Tokyo Electron Limited

Masahide Tadokoro

Kunie Ogata

Shinichi Shinozuka

Masashi Enomoto

Megumi Jyousaka

Hiroshi Tomita

Michael Carcasi

Toyohisa Tsuruda

Michio Tanaka

Ryoichi Uemura

Mark H Somervell

Joshua Hooge

Hiroshi Nakamura

Tsuyoshi Shibata

Yoshitaka Konishi

Mitsuteru Yano

Hiroyuki Iwaki

Koji Takayanagi

Tomohiro Iseki

Yuichi Terashita

Teruhiko Kodama

Gousuke Shiraishi

Masaru Tomono

Yuichiro Kunugimoto

Joel Estrella

Yoshihiro Kondo

Kentaro Yamamura

Takafumi Hasimoto

Hironori Mizoguchi

Kazuhiro Shiba

Takafumi Hashimoto

Taku Nagakane

Takashi Saito

A film thickness analysis method includes: acquiring film thickness values at a plurality of measurement points different from each other along a radial direction for a target film formed on an analysis target substrate by supplying a processing liquid while rotating the target substrate based on predetermined liquid processing conditions; and creating an approximate expression related to a film thickness distribution of the target film by approximating the film thickness values at the plurality of measurement points with respect to one Zernike polynomial. The approximate expression is created by specifying a coefficient related to the film thickness of the entire target substrate and one or more coefficients related to concentric curvature components, among a plurality of coefficients included in the Zernike polynomial.

Film thickness analysis method, film thickness analysis device and storage medium

An information processing apparatus includes a prediction unit configured to calculate, based on a film thickness model representing a relationship between a state of a substrate processing apparatus and a film thickness of a coating film formed on a front surface of a substrate by the substrate processing apparatus and pre-data representing the state of the substrate processing apparatus before the substrate is processed by the substrate processing apparatus, a predicted film thickness when the substrate is processed by the substrate processing apparatus; and an output unit configured to output, based on the predicted film thickness, instruction information on a processing of the substrate before the substrate is processed by the substrate processing apparatus.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method and computer-readable recording medium

Various embodiments of systems and methods for monitoring thermal characteristics of substrates, substrate processes and/or substrate processing module components are disclosed herein. More specifically, the present disclosure provides various embodiments of a thermal imaging sensor within various substrate processing modules (e.g., a liquid dispense module, a baking module or combined bake module, an interface block, a wafer inspection system (WIS) module, a plating dispense module or another processing module) of a substrate processing system. By positioning the thermal imaging sensor at various locations within the substrate processing system, the present disclosure enables thermal data to be remotely collected from the substrate surface, a liquid dispensed onto the substrate surface, a processing space surrounding the substrate, or a component included within a substrate processing module (e.g., a liquid dispense nozzle, a spin chuck, a spin coat cup, a cooling arm, a WIS component, a heating component, etc.).

Thermal imaging sensor for integration into track system

A substrate processing apparatus includes a periphery removal unit configured to remove a peripheral portion of a film formed on a surface of a substrate; a profile acquisition unit configured to acquire a removal width profile indicating a relationship between a position in a circumferential direction of the substrate and a width of a portion of the substrate from which the film is removed; and a factor estimation unit configured to output factor information indicating a factor of an error in the width based on the removal width profile.

Substrate processing apparatus, estimation method of substrate processing and recording medium

A substrate processing apparatus which processes includes a thermal processor that performs thermal processing on the substrate; an imager that images the substrate; and a controller that executes adjustment processing of adjusting conditions of processing on the substrate. The adjustment processing includes: controlling the imager to image an unexposed adjustment substrate on which a resist film is formed; controlling the thermal processor to perform the thermal processing on the adjustment substrate subjected to uniform exposure processing of exposing each region of a substrate surface with a fixed exposure amount after the pre-exposure imaging; controlling the imager to image the adjustment substrate after the thermal processing; estimating an in-plane temperature distribution of the adjustment substrate in the thermal processing based on the pre-exposure imaging result and the post-heating imaging result; and deciding processing conditions of the thermal processing based on an estimation result of the in-plane temperature distribution.

Substrate processing apparatus and processing condition adjustment method

Various embodiments of systems and methods for calibrating wafer inspection system modules are disclosed herein. More specifically, the present disclosure provides various embodiments of systems and methods to calibrate the multiple spectral band values obtained from a substrate by a camera system included within a WIS module. In one embodiment, multiple spectral band values are red, green, and blue (RGB) values. As described in more detail below, the calibration methods disclosed herein may use a test wafer having a predetermined pattern of thickness changes or color changes to generate multiple spectral band offset values. The multiple spectral band offset values can be applied to the multiple spectral band values obtained from the substrate to generate calibrated RGB values, which compensate for spectral responsivity differences between camera systems included within a plurality of WIS modules.

System and method to calibrate a plurality of wafer inspection system (WIS) modules

Camera images may be utilized to detect substrate edges and provide information regarding the centering of the substrate within the fluid dispense system. Camera images may also be utilized to monitoring the location of a cup within the fluid dispense system. The signal processing techniques utilized may include data smoothing, analyzing only certain wavelengths of reflected energy, transforming the data (in one embodiment utilizing a Fourier transform), and/or analyzing a sub-set of the collected pixels of data. The camera image data collected herein may be combined with a wide variety of other data so as to better monitor, characterize and/or control a substrate processing process flow.

Systems and methods for spin process video analysis during substrate processing

A substrate inspection system is provided to monitor characteristics of a substrate, while the substrate is disposed within (or being transferred into/out of) a processing unit of a liquid dispense substrate processing system. The inspection system is integrated within a liquid dispense substrate processing system and includes one or more optical sensors of a reflectometer (such as a spectrometer or laser-based transceiver) configured to obtain spectral data from a substrate. A controller is coupled to receive the spectral data from the optical sensors(s). The one or more optical sensors (or one or more optical fibers coupled to the rest of the optical sensor hardware) are coupled at locations within the substrate processing system. The controller analyzes the spectral data received from the optical sensors(s) to detect characteristic(s) of the substrate including, but not limited to, film thickness (FT), refractive index changes, and associated critical dimension (CD) changes.

Systems and methods for monitoring one or more characteristics of a substrate

There is provided a coated film removing apparatus for removing, with a removal liquid, a peripheral portion of a coated film formed by supplying a coating liquid to a surface of a circular substrate, including: a rotary holding part configured to hold the substrate and rotate together with the substrate; a removal liquid nozzle configured to discharge the removal liquid on a peripheral portion of the surface of the substrate held by the rotary holding part so that the removal liquid is oriented toward a downstream side in a rotational direction of the substrate; and a control part configured to output a control signal so as to rotate the substrate at a rotation speed of 2,300 rpm or more when discharging the removal liquid.

Coated film removing apparatus

A substrate processing method, includes acquiring a height distribution along a radial direction of a substrate in a peripheral edge portion of a front surface of the substrate, forming an underlayer film on the entire front surface of the substrate so as to correct a drop of a height of the peripheral edge portion based on the height distribution, and forming a resist film on the entire surface of the underlayer film.

Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing method and storage medium

A light irradiation apparatus includes: a rotary holding unit that rotates a substrate around a rotary axis while holding the substrate; a lighting unit positioned to face the rotary holding unit; a light shielding mask positioned between the rotary holding unit and the lighting unit, and widened along a direction orthogonal to the rotary axis; and a driving unit that linearly moves the lighting unit along the direction orthogonal to the rotary axis. The light shielding mask overlaps with the substrate when viewed in the direction of the rotary axis. The light shielding mask has an opening portion. An opening width of the opening portion at a side away from the rotary axis is larger than the opening with near the rotary axis. The lighting unit irradiates light through the opening portion toward the surface of the substrate while being moved above the opening portion by the driving unit.

Light irradiation apparatus

The disclosed heating device is to perform a heating process on an exposed substrate formed with a resist film before a developing process, the device including a heating part to perform a heating process on the exposed substrate, the heating part including a plurality of two-dimensionally arranged heating elements; a seating part provided at an upper side of the heating part, on which the substrate is disposed; and a control part to correct a setting temperature of the heating part based on temperature correction values, and to control the heating part based on the corrected setting temperature, during the heating process on one substrate by the heating part, wherein the temperature correction values being previously obtained from measured critical dimensions of the resist pattern in another substrate formed with the resist pattern through the heating process by the heating part and then the developing process.

Heating device, coating/developing system, heating method, coating/developing method, and recording medium having program for executing heating method or coating/developing method

In the present invention, temperature drop amounts of heating plate regions when the substrate is mounted on a heating plate are detected to detect a warped state of the substrate. From the temperature drop amounts of the heating plate regions, correction values for set temperatures of the heating plate regions are calculated. The calculation of the correction values for the set temperatures of the heating plate regions is performed by estimating steady temperatures within the substrate to be heat-processed on the heating plate from the temperature drop amounts of the heating plate regions using a correlation obtained in advance. From the estimated steady temperatures within the substrate and the temperature drop amounts of the heating regions, the correction values for the set temperatures of the heating plate regions are calculated. Based on the correction values for the set temperatures, the set temperatures of the heating plate regions are changed.

Temperature control method of heat processing plate, computer storage medium, and temperature control apparatus of heat processing plate

The substrate processing system includes a measuring apparatus that measures any of film thickness, a refractive index, an absorption coefficient, and warpage. The system includes an apparatus for performing photolithography on the substrate to form a resist pattern and an etching apparatus that etches a processing film. A control unit includes a first relation between an initial condition and a dimension of the pattern of the processing film and a second relation between a processing condition of the predetermined processing and the dimension of the pattern of the processing film. The control unit estimates a dimension of the pattern of the processing film after the etching treatment from the first relation based on a measurement result and corrects the processing condition of the predetermined processing in the photolithography or the etching from the second relation based on an estimation result of the dimension of the pattern.

Substrate processing method, computer-readable storage medium, and substrate processing system

A processing temperature of thermal processing is corrected based on measurement of a first dimension of a resist pattern on a substrate from a previously obtained relation between a dimension of a resist pattern and a temperature of thermal processing, a second dimension of the resist pattern after thermal processing is performed at the corrected processing temperature is measured, a distribution within the substrate of the second dimension is classified into a linear component expressed by an approximated curved surface and a nonlinear component, a processing condition of exposure processing is corrected based on the linear component from a previously obtained relation between a dimension of a resist pattern and a processing condition of exposure processing, and thermal processing at the processing temperature corrected in a temperature correcting step and exposure processing under the processing condition corrected in an exposure condition correcting step are performed to form a predetermined pattern.

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Koshi, Japan

Masahide Tadokoro