Monitoring device and monitoring method for vacuum device

• US 20060004544A1
• Filed: 06/24/2005
• Published: 01/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitoshi Fukube, Juntaro Arima, Kenichiro Sonobe
• Original Assignee: Hitoshi Fukube, Juntaro Arima, Kenichiro Sonobe
• Inventors: Arima, Juntaro, Sonobe, Kenichiro, Fukube, Hitoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,117,127 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/187
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/024 Quantitative history assessment, e.g. mathematical relationships between available data; Functions therefor; Principal component analysis [PCA]; Partial least square [PLS]; Statistical classifiers, e.g. Bayesian networks, linear regression or correlation analysis; Neural networks

Abstract

A monitoring device and method, of a vacuum-system device having a vacuum portion, which can collectively perform the maintenance control of the device or counter measures to overcome drawbacks by providing a monitoring method equivalent to monitoring in real time and simultaneously based on data from respective types of sensors of the vacuum system. By visualizing the state of a driving system in a vacuum, a vacuum valve, a vacuum state and a state of an electro-optic system on a screen, the device state in a vacuum may be grasped. Further, it is possible to perform the time measuring and the comparison of data with the reference data by setting up timing charts with respect to the ON/OFF timing of various sensors, Open/Close timing and vacuum state. Judgment can be made at the time of performing the device maintenance operation and the device repairing operation.

Claims

1-9. -9. (canceled)

10. A method of supporting, monitoring and diagnosing maintenance and troubles related to a measuring device to which accelerated electron beams are applied in a vacuum, comprising the steps of:

recording and preserving data from operation monitoring sensors during a starting step and a measuring step of the measuring device in real time and synchronously;

comparing and reproducing timing and operation level by overlapping the data with data at the time of initial or normal operation;

selecting probable trouble cause items from pre-stored selection items on troubles and countermeasures against the troubles when a difference which indicates that maintenance is necessary or it is diagnosed that the trouble occurs is detected on data;

inputting the result executing preliminarily prepared confirmed matters for specifying the trouble causes so as to further specify the causes and obtaining the trouble causes; and

supporting the maintenance and diagnosis of the device.

11. The method according to claim 10,

wherein the measuring device is a critical dimension type scanning electron microscopy (CD-SEM), and maintenance and troubles of the device are supported, monitored and diagnosed by providing position sensors and vacuum sensors to the electron lens/wafer driving parts and supply/exhaust parts of the CD-SEM.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

comparing the data from the operation monitoring sensors with data at the time of initial or normal operation; and

preserving a difference when the difference which indicates that the maintenance is necessary or it is diagnosed that the trouble occurs is detected on data.

13. The method according to claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

monitoring the measuring device by using a remote device; and

alarming the difference detection timing by using the remote device.

14. The method according to claim 10,

wherein the measuring device is one of a Critical Dimension type Scanning Electron Microscope, a Transmission Electron Microscope, and a Mass Spectrometer.

15. The method according to claim 10,

wherein the measuring device uses accelerated electron beams in a vacuum.

16. A system for supporting, monitoring and diagnosing maintenance and troubles related to a measuring device to which accelerated electron beams are applied in a vacuum, comprising:

a recording unit for recording and preserving data from operation monitoring sensors during a starting step and a measuring step of the measuring device in real time and synchronously; and

a processor for comparing and reproducing timing and operation level by overlapping the data with data at the time of initial or normal operation,

selecting probable trouble cause items from pre-stored selection items on troubles and countermeasures against the troubles when a difference which indicates that maintenance is necessary or it is diagnosed that the trouble occurs is detected on data,

inputting the result executing preliminarily prepared confirmed matters for specifying the trouble causes so as to further specify the causes and obtaining the trouble causes, and

supporting the maintenance and diagnosis of the device.

17. The system according to claim 16,

wherein the measuring device is a critical dimension type scanning electron microscopy (CD-SEM), and maintenance and troubles of the device are supported, monitored and diagnosed by providing position sensors and vacuum sensors to the electron lens/wafer driving parts and supply/exhaust parts of the CD-SEM.

18. The system according to claim 16,

wherein the processor compares the data from the operation monitoring sensors with data at the time of initial or normal operation;

and preserves a difference when the difference which indicates that the maintenance is necessary or it is diagnosed that the trouble occurs is detected on data.

19. The system according to claim 16,

wherein the measuring device is monitored by using a remote device and the difference detection timing is alarmed by using the remote device.

20. The system according to claim 16,

wherein the measuring device is one of a Critical Dimension type Scanning Electron Microscope, a Transmission Electron Microscope, and a Mass Spectrometer.

21. The system according to claim 16,

wherein the measuring device uses accelerated electron beams in a vacuum.