Lynn, S. and Macgearailt, N. and Ringwood, John
(2012)
Real-time virtual metrology and control of etch rate in an industrial
plasma chamber.
Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Control Applications (CAA), Dubrovnik.
Abstract
Plasma etch is a semiconductor manufacturing
process during which material is removed from the surface of
semiconducting wafers, typically made of silicon, using gases
in plasma form. A host of chemical and electrical complexities
make the etch process notoriously difficult to model and
troublesome to control. This work demonstrates the use of a
real-time model predictive control scheme to control plasma
etch rate in the presence of disturbances to the ground path of
the chamber, which are representative of maintenance events.
Virtual metrology (VM) models, using plasma impedance measurements,
are used to estimate the plasma etch rate in real
time for control, with a view to eliminating the requirement for
invasive measurements. The VM and control schemes exhibit
fast set-point tracking and disturbance rejection capabilities.
Etch rate can be controlled to within 1% of the desired value.
Such control represents a significant improvement over openloop
operation of etch tools, where variances in etch rate of
up to 5% can be observed during production processes due to
disturbances in tool state and material properties.
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Keywords: |
Real-time; virtual metrology; control of etch rate; industrial
plasma chamber; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering > Electronic Engineering |
| Item ID: |
6849 |
| Depositing User: |
Professor John Ringwood
|
| Date Deposited: |
19 Jan 2016 14:48 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Control Applications (CAA), Dubrovnik |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
Repository Staff Only(login required)
 |
Item control page |
Downloads per month over past year
Origin of downloads
Altmetric
Altmetric