Heat treatment apparatus, regulation method of heat treatment apparatus, and program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10641553-B2
Application number	US-201615172368-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 3, 2016
Priority date	Jun 10, 2015
Publication date	May 5, 2020
Grant date	May 5, 2020

Abstract

The controller receives information including a plurality of evaluation indexes, a weight of each evaluation index, the number of times for calculating a value of an evaluation function, and initial parameter values, and performs a simulation based on the received information. Then, the controller calculates a value of an evaluation function based on a result of the simulation, and determines whether the calculated value of the evaluation function is minimum, to update parameters when it is determined that the value of the evaluation function is minimum. In the calculation of a value of the evaluation function, a value of the evaluation function is calculated again based on the number of times for calculating a value of an evaluation function. The controller generates new parameters by a genetic algorithm when a value of an evaluation function is calculated again.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A heat treatment apparatus comprising:
a reaction tube into which at least one semiconductor wafer is loaded; and
a memory which stores program instructions to allow the heat treatment apparatus to:
cause receiving circuitry to receive information including a plurality of evaluation indexes, a weight of each evaluation index, the number of times for calculating a value of an evaluation function, and initial parameter values;
calculate the value of the evaluation function based on the plurality of evaluation indexes, the weight of each evaluation index, the number of times for calculating the value of the evaluation function, and initial parameter values; and
determine whether the value of the evaluation function is minimum, and to update parameters when it is determined that the value of the evaluation function is minimum,
wherein the value of the evaluation function is calculated again based on the number of times for calculating the value of an evaluation function received by the receiving circuitry so as to prevent from repeating regulation and a test of parameters multiple times,
wherein new parameters are generated by a genetic algorithm when the value of the evaluation function is calculated again.

2. The heat treatment apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the evaluation indexes are, at least, a sum of errors from a target value and a sum of absolute values of differentiation of a power.

3. The heat treatment apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the information received by the receiving circuitry includes threshold values of the evaluation indexes.

4. A regulation method performed by a heat treatment apparatus, the apparatus including a reaction tube into which at least one semiconductor wafer is loaded, which stores program instructions to implement the regulation method comprising:
a receiving process, of receiving information including a plurality of evaluation indexes, a weight of each evaluation index, the number of times for calculating a value of an evaluation function, and initial parameter values;
an evaluation function value calculating process of calculating the value of the evaluation function based on the plurality of evaluation indexes, the weight of each evaluation index, the number of times for calculating the value of the evaluation function, and the initial parameter values; and
a parameter updating process of determining whether the value of the evaluation function calculated by the evaluation function value calculating process is minimum, and to update parameters when it is determined that the value of the evaluation function is minimum,
wherein, in the evaluation function value calculating process, the value of the evaluation function is calculated again based on the number of times for calculating the value of the evaluation function received by the receiving process so as to prevent from repeating regulation and a test of parameters multiple times, and
the regulation method further comprises a parameter generating process of generating new parameters by a genetic algorithm when the value of the evaluation function is calculated again by the evaluation function value calculating process.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium which stores program instructions executed by a computer so as to:
cause receiving circuitry to receive information including a plurality of evaluation indexes, a weight of each evaluation index, the number of times for calculating a value of an evaluation function, and initial parameter values;
cause the computer to calculate the value of the evaluation function based on the plurality of evaluation indexes, the weight of each evaluation index, the number of times for calculating the value of the evaluation function, and the initial parameter values; and
cause the computer to determine whether the value of the evaluation function is minimum, and to update parameters when it is determined that the value of the evaluation function is minimum,
wherein the value of the evaluation function is calculated again based on the number of times for calculating the value of the evaluation function received by the receiving circuitry so as to prevent from repeating regulation and a test of parameters multiple times, and
new parameters are generated by a genetic algorithm when the value of the evaluation function is calculated again,
wherein the parameters are related to a processing atmosphere within a reaction tube into which at least one semiconductor wafer is loaded.

6. The heat treatment apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the computer includes a storage which stores information about an evaluation function, and
wherein the information about an evaluation function includes the evaluation function calculated by a sum of products of the respective evaluation indexes and weights.

7. The heat treatment apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the evaluation indexes are, at least, a sum of temperature differences among zones and an overshoot.

8. The heat treatment apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heat treatment apparatus further comprises a recipe storage which stores a process recipe that determines a control procedure, is connected to an operation panel and controls the operation of the heat treatment apparatus according to the process recipe stored in the recipe storage in response to an instruction from the operation panel.

9. The heat treatment apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the number of times for calculating the value of the evaluation function is set by an operator using an operation panel.

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd

Inventors

• Noda Yuto
• Yamaguchi Tatsuya
• Masunaga Masayoshi
• Yoshii Koji

Classifications

• H10P72/0602

  Temperature monitoring · CPC title

• H10P72/0434

  mainly by convection · CPC title

• F27B17/0025

  specially adapted for treating semiconductor wafers · CPC title

• G06N3/126

  Evolutionary algorithms, e.g. genetic algorithms or genetic programming · CPC title

• F27D19/00 Primary

  Arrangements of controlling devices · CPC title