Hitachi Consumer Electronics Co., Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi High-tech Corporation

Hitachi-lg Data Storage, Inc.

Hitachi-high-technologies Corporation

Soichiro Eto

Hiroyuki Minemura

Koichi Watanabe

Toshimichi Shintani

Tatehito Usui

Takahiro Kurokawa

Harukazu Miyamoto

Shigeru Nakamoto

Yumiko Anzai

Yoshitaka Morimoto

Tsubasa Okamoto

Kousuke Fukuchi

Ryoji Asakura

Shuichi Kusaba

Hiroyuki Kobayashi

Satomi Inoue

Atsushi Sekiguchi

Kazunori Shinoda

Takeshi Ohmori

Nobuya Miyoshi

Mitsuru Nagasawa

A process of detecting a thickness of a film layer to be processed or a depth of etching by using a result of detection of a signal indicating intensity of interference light having a plurality of wavelengths formed by being reflected on a surface of a wafer at a plurality of time instants from when plasma is formed to when the etching is completed. A start time instant is detected by using an amount of change in the intensity of the interference light. Then, a remaining film thickness or the etching amount at an arbitrary time instant is detected from a result of comparing actual data indicating the intensity of the interference light at the arbitrary time instant during the processing after the start time instant with a plurality of pieces of data for detection of the intensity of the interference light obtained in advance and associated with values of the film thicknesses or the depths of etching.

Plasma processing method and plasma processing apparatus

A plasma processing method to detect and process a thickness of the processing target film with high accuracy when a fine shape of the semiconductor wafer surface varies, including detecting a state of a processing target film of a processing target material that is processed inside a vacuum processing chamber; detecting light emission of the plasma; obtaining a differential waveform data of the light emission of the plasma; storing a plurality of pieces of differential waveform pattern data in advance; calculating an estimated value of the film thickness of the processing target film processed on the processing target material by weighting based on differences between the differential waveform data obtained and the plurality of pieces of differential waveform pattern data stored; and determining an end point of processing using the plasma based on the estimated value of the film thickness of the processing target film calculated.

Plasma processing apparatus and plasma processing method

A plasma processing apparatus and method with an improved processing yield, the plasma processing apparatus including detector configured to detect an intensity of a first light of a plurality of wavelengths in a first wavelength range and an intensity of a second light of a plurality of wavelengths in a second wavelength range, the first light being obtained by receiving a light which is emitted into the processing chamber from a light source disposed outside the processing chamber and which is reflected by an upper surface of the wafer, and the second light being a light transmitted from the light source without passing through the processing chamber; and a determination unit configured to determine a remaining film thickness of the film layer by comparing the intensity of the first light corrected using a change rate of the intensity of the second light.

Provided is a processing state detection unit includes: a light emission detection unit configured to detect light emission of the plasma; a calculation unit configured to obtain a differential waveform data of the light emission of the plasma; a database unit that stores a plurality of pieces of differential waveform pattern data in advance; a film thickness calculation unit configured to calculate an estimated value of the film thickness of the processing target film processed on the processing target material by weighting based on differences between the differential waveform data obtained by the calculation unit and the plurality of pieces of differential waveform pattern data stored in the database unit; and an end point determination unit configured to determine an end point of processing using the plasma based on the estimated value of the film thickness of the processing target film calculated by the film thickness calculation unit.

This invention provides a wafer processing method comprising a process of irradiating a wafer to be processed placed on the upper surface of a sample table arranged in a processing chamber with light or electromagnetic waves to heat and remove a compound layer of a film layer that is preliminarily formed on the upper surface of the film layer of the upper surface of the wafer, wherein in the process, by receiving the light or electromagnetic waves reflected by the upper surface of the wafer, a signal indicating a temporal change in intensity using the wavelength of the light or electromagnetic waves as a parameter is corrected using information of the intensity of the light or electromagnetic waves detected by receiving the light or electromagnetic waves at a position on the circumferential side of the upper surface of the sample table.

Wafer processing method and plasma processing apparatus

A plasma processing apparatus including a processing state detection unit having: a light emission detection unit to detect light emission of the plasma; a calculation unit to obtain a differential waveform data of the light emission of the plasma; a database unit that stores a plurality of pieces of differential waveform pattern data in advance; a film thickness calculation unit to calculate an estimated value of the film thickness of the processing target film processed on the processing target material by weighting based on differences between the differential waveform data obtained by the calculation unit and the plurality of pieces of differential waveform pattern data stored in the database unit; and an end point determination unit to determine an end point of processing using the plasma based on the estimated value of the film thickness of the processing target film calculated by the film thickness calculation unit.

In thickness/depth measurement of a wafer in etching, variation occurs in detected light quantity due to fluctuation of light quantity of a light source or fluctuation of air in a region through which light passes, and measurement accuracy of thickness/depth is reduced, and thus the total light quantity or average light quantity of an arbitrary wavelength is calculated from an optical spectrum measured at each time instant during etching, estimated total light quantity or estimated average light quantity at the present time, which is estimated using total light quantity or average light quantity measured prior to the present time, is calculated, a change rate, as a ratio of the total light quantity at the present time to the estimated total light quantity or a ratio of the average light quantity to the estimated average light quantity, is calculated, the calculated change rate is used to correct light quantity of each wavelength at the present time, and the corrected light quantity of each wavelength is used to perform thickness/depth measurement.

Etching apparatus and etching method and detecting apparatus of film thickness

A plasma processing apparatus processes a film layer to be processed disposed in advance on a surface of a wafer by using a plasma being switched on and off in a processing chamber in predetermined cycles and periods and includes a detection control unit for detecting a processing amount of the film layer on the surface of the wafer. The detection control unit includes a light source unit, a detection unit, and a film thickness/depth calculation unit. This detection control unit detects a plurality of times an amount indicating the intensity of light on a sample surface at predetermined cycles during a period in which the plasma is switched off while the wafer is being processed and detects a processing amount of the film layer on the sample surface by using the detected amount indicating the light intensity.

When data is recorded on an optical disc, and stored for a long period of time, there is a need to periodically evaluate whether a quality of the recorded data is determined with time, or not. If the signal quality is lower than a given level as an evaluation result, a work for moving the data to a brand-new optical disc is required. However, in periodical inspection, if the number of optical discs is enormous, a large amount of time is required to evaluate all data recorded on the optical disc. In recording user data on the optical disc, a signal of a particular pattern having a lifetime shorter than a reference lifetime of the user data is recorded in a given area of the optical disc in advance, the particular pattern signal is reading at given time intervals, and processing on the user data is determined on the basis of the evaluation result of the signal quality.

Quality evaluation method, information recording medium, optical disc device and recording/reproducing system

A method for evaluating a reproduction performance which reproduces a specific pattern recording signal to measure a reproduced signal noise, and calculates an evaluated value of a reproduction performance on the basis of a frequency characteristic of the measured reproduced signal noise.

Method for evaluating information reproduction performance, information reproduction device, and information recording medium

A recording waveform is adjusted based on the fluctuation amount of the mark edge position, focused on that fluctuation of a mark edge position is increased in aged deterioration of a recording signal. Specifically, the recording waveform is adjusted such that a fluctuation amount becomes minimum or a threshold value or less. Then, information is recorded on the optical disc using the recording waveform. Further, provided is a recording medium or an information recording apparatus which stores parameters of the recording waveform.

Information recording method, information recording apparatus, information recording medium, and medium estimating method

In write power adjustment for an optical disc having a plurality of information storage layers, data of trial writing is varied by the influence of layers other than a target layer. It is difficult, therefore, to determine optimal write power. A modulation M[m] is obtained from a reproduction signal amplitude of a signal subjected to the trial writing performed with use of write powers Pw[m] (m being an integer) of a plurality of kinds. At least an optimum write power intercept Pint_opt is determined by fitting a relation between the Pw[m] and the M[m] by a modulation characteristic formula M=Masy&#xd7;(1&#x2212;(Pint&#x2212;Pasy)/(Pw&#x2212;Pasy)) having an asymptotic modulation Masy, a write power intercept Pint, and an asymptotic write power Pasy as parameters. Approximation accuracy by the fitting and/or quality of the trial writing signal are evaluated with use of at least the M[m], the modulation characteristic formula, and the Pint_opt. An optimum write power Pw_opt is calculated by performing a specified operation at least with use of the Pint_opt.

Write power adjustment method and information recording method

The present invention achieves tracking servo using a recording signal on a grooveless optical disc. Trial writing signals are written by using multiple recording conditions, and a recommended recording condition having favorable qualities of a reproduction signal and a tracking error signal is determined based on the trial writing signals. Then, recording is performed by using the recommended recording condition. In addition, by using a recording condition determined based on an optimum power control performed prior to the recording, signals are recorded adjacent to each other in at least two tracks. Signals are recorded by using the determined recording condition under which a tracking error signal quality obtained from the recording signal matches a desired value of a tracking error signal quality of the medium.

Recording adjusting method, information recording and reproducing device, and information recording medium

By referring to a table of reproducing conditions and medium specific parameters, stored in an optical disc or optical disc apparatus and/or generated by the optical disc apparatus, the medium specific parameters to be used for performing reproducing power adjustment are changed in accordance with the reproducing condition to execute reproducing power adjustment.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Soichiro Eto