Control Design with Real-Time Implementation for Rapid Thermal Processes

该项目的长期目标是建立一个多学科的研究项目，研究快速热处理室的控制理论、设计和实时实现。在项目的最初两年，重点将放在初步建模、控制设计和实时实现问题上。快速热过程需要快速跟踪控制律，在过程的瞬态和准稳态阶段实现半导体晶圆上接近均匀的空间温度分布。由于辐射效应在相对较小的腔室体积和远程测量技术的限制，实现严格的性能规范的快速热过程腔室成为一个非常具有挑战性的基于模型的非线性设计问题。为了应对未来微电子制造业的技术挑战，必须开发现代控制和优化技术，并强调实时实施。这项工作的最终目标是提出并解决控制设计问题，以便控制定律在现场试验台（快速热化学气相沉积外延反应器）上实施时，能够实现实时性能改进和运行到运行的可重复性。为了在控制设置中提出问题，最重要的一步是开发具有不同复杂程度的过程的数学模型：从复杂的验证模型到适合控制设计的简单模型。这一步与实时实现设置密切相关，因为它涉及特定腔室的执行器和传感器接口。此外，基于第一性原理的解析模型推导完全依赖于腔室特定的性质（如材料、几何形状、驱动、测量）和所需的反应配方。因此，项目的这个阶段涉及到直接的交互和特定于现场测试平台的重要硬件/软件接口问题。由于这些研究结果可以立即在现场测试台上进行测试，因此工作将从基于简单分析模型的控制技术开始，通过实施设计来评估可实现的性能限制，然后增加模型和控制设计的复杂性以满足所需的过程性能。虽然建模、控制设计和实时实现目标必须同时进行以评估性能，但最初两年的主要工作将分配给建模和实时接口问题。该项目的独特优势是现场快速热处理反应堆，该反应堆将与加州大学戴维斯分校电气和计算机工程系的微电子组合作，作为项目测试平台。拟议的研究将通过提供关键的系统建模方法和实时实现的控制器设计方法来补充微电子组正在进行的工作。这项研究的开始阶段将启动两个研究小组之间的互动，并将加强研究生在控制系统和微电子这两个固有不同领域的研究和教育经验。通过这种多学科的团队合作，参与这项研究的研究生将获得宝贵的实践训练，为他们在未来的工业和研究岗位上的工程挑战做好准备。我们也期望这项研究能在未来带来实验设置提示，可以用作研究生和本科生控制课程的设计练习。

The long term goal of this project is to establish a multi-disciplinary research program on control theory, design, and real-time implementation for Rapid Thermal Process chambers. In the initial two years of the project, the focus will be on preliminary modeling, control design, and real-time implementation issues.Rapid Thermal Processes demand fast tracking control laws that achieve near uniform spatial temperature distributions across a semiconductor wafer during both transient and quasi steady-state phases of the process. Due to the radiative effects in a relatively small chamber volume and limitations in remote measurement techniques, achieving the stringent performance specifications for Rapid Thermal Process chambers becomes a very challenging model-based nonlinear design problem. To meet future technical challenges in microelectronics manufacturing, it is essential to develop modern control and optimization techniques with strong emphasis on real-time implementation.The ultimate goal of this effort is to pose and solve control design problems so that the control laws, when implemented on the on-site testbed (Rapid Thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition Epitaxial Reactor), result in real-time performance improvement and run-to-run repeatability. In order to pose the problem in a control setting, the most important step is to develop mathematical models of the process with varying levels of complexity: from complex validation models to simpler models suitable for control design. This step is closely linked to the real-time implementation setup since it involves chamber-specific actuator and sensor interfacing. Moreover, analytical model derivation based on first-principles is completely dependent on chamber-specific properties (such as material, geometry, actuation, measurements) and the desired reaction recipes. Therefore, this stage of the project involves direct interaction and non-trivial hardware/software interfacing issues specific to the on-site testbed. Since these research results can be immediately tested on the on-site testbed, the effort will start with control techniques based on simple analytical models, assess achievable performance limitations by implementing the designs, and then increase model and control design complexity to meet the desired process performance. Although modeling, control design and real-time implementation objectives must be carried out simultaneously to assess performance, the main effort in the initial two years will be allocated to modeling and real-time interfacing problems.The unique advantage available to the project is the on-site Rapid Thermal Process reactor, which will be used as the project testbed in collaboration with the Microelectronics Group in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of California, Davis. The proposed research will complement the ongoing work of the Microelectronics Group by providing crucial systematic modeling approaches and controller design methods for real-time implementation. The beginning stages of this research will initiate interaction between the two research groups and will enhance the research and educational experience of graduate students in the inherently different areas of control systems and microelectronics. Through this multi-disciplinary teamwork, graduate students involved in this research will obtain valuable practical training that will prepare them for engineering challenges in future industry and research positions. It is also expected that this research will lead in the future to experimental set-tips that can be used as design exercises for graduate and undergraduate control courses.