Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for verifying the calibration of semiconductor processing equipment

US5948958A · kind A · utility

11Cited by
0References
21Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 1, 1998
Grant dateSep 7, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 1, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01L21/67253
  • WIPO fieldSemiconductors
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A semiconductor processing equipment calibration verification procedure is provided that does not rely on pressure rises from laboratory reference chambers and that is insensitive to in-chamber variations that affect processing gas pressure rise but do not affect the underlying process. A baseline pressure rise ratio is computed based on an inert gas pressure rise and a processing gas pressure rise produced when an inert gas and a processing gas, respectively, are flowed into a processing chamber. Subsequent, preferably periodic, calibration verification procedures are performed and new pressure rise ratios are computed. When a new pressure rise ratio differs from the baseline pressure rise ratio by more than a predetermined amount, the calibration of the semiconductor processing equipment is rejected.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.