KR20070000858A - Semiconductor manufacturing device minimizes reticle replacement time - Google Patents

Abstract

The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of the present invention includes a reticle having a semiconductor chip capable of storing defect information and communicating the defect information wirelessly, and a recording device storing open information and communicating wirelessly with the semiconductor chip of the reticle. A reticle box including the reticle box, receiving a reticle defect information and opening information of the reticle box from a communication unit and a communication unit wirelessly communicating with the recording device when the reticle is loaded / unloaded. And a chamber including a recording unit for storing.

Description

Semiconductor manufacturing device to minimize reticle replacement time {SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING APPARATUS FOR REDUCING RETICLE CHANGE TIME}

1 shows a reticle box according to the prior art seen from the front;

2 shows a reticle box and a reticle housed in a reticle box for use in an exposure apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; And

3 is a view showing a reticle box and a chamber according to another embodiment of the present invention.

* Description of the main parts of the drawing

100, 200: reticle box 110, 210-215: reticle

120, 220-225: semiconductor chip 130, 230: recording device

300: chamber 310: recording unit

320: communication unit

The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that minimizes the reticle replacement time.

The photo process, which is one of semiconductor manufacturing processes, is a process of coating a designed semiconductor circuit on a wafer on which a thin film is formed. That is, the photo process is a process in which a reticle, in which a fine shape of a semiconductor circuit is drawn, is put into an exposure apparatus, and light is copied to the wafer surface.

In general, a reticle is a plate, such as quartz, that contains a fine pattern used in a photolithography process, and requires careful handling and storage to prevent contamination and damage to the pattern. Typically, such a reticle is housed in a predetermined device called a reticle box which is used when loading and unloading a reticle into an exposure apparatus.

The reticle box used in the ASML exposure equipment is known to be mainly applied to the SMIF pod manufactured by Asyst. SMIF stands for Standard Mechanical Interface, and refers to a system aimed at reducing particle flow as a plate during transport through a storage and manufacturing process of a given plate, such as a reticle.

The reticle is loaded into the reticle particle checkbox by the reticle loading arm and subjected to particle inspection therein. The reticle particle check box scans the reticle surface and determines that the particle count is normal if it does not exceed the threshold. If the particle chuck results for the reticle are normal, the reticle is loaded into the table and the patterns of the reticle are transferred onto the process wafer by the reduction projection lens.

1 shows a reticle box according to the prior art seen from the front. The conventional SMIF pod, that is, the reticle box 10 has a plurality of slots 12 are formed to correspond to each other on both sides of the inside of the reticle 20 is easy to insert the reticle 20. The reticle 20 is stored in the reticle box 10 by inserting the reticle into such a slot. Whenever necessary, the reticle 20 is unloaded from the reticle box 10 by a transfer device such as an arm or vice versa.

Exposure equipment such as a stepper or scanner performs particle inspection on the surface of the reticle and then loads the reticle to proceed with the exposure process. Because the reticle contains patterns to be transferred to the wafer, the particles attached to the surface of the reticle upon exposure cause die failure. Depending on the system of the exposure equipment, the driving structure for reticle loading may be different, but in general, the particles attached to the reticle are inspected in a reticle particle check box (or smif box) and then moved to the reticle table. Well-known examples of reticle particle check boxes are Nikon's PPD or ASML's IRIS.

For the efficiency of current equipment and reticle use, steps using the same reticle are set up across units. As a result, the reticle needs to be moved. Each time the reticle is moved, each facility performs a defect check to check for defects, so the reticle is ready for use after the check time has elapsed.

The reticle is placed in the SMIF box for protection against external contaminants, ease of movement and loading of the equipment. Putting an SMIF box on the reticle stage performs an IRIS check with loading. IRIS checks are a good way to eliminate defects, but if you stop by the reticle for a short time after the check is over and put it back on the machine, you will have to recheck it, causing a lot of loss.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and method for minimizing reticle replacement time.

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, a reticle having a semiconductor chip that stores defect information, and can communicate the defect information wirelessly, and stores the open information, the reticle And a reticle box having a recording device in wireless communication with the semiconductor chip.

In a preferred embodiment, the semiconductor chip of the reticle further stores IRIS check information.

In this embodiment, the reticle box houses a plurality of reticles each having the semiconductor chip.

In this embodiment, the recording apparatus of the reticle box communicates with the plurality of reticles.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a recording is provided for storing defect information and wirelessly communicating with the semiconductor chip of the reticle, the reticle having a semiconductor chip capable of wirelessly communicating the defect information, and opening information. Receiving defect information of the reticle and opening information of the reticle box from the communication unit and the communication unit for receiving the reticle box having the device, the reticle box, and wirelessly communicates with the recording device when loading / unloading the reticle It comprises a chamber including a recording unit for storing.

In a preferred embodiment, the semiconductor chip of the reticle further stores IRIS check information.

In this embodiment, the reticle box houses a plurality of reticles each having the semiconductor chip, and the recording apparatus of the reticle box communicates with the plurality of reticles.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a view showing the reticle box 100 and the reticle 110 accommodated in the reticle box 100 used in the exposure apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the reticle box 100 installed to receive a single reticle 110 includes a recording device 130. The reticle 110 includes a semiconductor chip 120 that stores defect information at one end and communicates the defect information wirelessly. Information stored in the semiconductor chip 120 includes information on the IRIS checked expiration, time, bad location and size of the reticle 110.

The recording apparatus 100 is located near the semiconductor chip 120, stores opening information of the reticle box 100, and wirelessly communicates with the semiconductor chip 120 of the reticle 110. The reticle box 100 is a SMIF box.

3 is a view illustrating a reticle box 200 and a chamber 300 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the reticle box 200 is equipped with a plurality of reticles 210-215. Each of the reticles 210-215 includes semiconductor chips 220-225 capable of storing defect information at one end and communicating the defect information wirelessly. The information stored in the semiconductor chips 220-225 includes information on the IRIS checked expiration, time, bad location and size of the corresponding reticle 210-25.

The recording device 230 is provided at the lower end of the reticle box 200. The recording device 230 stores the opening information of the reticle box 200 and wirelessly communicates with the semiconductor chips 20-225 of each of the reticles 210-215. The reticle box 100 is a SMIF box.

The chamber 300 is installed at a predetermined portion of the exposure apparatus to accommodate the reticle box 200. The chamber 300 includes a recording unit 310 and a communication unit 320. The communication unit wirelessly communicates with the recording apparatus 230 of the reticle box 200 when loading / unloading the reticles 210 to 215. The recording unit 310 receives and stores defect information of the reticles 210-215 and opening information of the reticle box from the communication unit 320.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention describes an exposure apparatus as an example, the present invention is not limited to the exposure apparatus, but may be applied to various semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses containing a reticle box.

The method of omitting the IRIS check in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including the reticle box 200 and the chamber 300 having such a configuration is as follows. The reason for the IRIS check is to look for defects in the reticle. Therefore, IRIS skipping must meet the condition that the reticle should not be contaminated.

First, all reticles must be IRIS checked several times for every unit. As a result, information on the presence or absence of a defect and the check time of the reticle is recorded in the equipment and the semiconductor chip of each reticle. When the reticle box 200 is placed in the chamber 300, it should be determined whether the reticle box 200 has been opened outside of the facility. This information is stored in the recording device 230 of the reticle box 200. The communication unit 320 in the chamber 300 skips the IRIS check when the reticle box 200 has never been opened from the opening information received from the recording device 230. However, when the reticle box 200 is exposed outside the facility for a predetermined time or more, the IRIS check for the reticles 220-225 in the reticle box 200 should be performed.

While the invention has been described using exemplary preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Accordingly, the claims should be construed as broadly as possible to cover all such modifications and similar constructions.

According to the present invention as described above, the reticle replacement time can be minimized by skipping the IRIS check when the reticle is not exposed to the outside for a predetermined time in the absence of defects. As a result, productivity is improved.

Claims (8)

A reticle having a semiconductor chip for storing defect information and communicating the defect information wirelessly; And And a reticle box having a recording device for storing open information and communicating wirelessly with said semiconductor chip of said reticle. The method of claim 1, And the semiconductor chip of the reticle further stores IRIS check information. According to claim 2, And a plurality of reticles each having the semiconductor chip in the reticle box. In accordance with claim 3, And the recording apparatus of the reticle box communicates with the plurality of reticles. A reticle having a semiconductor chip for storing defect information and communicating the defect information wirelessly; A reticle box for storing open information and having a recording device in wireless communication with the semiconductor chip of the reticle; A chamber accommodating the reticle box and including a communication unit for wirelessly communicating with the recording apparatus when loading / unloading the reticle and a recording unit for receiving and storing defect information of the reticle and opening information of the reticle box from the communication unit Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 5, And the semiconductor chip of the reticle further stores IRIS check information. According to claim 6, And a plurality of reticles each having the semiconductor chip in the reticle box. According to claim 7, And the recording apparatus of the reticle box communicates with the plurality of reticles.

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