CALIBRATION OF TEMPERATURE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESSING CHAMBER
First Claim
1. A method of calibrating a temperature control system, comprising:
- providing a heating apparatus configured to heat a semiconductor processing chamber;
providing a temperature sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a temperature within the processing chamber;
providing a temperature control system configured to control the heating apparatus based on the signal from the temperature sensor;
varying a thickness of a layer of material in the processing chamber;
measuring, while varying the layer thickness, a variation of a property of the layer having a cyclical variation as a thickness of the layer varies;
measuring a cycle time period of the cyclical variation of the property; and
adjusting the temperature control system based on the measured cycle time period.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems for calibrating a temperature control system in a vapor deposition chamber. A temperature sensor senses temperature within a semiconductor processing chamber and generates an output signal. A temperature control system controls a chamber temperature by controlling a heating apparatus based on the output signal. A method includes instructing the control system to target a setpoint temperature, and depositing a layer of material onto a surface in the chamber by a vapor deposition process. A variation of a property of the layer is measured while depositing the layer, the property known to vary cyclically as a thickness of the layer increases. The measured property is allowed to vary cyclically for one or more cycles. If there is a difference between a time period of one or more of the cycles and an expected time period associated with the setpoint temperature, the temperature control system is adjusted based on the difference.
287 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method of calibrating a temperature control system, comprising:
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providing a heating apparatus configured to heat a semiconductor processing chamber; providing a temperature sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a temperature within the processing chamber; providing a temperature control system configured to control the heating apparatus based on the signal from the temperature sensor; varying a thickness of a layer of material in the processing chamber; measuring, while varying the layer thickness, a variation of a property of the layer having a cyclical variation as a thickness of the layer varies; measuring a cycle time period of the cyclical variation of the property; and adjusting the temperature control system based on the measured cycle time period. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of calibrating a temperature control system, comprising:
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providing a heating apparatus configured to heat a semiconductor processing chamber; providing a temperature sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a temperature within the processing chamber; providing a temperature control system configured to control the heating apparatus based on the signal from the temperature sensor; varying a thickness of a layer of material in the processing chamber; measuring, while varying the layer thickness, a variation of a property of the layer having a cyclical variation as the layer thickness varies; after the measured variation of the property reaches at least one peak and at least one trough, determining a process duration beginning at a first point in the measured variation and ending at a second point in the measured variation; determining a difference between the process duration and an expected duration; and adjusting the temperature control system based on the difference. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. An apparatus for semiconductor processing, comprising:
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a semiconductor processing chamber; a heating apparatus configured to heat the processing chamber; a temperature sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a temperature within the processing chamber; a temperature control system configured to control the heating apparatus based on the signal from the temperature sensor; a cyclical property sensor for measuring a property of a layer of a material in the chamber, the property having a cyclical variation as a thickness of the layer varies; and a calibration system configured to determine a cycle time period of a cyclical variation of the property of a layer of material in the chamber as measured by the cyclical property sensor while a thickness of the layer is varied, the calibration system configured to adjust the temperature control system based on the determined cycle time period. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An apparatus for semiconductor processing, comprising:
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a semiconductor processing chamber; a heating apparatus configured to heat the processing chamber; a temperature sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a temperature within the processing chamber; a temperature control system configured to control the heating apparatus based on the signal from the temperature sensor; a cyclical property sensor for measuring a property of a layer of a material in the chamber, the property having a cyclical variation as a thickness of the layer varies; and a calibration system configured to determine, after the cyclical property sensor measures a variation of the property of a layer in the chamber and the measured variation reaches at least one peak and at least one trough, a process duration beginning at a first point in the measured variation and ending at a second point in the measured variation, the calibration system configured to determine a difference between the process duration and an expected duration, the calibration system configured to adjust the temperature control system based on the determined difference. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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Specification