IP Library Granted Patent US 11,728,183
Granted Patent B2
US 11,728,183 · App. 17/722,726 · Granted Aug 15, 2023

Method of manufacturing semiconductor device

Inventors: Hideharu Itatani (Toyama, JP); Toshiyuki Kikuchi (Toyama, JP); Naofumi Ohashi (Toyama, JP)
Assignee: KOKUSAI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
H01L21/67017C23C16/4412C23C16/45519C23C16/45557
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,728,183
App. No.
17/722,726
Granted
Aug 15, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

There is provided a technique that includes adjusting a pressure of each of a plurality of process chambers, by adjusting an opening degree of a pressure-adjusting valve included in a common gas exhaust pipe, which is connected to a plurality of process chamber exhaust pipes and is disposed to merge respective process chamber exhaust pipes on a downstream side of the plurality of process chamber exhaust pipes, to a predetermined opening degree and by exhausting an atmosphere of each of the process chambers from the plurality of process chamber exhaust pipes and the common gas exhaust pipe while supplying an inert gas to the plurality of process chambers; processing a substrate in each of the process chambers; and detecting a fluctuation of pressures in the process chamber exhaust pipes by measuring, by one or more pressure detectors, the pressures of the process chamber exhaust pipes.

Claims (45)

1. A method of processing a substrate, comprising:

adjusting a pressure of each of a plurality of process chambers, by adjusting an opening degree of a pressure-adjusting valve included in a common gas exhaust pipe, which is connected to a plurality of process chamber exhaust pipes individually connected to the plurality of process chambers, respectively, and is disposed to merge respective process chamber exhaust pipes on a downstream side of the plurality of process chamber exhaust pipes, to a predetermined opening degree and by exhausting an atmosphere of each of the process chambers from the plurality of process chamber exhaust pipes and the common gas exhaust pipe while supplying an inert gas to the plurality of process chambers; and

detecting a fluctuation of a pressure in a predetermined process chamber exhaust pipe among the process chamber exhaust pipes by measuring, by one or more pressure detectors, the pressure of the predetermined process chamber exhaust pipe for a predetermined time in parallel with supplying the inert gas to the plurality of process chambers.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pressure detectors are configured to start the detection of the pressure when the inert gas passes through the predetermined process chamber exhaust pipe.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pressure detectors are configured to detect the pressure of the predetermined process chamber exhaust pipe for the predetermined time between the time when the substrate is loaded into each of the process chambers and the time when supply of a process gas to the process chambers is started.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pressure detectors are configured to detect the pressure of the predetermined process chamber exhaust pipe for the predetermined time between the time when supply of a process gas to the process chambers is stopped and the time when the substrate is unloaded from each of the process chambers.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pressure detectors are configured to detect the pressure of the predetermined process chamber exhaust pipe for the predetermined time between the time when supply of a process gas into the process chambers is stopped and the time when the substrate moves to a substrate transfer position.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pressure detectors are operated in a state where the opening degree of the pressure-adjusting valve is fixed.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pressure detectors are installed in the process chamber exhaust pipes, respectively, and

wherein the one or more pressure detectors are configured to detect pressures of the process chamber exhaust pipes, respectively, in parallel.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pressure detectors are installed in the process chamber exhaust pipes, respectively, and

wherein the one or more pressure detectors are operated in a state where the opening degree of the pressure-adjusting valve is fixed.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pressure detectors are configured to stop the detection of the pressure before a process gas is supplied to the process chambers from a process gas supplier.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pressure detectors are configured to detect the pressure before the substrate is unloaded from each of the process chambers.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pressure detectors are installed in the process chamber exhaust pipes, respectively, and

wherein each of the one or more pressure detectors is configured to stop the detection of the pressure before a process gas is supplied to the process chambers from a process gas supplier.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pressure detectors are installed in the process chamber exhaust pipes, respectively, and

wherein each of the one or more pressure detectors is configured to detect the pressure before the substrate is unloaded from each of the process chambers.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

storing, by a memory, comparison data to be compared with a pressure-rising speed value; and

comparing, by a controller, a fluctuation value with the comparison data.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the comparison data is data when the processing of the substrate is operated normally, or data having the highest quality.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pressure detectors are installed in the process chamber exhaust pipes, respectively,

wherein the one or more pressure detectors are configured to detect the fluctuation of the pressure of the predetermined process chamber exhaust pipe in a state where the opening degree of the pressure-adjusting valve is fixed, and

wherein the opening degree of the pressure-adjusting valve is adjusted if there is a divergence in difference between pressure-rising speed values detected by each of the one or more pressure detectors and if there is no divergence in difference between the pressure-rising speed values detected by each of the one or more pressure detectors and comparison data.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pressure detectors are installed in the process chamber exhaust pipes, respectively,

wherein the one or more pressure detectors are configured to detect the fluctuation of the pressure of the predetermined process chamber exhaust pipe in a state where the opening degree of the pressure-adjusting valve is fixed, and

wherein maintenance is notified if there is a divergence in difference between pressure-rising speed values detected by each of the one or more pressure detectors or if there is a divergence in difference between any of the pressure-rising speed values and a reference value.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pressure detectors are installed in the process chamber exhaust pipes, respectively,

wherein the one or more pressure detectors are configured to detect the fluctuation of the pressure of the predetermined process chamber exhaust pipe in a state where the opening degree of the pressure-adjusting valve is fixed, and

wherein the processing of the substrate is stopped if there is a divergence in difference between pressure-rising speed values detected by each of the one or more pressure detectors and if there is a divergence in difference between the pressure-rising speed values detected by each of the one or more pressure detectors and comparison data.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein a diameter of each of the process chamber exhaust pipes is 20 to 30 mm.

19. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of process chambers configured to process a substrate;

a process gas supplier configured to supply a process gas to the plurality of process chambers;

an inert gas supplier configured to supply an inert gas to the plurality of process chambers;

a plurality of process chamber exhaust pipes individually connected to the plurality of process chambers, respectively;

a common gas exhaust pipe disposed to merge respective process chamber exhaust pipes on a downstream side of the plurality of process chamber exhaust pipes;

a pressure-adjusting valve included in the common gas exhaust pipe;

one or more pressure detectors configured to detect pressures of the plurality of process chamber exhaust pipes and the common gas exhaust pipe; and

a controller configured to control the one or more pressure detectors so as to detect a fluctuation of a pressure in a predetermined process chamber exhaust pipe among the process chamber exhaust pipes by measuring the pressure of the predetermined process chamber exhaust pipe for a predetermined time if the inert gas supplier starts to supply the inert gas to the plurality of process chambers.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program that causes, by a computer, a substrate processing apparatus to perform a process comprising:

adjusting a pressure of each of a plurality of process chambers, by adjusting an opening degree of a pressure-adjusting valve included in a common gas exhaust pipe, which is connected to a plurality of process chamber exhaust pipes individually connected to the plurality of process chambers, respectively, and is disposed to merge respective process chamber exhaust pipes on a downstream side of the plurality of process chamber exhaust pipes, to a predetermined opening degree and by exhausting an atmosphere of each of the process chambers from the plurality of process chamber exhaust pipes and the common gas exhaust pipe while supplying an inert gas to the plurality of process chambers;

processing a substrate in each of the process chambers, by supplying a process gas to the plurality of process chambers and by exhausting the atmosphere of each of the process chambers from the plurality of process chamber exhaust pipes and the common gas exhaust pipe; and

detecting a fluctuation of a pressure in a predetermined process chamber exhaust pipe among the process chamber exhaust pipes by measuring, by one or more pressure detectors, the pressure of the predetermined process chamber exhaust pipe for a predetermined time in parallel with supplying the inert gas to the plurality of process chambers.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 16, 2022
From: ITATANI, HIDEHARU; KIKUCHI, TOSHIYUKI; OHASHI, NAOFUMI
To: KOKUSAI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 062120/0730 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2021-113917 · Jul 9, 2021 · national
Continuity (2)
Continuation 17477174 · Sep 16, 2021
Related Publication 20230008718A1 · Jan 12, 2023
Cited By (2)
US 12,224,185 US 12,518,980