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KR-20260063911-A - SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESS EQUIPMENT

KR20260063911AKR 20260063911 AKR20260063911 AKR 20260063911AKR-20260063911-A

Abstract

A semiconductor process equipment according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: a chamber housing; an electrostatic chuck disposed within the chamber housing and on which a wafer is placed; a lower electrode installed below the electrostatic chuck in a first direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the electrostatic chuck and connected to a first rod providing a transmission path for a first RF power; an upper electrode installed above the electrostatic chuck in the first direction and connected to a second rod providing a transmission path for a second RF power; a first VI sensor coupled to the lower rod within the chamber housing; and a second VI sensor coupled to the upper rod within the chamber housing.

Inventors

  • 최민후
  • 박해욱
  • 정상훈
  • 임준호

Assignees

  • 삼성전자주식회사

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241031

Claims (10)

  1. Chamber housing; An electrostatic chuck installed within the chamber housing and on which a wafer is placed; A lower electrode installed below the electrostatic chuck within the chamber housing; An upper electrode installed on the electrostatic chuck within the chamber housing; A first power supply unit that supplies a first RF (Radio Frequency) power to the lower electrode; A second power supply unit that supplies second RF power to the upper electrode; A first VI sensor installed between the lower electrode and the inner wall of the chamber housing; A second VI sensor installed between the upper electrode and the inner wall of the chamber housing; and A semiconductor process equipment comprising: a controller that determines the phase of the first RF power using the detection signal of the first VI sensor, determines the phase of the second RF power using the detection signal of the second VI sensor, and controls the first power supply unit and the second power supply unit based on the phase of the first RF power and the phase of the second RF power.
  2. In paragraph 1, A lower rod connected to the lower electrode and providing a transmission path for the first RF power; and Further comprising an upper load connected to the upper electrode and providing a transmission path for the second RF power; A semiconductor process equipment in which the first VI sensor is coupled to the lower load and the second VI sensor is coupled to the upper load.
  3. In paragraph 2, A semiconductor process equipment in which the first VI sensor is coupled to the lower rod so as to be in close contact with the lower electrode, and the second VI sensor is coupled to the upper rod so as to be in close contact with the upper electrode.
  4. In paragraph 2, A semiconductor process equipment in which the first VI sensor is coupled to the lower rod so as to be separated from the lower electrode by a first distance, and the second VI sensor is coupled to the upper rod so as to be separated from the upper electrode by a second distance.
  5. In paragraph 2, Each of the first VI sensor and the second VI sensor comprises a first insulating layer, a coil wound in a toroidal shape and embedded within the first insulating layer, a second insulating layer disposed inside the first insulating layer and having a penetration area coupled to the lower rod or the upper rod, and a floating electrode embedded within the second insulating layer, forming a semiconductor process equipment.
  6. In paragraph 5, The above controller is a semiconductor process equipment that, when the first RF power is applied to the lower electrode, detects the current induced in the coil of the first VI sensor to determine a first RF current corresponding to the first RF power, and detects the voltage of the floating electrode of the first VI sensor to determine a first RF voltage corresponding to the first RF power.
  7. In paragraph 5, The above controller is a semiconductor process equipment that detects a current induced in the coil of the second VI sensor when the second RF power is applied to the upper electrode to determine a second RF current corresponding to the second RF power, and detects the voltage of the floating electrode of the second VI sensor to determine a first RF voltage corresponding to the second RF power.
  8. Chamber housing; An electrostatic chuck disposed within the chamber housing and on which a wafer is placed; A lower electrode installed below the electrostatic chuck in a first direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the electrostatic chuck and connected to a first rod that provides a transmission path for first RF power; An upper electrode installed on the electrostatic chuck in the first direction and connected to a second rod that provides a second RF power transmission path; A first VI sensor coupled to the lower rod within the chamber housing; and Semiconductor process equipment comprising: a second VI sensor coupled to the upper rod within the chamber housing.
  9. Chamber housing; An electrostatic chuck disposed within the chamber housing and on which a wafer is placed; A lower electrode installed below the above-mentioned electrostatic chuck and receiving a first RF power; An upper electrode installed on the electrostatic chuck and receiving a second RF power generated independently of the first RF power; A first VI sensor installed closer to the lower electrode than the upper electrode within the chamber housing; A second VI sensor installed closer to the upper electrode than the lower electrode within the chamber housing; and A semiconductor process equipment comprising: a controller that detects a first harmonic component included in the first RF power from the first VI sensor, detects a second harmonic component included in the second RF power from the second VI sensor, and adjusts the phase of at least one of the first RF power and the second RF power by referring to the first harmonic component and the second harmonic component.
  10. In Paragraph 9, A semiconductor process equipment in which the lower electrode and the upper electrode are positioned between the first VI sensor and the second VI sensor in a first direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the electrostatic chuck.

Description

Semiconductor Process Equipment The present invention relates to semiconductor process equipment. Semiconductor process equipment is a chamber-type device that performs various semiconductor processes on a substrate, such as a wafer, and plasma can be formed inside the chamber during the semiconductor process. Radicals and ions form plasma through the RF (Radio Frequency) power supplied to the semiconductor process equipment, enabling semiconductor processes such as deposition, etching, and cleaning to be performed. The semiconductor process equipment includes a lower electrode and an upper electrode that receive RF power, and the uniformity of the semiconductor process performed on the substrate, such as a wafer, may vary depending on the RF power applied to the lower electrode and the upper electrode, respectively. Therefore, in order to perform the semiconductor process uniformly regardless of the position of the substrate, it is necessary to accurately detect the RF power supplied to the lower electrode and the upper electrode, respectively. FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram showing a system including semiconductor process equipment according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a simplified diagram showing semiconductor process equipment according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the uniformity of a semiconductor process performed in semiconductor process equipment according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 4 and FIGS. 5 are drawings briefly illustrating semiconductor process equipment according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 6a and 6b are simplified drawings of a VI sensor included in semiconductor process equipment according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a simplified diagram showing a VI sensor included in semiconductor process equipment according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 8 and 9 are drawings provided to explain the operation of a VI sensor included in semiconductor process equipment according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 10 and FIGS. 11 are drawings provided to explain the operation of semiconductor process equipment according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 12 and FIGS. 13 are flowcharts provided to explain the operation of semiconductor process equipment according to one embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention are described as follows with reference to the attached drawings. FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram showing a system including semiconductor process equipment according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a process equipment (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention may include a wafer transfer device (120), a load lock chamber (130), a transfer chamber (140), and a plurality of semiconductor process equipment (150). For example, the wafer transfer device (120) may receive a wafer through a container such as a FOUP (110) within a production line where the process equipment (100) is placed. The wafer transfer device (120) may transfer the wafer received through the FOUP (110) to the load lock chamber (130), or receive a wafer from the load lock chamber (130) after the semiconductor process is completed at the semiconductor process equipment (150) and store it in the FOUP (110). A wafer transfer device (120) may include a wafer transfer robot (121) having an arm capable of gripping a wafer, a rail section (122) for moving the wafer transfer robot (121), and an aligner (123) for aligning the wafer. In the operation of transferring a wafer from a FOUP (110) to a load lock chamber (130), the wafer transfer robot (121) may withdraw a wafer stored in the FOUP (110) and place it on the aligner (123). In the aligner (123), the wafer may be rotated to align the wafer in a predetermined direction. When the wafer alignment is completed in the aligner (123), the wafer transfer robot (121) may take the wafer out of the aligner (123) and transfer it to the load lock chamber (130). The load lock chamber (130) is connected to the wafer transfer device (120) and may include a loading chamber (131) where wafers being brought into the semiconductor process equipment (150) for semiconductor process progress temporarily stay, and an unloading chamber (132) where wafers being removed from the semiconductor process equipment (150) after the process is completed temporarily stay. When a wafer aligned in the aligner (123) is brought into the loading chamber (131), the inside of the loading chamber (131) is depressurized to prevent external contaminants from entering. The load lock chamber (130) may be connected to the transfer chamber (140), and a plurality of semiconductor process equipment (150) may be arranged around the transfer chamber (140). A wafer transfer robot (141) for transferring wafers between the load lock chamber (130) and t