IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,568,791
Granted Patent B2
US 12,568,791 · App. 18/068,467 · Granted Mar 3, 2026

Controlling concentration profiles for deposited films using machine learning

Inventors: Anton V Baryshnikov (Campbell, CA); Aykut Aydin (Sunnyvale, CA); Zubin Huang (Santa Clara, CA); Rui Cheng (San Jose, CA); Yi Yang (San Jose, CA); Diwakar Kedlaya (San Jose, CA); Venkatanarayana Shankaramurthy (San Jose, CA); Krishna Nittala (San Jose, CA); Karthik Janakiraman (San Jose, CA)
Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
H01L21/67253H01L21/67248
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,568,791
App. No.
18/068,467
Granted
Mar 3, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A target concentration profile for a film to be deposited on a surface of a substrate during a deposition process for the substrate at a process chamber of a manufacturing system is identified. Data of the target concentration profile is processed using a model. The model outputs a set of deposition process settings that corresponds to the target concentration profile. One or more operations of the deposition process are performed in accordance with the set of deposition process settings.

Claims (48)

1 . A method comprising:

identifying a target concentration profile for a film to be deposited on a surface of a substrate during a deposition process for the substrate at a process chamber of a manufacturing system, wherein the target concentration profile corresponds to a target concentration gradient of a particular material of the film in view of a target thickness of the film;

processing data of the target concentration profile using a model, wherein the model outputs a set of deposition process settings that corresponds to the target concentration profile; and

performing one or more operations of the deposition process in accordance with the set of deposition process settings.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein processing the data of the target processing profile using the model comprises:

providing an indication of the target processing profile as input to the model;

obtaining one or more outputs of the model; and

determining, from the one or more outputs, process recipe data identifying one or more sets of deposition process settings and, for each set of deposition process settings, an indication of a level of confidence that a respective set of deposition process settings corresponds to the target concentration profile for the film to be deposited on the substrate.

3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

identifying the respective set of deposition process settings with a level of confidence that satisfies a level of confidence criterion.

4 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

providing, as an additional input to the model, a set of one or more process constraints associated with the deposition process.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the target concentration gradient of the particular material is based on the target thickness for the film to be deposited on the surface of the substrate, a target initial concentration for the particular material of the film, and a target final concentration for the particular material of the film.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each set of deposition process settings is associated with a concentration profile for the film deposited on the surface of the substrate, and wherein the set of deposition process settings corresponds to the target concentration responsive to a determination that a difference between the concentration profile associated with the set of deposition process settings and the target concentration profile is below a threshold difference value.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the deposition process for the substrate is associated with an initial set of deposition process settings, and wherein performing one or more operations of the deposition process in accordance with the set of deposition process settings comprises modifying one or more of the initial set of deposition process settings to correspond to one or more of the set of deposition process settings.

8 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

transmitting, to a client device connected to the manufacturing system, a request to modify the one or more of the initial set of deposition process settings to correspond to the one or more of the set of deposition process settings; and

receiving, from the client device, an instruction to modify the one or more of the initial set of deposition process settings to correspond to the one or more of the set of deposition settings, wherein the one or more of the initial set of deposition process settings are updated in accordance with the received instruction.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of deposition process settings comprises at least one of: a temperature setting for the process chamber, a pressure setting for the process chamber, or a flow rate setting for a precursor for one or more materials of the film to be deposited on the surface of the substrate.

10 . A system comprising:

a memory; and

a processing device coupled to the memory, wherein the processing device is to perform operations comprising:

identifying a target concentration profile for a film to be deposited on a surface of a substrate during a deposition process for the substrate at a process chamber of a manufacturing system, wherein the target concentration profile corresponds to a target concentration gradient of a particular material of the film in view of a target thickness of the film;

processing data of the target concentration profile using a model, wherein the model outputs a set of deposition process settings that corresponds to the target concentration profile; and

performing one or more operations of the deposition process in accordance with the set of deposition process settings.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein processing the data of the target processing profile using the model comprises:

providing an indication of the target processing profile as input to the model;

obtaining one or more outputs of the model; and

determining, from the one or more outputs, process recipe data identifying one or more sets of deposition process settings and, for each set of deposition process settings, an indication of a level of confidence that a respective set of deposition process settings corresponds to the target concentration profile for the film to be deposited on the substrate.

12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise:

identifying the respective set of deposition process settings with a level of confidence that satisfies a level of confidence criterion.

13 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise:

providing, as an additional input to the model, a set of one or more process constraints associated with the deposition process.

14 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the target concentration gradient of the particular material is based on the target thickness for the film to be deposited on the surface of the substrate, a target initial concentration for the particular material of the film, and a target final concentration for the particular material of the film.

15 . The system of claim 10 , wherein each set of deposition process settings is associated with a concentration profile for the film deposited on the surface of the substrate, and wherein the set of deposition process settings corresponds to the target concentration responsive to a determination that a difference between the concentration profile associated with the set of deposition process settings and the target concentration profile is below a threshold difference value.

16 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:

identifying a target concentration profile for a film to be deposited on a surface of a substrate during a deposition process for the substrate at a process chamber of a manufacturing system, wherein the target concentration profile corresponds to a target concentration gradient of a particular material of the film in view of a target thickness of the film;

processing data of the target concentration profile using a model, wherein the model outputs a set of deposition process settings that corresponds to the target concentration profile; and

performing one or more operations of the deposition process in accordance with the set of deposition process settings.

17 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein processing the data of the target processing profile using the model comprises:

providing an indication of the target processing profile as input to the model;

obtaining one or more outputs of the model; and

determining, from the one or more outputs, process recipe data identifying one or more sets of deposition process settings and, for each set of deposition process settings, an indication of a level of confidence that a respective set of deposition process settings corresponds to the target concentration profile for the film to be deposited on the substrate.

18 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the operations further comprise:

identifying the set of deposition process settings with a level of confidence that satisfies a level of confidence criterion.

19 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the operations further comprise:

providing, as an additional input to the model, a set of one or more process constraints associated with the deposition process.

20 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the target concentration gradient of the particular material is based on the target thickness for the film to be deposited on the surface of the substrate, a target initial concentration for the particular material of the film, and a target final concentration for the particular material of the film.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 20, 2022
From: BARYSHNIKOV, ANTON V; AYDIN, AYKUT; HUANG, ZUBIN; CHENG, RUI; YANG, YI; KEDLAYA, DIWAKAR; SHANKARAMURTHY, VENKATANARAYANA; NITTALA, KRISHNA; JANAKIRAMAN, KARTHIK
To: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
Reel/Frame 062161/0232 →
Continuity (2)
Continuation 17191026 · Mar 3, 2021
Related Publication 20230118964A1 · Apr 20, 2023
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