SBIR Phase II: An Integrated Software Tool for Modeling and Model-Based Control of Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment

该小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目旨在开发一种用于快速热处理(RTP)系统基于模型的集成控制设计的新型软件工具的商业原型。半导体工艺工程师和RTP设备设计工程师将使用该工具。目前，先进过程控制器的设计和开发是一个相对缓慢和复杂的过程。没有高级工具可以让过程工程师设计、调整和部署高级控制器，并开发用于控制的低阶快速物理模型。根据客户的反馈和自己的经验，该公司发现非常需要一种可以为特定流程定制的集成建模和控制工具。第一阶段的结果证明了这种工具的可行性，通过使用所提出的工具的概念验证版本对通用RTP室进行闭环模拟。这一阶段将进一步开发和实现相关的模型降阶算法，实现加速蒙特卡罗射线跟踪计算的算法，开发用户界面，并集成工具组件。该公司将与其工业合作伙伴密切合作，在设计下一代RTP设备时测试原型工具。如果成功，拟议的一揽子软件将产生一种工具，大大减少RTP设备和流程的开发时间。该工具还为开发虚拟传感和故障检测方面的先进技术提供了组件。RTP是该公司最初的重点，但将利用该产品的模块化性质将其功能扩展到其他半导体设备(例如，化学机械抛光、化学气相沉积、蚀刻等)。甚至是其他行业使用的设备。此外，用于MEMS和新的纳米电子技术(例如自旋电子学和分子计算)的器件有望使用类似于CMOS的制造工艺进行商业化。因此，通过创建一种有效地设计和开发设备和流程的新方法，该工具的影响将远远超出RTP。该软件将作为一种教学和培训工具，可用于大学和政府的NIST、国防部、能源部等实验室。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to develop a commercial prototype of a novel software tool for integrated model-based control design for Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) systems. Semiconductor process engineers and RTP equipment design engineers will use the tool. Currently, the design and development of advanced process controllers is a relatively slow and complicated process. There is no high-level tool that allows the process engineer to design, tune and deploy advanced controllers and develop low-order, fast physical models to be used for control. Based on customer feedback and its own experience the company has found a strong need for an integrated modeling and control tool that can be customized for a specific process. Phase I results proved the feasibility of such a tool by closed-loop simulations of a generic RTP chamber using a proof-of-concept version of the proposed tool. This Phase II will further develop and implement relevant model-order reduction algorithms, implement the algorithm for speeding up the Monte Carlo ray tracing calculations, develop the user interface, and integrate the tool components. The company will work closely with its industrial partner in testing the prototype tool in the design of next-generation RTP equipment. If successful the proposed software package will result in a tool that will substantially reduce the development time of RTP equipment and processes. The tool also provides components for development of advanced techniques in virtual sensing and fault detection. RTP is the company's initial focus, but will leverage the modular nature of the product to extend its capabilities to other semiconductor equipment (e.g., CMP, CVD, etch, etc.) and even equipment used in other industries. Moreover, devices for MEMS and new nanoscale electronics technologies (e.g. spintronic and molecular computing) are expected to be commercialized using CMOS-like manufacturing processes. Hence, by creating a new way of designing and developing equipment and processes efficiently, this tool will have an impact far beyond RTP. The software will serve as a teaching and training tool that can be used in universities and government laboratories of NIST, DoD, DoE, etc.