Apparatus for monitoring process chamber

• US 10,229,818 B2
• Filed: 09/09/2016
• Issued: 03/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Vladimir, Protopopov, Hwang, Ki Ho, Sung, Doug Yong, Oh, Se Jin, Inn, Kul, Jang, Sung Ho, Jeon, Yun Kwang
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Vu
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rivera-Martinez, Guillermo M
• Application Number:
  US15/260,910
• Publication Number:
  US 20170213710A1
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32715 Workpiece holder
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32935 Monitoring and controlling tubes by information coming from the object and/or discharge
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32972 Spectral analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings

Abstract

An apparatus for monitoring an interior of a process chamber including a process chamber including a chamber body and a view port defined in the chamber body, a cover section including a pinhole in one end, the cover section disposed to correspond to an end portion of the view port, the cover section having a first length in a direction toward a center point of the process chamber, and a sensing unit inserted into the view port to monitor the interior of the process chamber through the pinhole, a region in the process chamber to be sensed by the sensing unit determined based on the first length may be provided.

Claims

1. An apparatus for monitoring an interior of a process chamber, the apparatus comprising:

a process chamber including a chamber body and a view port defined in the chamber body;

a cover section including a pinhole in one end, the cover section disposed to correspond to one end portion of the view port, the one end portion of the view port being adjacent to an inner wall of the chamber body, the cover section having a first length in a direction toward a center of the process chamber; and

a sensor inserted into the view port to monitor the interior of the process chamber through the pinhole, a region in the process chamber to be sensed by the sensor determined based on the first length.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a sensing angle of the sensor is arc tan (a/b)/π

×

180×

2°

, where “

a”

denotes a radius of a wafer disposed in the process chamber and b denotes a distance from the center of the process chamber to the pinhole.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein a distance D between the pinhole and an end portion of the sensor facing the pinhole to is (b×

L)/(a×

2), where L denotes a width of the sensor.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a substrate support in the process chamber and configured to support a substrate,

wherein the sensor is configured to monitor a surface level of the substrate.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising:

a processor configured to perform a transformation operation on a result of monitoring the surface level of the substrate such that a process status at the surface level of the substrate is obtained.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to perform the transformation operation using an Abel transformation.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a main body inserted into the view port and facing the pinhole in the cover section,

wherein the main body is configured to receive the sensor.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the end portion of the view port has a cylindrical shape.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the main body comprises,

a coupling section inserted into the view port,

a fixing section removably supporting the sensor, and

an insertion section coupled to the cover section.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

when the first length of the cover section is a first value, the sensor is configured to monitor a first region, and

when the first length of the cover section is a second value different from the first value, the sensor is configured to monitor a second region different from the first region.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a liner inside the chamber body.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the cover section protrudes beyond an inner wall of the liner.

13. An apparatus for monitoring an interior of a process chamber, the apparatus comprising:

a process chamber including a chamber body, the chamber body including a first view port and a second view port defined therein;

a first cover section including a first pinhole, the first cover section disposed to correspond to an one end portion of the first view port, the one end portion of the first view port being adjacent to an inner wall of the chamber body;

a first sensor inserted into the first view port to monitor a first sensing region in the interior of the process chamber through the first pinhole;

a second cover section including a second pinhole, the second cover section disposed to correspond to an one end portion of the second view port, the one end portion of the second view port being adjacent to the inner wall of the chamber body; and

a second sensor inserted into the second view port to monitor a second sensing region in the interior of the process chamber through the second pinhole, the second sensing region being different from the first sensing region.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

a substrate support in the process chamber and configured to support a substrate,

wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are configured to monitor the first sensing region and the second sensing region at a surface level of the substrate to obtain first results and second results, respectively.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:

processor configured to,

perform a first transformation operation on the first results in the process chamber monitored by the first sensor to obtain a first process status at the first sensing region of the surface level of the substrate, and

perform a second transformation operation on the second results in the process chamber monitored by the second sensor to obtain a second process status at the second sensing region of the surface level of the substrate.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first view port and the second view port are on opposite surfaces of the chamber body.

17. An apparatus for monitoring an interior of a process chamber, the apparatus comprising:

a process chamber including a chamber body and at least one view port defined in the chamber body;

at least one cover structure coupled into the view port, the cover structure including a pinhole at one end thereof, the cover structure configured to correspond to an one end portion of the view port, the one end portion of the view port being adjacent to an inner wall of the chamber body, the cover structure configured to move forward or backward with respect to the inner wall of the chamber body, the cover structure having a length in a direction toward a center of the process chamber; and

at least one sensor accommodated in the cover structure to monitor the interior of the process chamber through the pinhole, a region in the process chamber to be sensed by the sensor determined according to a focal distance of the sensor, the focal distance of the sensor determined based on a distance between the pinhole and the sensor.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

a substrate support in the process chamber and configured to support a substrate;

wherein the at least one cover structure includes a first cover structure and a second cover structure, the first cover structure including a first pinhole at one end and the second cover structure including a second pinhole at one end;

the at least one view port includes a first view port and a second view port;

the at least one sensor includes a first sensor and a second sensor, the first sensor corresponding to the first view port, and the second sensor corresponding to the second view port;

the first sensor is configured to obtain first results by monitoring a first region through the first view port, the first region determined according to a first focal distance of the first sensor and a first length of the first cover structure protruding into the chamber body, the first focal distance of the first sensor determined based on a first distance between the first pinhole and the first sensor; and

the second sensor is configured to obtain second results by monitoring a second region through the second view port, the second region determined according to a second focal distance of the second sensor and a second length of the second cover structure protruding into the chamber body, the second focal distance of the second sensor determined based on a second distance between the second pinhole and the second sensor, the second distance being different from the first distance.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising:

a memory configured to store computer-readable instructions; and

one or more processors configured to execute the computer-readable instructions such that the one or more processors are configured to,

perform a first transformation operation on the first results to obtain a first process status with regard to the first region, and

perform a second transformation operation on the second results to obtain a second process status with regard to the first region.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

a liner in the process chamber, the liner facing the inner wall of the chamber body,

wherein the cover structure protrudes beyond an inner wall of the liner.