Determining a malfunctioning device in a plasma system
First Claim
1. A system for determining a malfunctioning device, the system comprising:
- one or more plasma processing tools, each plasma processing tool including one or more plasma modules for processing a work piece, each plasma processing tool including a transfer module for transferring the work piece between two of the plasma modules, each plasma module including a power delivery portion and a plasma processing portion, the plasma processing portion including a plasma chamber, the power delivery portion for generating radio frequency (RF) power to provide to the plasma processing portion to generate plasma;
a computing device coupled to the one or more plasma processing tools, the computing device including a processor, the processor for;
determining whether one of the plasma modules operates within constraints;
receiving a measured value of a variable at an output of the power delivery portion in response to determining that the plasma module lacks operation within the constraints, wherein the value is measured when the power delivery portion is decoupled from the plasma chamber of the plasma processing portion to be coupled with a known load;
comparing the measured value with a pre-recorded value of the variable to determine whether the measured value is outside a range of the pre-recorded value; and
determining that a malfunctioning device is between an input of the power delivery portion and an output of the power delivery portion in response to determining that the measured value is outside the range of the pre-recorded value.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for determining a malfunctioning device in a plasma system, are described. One of the methods includes receiving an indication whether plasma is generated within a plasma chamber of the plasma system. The plasma system includes a processing portion and a power delivery portion. The method further includes determining whether the plasma system operates within constraints in response to receiving the indication that the plasma is generated, determining a value of a variable at an output of the power delivery portion when the processing portion is decoupled from the power delivery portion, and comparing the determined value with a pre-recorded value of the variable. The method includes determining whether the determined value is outside a range of the pre-recorded value and determining that the malfunctioning device within the power delivery portion upon determining that the determined value is outside the range of the pre-recorded value.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A system for determining a malfunctioning device, the system comprising:
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one or more plasma processing tools, each plasma processing tool including one or more plasma modules for processing a work piece, each plasma processing tool including a transfer module for transferring the work piece between two of the plasma modules, each plasma module including a power delivery portion and a plasma processing portion, the plasma processing portion including a plasma chamber, the power delivery portion for generating radio frequency (RF) power to provide to the plasma processing portion to generate plasma; a computing device coupled to the one or more plasma processing tools, the computing device including a processor, the processor for; determining whether one of the plasma modules operates within constraints; receiving a measured value of a variable at an output of the power delivery portion in response to determining that the plasma module lacks operation within the constraints, wherein the value is measured when the power delivery portion is decoupled from the plasma chamber of the plasma processing portion to be coupled with a known load; comparing the measured value with a pre-recorded value of the variable to determine whether the measured value is outside a range of the pre-recorded value; and determining that a malfunctioning device is between an input of the power delivery portion and an output of the power delivery portion in response to determining that the measured value is outside the range of the pre-recorded value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for determining a malfunctioning device in a plasma system, comprising:
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receiving an indication whether plasma is generated within a plasma chamber of the plasma system; determining whether the plasma system operates within constraints in response to receiving the indication that the plasma is generated, wherein determining whether the plasma system operates within the constraints is performed when the plasma system includes an impedance matching circuit that is located between the plasma chamber and a radio frequency (RF) generator of the plasma system, wherein determining whether the plasma system operates within the constraints is performed when the plasma system includes an RF transmission line coupling the impedance matching circuit to the plasma chamber; receiving a measured value of a variable measured at a node of the RF transmission line in response to determining that the plasma system lacks operation within the constraints, wherein the value of the variable is measured when the impedance matching circuit is decoupled from the plasma chamber to be coupled with a known load; comparing the measured value with a pre-recorded value of the variable; determining whether the measured value is outside a range of the pre-recorded value; and determining that the malfunctioning device is between an input of the RF generator and the node in response to determining that the measured value is outside the range of the pre-recorded value, wherein the method is executed by one or more processors. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for determining a malfunctioning device in a plasma system, comprising:
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receiving an indication whether plasma is generated within a plasma chamber of the plasma system, the plasma system including a plasma processing portion and a power delivery portion; determining whether the plasma system operates within constraints in response to receiving the indication that the plasma is generated; receiving, by a processor of a host computer system, a measured value of a variable at an output of the power delivery portion when a plasma chamber of the plasma processing portion is decoupled from the power delivery portion; comparing, by the processor, the measured value with a pre-recorded value of the variable; determining, by the processor, whether the measured value is outside a range of the pre-recorded value, wherein the pre-recorded value is generated from a value sensed at an output of a radio frequency (RF) generator; and determining, by the processor, that the malfunctioning device is between an input of the power delivery portion and an output of the power delivery portion in response to determining that the measured value is outside the range of the pre-recorded value. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification