Method and system for adjusting location of a wafer and a top plate in a thin-film deposition process

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12014910-B2
Application number	US-202117494553-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 5, 2021
Priority date	Mar 19, 2021
Publication date	Jun 18, 2024
Grant date	Jun 18, 2024

Abstract

A thin-film deposition system includes a top plate positioned above a wafer and configured to generate a plasma during a thin-film deposition process. The system includes a sensor configured to generate sensor signals indicative of a lifetime of a component of the thin-film deposition system, a characteristic of a thin-film deposited by the thin-film deposition system or a characteristic of a process material that flows into the thin-film deposition system. The system includes a control system configured to adjust a relative location of a top plate of the thin-film deposition system with respect to a location of a wafer in the thin-film deposition system during the thin-film deposition process responsive to the sensor signals.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
performing, with a thin-film deposition system, a thin-film deposition process on a wafer;
generating, with a top plate positioned above the wafer, a plasma during the thin film deposition process;
generating, with a first sensor, a first sensor signal indicative of a lifetime of a component of the thin-film deposition system or a characteristic of a thin-film deposited by the thin-film deposition system;
generating, with a through beam laser sensor during the thin-film deposition process, a second sensor signal indicative of a distance D between a bottom surface of the top plate and a top surface of the wafer, the generating the second sensor signal indicative of the distance D between the bottom surface of the top plate and the top surface of the wafer including emitting a radiation beam from a radiation emitter, the radiation beam emitted from the radiation emitter having a diameter greater than the distance D between a top surface of the wafer and a bottom surface of the top plate, passing a portion of the radiation beam between the bottom surface of the top plate and the top surface of the wafer and receiving at a radiation sensor the portion of the radiation beam emitted from the radiation emitter that has passed between the bottom surface of the top plate and the top surface of the wafer; and
adjusting a relative location of a top plate of the thin-film deposition system with respect to a location of the wafer in the thin-film deposition system in response to the second sensor signal during the thin-film deposition process.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first sensor is a counter configured to generate a first sensor signal indicative of a number of wafers processed by the thin-film deposition system.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first sensor is configured to generate a first sensor signal indicative of a thickness of the thin-film deposited by the thin-film deposition system on the wafer or on a surface of a chamber in which the thin-film deposition process on the wafer is performed.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the first sensor is configured to generate a first sensor signal indicative of a zone of the wafer from which the first signal indicative of the thickness of the thin-film deposited by the thin-film deposition system on the wafer is generated.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
training an analysis model of a control system with a machine learning process;
analyzing the second sensor signal with the analysis model;
determining, with the analysis model, an adjustment to be made to the distance D between the bottom surface of the top plate and the top surface of the wafer based on the analyzed second sensor signal; and
adjusting the relative location of the top plate of the thin-film deposition system with respect to the location of the wafer in the thin-film deposition system with the control system based on the analysis model.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adjusting includes adjusting a distance between the top plate and the wafer.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the adjusting includes moving the top plate.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the adjusting includes moving the wafer.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
passing the second sensor signal to a control system;
determining, with the control system, an adjustment to be made to the distance D between the bottom surface of the top plate and the top surface of the wafer based on the second sensor signal; and
adjusting the distance D by moving the top plate, moving the wafer or moving both in accordance with the determined adjustment.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the generating, with the through beam laser sensor during the thin film deposition process, the second sensor signal indicative of a distance D between the bottom surface of the top plate and the top surface of the wafer includes blocking a portion of the radiation beam by a side of the top plate and a side of the wafer.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adjusting the relative location of the top plate of the thin-film deposition system with respect to the location of the wafer includes moving the wafer in a lateral direction relative to the top plate.

12. A method, comprising:
performing a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process on a wafer in a thin-film deposition chamber;
generating, with a top plate positioned above the wafer, a plasma during the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process;
generating, with a through beam laser sensor during the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process, a second sensor signal indicative of a distance D between a bottom surface of the top plate and a top surface of the wafer, the generating the seconda sensor signal indicative of the distance D between the bottom surface of the top plate and the top surface of the wafer including emitting a radiation beam from a radiation emitter, blocking a portion of the radiation beam with the top plate and with the wafer, passing a portion of the radiation beam not blocked by the top plate and the wafer between the bottom surface of the top plate and the top surface of the wafer and receiving at a radiation sensor the portion of the radiation passing between the bottom surface of the top plate and the top surface of the wafer, the radiation beam emitted from the radiation emitter having a diameter greater than the distance D between the top surface of the wafer and the bottom surface of the top plate;
analyzing, with a control system during the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process, the second sensor signal; and
adjusting a location of the top plate of the thin-film deposition system relative to a location of the wafer in the thin-film deposition system with the control system during the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process based on the second sensor signal.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein analyzing the second sensor signal includes comparing the second sensor signal to reference data.

14. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
training an analysis model of the control system with a machine learning process;
analyzing the second sensor signal with the analysis model;
determining, with the analysis model, an adjustment to be made to a gap the distance D between bottom surface of the top plate and the top surface of the wafer based on the second sensor signal; and
adjusting the relative location of the top plate of the thin-film deposition system with respect to the location of the wafer in the thin-film deposition system with the control system based on the analysis model.

15. A method, comprising:
performing a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process on a wafer in a deposition chamber;
generating, with a top plate positioned above the wafer, a plasma during the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process;
generating, with a first sensor during the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process, a first sensor signal indicative of a lifetime of a component of the thin-film deposition system, a characteristic of a thin-film deposited by a thin-film deposition system or a characteristic of a process material that flows into the thin-film deposition system;
generating, with a through beam laser sensor during the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process, a second sensor signal indicative of a distance D between a bottom surface of the top plate and a top surface of the wafer, the generating the second sensor signal indicative of the distance D between the bottom surface of the top plate and t

Assignees

• Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg Co Ltd

Inventors

• Cheng Yu-Hsiang
• Wu Che-Wei

Classifications

• H01J2237/3321

  CVD [Chemical Vapor Deposition] · CPC title

• H01J37/32981 Primary

  Gas analysis · CPC title

• H01J37/32733

  Means for moving the material to be treated · CPC title

• C23C16/52

  Controlling or regulating the coating process {(C23C16/45557, C23C16/279 take precedence)} · CPC title

• C23C16/50

  using electric discharges {(generation and control of plasma in discharge tubes for surface treatment H01J37/32, H01J37/34)} · CPC title