Optimization algorithm to optimize within substrate uniformities
First Claim
1. A method of optimizing semiconductor manufacturing equipment to minimize non-uniformity of a wafer processed in a semiconductor processing chamber, comprising:
- obtaining a plurality of measurements of a wafer parameter of a first wafer processed in the chamber comprising taking data from a linescan;
weighting the plurality of measurements of the first wafer according to a radial distance from a center of the first wafer;
adjusting at least one setting of the chamber;
processing one test wafer for each setting adjusted;
obtaining a plurality of measurements of the wafer parameter of each test wafer processed in the chamber for each setting adjusted, wherein the plurality of measurements comprise data from a linescan;
creating a model relating each setting adjusted to a measure of non-uniformity of the wafer parameter using the plurality of measurements and weighted measurements;
using the model to minimize the measure of non-uniformity to determine an optimal setting for the at least one setting; and
adjusting the at least one setting of the chamber to the optimal setting.
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Abstract
A method to optimize semiconductor processing equipment (hardware settings and process conditions) to minimize non-uniformities within a wafer based on linescan measurements and a calculation of or prediction for a polar map. Measurements of a metrology value are taken at a number of points along a linescan (or two orthogonal linescans) on the wafer surface for a number of wafer processed in a set of experiments in which one equipment setting or process parameter is adjusted per experiment. The raw data are then normalized and weighted in accordance with the radial distance from the center of the wafer. Standard deviations of different metrology values within the wafer are then calculated. The setting can then be further adjusted to predict and to minimize the standard deviations, and therefore non-uniformity of the metrology values within the wafer, using the method without processing any additional test wafers.
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Citations
42 Claims
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1. A method of optimizing semiconductor manufacturing equipment to minimize non-uniformity of a wafer processed in a semiconductor processing chamber, comprising:
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obtaining a plurality of measurements of a wafer parameter of a first wafer processed in the chamber comprising taking data from a linescan; weighting the plurality of measurements of the first wafer according to a radial distance from a center of the first wafer; adjusting at least one setting of the chamber; processing one test wafer for each setting adjusted; obtaining a plurality of measurements of the wafer parameter of each test wafer processed in the chamber for each setting adjusted, wherein the plurality of measurements comprise data from a linescan; creating a model relating each setting adjusted to a measure of non-uniformity of the wafer parameter using the plurality of measurements and weighted measurements; using the model to minimize the measure of non-uniformity to determine an optimal setting for the at least one setting; and adjusting the at least one setting of the chamber to the optimal setting. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of adjusting a semiconductor integrated circuit processing chamber for processing a substrate, comprising:
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obtaining measurements of a parameter of a first substrate processed in the chamber at a plurality of points on a linescan of the first substrate; adjusting a setting of the chamber; obtaining measurements of the parameter of a second substrate processed in the chamber at a plurality of points on a linescan of the second substrate after adjusting the setting; calculating a measure of non-uniformity of the parameter by weighting the measurements in accordance with a corresponding radial distance from a center of the first and second substrates; creating a model relating the setting adjusted to the measure of non-uniformity to minimize the measure of non-uniformity; and adjusting the setting to a predicted setting based on the minimized measure of non-uniformity. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of adjusting a semiconductor integrated circuit processing chamber for processing a wafer, comprising:
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processing a first wafer in the processing chamber using baseline equipment settings; obtaining measurements of a parameter of the first wafer at a plurality of points along a linescan on the first wafer; calculating a weighted mean value of the parameter by weighting the mean value by weighting radially outer portions of the first wafer more than a center of the first wafer; adjusting a setting of the processing chamber by a factor; processing a second wafer in the processing chamber after adjusting the setting; obtaining measurements of the parameter of the second wafer at a plurality of points along a linescan on the second wafer; calculating a weighted mean value of the parameter by weighting the mean value by weighting radially outer portions of the second wafer more than a center of the second wafer; calculating a polar map of the wafer parameter for the first wafer using the measurements obtained; calculating a standard deviation of the parameter within the first wafer, wherein the standard deviation is a standard deviation of the polar map; calculating an optimal setting by minimizing the standard deviation; and adjusting the setting to the optimal setting. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method of optimizing semiconductor manufacturing equipment to minimize non-uniformity of a wafer processed in a semiconductor processing chamber, comprising:
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obtaining a plurality of measurements of a wafer parameter of a first rotated wafer processed in the chamber, wherein the plurality of measurements are taken along a linescan; weighting the plurality of measurements of the first rotated wafer according to a radial distance from a center of the first rotated wafer; adjusting at least one setting of the chamber and processing one rotated test wafer for each adjusted setting; obtaining a plurality of measurements of the wafer parameter of each rotated test wafer processed in the chamber for each adjusted setting, wherein the plurality of measurements are taken along a linescan; creating a model relating the setting to an indicator of non-uniformity of the wafer parameter by using data from the plurality of measurements and the weighted measurements; using the model to minimize the indicator of non-uniformity; and adjusting the at least one setting to an optimal setting based on the minimized indicator of non-uniformity. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38)
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39. A method of adjusting a semiconductor integrated circuit processing chamber for processing a wafer, comprising:
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obtaining measurements of a parameter of a baseline substrate processed in the chamber at a plurality of points on a linescan of the baseline substrate; adjusting at least one setting of the chamber and processing one test wafer in the chamber for each at least one setting adjusted, wherein the at least one setting comprises a gas injector setting; obtaining measurements of the parameter of each test wafer processed in the chamber for each at least one setting adjusted, wherein the measurements are taken along a linescan; weighting the plurality of measurements according to a radial distance from a center; creating a predictive model relating the at least one setting to a measure of non-uniformity of the parameter within the substrate by using the measurements and the weighted measurements to minimize the measure of non-uniformity; and adjusting the at least one setting to a predicted setting based on the minimized measure of non-uniformity. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42)
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Specification