control line when a product is to be provided to the process chamber as part of the semiconductor processing; and an ancillary tool configured to generate and provide the product to the process chamber when activation of the control line is detected.
Still another aspect is an apparatus for generating a chemical species, comprising: a product generator unit; and a detection unit configured to detect an indication provided by a host tool to generate a product as part of a process being managed by the host tool, and to activate the product generator unit to generate the product upon detecting the indication.
Yet another aspect is a method for interfacing host and ancillary tools for distributed processing of a semiconductor wafer, comprising: providing an indication to an ancillary tool when a product is to be generated and provided to a process chamber for processing a semiconductor wafer as a part of a process recipe being executed by a host tool; and automatically causing a product generator in the ancillary tool to generate and provide the product to the process chamber without further intervention from the host tool upon detecting the indication.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the various aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of its preferred embodiment, which description should be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The process recipe in this case, however, is a modified version of that described in reference to
When it is time to provide the product to the process chamber 30 as part of the process according to the process recipe stored in memory 212, the host tool 210 provides an indication to the ancillary tool 230 that the product is to be generated. The processor 11 provides the indication in this case by activating control line 81 with an appropriate signal passed through input/output (I/O) port 14. Thus, it appears from the process recipe that the product is being provided just like any other material from a material source, such as material sources 53 and 54, directly to the process chamber 30 for processing the semiconductor wafer 31.
A detection circuit 203 in the ancillary tool 220 monitors the control line 81 and detects the indication that the product is to be generated by, for example, detecting a voltage magnitude such as 24.0 volts on the control line 81. Upon such detection, the detection circuit 203 then notifies the processor 201 so that it causes the RF ICP torch 21 to generate the product according to the product recipe stored in memory 202 and consequently, provide the product to the process chamber 30 through flow line 90.
In order to generate the product according to the product recipe, the processor 201 causes main flow control valves 71 and 72 in flow lines 61 and 62 to be opened by activating control lines 281 and 282 with appropriate signals at the appropriate times according to the product recipe so that precursor materials respectively from precursor material sources 51 and 52 are provided directly to the RF ICP torch 21.
The product in this case is a chemical species formed from the precursor materials provided by precursor material sources 51 and 52. Additional details in the generation of such chemical species using an RF ICP torch such the RF ICP torch 21 are included in commonly owned, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/404,216 entitled “Remote ICP Torch for Semiconductor Processing,” filed Mar. 31, 2003, which is incorporated herein by this reference.
Also to support the process recipe, material sources 53 and 54 provide materials directly to the process chamber 30 as the processor 11 causes main flow control valves 73 and 74 respectively in flow lines 63 and 64 to open by activating control lines 83 and 84 with appropriate signals through input/output (I/O) ports 16 and 17 at the appropriate times according to the process recipe.
Although this example depicts two precursor material sources, 51 and 52, and two material sources, 53 and 54, being used, it is to be appreciated that the number of such sources as well as the types of materials that they provide depends upon and varies with the process and product recipes being followed for the semiconductor processing.
The process recipe in this case, is also a modified version of that described in reference to
The indication to generate the product in this case involves either the setting of one or more bits in a memory 302 of the ancillary tool 320 in a similar fashion as conventionally done to set bits in an interrupt flag field, or alternatively, the activation of an interrupt line coupled to the ancillary tool 320. The ancillary tool 320 then detects the indication as it would a conventional interrupt provided in an interrupt flag field or on an interrupt line, and then generates and provides the product to the process chamber 30 upon detection of the indication.
The product and its generation in this example is the same as described in reference to
The number of tubes which are required in the generator is dependent upon the chemical species being generated and the reaction by which it is formed, with a separate chamber usually, but not necessarily, being provided for each type of free radical to be used in the process.
Gases or other precursor compounds from which the free radicals are formed are introduced into the chambers from sources 421-423 or by other suitable means. Such precursors can be in gaseous, liquid and/or solid form, or a combination thereof.
As previously explained, although a separate chamber may be used for providing each type of free radicals, it is also contemplated for certain chemical reactions such as described below that a single chamber may also be used for providing more than one type of free radicals. In such a case, gases or other precursor compounds from which the more than one type of free radicals are formed are introduced into the single chamber from corresponding sources.
A plasma is formed within the one or more chambers to create the free radicals, and in the embodiment illustrated, the means for generating the plasma includes an induction coil 426 disposed concentrically about the one or more tubes, a radio frequency (RF) power generator 427 connected to the coil by a matching network 428, and a Tesla coil 429 for striking an arc to ignite the plasma. The plasma can, however, be formed by any other suitable means such as RF electrodes or microwaves.
In the embodiment illustrated, the free radicals are recombined to form the desired species downstream of the tubes. In this case, recombination takes place in a chamber 431 which is part of a reactor 432 in which a semiconductor wafer 433 is being processed. Recombination can be promoted by any suitable means such as by cooling 436 and/or by the use of a catalyst 437.
Cooling can be effected in a number of ways, including the circulation of a coolant such as an inert gas, liquid nitrogen, liquid helium or cooled water through tubes or other suitable means in heat exchange relationship with the reacting gases.
A catalyst can be placed either in the cooling zone or downstream of it. It can, for example, be in the form of a thin film deposited on the wall of a chamber or tube through which the reacting gases pass, a gauze placed in the stream of gas, or a packed bed. The important thing is that the catalyst is situated in such a way that all of the gas is able to contact its surface and react with it.
If desired, monitoring equipment such as an optical emission spectrometer can be provided for monitoring parameters such as species profile and steam generation.
Although the various aspects of the present invention have been described with respect to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that the invention is entitled to full protection within the full scope of the appended claims.
|Patente citada||Fecha de presentación||Fecha de publicación||Solicitante||Título|
|US3622493||30 Dic 1968||23 Nov 1971||Francois A Crusco||Use of plasma torch to promote chemical reactions|
|US3625846||17 Jun 1968||7 Dic 1971||United States Borax Chem||Chemical process and apparatus utilizing a plasma|
|US3652434||2 Oct 1970||28 Mar 1972||Cornell Research Foundations I||Pressure wave synthesis of aminocarboxylic acids|
|US3657107||25 Abr 1969||18 Abr 1972||British Titan Ltd||Apparatus for oxidizing a metal halide|
|US3658673||17 Dic 1969||25 Abr 1972||Lonza Ag||Process for carrying out chemical reactions|
|US3869616||9 Oct 1973||4 Mar 1975||Aga Ab||Reactor for plasma-chemical processes|
|US3919397||30 Nov 1973||11 Nov 1975||Aerochem Research Labs Inc||Catalytic preparation of NO|
|US3938988||7 Ago 1973||17 Feb 1976||Othmer Donald F||Method for producing aluminum metal from its salts|
|US3954954||2 Ene 1974||4 May 1976||Plasmachem, Inc.||Plasma method and apparatus for carrying out high temperature chemical reactions|
|US4145403||29 Sep 1977||20 Mar 1979||Fey Maurice G||Arc heater method for producing metal oxides|
|US4266113||2 Jul 1979||5 May 1981||The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy||Dismountable inductively-coupled plasma torch apparatus|
|US4351810||9 Jul 1981||28 Sep 1982||The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of Commerce||Method for removing sulfur dioxide from a gas stream|
|US4390405||23 Jun 1981||28 Jun 1983||Curators Of The University Of Missouri||Oxygen electrode and method for preparation thereof|
|US4410940||5 Dic 1980||18 Oct 1983||International Business Machines Corporation||Transfer of control method and means among hierarchical cooperating sequential processes|
|US4482525||21 Abr 1983||13 Nov 1984||The United States Of America As Represented By The United States Department Of Energy||Nitrogen fixation apparatus|
|US4512868||9 Jul 1984||23 Abr 1985||Fujitsu Limited||Microwave plasma processing apparatus|
|US4739147||30 Ene 1987||19 Abr 1988||The Dow Chemical Company||Pre-aligned demountable plasma torch|
|US4766287||6 Mar 1987||23 Ago 1988||The Perkin-Elmer Corporation||Inductively coupled plasma torch with adjustable sample injector|
|US4771015||29 Dic 1986||13 Sep 1988||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Method for producing an electronic device having a multi-layer structure|
|US4794230||16 Feb 1984||27 Dic 1988||The United States Of America As Represented By The United States Department Of Energy||Low-pressure water-cooled inductively coupled plasma torch|
|US4812201||15 Jul 1987||14 Mar 1989||Tokyo Electron Limited||Method of ashing layers, and apparatus for ashing layers|
|US4812326||13 Feb 1987||14 Mar 1989||Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha||Evaporation source with a shaped nozzle|
|US4849192||16 Mar 1988||18 Jul 1989||Energy And Environmental Research Corp.||Methods for preventing formation of sulfuric acid and related products in combustion effluents|
|US4883570||8 Jun 1987||28 Nov 1989||Research-Cottrell, Inc.||Apparatus and method for enhanced chemical processing in high pressure and atmospheric plasmas produced by high frequency electromagnetic waves|
|US4898748||31 Ago 1988||6 Feb 1990||The Board Of Trustees Of Leland Stanford Junior University||Method for enhancing chemical reactivity in thermal plasma processes|
|US4926001||7 Nov 1986||15 May 1990||Institut Francais Du Petrole||Method for the thermal conversion of methane to hydrocarbons of higher molecular weights|
|US4973773||21 Mar 1989||27 Nov 1990||E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company||Production of tetrafluoroethylene|
|US5012065||20 Nov 1989||30 Abr 1991||New Mexico State University Technology Transfer Corporation||Inductively coupled plasma torch with laminar flow cooling|
|US5026464||7 Nov 1989||25 Jun 1991||Agency Of Industrial Science And Technology||Method and apparatus for decomposing halogenated organic compound|
|US5051557||7 Jun 1989||24 Sep 1991||The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Department Of Health And Human Services||Microwave induced plasma torch with tantalum injector probe|
|US5109329||6 Feb 1987||28 Abr 1992||At&T Bell Laboratories||Multiprocessing method and arrangement|
|US5200595||12 Abr 1991||6 Abr 1993||Universite De Sherbrooke||High performance induction plasma torch with a water-cooled ceramic confinement tube|
|US5338399||12 Feb 1992||16 Ago 1994||Sony Corporation||Dry etching method|
|US5403434||6 Ene 1994||4 Abr 1995||Texas Instruments Incorporated||Low-temperature in-situ dry cleaning process for semiconductor wafer|
|US5403630||27 Oct 1993||4 Abr 1995||Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba||Vapor-phase growth method for forming S2 O2 films|
|US5427669||30 Dic 1992||27 Jun 1995||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||Thin film DC plasma processing system|
|US5451259 *||17 Feb 1994||19 Sep 1995||Krogh; Ole D.||ECR plasma source for remote processing|
|US5531973||23 Feb 1995||2 Jul 1996||The Babcock & Wilcox Company||Production of plasma generated NOx reducing precursors from a molecular nitrogen and hydrocarbon mixture|
|US5535906||30 Ene 1995||16 Jul 1996||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||Multi-phase DC plasma processing system|
|US5560844||26 May 1994||1 Oct 1996||Universite De Sherbrooke||Liquid film stabilized induction plasma torch|
|US5599425||6 Feb 1995||4 Feb 1997||Air Products And Chemicals, Inc.||Predecomposition of organic chlorides for silicon processing|
|US5607602||7 Jun 1995||4 Mar 1997||Applied Komatsu Technology, Inc.||High-rate dry-etch of indium and tin oxides by hydrogen and halogen radicals such as derived from HCl gas|
|US5620559||15 Mar 1995||15 Abr 1997||Fujitsu Limited||Hydrogen radical processing|
|US5652021||3 Abr 1995||29 Jul 1997||Georgia Tech Research Corp.||Combustion chemical vapor deposition of films and coatings|
|US5665640||3 Jun 1994||9 Sep 1997||Sony Corporation||Method for producing titanium-containing thin films by low temperature plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using a rotating susceptor reactor|
|US5684581||11 Dic 1995||4 Nov 1997||Mds Health Group Limited||Torch for inductively coupled plasma spectrometry|
|US5747935||14 Oct 1994||5 May 1998||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||Method and apparatus for stabilizing switch-mode powered RF plasma processing|
|US5756402||24 Abr 1995||26 May 1998||Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba||Method of etching silicon nitride film|
|US5770099||18 Jul 1995||23 Jun 1998||Applied Materials, Inc.||Plasma etch apparatus with heated scavenging surfaces|
|US5827370||13 Ene 1997||27 Oct 1998||Mks Instruments, Inc.||Method and apparatus for reducing build-up of material on inner surface of tube downstream from a reaction furnace|
|US5853602||13 Feb 1997||29 Dic 1998||Nec Corporation||Method of dry etching for patterning refractory metal layer improved in etching rate, anisotropy and selectivity to silicon oxide|
|US5877471||11 Jun 1997||2 Mar 1999||The Regents Of The University Of California||Plasma torch having a cooled shield assembly|
|US5908566||17 Sep 1997||1 Jun 1999||The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy||Modified plasma torch design for introducing sample air into inductively coupled plasma|
|US5917286||8 May 1996||29 Jun 1999||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||Pulsed direct current power supply configurations for generating plasmas|
|US5935334||13 Nov 1996||10 Ago 1999||Applied Materials, Inc.||Substrate processing apparatus with bottom-mounted remote plasma system|
|US5939886||18 Nov 1996||17 Ago 1999||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||Plasma monitoring and control method and system|
|US6007879||12 Dic 1996||28 Dic 1999||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||Adjustable energy quantum thin film plasma processing system|
|US6046546||5 May 1998||4 Abr 2000||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||Stabilizer for switch-mode powered RF plasma|
|US6047380||8 Dic 1997||4 Abr 2000||Microchip Technology Incorporated||Microcontroller wake-up function having an interleaving priority scheme for sampling a plurality of analog input signals|
|US6053123||29 Abr 1998||25 Abr 2000||Ball Semiconductor, Inc.||Plasma-assisted metallic film deposition|
|US6066568||12 May 1998||23 May 2000||Tokyo Electron Limited||Plasma treatment method and system|
|US6156667||24 Ene 2000||5 Dic 2000||Litmas, Inc.||Methods and apparatus for plasma processing|
|US6163006||6 Feb 1998||19 Dic 2000||Astex-Plasmaquest, Inc.||Permanent magnet ECR plasma source with magnetic field optimization|
|US6183605||2 Abr 1999||6 Feb 2001||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||AC powered system for continuous deposition of a cathode material|
|US6194036||20 Oct 1998||27 Feb 2001||The Regents Of The University Of California||Deposition of coatings using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet|
|US6197119||18 Feb 1999||6 Mar 2001||Mks Instruments, Inc.||Method and apparatus for controlling polymerized teos build-up in vacuum pump lines|
|US6217717||22 Ene 1999||17 Abr 2001||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||Periodically clearing thin film plasma processing system|
|US6222321||8 Jun 1999||24 Abr 2001||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||Plasma generator pulsed direct current supply in a bridge configuration|
|US6225592||15 Sep 1998||1 May 2001||Astex-Plasmaquest, Inc.||Method and apparatus for launching microwave energy into a plasma processing chamber|
|US6238514||21 Ene 2000||29 May 2001||Mks Instruments, Inc.||Apparatus and method for removing condensable aluminum vapor from aluminum etch effluent|
|US6251792||10 Oct 1997||26 Jun 2001||Applied Materials, Inc.||Plasma etch processes|
|US6291938||24 Ene 2000||18 Sep 2001||Litmas, Inc.||Methods and apparatus for igniting and sustaining inductively coupled plasma|
|US6330658||14 Oct 1999||11 Dic 2001||Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.||Master/slave multi-processor arrangement and method thereof|
|US6335293 *||12 Jul 1999||1 Ene 2002||Mattson Technology, Inc.||Systems and methods for two-sided etch of a semiconductor substrate|
|US6368477||10 Nov 1999||9 Abr 2002||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||Adjustable energy quantum thin film plasma processing system|
|US6384540||24 Feb 1998||7 May 2002||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||System for high power RF plasma processing|
|US6410880||10 Ene 2000||25 Jun 2002||Archimedes Technology Group, Inc.||Induction plasma torch liquid waste injector|
|US6432260||7 Ago 2000||13 Ago 2002||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||Inductively coupled ring-plasma source apparatus for processing gases and materials and method thereof|
|US6488745||23 Mar 2001||3 Dic 2002||Mks Instruments, Inc.||Trap apparatus and method for condensable by-products of deposition reactions|
|US6494957||16 Jun 2000||17 Dic 2002||Mks Japan, Inc.||Vaporizing apparatus|
|US6521099||25 Sep 2000||18 Feb 2003||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||Periodically clearing thin film plasma processing system|
|US6521792||21 Dic 2001||18 Feb 2003||Gruenenthal Gmbh||Process for separating the diastereomeric bases of 2-[(dimethylamino)methyl]-1-(3-methoxyphenyl)-cylohexanol|
|US6544896||10 Oct 2000||8 Abr 2003||Applied Materials Inc.||Method for enhancing etching of TiSix|
|US6556949 *||18 May 1999||29 Abr 2003||Applied Materials, Inc.||Semiconductor processing techniques|
|US6579805 *||5 Ene 1999||17 Jun 2003||Ronal Systems Corp.||In situ chemical generator and method|
|US6587744 *||20 Jun 2000||1 Jul 2003||Brooks Automation, Inc.||Run-to-run controller for use in microelectronic fabrication|
|US6588007 *||3 Ene 2001||1 Jul 2003||Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.||Use of endpoint system to match individual processing stations within a tool|
|US6615098 *||21 Feb 2001||2 Sep 2003||Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.||Method and apparatus for controlling a tool using a baseline control script|
|US6624082 *||16 Jul 2001||23 Sep 2003||Mattson Technology, Inc.||Systems and methods for two-sided etch of a semiconductor substrate|
|US6633017||13 Oct 1998||14 Oct 2003||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||System for plasma ignition by fast voltage rise|
|US6800559 *||3 Ene 2003||5 Oct 2004||Ronal Systems Corporation||Method and apparatus for generating H20 to be used in a wet oxidation process to form SiO2 on a silicon surface|
|US6801817 *||20 Feb 2001||5 Oct 2004||Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.||Method and apparatus for integrating multiple process controllers|
|US6831555 *||5 Mar 2002||14 Dic 2004||Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.||Method and apparatus for dynamically monitoring system components in an advanced process control (APC) framework|
|US6892108 *||27 Oct 2003||10 May 2005||Infineon Technologies Sc300 Gmbh & Co. Kg||Method for adjusting processing parameters of at least one plate-shaped object in a processing tool|
|US6952656 *||28 Abr 2000||4 Oct 2005||Applied Materials, Inc.||Wafer fabrication data acquisition and management systems|
|US6955928 *||18 Jun 2001||18 Oct 2005||Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.||Closed loop residual gas analyzer process control technique|
|US20020134244||23 Mar 2001||26 Sep 2002||Mks Instruments, Inc.||Trap apparatus and method for condensable by-products of deposition reactions|
|US20030045098 *||31 Ago 2001||6 Mar 2003||Applied Materials, Inc.||Method and apparatus for processing a wafer|
|US20030045131 *||27 Ago 2002||6 Mar 2003||Applied Materials, Inc.||Method and apparatus for processing a wafer|
|US20030077402||17 Sep 2002||24 Abr 2003||Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.||System for deposition of diamond like carbon|
|JPH1098038A||Título no disponible|
|JPH05275392A||Título no disponible|
|JPH06295907A||Título no disponible|
|JPH07106593A||Título no disponible|
|JPS56102577A||Título no disponible|
|WO1991017285A1||7 May 1991||14 Nov 1991||Schmitt Technology Associates||Microwave plasma assisted gas jet deposition of thin film materials|
|Clasificación de EE.UU.||438/710, 700/108, 700/121, 438/706, 438/689, 700/117, 700/19, 700/123, 422/129, 700/20, 700/12, 700/1, 700/266, 700/9, 438/479, 700/275, 700/17, 700/23, 438/478, 438/480, 700/90, 700/18, 700/28, 700/11, 700/268|
|Clasificación internacional||H01L21/461, G05B21/00, H01L21/20, H01L21/302, B01J10/00, H01L21/36, G05B19/418|
|Clasificación cooperativa||Y02P90/205, G05B2219/45031, G05B19/418, Y02P90/02|
|29 Abr 2003||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: RONAL SYSTEMS CORPORATION, CALIFORNIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:HEDEN, CRAIG R.;DEPETRILLO, ALBERT R.;MCGUIRE, ROBERT M.;REEL/FRAME:014035/0519
Effective date: 20030428
|24 Sep 2011||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|31 Dic 2015||REMI||Maintenance fee reminder mailed|