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US 2019/0101838 A1Published application
Methods and apparatus for removing containmination from lithographic tool
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsZi-Wen Chen, Po-Chung Cheng, Chih-Tsung Shih, Li-Jui Chen, Shih-Chang Shih
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Abstract
Embodiments described herein provide a method for cleaning contamination from sensors in a lithography tool without requiring recalibrating the lithography tool. More particularly, embodiments described herein teach cleaning the sensors using hydrogen radicals for a short period while the performance drifting is still above the drift tolerance. After a cleaning process described herein, the lithography tool can resume production without recalibration.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- monitoring a sensor measurement indicative of an amount of contamination formed on a radiation receiving surface over a sensor in a lithography tool;
- and
- performing a cleaning session in the lithography tool when the sensor measurement reaches a threshold value, wherein the cleaning session comprises providing radicals to the radiation receiving surface, wherein after the cleaning session, the sensor is operable to provide the sensor measurement without being recalibrated.
A method comprising:
- patterning semiconductor substrates sequentially using a lithography tool while monitoring a sensor measurement of a sensor in the lithography tool;
- and
- performing a cleaning session in the lithography tool when the sensor measurement reaches a threshold value;
- and
- resuming patterning semiconductor substrates sequentially using the lithography tool, wherein during resuming patterning the semiconductor substrates, the sensor is operable to provide the sensor measurement without being recalibrated after the cleaning session.
2 more elements
A lithography tool, comprising:
- a housing defining an inner volume;
- a substrate stage configured to secure and move a substrate in the inner volume;
- a sensor mounted on the substrate stage, wherein the sensor includes an outer surface configured to receive radiation;
- a radical generator configured to deliver radicals to the inner volume;
- and
- a controller communicatively coupled to the sensor and the radical generator, the controller being configured to:
- monitor a sensor measurement from the sensor indicative of an amount of contamination formed on the outer surface of the sensor;
- and
- cause the radical generator to perform a cleaning session when the sensor measurement reaches a threshold value, the cleaning session comprising providing radicals from the radical generator to the outer surface of the sensor, the sensor being operable to provide the sensor measurement after the cleaning without recalibration.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.