US-12622219-B2 - Substrate processing apparatus

US12622219B2US 12622219 B2US12622219 B2US 12622219B2US-12622219-B2

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus may include a substrate support unit in a lower portion of a process chamber; an edge ring on and along an edge of an upper surface of the substrate support unit and protruding from the upper surface of the substrate support unit; and a substrate alignment sensor on the substrate support unit. The substrate alignment sensor may include a body, an imaging unit, and a control unit. The imaging unit may be on a bottom surface of the body and configured to image a sidewall of the edge ring and a sidewall of the body. The control unit may be configured to control the imaging unit and calculate a spacing between the sidewall of the edge ring and the sidewall of the body. The control unit may be configured to align the substrate alignment sensor with the substrate support unit based on the spacing.

Inventors

Byoung Min Yun
Youn Sok CHOI
Ho Hyun LEE

Assignees

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240702
Priority Date: 20240102

Claims (20)

1 . A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a process chamber configured to have a substrate loaded therein; a substrate support unit in a lower portion of the process chamber, the substrate support unit being configured to support the substrate; an edge ring along an edge of the substrate support unit and spaced apart from a sidewall of the substrate support unit; and a substrate alignment sensor on the substrate support unit, wherein an upper surface of the edge ring includes a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion, the first portion and the second portion extend parallel to each other, the third portion is between the first portion and the second portion, and the third portion is inclined, wherein, based on a bottom surface of the process chamber, a vertical level of the first portion is lower than a vertical level of the second portion, wherein the substrate alignment sensor includes a body, an imaging unit, and a control unit, the imaging unit is on a bottom surface of the body and configured to image an upper surface of the edge ring and a sidewall of the body, and the control unit is configured to control the imaging unit and calculate a calculated spacing from the sidewall of the body to a boundary between the first portion of the edge ring and the third portion of the edge ring, and wherein the control unit is configured to align the substrate alignment sensor with the substrate support unit based on the calculated spacing.
2 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the substrate alignment sensor includes a groove, the groove is recessed from the bottom surface of the body toward an upper surface of the body, and the imaging unit is in the groove.
3 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the substrate alignment sensor includes an illuminator installed in the groove, the illuminator is configured to irradiate light toward the edge ring.
4 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the imaging unit includes at least two imaging units in the groove.
5 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the imaging unit includes a first unit and a second unit, and the first unit and the second unit are opposite each other in a first direction.
6 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the control unit is configured to align the substrate alignment sensor with the substrate support unit based on a first spacing and a second spacing, the calculated spacing includes the first spacing and the second spacing, the first spacing is a distance from the sidewall of the body to the boundary between the first portion of the edge ring and the third portion of the edge ring based on an image captured by the first unit, the second spacing is a distance from the sidewall of the body to the boundary between the first portion of the edge ring and the third portion of the edge ring based on an image captured by the second unit.
7 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the imaging unit includes a first unit and a second unit, an angle defined by the first unit and the second unit around a center of the substrate alignment sensor is not 180°.
8 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the imaging unit includes a first unit, a second unit, and a third unit, wherein the first unit, the second unit, and the third unit are spaced from each other by a same angular spacing from a common reference point.
9 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the imaging unit further includes a first unit, a second unit, a third unit, and a fourth unit, the first unit and the second unit are opposite each other in a first direction, the third unit and the fourth unit are opposite each other in a second direction, and the second direction intersects the first direction.
10 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the substrate alignment sensor includes a reference mark on the body, wherein the control unit is configured to calculate the calculated spacing based on a distance from the sidewall of the body to the boundary between the first portion of the edge ring and the third portion of the edge ring using the reference mark.
11 . A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a process chamber configured to have a substrate loaded therein; a substrate support unit in a lower portion of the process chamber, the substrate support unit being configured to support the substrate; an edge ring on and along an edge of an upper surface of the substrate support unit and protruding from the upper surface of the substrate support unit; and a substrate alignment sensor on the substrate support unit, wherein the substrate alignment sensor includes a body, an imaging unit, and a control unit, the imaging unit is on a bottom surface of the body and configured to image a sidewall of the edge ring and a sidewall of the body, the control unit is configured to control the imaging unit and calculate a calculated spacing between the sidewall of the edge ring and the sidewall of the body, and the control unit is configured to align the substrate alignment sensor with the substrate support unit based on the calculated spacing.
12 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the substrate alignment sensor includes a groove, the groove is recessed from the bottom surface of the body toward an upper surface of the body, the imaging unit is in the groove.
13 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the substrate alignment sensor includes an illuminator in the groove, the illuminator is configured to irradiate light in a first direction toward the edge ring, the imaging unit faces a second direction, and the second direction intersects the first direction.
14 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the imaging unit includes at least two imaging units in the groove, and angles of view (AOV) of the at least two imaging units in the groove are different from each other.
15 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the imaging unit includes a first unit and a second unit, and the first unit and the second unit are opposite each other in a first direction.
16 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the control unit is configured to align the substrate alignment sensor with the substrate support unit based on a first spacing and a second spacing, the calculated spacing includes the first spacing and the second spacing, the first spacing is a distance between the sidewall of the edge ring and the sidewall of the body based on an image captured by the first unit, the second spacing is a distance between the sidewall of the edge ring and the sidewall of the body based on an image captured by the second unit.
17 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the first spacing is equal to the second spacing.
18 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the imaging unit includes a first unit and a second unit, and an angle defined by the first unit and the second unit around a center of the substrate alignment sensor is not 180°.
19 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the substrate alignment sensor includes a reference mark on the body, the control unit is configured to calculate the calculated spacing between the sidewall of the edge ring and the sidewall of the body using the reference mark.
20 . A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a process chamber configured to have a substrate loaded therein; a substrate support unit in a lower portion of the process chamber, the substrate support unit being configured to support the substrate; an edge ring along an edge of the substrate support unit and spaced apart from a sidewall of the substrate support unit; and a substrate alignment sensor on the substrate support unit, wherein an upper surface of the edge ring includes a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion, the first portion and the second portion extend parallel to each other, and the third portion is between the first portion and the second portion and the third portion is inclined, wherein, based on a bottom surface of the process chamber, a vertical level of the first portion is lower than a vertical level of the second portion, wherein the substrate alignment sensor includes a body, a groove recessed from a bottom surface of the body toward an upper surface of the body, an illuminator, an imaging unit, and a control unit, the illuminator in the groove and configured to irradiate light in a first direction toward the edge ring, the imaging unit is in the groove and configured to image an upper surface of the edge ring and a sidewall of the body, the control unit is configured to control the imaging unit and calculate a calculated spacing from the sidewall of the body to a boundary between the first portion and the third portion of the edge ring, the imaging unit faces a second direction, the second direction intersects the first direction, wherein the imaging unit includes a first unit and a second unit, the first unit and the second unit are opposite each other in the first direction, wherein the control unit is configured to align the substrate alignment sensor with the substrate support unit by equalizing a first spacing and a second spacing, wherein the first spacing is a distance from the sidewall of the body to the boundary between the first portion and the third portion of the edge ring on an image captured by the first unit, and wherein the second spacing is a distance from the sidewall of the body to the boundary between the first portion and the third portion of the edge ring on an image captured by the second unit.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0000399, filed on Jan. 2, 2024 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. 119, the contents of which in its entirety are herein incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus. Description of Related Art To manufacture a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display, various processes such as photolithography, etching, ashing, ion implantation, thin film deposition, and cleaning are performed on a wafer. In order to perform various processes in various chambers, it may be required to transfer or return the wafer to or from the chamber. In this regard, accuracy of processes performed on the wafer may be improved only when the wafer is properly seated on an electrostatic chuck in the chamber. SUMMARY An aspect of the present disclosure provides a substrate processing apparatus with improved reliability. Aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned aspects. Other aspects and advantages according to the present disclosure that are not mentioned may be understood based on following descriptions, and may be more clearly understood based on embodiments according to the present disclosure. Further, it will be easily understood that the aspects and advantages according to the present disclosure may be realized using means shown in the claims and combinations thereof. According to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, a substrate processing apparatus may include a process chamber configured to have a substrate loaded therein; a substrate support unit in a lower portion of the process chamber, the substrate support unit being configured to support the substrate; an edge ring along an edge of the substrate support unit and spaced apart from a sidewall of the substrate support unit; and a substrate alignment sensor on the substrate support unit. An upper surface of the edge ring may include a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion. The first portion and the second portion may extend parallel to each other. The third portion may be between the first portion and the second portion, and the third portion may be inclined. Based on a bottom surface of the process chamber, a vertical level of the first portion may be lower than a vertical level of the second portion. The substrate alignment sensor may include a body, an imaging unit, and a control unit. The imaging unit may be on a bottom surface of the body and configured to image an upper surface of the edge ring and a sidewall of the body. The control unit may be configured to control the imaging unit and calculate a calculated spacing from the sidewall of the body to a boundary between the first portion of the edge ring and the third portion of the edge ring. The control unit may be configured to align the substrate alignment sensor with the substrate support unit based on the calculated spacing. According to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, a substrate processing apparatus may include a process chamber configured to have a substrate loaded therein; a substrate support unit in a lower portion of the process chamber, the substrate support unit being configured to support the substrate; an edge ring on and along an edge of an upper surface of the substrate support unit and protruding from the upper surface of the substrate support unit; and a substrate alignment sensor on the substrate support unit. The substrate alignment sensor may include a body, an imaging unit, and a control unit. The imaging unit may be on a bottom surface of the body and may be configured to image a sidewall of the edge ring and a sidewall of the body. The control unit may be configured to control the imaging unit and calculate a calculated spacing between the sidewall of the edge ring and the sidewall of the body. The control unit may be configured to align the substrate alignment sensor with the substrate support unit based on the calculated spacing. According to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, a substrate processing apparatus may include a process chamber configured to have a substrate loaded therein; a substrate support unit in a lower portion of the process chamber, the substrate support unit being configured to support the substrate; an edge ring along an edge of the substrate support unit and spaced apart from a sidewall of the substrate support unit; and a substrate alignment sensor on the substrate support unit. An upper surface of the edge ring may include a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion. The first portion and the second portion may extend parallel to each other. The third portion may be between the first portion and the second portion. The third portion may be inclined. Based on a bottom surface of the process chamber, a vertical level of