Methods of Selecting Sensors for Detecting Abnormalities in Semiconductor Manufacturing Processes

• US 20100262398A1
• Filed: 04/14/2010
• Published: 10/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Yong-Jin, Baek, Kye-Hyun, Kim, Yoon-Jae
• Application Number:
  US12/759,851
• Publication Number:
  US 20100262398A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/121
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4183 characterised by data acquisition, e.g. workpiece identification
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/37224 Inspect wafer
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/37309 Selecting a desired sensor structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A method of selecting a sensor in a semiconductor manufacturing process is provided. The method includes measuring responses of a plurality of sensors when a first of a plurality of process conditions is varied, identifying one or more of the sensors having a steady state response after the first of the process conditions is varied, and selecting a sensor having a highest value within a response range from among the sensors having the steady state response for the first process condition that is varied. This methodology may be performed for multiple different process conditions. Thus, when process conditions in multiple processes of manufacturing a semiconductor device are varied, sensors having a steady state response can be selected from among multiple sensors for detecting abnormalities in the processes.

Claims

1. A method of selecting at least one of a plurality of sensors that are used in a semiconductor manufacturing process, the method comprising:

measuring responses of the plurality of sensors when a first of a plurality of process conditions is varied;

identifying one or more of the plurality of sensors that have a steady state response after the first of the process conditions is varied; and

selecting a sensor having the highest value within a response range from among the sensors having the steady state response for the first process condition that is varied.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

measuring responses of at least some of the plurality of sensors when additional of the plurality of process conditions are varied;

identifying ones of the plurality of sensors that have a steady state response after the additional process conditions are varied; and

selecting one of the plurality of sensors that has the highest value within a response range from among the sensors having the steady state response for each additional process condition that is varied.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein measuring responses of the plurality of sensors when the first of the plurality of process conditions is varied comprises:

setting numerical criteria for the sensors when the first process condition is varied in order to determine the steady state response;

varying the first process condition at a predetermined level; and

measuring the response of each sensor.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein identifying one or more of the plurality of sensors that have a steady state response after the first of the process conditions is varied comprises:

setting a signal data interval, in which signal data falls within a predetermined amplitude range, to an analysis interval, the signal data being composed of values of signals generated from the sensors with the lapse of time after the first process condition is varied;

smoothing the signal data within the analysis interval using Formula (1);

calculating smoothing values of the sensors from the smoothed signal data using Formula (2);

calculating a range of the smoothing values of the sensors from the smoothed signal data using Formula (3);

calculating numerical criteria of smoothing absolute values of the sensors from the smoothed signal data using Formula (4);

identifying the sensors in which the range of the smoothing values is less than the numerical criteria as the sensors having the steady state response; and

arranging the identified sensors in descending order of the responses for the first process condition, where Formulas (1), (2), (3) and (4) are as follows;

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein arranging the identified sensors in descending order of the responses for the first process condition comprises:

calculating the signal data into a standardized value using Formula (5);

calculating integrated square response (ISR) within an interval where the first process condition is varied using Formula (6) with respect to a standardized signal value just before the first process condition is varied; and

calculating the response and the gain using Formula (7) to arrange the selected sensors in descending order of the responses for the first process condition, where Formulas (5), (6) and (7) are as follows;

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein selecting a sensor having the highest value within a response range from among the sensors having the steady state response for the first process condition that is varied comprises selecting a sensor having the highest value within the response range from among the sensors arranged in descending order of the responses for the first process condition.

7. The method according to claim 2, further comprising, after the sensors are selected for the first and each additional processing condition, selecting another sensor having a relative gain value within a predetermined range from among the sensors other than the selected sensor as an alternative sensor for each process condition for which the selected sensor was also selected for additional process conditions.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein selecting the alternative sensor comprises:

setting a range of a reference relative gain value;

determining whether or not the selected sensor is selected for the multiple process conditions and, if so;

arranging the sensors other than the sensor that was selected for multiple process conditions in order of their responses for each process condition;

forming a gain matrix based on the gain with respect to the sensors arranged in order of their responses for each process condition;

performing one of a relative gain array (RGA) analysis and a non-square relative gain array (NRGA) analysis with respect to the gain matrix to calculate a relative gain value;

determining whether or not the calculated relative gain value falls within the reference relative gain value range; and

selecting the sensors in which the calculated relative gain value falls within the reference relative gain value range as the alternative sensors.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein:

the relative gain array (Λ

) is given by Formula (10), and the gain matrix of n×

n is calculated using Formula (11);

the non-square relative gain array (Λ

″

) is given by Formula (15), and the gain matrix of m×

n is calculated using Formula (16); and

in the non-square relative gain array, one of sums of a column and a row has a value between 0 and 1, and λ

is the sensor, where Formulas (10), (11), (15) and (16) are as follows