Method and apparatus for determining an operation status of a plasma processing apparatus, program and storage medium storing same

• US 20070050076A1
• Filed: 06/28/2006
• Published: 03/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: Tanaka, Hideki, Yamazaki, Yoshihiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,341,954 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/121
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32935 Monitoring and controlling tubes by information coming from the object and/or discharge

Abstract

In an operation status determination method for a plasma processing apparatus, a principal component analysis is carried out by using operation status data groups. Processing parameter values in the respective operation status data groups are converted into principal component scores which are plotted in a two-dimensional coordinate system with axes of the selected principal components. A movement vector P from a first recipe operation status data group for reference apparatus to a first recipe operation status data group for target apparatus is calculated. An actually measured normal area A2 is set, and a predicted normal area B2 is set by moving the area A2 along the movement vector P. Then, it is determined whether or not the principal component scores corresponding to the respective processing parameter values when the second recipe is applied to the target apparatus are included in the predicted normal area B2.

Claims

1. An operation status determination method for determining an operation status of a second plasma processing apparatus when a processing condition employed in a first plasma processing apparatus is applied to the second plasma processing apparatus, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) obtaining a first operation status data group including processing parameter values measured during a plasma process performed in accordance with a first processing condition applied to the first plasma processing apparatus;

(b) obtaining a second operation status data group including processing parameter values measured during a plasma process performed in accordance with a second processing condition applied to the first plasma processing apparatus;

(c) obtaining a third operation status data group including processing parameter values measured during a plasma process performed in accordance with the first processing condition applied to the second plasma processing apparatus;

(d) carrying out a principal component analysis by using at least one of the first, the second and the third operation status data group obtained;

(e) plotting principal component scores corresponding to two principal components selected among a plurality of principal components obtained by the principal component analysis using at least one of the first, the second and the third operation status data group in a two-dimensional coordinate system with axes of the two principal components;

(f) calculating the centers of principal component score distributions respectively corresponding to the first, the second and the third operation status data group in the two-dimensional coordinate system;

(g) calculating a movement vector from the center of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the first operation status data group to the center of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the third operation status data group;

(h) setting an area of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the second operation status data group in the two-dimensional coordinate system;

(i) by moving the area of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the second operation status data group along the movement vector, setting an area of a predicted distribution of principal component scores corresponding to two principal components of processing parameter values measured during a plasma process performed when the second processing condition is applied to the second plasma processing apparatus; and

(j) by actually applying the second processing condition to the second plasma processing apparatus, determining whether or not the principal component scores corresponding to the two principal components of the processing parameter values measured during the plasma process performed in accordance with the second processing condition are included in the area of the predicted distribution.

2. The operation status determination method of claim 1, wherein the center of the principal component score distribution is an average value or a central value of each of the principal component score distributions respectively corresponding to the first, the second and the third operation status data group.

3. The operation status determination method of claim 1, wherein the two principal components are the first and the second principal component.

4. The operation status determination method of claim 1, wherein the two principal components are selected among the plurality of principal components such that the centers of the principal component score distributions respectively corresponding to the first, the second and the third operation status data group are linearly arranged in the two-dimensional coordinate system.

5. The operation status determination method of claim 1, wherein the area of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the second operation status data group is set based on a variance of the principal component scores corresponding to the second operation status data group.

6. The operation status determination method of claim 5, wherein the area of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the second operation status data group is an elliptical area with axes of the two principal components.

7. The operation status determination method of claim 1, wherein the processing parameter values measured during the plasma process performed in accordance with the first processing condition applied to the first plasma processing apparatus, the processing parameter values measured during the plasma process performed in accordance with the second processing condition applied to the first plasma processing apparatus and the processing parameter values measured during the plasma process performed in accordance with the first processing condition applied to the second plasma processing apparatus, are all those measured during the respective plasma processes which are normally performed.

8. The operation status determination method of claim 1, wherein at the step (d), the principal component analysis is carried out by using all of the first, the second and the third operation status data group obtained.

9. An operation status determination apparatus for determining an operation status of a second plasma processing apparatus when a processing condition employed in a first plasma processing apparatus is applied to the second plasma processing apparatus, which comprises:

means for obtaining a first operation status data group including processing parameter values measured during a plasma process performed in accordance with a first processing condition applied to the first plasma processing apparatus;

means for obtaining a second operation status data group including processing parameter values measured during a plasma process performed in accordance with a second processing condition applied to the first plasma processing apparatus;

means for obtaining a third operation status data group including processing parameter values measured during a plasma process performed in accordance with the first processing condition applied to the second plasma processing apparatus;

means for carrying out a principal component analysis by using at least one of the first, the second and the third operation status data group obtained;

means for plotting principal component scores corresponding to two principal components selected among a plurality of principal components obtained by the principal component analysis using at least one of the first, the second and the third operation status data group in a two-dimensional coordinate system with axes of the two principal components;

means for calculating the center of principal component score distributions respectively corresponding to the first, the second and the third operation status data group in the two-dimensional coordinate system;

means for calculating a movement vector from the center of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the first operation status data group to the center of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the third operation status data group;

means for setting an area of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the second operation status data group in the two-dimensional coordinate system;

means for, by moving the area of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the second operation status data group along the movement vector, setting an area of a predicted distribution of principal component scores corresponding to the two principal components of the processing parameter values measured during the plasma process performed when the second processing condition is applied to the second plasma processing apparatus; and

means for, by actually applying the second processing condition to the second plasma processing apparatus, determining whether or not the principal component scores corresponding to the two principal components of the processing parameter values measured during the plasma process performed in accordance with the second processing condition are included in the area of the predicted distribution.

10. A program for executing on a computer an operation status determination method for determining an operation status of a second plasma processing apparatus in a case where a processing condition employed in a first plasma processing apparatus is applied to the second plasma processing apparatus, the program comprising:

a module for obtaining a first operation status data group including processing parameter values measured during a plasma process performed in accordance with a first processing condition applied to the first plasma processing apparatus;

a module for obtaining a second operation status data group including processing parameter values measured during a plasma process performed in accordance with a second processing condition applied to the first plasma processing apparatus;

a module for obtaining a third operation status data group including processing parameter values measured during a plasma process performed in accordance with the first processing condition applied to the second plasma processing apparatus;

a module for carrying out a principal component analysis by using at least one of the first, the second and the third operation status data group obtained;

a module for plotting principal component scores corresponding to two principal components selected among a plurality of principal components obtained by the principal component analysis using at least one of the first, the second and the third operation status data group in a two-dimensional coordinate system with axes of the two principal components;

a module for calculating the center of principal component score distributions respectively corresponding to the first, the second and the third operation status data group in the two-dimensional coordinate system;

a module for calculating a movement vector from the center of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the first operation status data group to the center of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the third operation status data group;

a module for setting an area of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the second operation status data group in the two-dimensional coordinate system;

a module for, by moving the area of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the second operation status data group along the movement vector, setting an area of a predicted distribution of principal component scores corresponding to two principal components of processing parameter values measured during a plasma process performed when the second processing condition is applied to the second plasma processing apparatus; and

a module for, by actually applying the second processing condition to the second plasma processing apparatus, determining whether or not the principal component scores corresponding to the two principal components of the processing parameter values measured during the plasma process performed in accordance with the second processing condition are included in the set area of the predicted distribution.

11. A storage medium storing a program for executing on a computer an operation status determination method for determining an operation status of a second plasma processing apparatus when a processing condition employed in a first plasma processing apparatus is applied to the second plasma processing apparatus, wherein the program comprises:

a module for obtaining a first operation status data group including processing parameter values measured during a plasma process performed in accordance with a first processing condition applied to the first plasma processing apparatus;

a module for obtaining a second operation status data group including processing parameter values measured during a plasma process performed in accordance with a second processing condition applied to the first plasma processing apparatus;

a module for obtaining a third operation status data group including processing parameter values measured during a plasma process performed in accordance with the first processing condition applied to the second plasma processing apparatus;

a module for executing a principal component analysis by using at least one of the first, the second and the third operation status data group obtained;

a module for plotting principal component scores corresponding to two principal components selected among a plurality of principal components obtained by the principal component analysis using the first, the second and the third operation status data group in a two-dimensional coordinate system with axes of the two principal components;

a module for calculating the center of principal component score distributions respectively corresponding to the first, the second and the third operation status data group in the two-dimensional coordinate system;

a module for calculating a movement vector from the center of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the first operation status data group to the center of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the third operation status data group;

a module for setting an area of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the second operation status data group in the two-dimensional coordinate system;

a module for, by moving the area of the principal component score distribution corresponding to the second operation status data group along the movement vector, setting an area of a predicted distribution of principal component scores corresponding to two principal components of processing parameter values measured during a plasma process performed when the second processing condition is applied to the second plasma processing apparatus; and

a module for, by actually applying the second processing condition to the second plasma processing apparatus, determining whether or not the principal component scores corresponding to the two principal components of the processing parameter values measured during the plasma process performed in accordance with the second processing condition are included in the area of the predicted distribution.