On-line measuring control of oxide film thickness

Abstract

Abstract PURPOSE:To facilitate forming an oxide film of the target thickness without dispersion on a wafer by a method wherein the thickness of the oxide film is estimated at a series of time points in accordance with on-line measured data of the thickness and appropriate operation parameters of an oxidizing furnace are determined so as to make the estimated value agree with the target oxide film thickness. CONSTITUTION:In addition to a target oxide film thickness 6 given from the outside, an estimated value 31 of the oxide film thickness is put into an oxide film thickness optimizing control apparatus 4 from an oxide film thickness estimating apparatus 3. Various operating parameters 52 (=12) from an oxidizing equipment 1 and oxide film thickness on-line measured data 21 from an oxide film thickness measuring apparatus 2 are put into the oxide film thickness estimating apparatus 3. An interference light 11 from a wafer surface is put into the oxide film thickness measuring apparatus 2. When a target oxide film thickness 6 is given, the on-line measured value of the oxide film thickness is determined by the oxide film thickness measuring apparatus 2 and the oxide film thickness is estimated at a series of time points by the oxide film thickness estimating apparatus 3 from on-line measured data of the oxide film thickness and moreover, the most appropriate operating parameters are determined by the oxide film thickness optimizing control apparatus 4 according to the estimated oxide film thickness and a controller 5 controls the oxidizing equipment 1 according to the most appropriate operating parameters 51.

Inventors

• 👤 Ikuo Matsuba
• 👤 松葉　育雄
• 👤 Kuniaki Matsumoto
• 👤 松本　邦顕
• 👤 Takeo Yoshimi
• 👤 吉見　武夫

Bibliographic Details