Integrated real-time and run-to-run control of etch depth in reactive ion etching

Author

Hankinson, Matt ; Vincent, Tyrone ; Irani, Keki B. ; Khargonekar, Pramod P.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Volume

10

Issue

1

fYear

1997

fDate

2/1/1997 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

121

Lastpage

130

Abstract

Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) is a common process step in semiconductor manufacturing, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Our goal is to reduce the variance of etch characteristics by integrating real-time and run-to-run control of plasma and process variables. The run to run controller suggests plasma variable set-points based on the wafer characteristics of the previous run. The real-time controller maintains the suggested plasma variables by manipulating the process inputs during the etch. We have demonstrated the integrated control architecture for rejecting oxygen and loading disturbances in an Applied 8300 Hexode Reactor during a polysilicon etch

Keywords

process control; real-time systems; sputter etching; Applied 8300 Hexode Reactor; Si; etch depth; plasma etching; polysilicon wafer; reactive ion etching; real-time control; run-to-run control; semiconductor manufacturing; Centralized control; Etching; Feedback control; Manufacturing processes; Plasma applications; Plasma chemistry; Plasma materials processing; Plasma properties; Process control; Semiconductor device manufacture;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Semiconductor Manufacturing, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0894-6507

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/66.554497

Filename

554497