US-20260130162-A1 - SUBSTRATE TREATING METHOD AND SUBSTRATE TREATING APPARATUS

Abstract

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a substrate treating method and a substrate treating apparatus that are capable of preventing contamination of a subsequent substrate. According to the exemplary embodiment, when the pressure monitoring operation of the transfer chamber, the method may include acquiring a graph representing the pressure change in the transfer chamber over time, and determining whether there is a pressure abnormality inside the transfer chamber based on a shape of the graph.

Inventors

• Tae Kyung HA
• Jin Kyu Kim
• Jin Woo Park
• Gyu Il HWANG

Assignees

• PSK INC.
• RTM INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251107

Priority Date

20241107

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A method of treating a substrate, the method comprising: a substrate loading operation of loading a substrate into a process chamber selected from a plurality of process chambers with a transfer robot placed in a transfer chamber in a substrate treating apparatus including the transfer chamber and the plurality of process chambers placed around the transfer chamber; a treating operation of treating the substrate in the process chamber into which the substrate is loaded; after the treating operation, an unloading operation of opening a door of the transfer chamber, and unloading the substrate from the process chamber by using the transfer robot; and a pressure monitoring operation of monitoring a pressure change inside the transfer chamber, wherein a pressure in the process chamber is provided at a pressure lower than a pressure in the transfer chamber in the unloading operation, and the pressure monitoring operation includes monitoring whether there is a pressure abnormality inside the transfer chamber.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pressure monitoring operation includes monitoring the pressure change in the transfer chamber in the unloading operation.
3. 3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the transfer robot includes a handle that grips a substrate, the unloading operation includes a gripping operation of gripping the substrate in the process chamber with the handle, and the pressure monitoring operation includes monitoring the pressure change inside the transfer chamber until the gripping operation.
4. 4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the pressure monitoring operation includes acquiring a first graph representing the pressure change in the transfer chamber over time, and determining whether there is a pressure abnormality inside the transfer chamber based on a shape of the first graph.
5. 5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein when the shape of the first graph is convex downward, it is determined that the pressure inside the transfer chamber is in a normal state, and when the shape of the first graph is convex upward, it is determined that the pressure inside the transfer chamber is in an abnormal state.
6. 6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein when it is determined that the pressure inside the transfer chamber is in the abnormal state, an alarm is generated.
7. 7 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the pressure monitoring operation includes comparing the acquired first graph with a database to determine whether there is a pressure abnormality inside the transfer chamber, and the database includes: a plurality of first graphs acquired while the pressure monitoring operation has been performed multiple times in the past; and a second graph representing a pressure change inside the process chamber acquired while the pressure monitoring operation has been performed multiple times in the past.
8. 8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the database includes: an initial pressure value inside the transfer chamber in the unloading operation; an average value of an internal pressure of the transfer chamber in a first section; an average value of the internal pressure of the transfer chamber in a second section; an average value of an internal pressure of the process chamber in the first section; an average value of an internal pressure of the process chamber in the second section; the first section is a set time interval before the door is opened in the unloading operation, and the second section is a set time interval after the door is opened in the unloading operation.
9. 9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the database is learned using an artificial intelligence learning model, and it is determined whether there is the pressure abnormality inside the transfer chamber from the measured pressure change inside the transfer chamber.
10. 10 . An apparatus for treating a substrate, the apparatus comprising: a transfer chamber including a transfer robot that transfers a substrate; a plurality of process chambers provided adjacent to the transfer chamber; and a controller, wherein the transfer chamber has a first pressure sensor that measures a pressure inside the transfer chamber, each of the plurality of process chambers has an exhaust unit that exhausts an inside of the process chamber, each of the process chambers is provided to have an open state and a closed state by opening and closing a door, the open state is a state in which the door is opened so that the transfer chamber and the process chamber communicate with each other, the closed state is a state in which the door is closed so that the transfer chamber and the process chamber are blocked from each other, in the closed state, an internal pressure of the transfer chamber is provided to have a first pressure, and an internal pressure of the process chamber is provided to have a second pressure lower than the first pressure, the controller controls the transfer chamber and the process chamber to perform: a treating operation of treating the substrate in the process chamber in which the substrate is loaded; an unloading operation of unloading the treated substrate from the process chamber using the transfer robot; and a pressure monitoring operation of monitoring a pressure change inside the transfer chamber and determining whether there is a pressure abnormality inside the transfer chamber, and a pressure in the process chamber is provided at a pressure lower than a pressure in the transfer chamber in the unloading operation, and whether there is the pressure abnormality inside the transfer chamber is monitored in the pressure monitoring operation.
11. 11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the pressure change measured by the first pressure sensor is a pressure change in the open state.
12. 12 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the pressure change measured by the first pressure sensor is a pressure change until at least one of the plurality of process chambers is switched from the closed state to the open state, and a handle of the transfer robot enters the process chamber and grips the substrate.
13. 13 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the controller generates and acquires a first graph representing the pressure measured by the first pressure sensor in the monitoring operation as a change over time, and determines whether there is the pressure abnormality inside the transfer chamber based on a shape of the first graph.
14. 14 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein when the shape of the first graph is convex downward, the controller determines that the pressure inside the transfer chamber is in a normal state, and when the shape of the first graph is convex upward, the controller determines that the pressure inside the transfer chamber is in an abnormal state.
15. 15 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the controller controls the transfer chamber or the process chamber to generate an alarm when it is determined that the pressure inside the transfer chamber is in the abnormal state.
16. 16 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein each of the process chambers has a second pressure sensor that measures a pressure inside the process chamber, the controller compares the acquired first graph with a database to determine whether there is the pressure abnormality inside the transfer chamber, the database includes: a plurality of first graphs acquired while the pressure monitoring operation has been performed multiple times in the past; and a second graph representing a pressure change inside the process chamber acquired while the pressure monitoring operation has been performed multiple times in the past.
17. 17 . The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the database includes: an initial pressure value inside the transfer chamber in the unloading operation; an average value of the internal pressure of the transfer chamber in a first section; an average value of the internal pressure of the transfer chamber in a second section; an average value of an internal pressure of the process chamber in the first section; an average value of an internal pressure of the process chamber in the second section; the first section is a set time interval before the door is opened in the unloading operation, and the second section is a set time interval after the door is opened in the unloading operation.
18. 18 . The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the controller learns the database using an artificial intelligence learning model, and monitors whether there is the pressure abnormality inside the transfer chamber from the measured first graph.
19. 19 . A method of treating a substrate, the method comprising: a substrate loading operation of loading a substrate into a process chamber selected from a plurality of process chambers with a transfer robot placed in a transfer chamber in a substrate treating apparatus including the transfer chamber and the plurality of process chambers placed around the transfer chamber; a treating operation of treating the substrate in the process chamber into which the substrate is loaded; after the treating operation, an unloading operation of opening a door of the transfer chamber, and unloading the substrate from the process chamber by using the transfer robot; and a pressure monitoring operation of monitoring a pressure change inside the transfer chamber and determining whether there is a pressure abnormality inside the transfer chamber, a pressure in the process chamber is provided at a pressure lower than a pressure in the transfer chamber in the unloading operation, and the transfer robot includes a handle that grips a substrate, the pressure monitoring operation includes: acquiring a first graph representing the pressure change in the transfer chamber over time in the unloading operation, and determining whether there is the pressure abnormality inside the transfer chamber based on a shape of the first graph, and when the shape of the first graph is convex downward, it is determined that the pressure inside the transfer chamber is in a normal state, and when the shape of the first graph is convex upward, it is determined that the pressure inside the transfer chamber is in an abnormal state, and when it is determined that the pressure inside the transfer chamber is in the abnormal state, an alarm is generated.
20. 20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the pressure monitoring operation includes learning a database using an artificial intelligence learning model, and determining whether there is the pressure abnormality inside the transfer chamber by comparing the acquired first graph and the database, and the database includes: an initial pressure value inside the transfer chamber in the unloading operation; an average value of the internal pressure of the transfer chamber in a first section; an average value of the internal pressure of the transfer chamber in a second section; an average value of an internal pressure of the process chamber in the first section; an average value of an internal pressure of the process chamber in the second section; the first section is a set time interval before the door is opened in the unloading operation, and the second section is a set time interval after the door is opened in the unloading operation.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0157152 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Nov. 7, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method of treating a substrate and an apparatus for treating a substrate, and more specifically, to a substrate treating method and a substrate treating apparatus that are capable of preventing contamination of a subsequent substrate. BACKGROUND ART Semiconductors are generally manufactured by sequentially performing a series of unit processes for film formation, pattern formation, metal wiring formation, and the like. The unit processes are generally performed inside a process chamber, and a substrate treating apparatus includes a load port, an index module, a load lock chamber, and a transfer chamber to provide a substrate into the process chamber. The load port supports a carrier in which the substrate is accommodated, and the index module includes a transfer robot that transfers the substrate between the load port and the load lock chamber. In the load lock chamber, the substrate that has been treated temporarily waits before being transferred to the load port or the substrate to be provided for a substrate treatment temporarily waits before being transferred to the process chamber, and the transfer chamber transfers the substrate between the load lock chamber and the process chamber. In general, when a substrate is transferred between the process chamber and the transfer chamber, the internal pressure of the process chamber is set lower than the internal pressure of the transfer chamber, and then the door of the process chamber is opened to transfer the substrate. By doing so, it is possible to prevent diffusion of impurities generated during the process into the transfer chamber. However, when the doors of a plurality of process chambers are opened simultaneously or continuously, there is a possibility that the pressure inside the transfer chamber is lower than the pressure inside the process chamber. For this reason, impurities inside the process chamber may diffuse into the transfer chamber, and when the transfer chamber is contaminated, the risk of contamination of the substrate to be subsequently treated increases. Accordingly, it is possible to consider installing a pressure sensor in the transfer chamber and the process chamber and comparing the pressures in real time to check in real time whether the pressure inside the transfer chamber is lower than the pressure inside the process chamber. However, since the volume of the process chamber is smaller than that of the transfer chamber and has high pressure variability, it is difficult to determine whether the transfer chamber is contaminated by comparing the pressure between the transfer chamber and the process chamber only with the measured value of the pressure sensor installed in the process chamber. This inaccurate determination makes it unclear from when the substrate has been contaminated and may eventually lead to a problem of having to dispose all treated substrates. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a substrate treating apparatus and a substrate treating method capable of improving substrate treatment efficiency. The present invention has also been made in an effort to provide a substrate treating method and a substrate treating apparatus capable of detecting contamination of a transfer chamber and a substrate in real time. The present invention has also been made in an effort to provide a substrate treating method and a substrate treating apparatus capable of preventing the disposal of subsequent substrates even when a transfer chamber is contaminated. The object of the present invention is not limited thereto, and other objects not mentioned may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a method of treating a substrate, the method including: a substrate loading operation of loading a substrate into a process chamber selected from a plurality of process chambers with a transfer robot placed in a transfer chamber in a substrate treating apparatus including the transfer chamber and the plurality of process chambers placed around the transfer chamber; a treating operation of treating the substrate in the process chamber into which the substrate is loaded; after the treating operation, an unloading operation of opening a door of the transfer chamber, and unloading the substrate from the process chamber by using the transfer robot; and a pressure monitoring operation of monitoring a pressure change inside the transfer chamber, in which a pressure in the process chamber is provided at a pressure lower than a pressure in the transfer chamber in the unloading operation, and the pr