• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    The disclosed apparatus is an apparatus for automatically replacing a lamp used as a light source in an optical measuring apparatus used in a process of inspecting a measurement object such as a semiconductor substrate. The device has a housing for receiving a plurality of lamps, the drive unit rotating one of the housings to select one of the plurality of lamps. The intensity of light provided from the selected lamp is measured by the light sensor, and the light signal of the light sensor is transmitted to the controller. The controller compares the optical signal with the reference signal to determine the time of lamp replacement, and generates a control signal for the operation of the driver. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the measurement failure caused by the change in the characteristics of the light caused by exceeding the life of the lamp and the lamp breakage, and to reduce the time required to replace the lamp.
    公开号:KR20040034762A
    申请号:KR1020020062807
    申请日:2002-10-15
    公开日:2004-04-29
    发明作者:백운직
    申请人:삼성전자주식회사；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    Apparatus for exchanging a lamp used in a optical measuring apparatus}
    [14] The present invention relates to a lighting device used in an optical measuring device. More specifically, the present invention relates to an automatic exchange device for a lamp used as a light source in an optical measuring device for measuring the surface thickness of a semiconductor substrate in a semiconductor device manufacturing process.
    [15] In general, a semiconductor device includes a Fab process for forming electrical elements such as transistors and capacitors and metal wirings connecting the same to a silicon wafer used as a semiconductor substrate, and for each of the semiconductor devices formed in the fab process. It is manufactured through the process of inspecting a characteristic and the packaging process which makes it possible to mount the said semiconductor device to various information communication apparatuses.
    [16] The fab process is a unit process such as a deposition process for forming a film, an etching process for forming a pattern, an ion implantation process for imparting electrical properties to the film, a polishing process for planarization of the film, and a cleaning process for removing impurities. After each unit process, an inspection process for inspecting the properties of the membrane is performed.
    [17] Various optical measuring devices are used in the inspection process. The optical measuring devices are equipped with various kinds of lighting devices, and a halogen lamp, a xenon lamp, a deuterium lamp, or the like is used as a light source.
    [18] The illumination device must precisely maintain characteristic values of radiant illumination, such as brightness of light, fluctuations in brightness, intensity, and spectrum characteristics, for the accuracy and accuracy of measurements using optical measurement devices. . For example, in the case of an optical measuring device used for measuring the thickness of a film formed on a semiconductor substrate in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, high reliability of the measurement is required, which is a measure of the quality of the product and whether the manufacturing process is defective. Because it is the basis.
    [19] The optical measuring device is operated on an optical principle, the accuracy of the measurement being highly dependent on the characteristic values of the light provided by the lighting device. However, in the case of lamps used for this purpose, the lighting characteristics change depending on the working time and the environment. Therefore, various studies have been conducted to keep the lighting characteristics of the lamp stable for a long time and to replace the lamp at an appropriate time.
    [20] As an example, US Pat. No. 4,831,564 issued to Suga calculates the remaining life of a xenon lamp based on the actual discharge current. Using the given relationship between discharge current and lifetime, the known residual current can be substituted to find the theoretical residual lifetime. This method cannot be applied directly to the lighting device used in the optical measuring device used in the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device because the quality of the measurement light generated by the lamp cannot be directly monitored.
    [21] As another example, US Pat. No. 5,495,329 (issued to Anderson, II et al.) Relates to a lighting device for a scanner, and during operation, the scanner divides the lamp illumination into several possible characteristics, extending the width of the light across the scanning area. High uniformity. In addition, the information on the deterioration state of the lamp is obtained by the required preheating time of the lamp, and the remaining usable life can be predicted by the information. However, this does not provide a firmly reliable basis for the quality of the measurement light or the timing of proper lamp replacement.
    [22] The lighting device used in the optical measuring device for measuring the thickness of the film formed on the semiconductor substrate is stable by using a deuterium lamp (190 to 360nm) in the ultraviolet region and a halogen lamp (360 to 3200nm) in the visible region, and the intensity of energy Provides improved light. However, the lamps may be used alone or in combination of the two lamps, there is a problem that can not be detected when the lamp failure occurs, causing a bad measurement.
    [23] In particular, when a halogen lamp is used, the lamp replacement cycle is about three months, and the lamp is periodically replaced. However, in the event of exceeding the life of the lamp and breakage of the filament of the lamp due to continuous use for 24 hours, the measuring device generates abnormal data to lower the reliability of the measuring process. In addition, the lowering of the utilization rate of the measuring device thereby lowers the overall productivity of the semiconductor device and has a fatal effect on process monitoring. Such defect data produces a failure factor in a subsequent process, which is a problem that affects the overall yield of the semiconductor device.
    [24] An object of the present invention for solving the above problems is to provide an apparatus capable of automatically replacing the lamp by measuring the operating state of the lamp used in the optical measuring device.
    [1] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a lamp exchange apparatus used in an optical measuring apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
    [2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the housing illustrated in FIG. 1.
    [3] 3 is a graph illustrating an optical signal measured by an optical sensor.
    [4] FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining an optical measuring device having the lamp replacing device shown in FIG. 1.
    [5] Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings
    [6] 20: measuring object 100: lamp replacement device
    [7] 110 housing 102 lamp
    [8] 120: driving unit 122: rotation angle measurement sensor
    [9] 130: light sensor 140: control unit
    [10] 142: power supply 200: optical measuring device
    [11] 202: Lens 210: First Light Splitter
    [12] 220: second optical splitter 230: measurement table
    [13] 240: Spectrometer 250: Video monitor
    [25] The present invention for achieving the above object is a drum (drum), a housing in which a plurality of lamps used as a light source in the optical measuring device is radially housed, and connected to the housing, the housing by rotating the plurality A driver for selecting one of the three lamps, an optical sensor for measuring the intensity of the light provided from the selected lamp, and a time for replacing the lamp according to the magnitude of the optical signal sensed by the optical sensor; It provides a lamp replacement device used in the optical measuring device comprising a control unit for generating a control signal for operating the.
    [26] The control unit determines an optimal replacement time of the lamp based on the quality of the measurement illumination required by the optical measuring device. That is, by comparing the reference signal and the optical signal provided from the optical sensor to determine the optimum replacement time of the lamp, it is possible to drive the driving unit to automatically cunning the lamp. In particular, by continuously detecting the intensity of light during the performance of a continuous measurement process and comparing the detected light signal with a reference signal, the quality of light provided from the lamp can always be maintained at an appropriate level. Accordingly, it is possible to know the maximum life of the lamp, to facilitate the supply and demand of parts, and to prevent the abnormality of the optical measurement result due to the life of the lamp and the breakage of the lamp.
    [27] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
    [28] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a lamp exchange apparatus used in an optical measuring apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the housing illustrated in FIG. 1.
    [29] 1 and 2, the lamp exchange apparatus 100 includes a housing 110 for accommodating a plurality of lamps 102 and one of the plurality of lamps 102 by rotating the housing 110. In accordance with the driving unit 120 for selecting, the optical sensor 130 for measuring the intensity of the light provided from the selected lamp 102a, and the timing of replacing the lamp 102 according to the optical signal transmitted from the optical sensor 130. The controller 140 includes a controller 140 for determining and driving the driver 120.
    [30] The housing 110 has a drum shape, and a plurality of lamps 102 are radially received on the front surface thereof. The driving unit 120 for selecting one of the plurality of lamps 102 by rotating the housing 110 is connected to the rear surface of the housing 110. It is preferable to use a stepper motor capable of fine adjustment of the rotation angle as the driving unit 120, and a rotation angle measuring sensor 122 capable of measuring the rotation angle is attached to the rear end portion of the driving unit 120. As the rotation angle measuring sensor 122, an encoder generally used may be used. The mechanical structure of the housing 110 and the drive unit 120 is shown in a very schematic manner, it is possible to change to a variety of structures when applying the concept of the rotary lamp replacement device 100. In addition, although six lamps 102 are housed in the housing 110, the quantity of lamps 102 may vary. That is, when the lamp 102 is a halogen lamp, considering the average lifetime of the halogen lamp, about six lamps 102 are required each year, and thus the quantity of the lamps 102 is determined accordingly.
    [31] The lamp 102a selected from the plurality of lamps 102 housed in the housing 110 is positioned at an illumination position of an optical measuring device (not shown) by the operation of the driving unit 120, and the lamp 102a selected at the illumination position. It is connected to a power source (not shown) for operating. At this time, the power supply line 104 is provided with a switch 106 for shutting off the power while the housing 110 rotates for the replacement of the lamp 102.
    [32] The light sensor 130 senses a portion of the light provided from the selected lamp 102a. As shown, the light provided from the selected lamp 102a is partially provided to the optical sensor 130 via the first light splitter 210 and the remainder to the optical measuring device. The photodiode may be used as the optical sensor 130. Here, since the installation structure of the optical sensor 130 may be variously changed according to the structure of the optical measuring device, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Referring to FIG. 3, the measured intensity of light indicates the highest value at the central portion of the light, and the optical signal measured as described above is transmitted to the controller 140. The illustrated dashed-dotted line 10 represents the magnitude of the reference signal, and the magnitude of the optical signal and the reference signal is provided as a voltage signal. Here, the magnitude of the reference signal may be variously changed according to the object to be measured or the purpose of the measurement process.
    [33] The control unit 140 is preset with a reference signal, and compares the optical signal transmitted from the optical sensor 130 with the reference signal to determine when to replace the lamp 102. When the life of the lamp 102 is exceeded or when the filament of the lamp 102 is broken, the optical signal has a lower value than the reference signal. When the optical signal becomes lower than the reference signal, do. The controller 140 generates a control signal for operating the driver 120 at the time of replacing the lamp 102, and the power supply 142 applies power to the driver 120 according to the control signal. The driver 120 is rotated by a rotation angle previously input by the power applied from the power supply 142. Here, the input rotation angle is determined according to the number of lamps 102 accommodated in the housing 110.
    [34] The optical sensor 130 detects the intensity of the light provided from the lamp 102a in real time, and the control unit 140 compares and analyzes the optical signal measured by the optical sensor 130 and the reference signal in real time, thereby providing an optical measuring apparatus. Monitor the characteristics of the light provided in real time. Therefore, the lamps 102 are sequentially replaced by the operation of the driving unit 120, and can prevent optical measurement defects due to the overuse of the lamps 102 and the breakage of the lamps 102 in advance.
    [35] The rotation angle of the housing 110 is measured by the rotation angle measurement sensor 122 and transmitted to the controller 140, and the controller 140 performs feedback control of the operation of the driver 120 according to the rotation angle signal. In addition, the switch 106 of the power supply line 104 cuts off power while the housing 110 rotates by the control signal of the controller 140.
    [36] As the lamp 102, a halogen lamp may be used, and a deuterium lamp may be used. It is also possible to use a combination of halogen lamps and deuterium lamps. Here, the kind of lamp that can be used does not limit the scope of the present invention, it is possible to use a variety of lamps.
    [37] On the other hand, the optical sensor 130 may detect the brightness of the light, the change in the brightness, the change in the intensity and the distribution characteristics of the light spectrum in addition to the light intensity, it may be used as a basis for determining the timing of the lamp 102 replacement. Therefore, it is possible to properly determine the time of replacement of the lamp 102 to maintain the optimum lighting quality at all times, and to prevent the measurement failure due to the excess of the life of the lamp 102 and the failure of the lamp 102 in advance. In this case, time loss due to lamp 102 replacement may be reduced.
    [38] FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining an optical measuring device having the lamp replacing device shown in FIG. 1.
    [39] The optical measuring device 200 shown in FIG. 4 is an example of an apparatus for measuring the thickness of a film formed on a semiconductor substrate in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, and various modifications are possible. The lighting used is a halogen lamp, and six halogen lamps are housed in the housing 110.
    [40] Light provided from the halogen lamp 102a (see FIG. 2) selected by the driver 120 operated by the controller 140 (see FIG. 1) passes through the lens 202 to form parallel light 204.
    [41] A portion of the parallel light 204 formed as described above is reflected from the first light splitter 210 and provided to the optical sensor 130, and the rest of the parallel light 204 is transmitted through the first light splitter 210 to the second light splitter 220. Is provided. The light provided to the second light splitter 220 is again distributed to the measurement light 206 and the reference light 208 through the second light splitter 220.
    [42] The measurement light 206 illuminates the measurement area of the measurement object 20 placed on the measurement table 230, and a part of the measurement light 206a reflected from the measurement area is provided to the spectrometer 240. The remaining measurement light 206b is provided to the video monitor 250 to form an image. Here, a semiconductor substrate may be used as the measurement target 20, and a sample formed from the semiconductor substrate may be used.
    [43] On the other hand, the reference light 208 is provided to the spectrometer 240, the spectrometer 240 is a reference signal detected from the reference light 208, and the measurement signal detected from the measurement light 206a provided from the measurement object 20 Comparative standardization reduces the lamp noise, compensates for the influence of the lamp 102a on the spectrum, and measures characteristic values of the measurement object 20 accordingly.
    [44] The lamp 102a used as the light source in the optical measuring device 200 is automatically replaced at the time of replacing the lamp 102 which is determined by detecting the light intensity in real time. That is, by measuring a part of the measurement light 204 to measure the intensity of the light and comparing the measured light signal with the reference signal, it is possible to determine when the lamp 102 is replaced. Then, by appropriately replacing the lamp 102 in accordance with the determined lamp 102 replacement time, it is possible to always maintain a constant level of the characteristics of the light provided to the measurement process.
    [45] According to the present invention as described above, in the lighting device applied to the optical measuring device, the lamp replacing device automatically replaces the lamp when the lighting characteristics of the lamp is lower than the reference value. Therefore, it is possible to provide the optical measuring device with the measurement light always having a constant illumination characteristic, thereby increasing the reliability of the measurement process.
    [46] In addition, it is possible to prevent the failure of the measurement process due to the lamp lifetime and the lamp breakage and the subsequent process failure in the subsequent process, to reduce the time loss due to manual replacement of the lamp, It can increase the utilization rate. Furthermore, the reliability and productivity of the semiconductor device can be improved in the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device using the optical measuring device.
    [47] Although described above with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art will be variously modified and changed within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below I can understand that you can.
    权利要求:
    Claims (3)
    [1" claim-type="Currently amended] A housing having a drum shape and radially receiving a plurality of lamps used as light sources in an optical measuring device;
    A driving unit connected to the housing and configured to rotate the housing to select one of the plurality of lamps;
    An optical sensor for measuring an intensity of light provided from the selected lamp; And
    And a control unit for determining when to replace the lamp according to the magnitude of the optical signal sensed by the optical sensor and generating a control signal for operating the driving unit.
    [2" claim-type="Currently amended] The lamp exchange apparatus of claim 1, wherein the optical measuring device includes a spectrometer for measuring the surface thickness of the semiconductor substrate.
    [3" claim-type="Currently amended] The lamp exchange apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lamp is a halogen lamp or a deuterium lamp.
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    同族专利:
    公开号 | 公开日
    引用文献:
    公开号 | 申请日 | 公开日 | 申请人 | 专利标题
    法律状态:
    2002-10-15|Application filed by 삼성전자주식회사
    2002-10-15|Priority to KR1020020062807A
    2004-04-29|Publication of KR20040034762A
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    KR1020020062807A|KR20040034762A|2002-10-15|2002-10-15|Apparatus for exchanging a lamp used in a optical measuring apparatus|
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