APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

APC (Advanced Process Control),

Current Status and Issues

Hiromichi Enami
Hitachi Semiconductor Europe GmbH
Jenaer Strasse 1, 84034 Landshut, Germany
TEL : +49-871-684-200
E-mail : hiromichi.enami@hitachi-landshut.de

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Contents
1. Background
2. Motivation
3. Process Control and Current Issues
4. Sensors and Actuators
for Process Control
5. In-Situ APC System
6. Current Status of APC
7. Conclusion

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

1. Background

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Factory Needs
The factory is driven by the following cost & productivity
needs irrespective of technology nodes:
1 Reduce factory capital and operating costs per function
2 Improve factory optimization for different business
models (high-volume/high-product mix and
high-volume/low-product mix)
3 Increase factory life via extendibility, flexibility, and
scalability
4 Increase equipment reliability and availability
5 Reduce ramp time for both new and retrofit factories

From ITRS’99

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Tactics for Improving Productivity

Logarithmic $ per Function
Present
Feature Size 12-14%

Wafer Size
Yield Improvement
Equipment
Other Productivity Productivity
Equipment, etc

25-30% per Year Historical

Improvement Curve

Time
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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

2. Motivation

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Overall Equipment Effectiveness of

High Density Plasma Etcher (SiO2)
Increasing and Unsolved Items
(8%+11%+21%= 40%)

Working Out of Working

70% 25%
Wafer Process Quality

Waiting
Control

Cleaning
Seasoning

51%

Trouble
Plasma
21%
Wafer Eq. Prtcl
Etching Process Trans.
QC tst-run
etc.
8% 38% 13% 11% 5% 9% 12% 4%

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Problems of Plasma Process Equipment

for Deep Sub-micron Devices Fabrication
1.Steep Rises of Equipment Cost for Safety,
Installation, Maintenance, and Operation

2.Low OEE (Overhead Equipment Effectiveness)

1) Low Reliability and Stability ( Yield Loss )
2) Increasing Needs for long QC Operations
3) Individual Differences
among the same Equipments

3.Lack of Ability to keep up with

the next Generation Processes
1) Insufficient Process Controllability
2) Difficulties in Modifies or Functional Additions

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Difficulty in Deep Submicron Process

0.35um
Proc. Control 0.25
Selectivity (Arb. Units) Margin 0.15 Reaction
Suspended Area

0.15um
Specifications
0.25um from Proc.
Integration
0.35um
Gas
Concentration
(Arb. Units)
Fluctuation in
Equipments & Processes Wafer Reaction
Vibration from Outgas from Chamber
Device Controllability

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

New Insulator Plasma Etching

Self Align Dual Damascine
Contact

Rapid Change of Exposed Area and High Selectivity

Change of Reaction Products from Wafer ( O2, N2) is a few sccm.
This Change influences Plasma Decomposition and Etching Selectivity.

High Margin Process In-Situ Process Control System

( Intelligent Machine )
• Applicable Process Condition is pin-point. (difficult)
• To develop high Margin Process is very difficult .

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Yield Management
Input Device Simulation
Process Simulation

Defects Cause Investigation & Measure

Attention!!
Defect Period of
Inspection Auto Dfct Classification Yield Ramp
Particle Auto Defect Review = Lost of
Inspection Pattern Defects
Yield (Income)
Tr-level Confirmation
Device Test SEM,TEM
Data Analysis
Probe Test
Electrical Defects
BIST

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

The Needs for

Short Period Problem Solving
Loss per Incident (Arb. Units)
– Functional Probing Test : 100%
– Parametric Test : 99%
– Short Cycle Electrical QC Test : 20%
– In-Line Inspection & Feedback : 5%
– In-Situ Process Control : 0.01%

CF + CR + CY
COO =
L x TPT x Y x U

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

3. Process Control and

Current Issues

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Treatment Environment and Wafer State

Equipment Settings Disturbing Factor
RF Power
Pressure etc.

Treatment Environment Environment Sensor

Electron Density & Plasma Impedance
Plasma Emission
Distribution Mass Analyzer
Ion Density & Distribution
Surface Voltage & Distribution 1) Make the relationship clear
Electron & Ion Temperature 2) Decide the most effective
parameter
3)Sensor based process and
tool control

Wafer State Wafer State Sensor

Etching Speed
Selectivity

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Outline of APC
INPUT
1 Run-to-Run
Diffusion
Equip. QC Data (/lot Gr.) Controller
Equip. QC Data (/wafer) SECS
Equip. QC Data (/sec.)

3 Equipment Data Combination

Status Sensor & Analysis
2
In-Situ Process
Controller
Wafer Process Data (/wafer)
Defects,CDs,Overlays,Thicknesses

Equipment Process Data (/lot)

Dummy Wfr QC for Batch Processes
Metalization
OUTPUT

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

What is APC in short

Without APC With R to R APC With In-Situ APC

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Advanced In-Situ Process Control

Pre-Etch Wafers Etched Wafers
Plasma Etch
Reactor
Single-Variable •Gas/Chamber In-Situ
Controllers Sensors
Dynamics
•Wafer Surface
Dynamics
Manipulated Process State/
Setpoints Environment
Variables
Tool Control
Computer
Etching Recipe (Endpoint Detection)
SetPoints Control Code
Process Decision Module
Variable Limits

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Indispensable Items for APC

1. Control System
1) Decision module
2) Control Algorithm (MIMO)
3) Process Model
2. Add-on Environmental Sensors
--Real time, Connection Network, Plug & Play--
3. Delay-free Actuators
4. Realization for Equipments on the market
Complex Four-level Value Chain
Sensor Suppliers, Data Integrators,
Equipment Venders and End Users
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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

SAB Technology in Semiconductor Manufacturing

Factory Design
Factory Inter-Cell Control
Controller Process Flow Management
Standardized High Level
Process Flow Language
Generic Cell Control Framework
Cell/R-to-R Run-to-Run Prcss and Eqpmnt Cntrl
Controller AEC/APC , RMS , OBEM , etc.
SECS/GEM Communication Protocol
HSMS(High-Speed SECS Message Service)
Equipment In-Situ Control Framework
MECS(Cluster Tool )
Controller

Standard Sensor Actuator Bus

Sensors Monitors Actuators Smart Devices

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

4. Sensors and Actuators

for Process Control

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Classification of Sensors based on Application

Equipment Plasma Probe
Settings SECS Ion Energy Analyzer
Emission Image
Gas Flow Sensor
Treatment usec Emission Sensor
Environment QMAS Environment Sensor
Particle Sensor
Quantitative Sensor
Emission Sensor
Impedance Sensor
Wafer End-point Sensor Wafer State Sensor
State (Emission) Relative Sensor
Film Thickness Sensor
Effective Prevention of Effective Collection of
unexpected error Equipment Base Data
High Performance Effective Process
and Stability Development
Dummy-less QC Quick Modification
of Hardware
Mass Production
Research & Development

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Detection of Unexpected Discharge

4
×10 E.E.D.
4.0
TEMPERATURE
ELECTRON

3.0
Quantitative
Sensor 2.0 Unexpected Discharge

1.0 Normal
Plasma Probe
0 1.0 10 100
PRESSURE (mTorr)
C1 capacitance

120 Tuning Box

Impedance C2
Relative 110 Sensor
(pF)

Normal C1
C1
Sensor 100
Unexpected Discharge
90
1.0 10 100
PRESSURE (mTorr)
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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Issues for Interface of OES

View Port Master PC

DeviceNet
Sensor Digital Data
chamber
DeviceNet I/F
Analog Data Digital Data A/D

OES I/F
OES
Analog Data
controller
Output : 4 wavelengths(Analog) Custom Made & Expensive
Sampling time : 5 ∼ 60000msec
SEMI Standardization

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Response of Actuator/Sensor
Under the present conditions:
Quick
Response
RF OK
Actuator
Gas NG
OES OK
Sensor QMS NG
RF Monitor OK

• The problem that we have to consider is

how to reduce these time delay.
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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

The Problem of QMS Sensor Delay

• Using Differential Exhaust
The change of monitoring data with time
depends on time constant of analyzing
chamber.
• The scanning time of AMU is more than 20s.

• Using QMS operated up to high pressure

without differential exhaust.
• Scanning Fixed AMU.
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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Real Time Sensor of QMS

Master PC
TMP

ICF Port DeviceNet

Sensor DeviceNet I/F

A/D
chamber

Differential Network Analog Data

Exhaust (Fixed AMU)
with no orifice QMS I/F
Controller
QMS

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

The Time Delay of Gas Transfer

• The Volume and the Conductance of the gas
unit decide the time delay of gas transfer.
• To reduce the time delay of gas transfer, it is
necessary to use the shorter pipe.
• The Compact Surface-Mount Gas Unit can
be located near the reaction chamber and
allows compact piping.
1MFC+2Valve

1.5 inch

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

5. In-Situ APC System

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Identify the Design Procedure for In-Situ APC

Process Chemistry

Select &
Implement Sensor
Process
Control Sensor
Choose Control Dynamics
Objectives Objective

Select & Implement

Control Algorithm

Operate under Control

Closed Loop Control
Algorithm
Performance
Evaluation

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Performance of Process Control

Identify the Process
Process Chemistry Control
Dynamics Sensor
Objective
Select & C5F8
Implement Sensor Vpp
Flow Rate P.R.
Etching Speed
Choose Control
Objectives
Control
Select & Implement Algorithm
Control Algorithm
PID Control
Operate under
Closed Loop Control
Variation of P.R. Etching Speed
Performance
Evaluation ±9% ±4%

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

the Equipment
TEST Equipment (U622)
for APC on the Market with
Demonstration APC System
Chamber Controller Chamber Controller

A/D A/D
DIO PLC DIO PLC
D/A D/A
DeviceNet DeviceNet
Sensor/Actuator Control PC Sensor/Actuator Control PC

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

On-Site Development of In-Situ Controller

M-Signal Input U622 Output
Controller CAD LabVIEW
(DLL Client)
MATLAB Simulink
APC Module
Real-Time Workshop (DLL)
(Code generator)
Win NT Device Driver
(DLL)
1.Prcss Model Identification Visual C++
(Compiler) DeviceNet I/F

Device net

RF Super-ECR OES
2.MIMO Controller Design
MFC Etcher QMS
3.Automatic Program Generation

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

6. Current Status of APC

from IMA “NIST ATP Program Overview”
1) Characterizing Variability Tasks
2) Reducing Variability Tasks
3) System Integration Tasks

4) Economic Benefits at IC Manufacturers

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Characterizing Variability Tasks

(from IMA “NIST ATP Program Overview”)
1.1 Analyzing Variability in the Patterning Process
Variance components and sources
1.2 Lithography Cluster Tool Variation
CD error budget model for 0.18mm
1.3 Eqipmnt and Behavioral Modeling of Plasma Etching
Virtual Plasma Equipment Model (VPEM) and
behavioral models
1.4 Data Mining of Multivariate Time Series in Snsr Data
1.5 Insitu Spectral Reflectometry for Process Monitoring
1.6 Insitu Scatterometry for Deep-UV Process Control
1.7 In-line CD Metrology via Elctrcl Linewidth
Measurement

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Reducing Variability Tasks

2.1 Intelligent Control of the Lithography Cluster
Implement resist thickness, PEB, and exposure dose
control
2.2 Small-spot RFTIR for R2R Deep UV Process Control
Develop with On-line Technologies and incorporate in
R2R control loop
2.3 R2R Control of Lithography Using High-speed
Simulation
2.4 Diode-laser Sensors or Real-time Control
2.5 FTIR Downstream Gas Analysis for Plasma Etchers
2.6 Model-based Control of Plasma Etching
2.7 Real-time Monitoring and Control of Plasma Etching
2.8 Feed-forward Recipe Adjustment for CD Control

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

System Integration Tasks

3.1 Factory Automation & Process Control Infrastructure
Network, computers, database, and control platforms
APC Framework
3.2 Equipment Integration
Equipment interfaces to APC FW
Wafer level tracking capability
Existing sensor and tool state information
3.3 Sensor and Metrology Integration
Off-line metrology tools
In-line sensors and metrology (FTIR, reflectometer, diode laser)
Metrology database for real-time sensor signals
3.4 Data Analysis & Control Integration
R2R and FDC algorithms
Data analysis methods

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Economic Benefits at Other IC

Manufacturers (1)
(from IMA “NIST ATP Program Overview”)

IBM: Fault Detection/Classification

Project
IBM invested $2 million in APC and saved
$20 million
Improved time-to-market 50%, reduced
unscheduled downtime by 20%, and
tripled the time between preventative
maintenance

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

Economic Benefits at Other IC

Manufacturers (2)
AMD: Gate CD Control project
Reduced gate CD standard deviation by 48%
using feedback lot-to-lot BARC etch time
adjustments
Motorola: Active CD Control (ACDC)
Project
Increased revenue $2 million / week / 1K
starts by adjusting exposure dose lot-to-
lot (67% Cpk increase)

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 APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

7. Conclusion

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APC (Advanced Process Control), Current Status and Issues

For the near future Semiconductor production

APC is dispensable. This Technology has been
studied for 10 years and is nearly at the step of
application.
(1) APC is able to reduce the period of yield ramp
and lost of yield.
(2) APC needs flexible control system, add-on
quick response sensors and delay free
actuators.
(3) Using feedback controller, variation of Si
etching speed is reduced from ±9% to ±4%.
(4) Several NA IC manufacturers could get
economic benefits by using APC.
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