Device for manufacturing semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same

• US 6,695,947 B2
• Filed: 05/20/2002
• Issued: 02/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pannova Semic, LLC (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Eriguchi, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Hassanzadeh, Parviz
• Assistant Examiner(s): MOORE, KARLA A
• Application Number:
  US10/150,082
• Publication Number:
  US 20020129476A1
• Time in Patent Office: 645 Days
• Field of Search: 156/345.24, 156/345.32, 156/345.31, 118/719, 356/445
• US Class Current: 156/345.31
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/0625 with measurement of absorption or reflection
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70483 Information management; Active and passive control; Testing; Wafer monitoring, e.g. pattern monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67167 surrounding a central transfer chamber
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67253 Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/20 Sequence of activities consisting of a plurality of measurements, corrections, marking or sorting steps
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 414/139 including wafer charging or discharging means for vacuum chamber

Abstract

There is provided a clustered device for manufacturing a semiconductor device in which a cleaning chamber, a rapid thermal processing chamber, an optical measurement chamber, and the like are arranged around a load-lock room. In an optical measurement system, there are disposed an exciting light source, a measuring light source, a light detector, a control/analyze system, and the like. During the formation of an oxide film, for example, a wafer is cleaned in the cleaning chamber and then the amount of a natural oxide film remaining on the wafer or the like is measured by optical modulation reflectance spectroscopy in the optical measurement chamber. As a result, the surface state of the wafer can be monitored in the course of sequential process steps. By measuring the thickness of a film on a semiconductor region by optical evaluation in the clustered manufacturing device, the manufacturing process using the clustered device can be controlled.

Claims

1. A clustered device for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising:

a plurality of processing rooms for processing a wafer having a semiconductor region;

a shared container enclosing a space containing the plurality of processing rooms such that the space is held in an atmosphere disconnected from an external space;

transporting means for transporting the wafer within the shared container;

optical measuring means for optically evaluating a surface state of the wafer being disposed at any site in the shared container;

wherein the optical measuring means comprises;

a first light source for generating exciting light;

a second light source for generating measuring light;

a first light guiding member for intermittently irradiating the semiconductor region of the wafer in the shared container with the exciting light generated from the first light source;

a second light guiding member for irradiating the semiconductor region with the measuring light generated from the second light source;

reflectance measuring means for measuring the reflectance of the measuring light with which the semiconductor region is irradiated;

a third light guiding member for causing the measuring light reflected by the semiconductor region to be incident upon the reflectance measuring means; and

change calculating means for receiving an output of the reflectance measuring means and calculating a change rate of reflectance of the measuring light by dividing the difference between the reflectances of the measuring light when the semiconductor region is irradiated and not irradiated with the exciting light by the reflectance of the measuring light when the semiconductor region is not irradiated with the exciting light.

2. The clustered device for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of processing rooms including a processing room for performing a cleaning process involving an etching effect with respect to the wafer and a processing room for forming a film on the semiconductor region of the wafer.

3. The clustered device for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein the processing room for forming a film on the wafer is so constructed as to form an oxide film by performing a thermal oxidation process with respect to the semiconductor region of the wafer, the clustered device further comprising

a processing room for forming a conductor film on the oxide film, the processing room being provided within the shared container.

4. The clustered device for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising

an optical measurement room provided within the shared container, wherein

the optical measuring means is disposed in the optical measurement room.