US-12622211-B2 - Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate

US12622211B2US 12622211 B2US12622211 B2US 12622211B2US-12622211-B2

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate is provided herein. For example, the method comprises prior to processing a substrate, obtaining a first measurement at a first point along a surface of the substrate, in a process chamber processing the substrate in a presence of an electric field, subsequent to processing the substrate, obtaining a second measurement at the first point along the surface of the substrate, and determining whether substrate warpage occurred based upon analysis of the first measurement and the second measurement.

Inventors

Yaoying ZHONG
Siew Kit Hoi

Assignees

APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220728

Claims (14)

1 . A method for processing a substrate, comprising: prior to processing a substrate, obtaining a first measurement at a first point along a surface of the substrate; in a process chamber processing the substrate in a presence of an electric field; subsequent to processing the substrate, obtaining a second measurement at the first point along the surface of the substrate; and determining whether substrate warpage occurred based upon analysis of the first measurement and the second measurement; wherein obtaining the first measurement and the second measurement is performed using a laser displacement sensor comprising an emitter and a detector, and wherein the laser displacement sensor is disposed adjacent to a slit valve position on the process chamber.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first measurement and the second measurement are based on a position of the emitter and a position of the detector relative to the substrate and a location of a reflected beam spot detected by the detector.
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising obtaining a temperature measurement at the first point or a second point, different from the first point, wherein determining whether substrate warpage occurred is further based upon analysis of the temperature measurement.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising triggering a fault indication when substrate warpage is determined.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is made from at least one of aluminum, copper, or tantalum.
6 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed by a processor perform a method for processing a substrate, comprising: prior to processing a substrate, obtaining a first measurement at a first point along a surface of the substrate; in a process chamber processing the substrate in a presence of an electric field; subsequent to processing the substrate, obtaining a second measurement at the first point along the surface of the substrate; and determining whether substrate warpage occurred based upon analysis of the first measurement and the second measurement; wherein obtaining the first measurement and the second measurement is performed using a laser displacement sensor comprising an emitter and a detector, and wherein the laser displacement sensor is disposed adjacent to a slit valve position on the process chamber.
7 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein the first measurement and the second measurement are based on a position of the emitter and a position of the detector relative to the substrate and a location of a reflected beam spot detected by the detector.
8 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 6 , further comprising obtaining a temperature measurement at the first point or a second point, different from the first point, wherein determining whether substrate warpage occurred is further based upon analysis of the temperature measurement.
9 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 6 , further comprising triggering a fault indication when substrate warpage is determined.
10 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein the substrate is made from at least one of aluminum, copper, or tantalum.
11 . An apparatus for processing a substrate, comprising: a process chamber configured to process a substrate; an apparatus configured to obtain measurements along a surface of the substrate; and a controller configured to: prior to processing the substrate, obtain a first measurement at a first point along the surface of the substrate; in the process chamber processing the substrate in a presence of an electric field; subsequent to processing the substrate, obtain a second measurement at the first point along the surface of the substrate; and determine whether substrate warpage occurred based upon analysis of the first measurement and the second measurement; wherein the apparatus for obtaining measurements along the surface of the substrate is a laser displacement sensor comprising an emitter and a detector, and wherein the laser displacement sensor is disposed adjacent to a slit valve position on the process chamber.
12 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the first measurement and the second measurement are based on a position of the emitter and a position of the detector relative to the substrate and a location of a reflected beam spot detected by the detector.
13 . The apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising a temperature measurement apparatus that is configured to obtain a temperature measurement at the first point or a second point, different from the first point, wherein the controller is further configured to determine whether substrate warpage occurred based on the temperature measurement.
14 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to trigger a fault indication when substrate warpage is detected.

Description

FIELD Embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to methods and apparatus for processing substrates, and for example, to methods and apparatus for real-time warpage monitoring for processed substrates. BACKGROUND Substrate level (wafer) warpage (e.g., bow upwards or downwards) can be a severe problem in high volume production (deposition). For example, in advanced nodes, there is increasing density of features on chip & chips on substrate. Stress analysis and stress relief methods are vital for device functionality. Thus, stress monitoring methods are essential. For example, real-time substrate warpage can be an excellent indicator for stress accumulation/change during substrate process sequencing. For example, the substrate can sometimes experience notable change of substrate warpage after being heated (e.g., heating using degas, plasma, high temp heater, etc.). Conventional methods and apparatus, however, are not configured to monitor real-time substrate warpage. For example, the substrate, typically, has to be cooled prior to monitoring substrate warpage, which can increase overall processing time and decrease throughput. Moreover, sometimes when a substrate is cooled down for monitoring, the cooled substrate warpage can be different from a substrate that is hot (e.g., inside the process chamber). Thus, obtaining an accurate analysis on warpage using ex-situ measurement is difficult, and ex-situ warpage measurement only gives end result, but does not provide a user with information on how the substrate is being changed during processing. Therefore, the inventors describe herein improved methods and apparatus for real-time warpage monitoring for processed substrates. SUMMARY Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method for processing a substrate comprises prior to processing a substrate, obtaining a first measurement at a first point along a surface of the substrate, in a process chamber processing the substrate in a presence of an electric field, subsequent to processing the substrate, obtaining a second measurement at the first point along the surface of the substrate, and determining whether substrate warpage occurred based upon analysis of the first measurement and the second measurement. In accordance with at least some embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium has instructions stored thereon that when executed by a processor perform a method for processing a substrate comprises prior to processing a substrate, obtaining a first measurement at a first point along a surface of the substrate, in a process chamber processing the substrate in a presence of an electric field, subsequent to processing the substrate, obtaining a second measurement at the first point along the surface of the substrate, and determining whether substrate warpage occurred based upon analysis of the first measurement and the second measurement. In accordance with at least some embodiments, an apparatus for processing a substrate comprise a process chamber configured to process a substrate, an apparatus configured to obtain measurements along a surface of the substrate, and a controller configured to prior to processing the substrate, obtain a first measurement at a first point along the surface of the substrate, in the process chamber processing the substrate in a presence of an electric field, subsequent to processing the substrate, obtain a second measurement at the first point along the surface of the substrate, and determine whether substrate warpage occurred based upon analysis of the first measurement and the second measurement. Other and further embodiments of the present disclosure are described below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the present disclosure, briefly summarized above and discussed in greater detail below, can be understood by reference to the illustrative embodiments of the disclosure depicted in the appended drawings. However, the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of scope, for the disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments. FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for processing a substrate, in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram of an apparatus for performing the method of FIG. 1, in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a diagram of a displacement sensor configured for use with the apparatus of FIG. 2, in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. The figures are not drawn to scale and may be simplified for clarity. Elements and features of one embodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments without further recitation. DETAILED