Method and system for adjusting location of a wafer and a top plate in a thin-film deposition process

Abstract

A thin-film deposition system includes a top plate positioned above a wafer and configured to generate a plasma during a thin-film deposition process. The system includes a sensor configured to generate sensor signals indicative of a lifetime of a component of the thin-film deposition system, a characteristic of a thin-film deposited by the thin-film deposition system or a characteristic of a process material that flows into the thin-film deposition system. The system includes a control system configured to adjust a relative location of a top plate of the thin-film deposition system with respect to a location of a wafer in the thin-film deposition system during the thin-film deposition process responsive to the sensor signals.

1 . A thin-film deposition system, comprising:
 a thin-film deposition chamber;   a wafer support positioned in the thin-film deposition chamber and configured to support a wafer in the thin-film deposition chamber;   a top plate positioned above the wafer support and configured to generate a plasma in the thin-film deposition chamber during a thin-film deposition process;   a sensor configured to generate sensor signals indicative of a lifetime of a component of the thin-film deposition system, a characteristic of a thin-film deposited by the thin-film deposition system or a characteristic of a process material that flows into the thin-film deposition system during the thin-film deposition process; and   a control system configured to receive the sensor signals and to adjust a relative location of the top plate of the thin-film deposition system with respect to a location of the wafer in the thin-film deposition system responsive to the sensor signals.   
     
     
         2 . The thin-film deposition system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to adjust the relative location of the top plate of the thin-film deposition system with respect to the location of the wafer during the thin-film deposition process. 
     
     
         3 . The thin-film deposition system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is configured to generate a sensor signal indicative of a flow rate of the process material into the thin-film deposition chamber in which the wafer is processed in the thin-film deposition system. 
     
     
         4 . The thin-film deposition system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is configured to generate a sensor signal indicative of a number of wafers processed by the thin-film deposition system. 
     
     
         5 . The thin-film deposition system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is configured to generate a sensor signal indicative of a thickness of the thin-film deposited by the thin-film deposition system on the wafer or on a surface of the thin-film deposition chamber. 
     
     
         6 . The thin-film deposition system of  claim 5 , further comprising a sensor configured to generate a sensor signal indicative of a zone of the wafer from which the signal indicative of a thickness of the thin-film deposited by the thin-film deposition system on the wafer is generated. 
     
     
         7 . The thin-film deposition system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to receive the sensor signals and adjust a distance between the top plate and the wafer. 
     
     
         8 . The thin-film deposition system of  claim 7 , wherein the control system is configured to receive the sensor signals and cause the top plate to move. 
     
     
         9 . The thin-film deposition system of  claim 7 , wherein the control system is configured to receive the sensor signals and cause wafer support plate to move. 
     
     
         10 . The thin-film deposition system of  claim 7 , wherein control system is configured to cause the wafer support to move in a lateral direction relative to the top plate. 
     
     
         11 . The thin-film deposition system of  claim 1 , wherein the thin-film deposition chamber is a chamber configured to carry out a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process. 
     
     
         12 . A system for carrying out a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process, comprising:
 a processing chamber for carrying out a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process;   a wafer support positioned in the processing chamber and configured to support a wafer in the processing chamber;   a top plate positioned above the wafer support and configured to generate a plasma in the processing chamber during a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process;   a sensor configured to generate sensor signals indicative of a lifetime of a component of the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system, a characteristic of a thin-film deposited by the plasma enhance chemical vapor deposition system or a characteristic of a process material that flows into the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system during the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process; and   a control system configured to receive the sensor signals, compare the received sensor signals to reference data and to adjust a relative location of the top plate of the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system with respect to a location of the wafer in the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system responsive to the sensor signals.   
     
     
         13 . The system for carrying out a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process of  claim 12 , wherein the control system is further configured to:
 train an analysis model of the control system with a machine learning process;   analyze the received sensor signals with the analysis model;   determine, with the analysis model, an adjustment to be made to a gap between the wafer support and the top plate based on the sensor signals; and   adjusting a size of the gap based on the determined adjustment.   
     
     
         14 . The system for carrying out a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process of  claim 12 , further comprising a gap sensor configured to determine the magnitude or relative size of a gap between the top plate and an upper surface of a wafer supported by the wafer support plate or an upper surface of a film on the wafer supported by the wafer support plate. 
     
     
         15 . The system for carrying out a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process of  claim 14 , wherein the gap sensor includes a radiation emitter configured to emit electromagnetic radiation into the gap and a radiation sensor configured to sense the emitted electromagnetic radiation exiting the gap. 
     
     
         16 . The system for carrying out a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process of  claim 14 , wherein the gap sensor includes an image capture device configured to capture an image of the gap. 
     
     
         17 . A thin-film deposition system, comprising:
 a thin-film deposition chamber;   a wafer support positioned in the thin-film deposition chamber and configured to support a wafer in the thin-film deposition chamber;   a top plate positioned above the wafer support and configured to generate a plasma in the thin-film deposition chamber during a thin-film deposition process;   a sensor configured to generate sensor signals indicative of a lifetime of a component of the thin-film deposition system, a characteristic of a thin-film deposited by the thin-film deposition system or a characteristic of a process material that flows into the thin-film deposition system during the thin-film deposition process;   a gap sensor configured to determine the magnitude or relative size of a gap between the top plate and an upper surface of a wafer supported by the wafer support plate or an upper surface of a film on the wafer supported by the wafer support plate, the gap sensor located external to the thin film deposition chamber;   a control system configured to receive the sensor signals and to adjust a relative location of the top plate of the thin-film deposition system with respect to a location of the wafer responsive to the sensor signals.   
     
     
         18 . The thin-film deposition system of  claim 17 , wherein the gap sensor includes a radiation emitter configured to emit electromagnetic radiation and the thin-film deposition chamber further includes an aperture in a wall of the thin-film deposition chamber through which electromagnetic radiation emitted from the radiation emitter passes. 
     
     
         19 . The thin-film deposition system of  claim 18 , wherein the gap sensor further includes a radiation sensor configured to sense electromagnetic radiation emitted by the radiation emitter and the thin film deposition chamber further includes an aperture in a wall of the thin-film deposition chamber through which electromagnetic radiation sensed by the radiation sensor passes. 
     
     
         20 . The thin-film deposition system of  claim 17 , further including a image capture device configured to capture an image of a surface of the thin film deposited by the thin-film deposition system.