# US 12,183,599 B2 · Substrate treatment device and substrate treatment method

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- Number: US 12,183,599 B2
- Document ID: US12183599B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/279,626
- Filed: 2019-09-11
- Published: 2021-12-16
- Granted: 2024-12-31
- Earliest claimed: 2018-10-22
- Assignees: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Masafumi Inoue; Eiji Fukatsu
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12183599B2

## CPC

- H10P 72/0424: {using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles}
- B08B 3/00: Cleaning by methods involving the use or presence of liquid or steam (B08B9/00 takes precedence)
- G01J 5/48: Thermography; Techniques using wholly visual means
- H10P 50/00: Etching of wafers, substrates or parts of devices
- H10P 52/00: Grinding, lapping or polishing of wafers, substrates or parts of devices
- H10P 72/0602: {Temperature monitoring}
- H10P 72/0604: {Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring}
- H10P 72/10: using carriers specially adapted therefor, e.g. front opening unified pods [FOUP]
- H10P 72/7618: {characterised by a movable susceptor, stage or support, others than those only rotating on their own vertical axis, e.g. susceptors on a rotating carrousel}
- G01J 5/0007: {of wafers or semiconductor substrates, e.g. using Rapid Thermal Processing}
- G01J 2005/0077: {Imaging}
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
- B08B: CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL
- G01J: MEASUREMENT OF INTENSITY, VELOCITY, SPECTRAL CONTENT, POLARISATION, PHASE OR PULSE CHARACTERISTICS OF INFRARED, VISIBLE OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT; COLORIMETRY; RADIATION PYROMETRY (light sources F21, H01J, H01K, H05B; investigating properties of materials by optical means G01N)

## Abstract

A substrate holder holds a substrate at a predetermined position. An etching solution supply unit supplies an etching solution to the substrate at the predetermined position. A rotating unit rotates the substrate holder about a predetermined rotation axis. A temperature distribution acquisition unit acquires the temperature distribution in a peripheral area around the substrate area occupied by the substrate when the substrate is arranged at the predetermined position in a chamber. A feature value calculator calculates, from the temperature distribution, a feature value relating an etching amount of the substrate by the etching using the etching solution.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A substrate treatment device configured to perform etching on a substrate, comprising:
a chamber having a treatment space therein;
a substrate holder configured to hold the substrate in a predetermined position in the chamber;
a nozzle configured to supply an etching solution to the substrate held by the substrate holder, in relation to an etching amount associated with the substrate;
a spin motor configured to rotate the substrate holder about a predetermined rotation axis;
a thermographic camera configured to acquire a temperature distribution in a peripheral area around a substrate area occupied by the substrate when arranged at the predetermined position in the chamber; and
a controller configured to:
a) cause the substrate holder to hold the substrate in the predetermined position in the chamber;
b) cause the substrate holder to rotate the substrate in the predetermined position about a rotation axis;
c) cause the nozzle to supply the etching solution to a surface of the substrate;
d) cause the thermographic camera to acquire the temperature distribution in an upper surface of the substrate holder and a peripheral area around the substrate area occupied by the substrate when arranged at the predetermined position in the chamber;
e) calculate a feature value for evaluation of an etching treatment to be used in the supplying of the etching solution from the temperature distribution acquired by the thermographic camera;
f) determine if the feature value exceeds a threshold value; and
g) change a schedule that defines a time for the substrate to be carried into the chamber; wherein if the feature value exceeds the threshold value, the schedule is changed so that the substrate is not transferred into the chamber; and
wherein the thermographic camera is configured to image an imaging area that includes the upper surface of the substrate holder, the peripheral area and an area where the substrate held on the substrate holder is arranged, and the temperature distribution being provided in the form of a thermography.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The substrate treatment device according to claim 1, further comprising
an etching determination unit configured to determine a quality of the etching on the substrate based on comparison between the feature value and the threshold value.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The substrate treatment device according to claim 1, wherein
the calculates controller is configured to calculate the feature value from a relational expression representing a relationship between the temperature distribution and the etching amount.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The substrate treatment device according to claim 3, wherein
the controller is configured to generate the relational expression based on the temperature distribution at a predetermined timing in the etching and the etching amount of the substrate on which the etching has been performed.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The substrate treatment device according to claim 4, wherein
the controller is configured to calculate the feature value by substituting the temperature distribution at a timing corresponding to the predetermined timing in the etching into the relational expression.

### Claim 6 (depends on 3)

The substrate treatment device according to claim 3, wherein
the etching amount is an etching amount on each circumference having a different radius with the rotation axis being a center.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The substrate treatment device according to claim 6, wherein the relational expression is a regression function in which a temperature indicated by each pixel value constituting the thermography is an independent variable and the etching amount on each circumference of the different radius is a dependent variable.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The substrate treatment device according to claim 1, wherein
the controller is configured to calculate the feature value from the temperature distribution acquired in a state where the substrate holder does not hold the substrate.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The substrate treatment device according to claim 8, further comprising
a temperature change unit configured to change the temperature of the substrate arranged at the predetermined position and the peripheral area in accordance with the feature value.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The substrate treatment device according to claim 1, wherein
the controller is configured to calculate the feature value from the temperature distribution acquired in a state where the substrate holder holds the substrate.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The substrate treatment device according to claim 10, further comprising
a temperature change unit configured to change the temperature of the substrate arranged at the predetermined position and the peripheral area in accordance with the feature value.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The substrate treatment device according to claim 10, wherein
the controller is configured to change a schedule that defines a time for the substrate to be carried into the chamber according to the feature value.

### Claim 13

A substrate treatment method comprising:
a) holding a substrate in a predetermined position in a chamber;
b) rotating the substrate in the predetermined position about a rotation axis;
c) supplying an etching solution to a surface of the substrate being rotated by the step b);
d) acquiring a temperature distribution in an upper surface of the substrate holder and a peripheral area around a substrate area occupied by the substrate when arranged at the predetermined position in the chamber, the temperature distribution being a thermography acquired by a thermographic camera;
e) calculating a feature value for evaluation of an etching treatment using to be used in the supplying of the etching solution from the temperature distribution acquired by the thermographic camera
f) determining if the feature value exceeds a threshold value; and
g) changing a schedule that defines a time for the substrate to be carried into the chamber;
wherein if the feature value exceeds the threshold value, the schedule is changed so that the substrate is not transferred into the chamber.