IP Library Granted Patent US 12684679
Granted Patent B2
US 12684679 · App. 17/658,760 · Granted Jul 14, 2026

Semiconductor system inspection tool and methods of operation

Inventors: Jou-Hsuan Lu (New Taipei City, TW); Chiao-Hua Cheng (Tainan City, TW); Cheng-Hsuan Wu (New Taipei City, TW); Ko-Ching Hou (Taipei City, TW); Jyun-Yan Chuang (Hsinchu City, TW); Cheng-Hao Lai (Taichung City, TW); Yu-Kuang Sun (Hsinchu City, TW); Sheng-Kang Yu (Hsinchu City, TW); Shang-Chieh Chien (New Taipei City, TW); Li-Jui Chen (Hsinchu City, TW); Heng-Hsin Liu (New Taipei City, TW)
Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
H05G2/0086G03F7/70033G03F7/70166G03F7/70925
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12684679
App. No.
17/658,760
Granted
Jul 14, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Some implementations described herein provide techniques and apparatuses for inspecting interior surfaces of a vessel of a radiation source for an accumulation of a target material. An inspection tool, including a laser-scanning system and a motor system supported by an elongated supported member, may be inserted into the vessel to generate an accurate three-dimensional profile of the interior surfaces. Use of the inspection tool is efficient, with short setup and scan times that substantially reduce a duration associated with evaluating the interior surfaces of the vessel for the accumulation.

Claims (55)

1 . A method, comprising:

transmitting, by a controller and to a motor system, a first signal to cause the motor system to rotate a laser-scanning system, while in a first linear position, about an axis of a frame located within a vessel of an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation source,

wherein the motor system, the laser-scanning system, and the frame are included in an inspection tool, and

wherein the laser-scanning system scans a first layer of an interior surface of the vessel while rotating about the axis in the first linear position; and

transmitting, by the controller and to the motor system, a second signal to cause the motor system to rotate the laser-scanning system about the axis while the laser-scanning system is in a second linear position,

wherein the laser-scanning system scans a second layer of the interior surface of the vessel while rotating about the axis in the second linear position.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a height of the first layer of the interior surface of the vessel is in a range from approximately 0.5 centimeters to approximately 5.5 centimeters; and

wherein a height of the second layer of the interior surface of the vessel is in a range from approximately 5.0 centimeters to approximately 21.0 centimeters.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein scanning the first layer corresponds to scanning an intermediate focus (IF) cap portion of the vessel; and

wherein scanning the second layer corresponds to scanning a lower cone portion of the vessel, a scrubber portion of the vessel, or a vanes portion of the vessel.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving information associated with a measured profile of the interior surface;

determining, based on the information, that an amount of an accumulation of a target material on the interior surface does not satisfy a threshold; and

transmitting a signal to cause the inspection tool to output a notification that the interior surface needs cleaning.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the threshold corresponds to at least one of:

a threshold for the first layer of the interior surface, or

a threshold for the second layer of the interior surface.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting, by the controller and to the motor system, a third signal to cause the motor system to position the laser-scanning system in the first linear position that is along the axis of the frame located within the vessel; and

transmitting, by the controller and to the motor system, a fourth signal to cause the motor system to position the laser-scanning system in the second linear position that is along the axis of the frame located within the vessel.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting, by the controller and to the laser-scanning system, a third signal to cause the laser-scanning system to scan the first layer of an interior surface of the vessel; and

transmitting, by the controller and to the laser-scanning system, a fourth signal to cause the laser-scanning system to scan the second layer of the interior surface of the vessel.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the laser-scanning system scans the second layer after scanning the first layer.

9 . A method, comprising:

receiving, by a controller and from a laser-scanning system, first information corresponding to a measured profile of an interior surface of a vessel;

receiving, by the controller and from the laser-scanning system, second information corresponding to a reference profile of the interior surface of the vessel;

generating, by the controller, a three-dimensional profile of the interior surface of the vessel,

wherein generating the three-dimensional profile is based on the first information and the second information; and

determining, by the controller, an amount of an accumulation of a target material based on the three-dimensional profile.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the second information corresponding to the reference profile corresponds to a golden profile of the interior surface of the vessel that is indicative of a clean state of the interior surface of the vessel.

11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the target material corresponds to a tin (Sn) material.

12 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

determining a correlation between the amount of the accumulation of the target material and at least one operating condition of an EUV radiation source including the vessel; and

providing information relating to the correlation to update a machine-learning model that estimates accumulations rates of a target material on the interior surface of the vessel for different operating conditions of the EUV radiation source.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the at least one operating condition includes a measured reflectivity of the EUV radiation source, one or more parameters of an exposure operation performed by the EUV radiation source, or a measured power decay of the EUV radiation source.

14 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

associating portions of the amount of the accumulation to respective portions of the vessel; and

estimating, using a machine-learning model, a maintenance schedule relating to cleaning for each of the respective portions.

15 . An inspection tool, comprising:

a frame including an elongated support member,

wherein the elongated support member is configured to be at least partially inserted into a vessel of an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation source;

a laser-scanning system supported by the frame and configured to:

generate scans of a portion of an interior surface of the vessel; and

transmit information relating to the scans to a controller;

a motor system configured to:

adjust one or more positions of the laser-scanning system along one or more paths relative to the frame to generate the scans; and

the controller configured to:

receive, from the laser-scanning system, the information relating to the scans; and

determine an amount of an accumulation of a target material on the portion of the interior surface based on the information relating to the scans.

16 . The inspection tool of claim 15 , wherein the one or more paths include an approximately helical path.

17 . The inspection tool of claim 15 , wherein the one or more paths include an approximately linear path.

18 . The inspection tool of claim 15 , wherein the one or more paths include an approximately radial path.

19 . The inspection tool of claim 15 , wherein the portion of the interior surface of the vessel corresponds to an intermediate focus (IF) cap portion, a lower cone portion, a scrubber portion, or a vanes portion.

20 . The inspection tool of claim 15 , wherein the portion of the interior surface of the vessel corresponds to an entire portion.