JP6412734B2 - Silicon concentration measuring apparatus, semiconductor etching apparatus, and silicon concentration measuring method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a silicon concentration measuring device that measures the concentration of silicon contained in a phosphoric acid solution that is repeatedly used for etching processing of a semiconductor, a semiconductor etching processing device that includes the silicon concentration measuring device, and a silicon concentration measuring method. .

  Conventionally, for example, it is known to perform a wet etching process (hereinafter simply referred to as an etching process) in order to remove a thin film from a semiconductor wafer. Conventionally, an etching process may require a phosphoric acid solution heated to, for example, about 160 ° C. in order to dissolve a thin film made of a silicon compound.

  Conventionally, since a thin film made of a silicon compound is dissolved by a phosphoric acid solution, it is known that when the phosphoric acid solution is repeatedly used, the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution increases with each use.

  The quality of the etching process is affected by the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution. For example, as the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution increases, the etching rate decreases. Further, when the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution increases, the thin film made of silicon oxide becomes difficult to dissolve, and the thin film made of silicon nitride becomes easy to dissolve. Furthermore, when the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution increases, the silicon component in the phosphoric acid solution is deposited on the semiconductor wafer as foreign matter. The deposited foreign matter clogs the filter disposed in the circulation path of the phosphoric acid solution. Therefore, in the etching process that repeatedly uses the phosphoric acid solution, it is important to measure the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution and control the silicon concentration for quality control.

  Therefore, the silicon concentration measuring device described in Patent Document 1 indirectly measures the silicon concentration of a phosphoric acid solution using silicon tetrafluoride gas generated by adding silicon fluoride to a heated phosphoric acid solution. doing. More specifically, the silicon concentration measuring device described in Patent Document 1 measures the silicon concentration based on the changed conductivity of deionized water by passing the generated silicon tetrafluoride gas through the deionized water. doing.

  As a method for indirectly measuring the silicon concentration by generating silicon tetrafluoride gas, the method described in Patent Document 2 measures the silicon concentration based on the measurement result of an infrared absorption measuring device for silicon tetrafluoride gas. doing.

  In addition, the silicon concentration measuring device described in Patent Document 3 indirectly adds a predetermined concentration of fluoride ion to the phosphoric acid solution, and indirectly measures the concentration of fluoride ion in the phosphoric acid solution, thereby indirectly measuring the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution. Is measuring. Patent Document 3 describes that an ionic strength adjusting agent needs to be added to a phosphoric acid solution in order to measure fluoride ions in the phosphoric acid solution.

JP 2006-134780 A JP2013-352097A JP 2011-203252 A

  However, in the methods described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, it is difficult to generate a sufficient amount of silicon tetrafluoride gas for measuring the silicon concentration. For example, the silicon concentration measuring device described in Patent Document 1 requires a time of 5 minutes or more until a sufficient amount of silicon tetrafluoride gas is generated.

  In the method described in Patent Document 2, since the phosphoric acid solution is cooled to 5 to 50 ° C. before generating the silicon tetrafluoride gas, it is difficult to generate a sufficient amount of silicon tetrafluoride gas. The concentration may not be measured.

  Moreover, the silicon concentration measuring apparatus described in Patent Document 3 needs to sufficiently add an ionic strength adjusting agent before the phosphoric acid solution, which is a relatively strong acid, is brought to pH 5-6. Therefore, the silicon concentration measuring device described in Patent Document 3 requires a large amount of a relatively expensive ionic strength adjusting agent and cannot economically measure the silicon concentration.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a silicon concentration measuring apparatus that does not require generation of silicon tetrafluoride gas and does not require adjustment of the acidity of a phosphoric acid solution, and an etching processing apparatus for a semiconductor that includes the silicon concentration measuring apparatus. And providing a silicon concentration measuring method.

  The present invention is a silicon concentration measuring device for measuring the silicon concentration of a phosphoric acid solution that is circulated and used in a semiconductor etching process, the measuring instrument for measuring the number of fine particles per unit amount of a liquid containing the phosphoric acid solution, A first supply channel for supplying a part of the phosphoric acid solution to the measuring device; and a calculation unit for calculating the silicon concentration based on a natural logarithm of the number of fine particles measured by the measuring device.

  Siloxane, which is a silicon component, exists in the form of solid fine particles in a phosphoric acid solution. The measuring instrument irradiates a liquid containing a phosphoric acid solution to be measured with light, and determines the number of fine particles having a predetermined particle diameter (for example, a particle diameter of 0.2 μm) or more contained in the liquid according to the intensity of the scattered light. measure.

  The inventor of the present application has found that the number of fine particles per unit of the liquid containing the phosphoric acid solution has a predetermined relationship with the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution. In this relationship, the number of fine particles n (pieces / ml) and the silicon concentration (ppm) are not linearly proportional, but the silicon concentration d is linearly proportional to the natural logarithm ln (n) of the number of fine particles n. Here, ln is a natural logarithmic function.

  The silicon concentration measuring apparatus of the present invention uses this predetermined relationship to calculate the silicon concentration from the natural logarithm of the number of fine particles per unit of the liquid containing the phosphoric acid solution. Therefore, the silicon concentration measuring device of the present invention does not need to generate silicon tetrafluoride gas as in the prior art, and does not need to adjust the acidity of the phosphoric acid solution using an ionic strength adjusting agent. Can be measured.

  The silicon concentration measuring apparatus includes a measurement tank that stores the liquid in the middle of the first supply flow path, and a second supply flow path that supplies a fluorine compound to the measurement tank. The first fine particle number is measured in a state where only the liquid is supplied to the measurement tank, the second fine particle number is measured in a state where the liquid and the fluorine compound are supplied to the measurement layer, and the calculation unit includes: The silicon concentration may be calculated based on a natural logarithm of the amount of change between the first fine particle number and the second fine particle number.

  When a fluorine compound (for example, hydrofluoric acid) is added to the phosphoric acid solution contained in the measurement tank, the siloxane is changed to a silicon fluoride compound (for example, hexafluorosilicic acid) by a chemical reaction with the fluorine compound. Since a silicon fluoride compound (eg, hexafluorosilicic acid) is soluble in a phosphoric acid solution, fine particles composed of siloxane (eg, having a particle size of 0.2 μm or more) before and after the addition of the fluorine compound to a liquid containing the phosphoric acid solution. The number of things) decreases.

  To be exact, the number of fine particles in the liquid is not only influenced by the decrease in the number of fine particles made of siloxane, but also by the number of fine particles of the supplied fluorine compound.

  The inventor of the present application pays attention to the fact that when the fluorine compound is added to the liquid containing the phosphoric acid solution, the number of fine particles made of siloxane changes, and the unit amount of the liquid before and after the addition of the fluorine compound to the liquid containing the phosphoric acid solution It has been found that the change in the number of fine particles per unit has a predetermined relationship with the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution. This relationship is such that the silicon concentration d is linearly proportional to the natural logarithm ln (diff + c) of the amount of change diff offset by a predetermined amount c. However, the change amount diff (pieces / ml) is the change amount of the number of fine particles of the liquid before and after the addition of the fluorine compound.

  Since the silicon concentration measuring device utilizes the fact that the number of fine particles made of siloxane changes with the addition of a fluorine compound, even if the phosphoric acid solution to be measured contains relatively impurities, it is affected by the number of fine particles of the impurities. Without being able to measure the silicon concentration.

  Similarly, the silicon concentration measuring device is a micrometer that is not changed by the fluorine compound even when the phosphoric acid solution to be measured contains microbubbles and the measuring instrument erroneously measures microbubbles as microparticles. The silicon concentration can be measured without being affected by bubbles.

  The fluorine compound is one or more compounds selected from hydrofluoric acid, potassium hydrogen fluoride, ammonium hydrogen fluoride, ammonium fluoride, and sodium hydrogen fluoride.

  By adding a fluorine compound, the siloxane is changed to a water-soluble hydrate. However, a hydrofluoric acid supply line is often available in a semiconductor factory where an etching processing apparatus is used. Therefore, it is particularly desirable to use hydrofluoric acid that is easily used in semiconductor factories as the fluorine compound.

  The silicon concentration measuring device may include a third supply channel that supplies ultrapure water to the measurement tank, and a stirring mechanism that stirs the liquid stored in the measurement tank.

  In this configuration, the concentration of the liquid to be measured becomes a concentration suitable for the measuring instrument, and the number of fine particles can be measured uniformly.

  In addition, the silicon concentration measuring device may include a cooling mechanism that is provided in the middle of the first supply channel and cools the liquid.

  In this configuration, since the ultrapure water is supplied to the cooled phosphoric acid solution, it is difficult to vaporize in the phosphoric acid solution. Therefore, the silicon concentration measuring apparatus can reduce bubbles due to vaporization of ultrapure water that may be erroneously measured as fine particles.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to a silicon concentration measuring apparatus, and is an etching for semiconductor comprising a silicon concentration measuring apparatus and an etching processing section that performs the etching process on a thin film of a semiconductor workpiece by circulating the phosphoric acid solution. It may be a processing device.

  The present invention also relates to a silicon concentration measuring method for measuring the silicon concentration of a phosphoric acid solution that is circulated and used for semiconductor etching, an extraction step for extracting a part of the phosphoric acid solution, and the phosphoric acid solution extracted in the extraction step A measurement step of measuring the number of fine particles per unit amount of the liquid containing the liquid, and a calculation step of calculating the silicon concentration based on the natural logarithm of the number of fine particles measured in the measurement step.

  This invention measures the number of fine particles per unit amount of a liquid containing a phosphoric acid solution, and calculates the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution from the natural logarithm of the measured number of fine particles. It is not necessary to adjust the acidity of the phosphoric acid solution using an ionic strength adjusting agent, and the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution can be measured.

It is a block diagram which shows a part of structure of the etching processing apparatus for semiconductors concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the control part of the etching processing apparatus for semiconductors which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the modification of operation | movement of a control part. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the number of fine particles in a liquid in Example 1, and a silicon concentration. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the number of fine particles in a liquid in Example 1, and a silicon concentration. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the number of fine particles in a liquid in Example 2, and a silicon concentration. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the number of fine particles in a liquid in Example 2, and a silicon concentration. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the number of fine particles in a liquid in Example 3, and a silicon concentration. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the number of fine particles in a liquid in Example 3, and a silicon concentration.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a semiconductor etching processing apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a measuring apparatus 100 and an etching processing unit 101. In FIG. 1, a solid line indicates a flow path, and a dotted line indicates a control signal from the control unit 30 and a detection signal from the sensor to the control unit 30.

The etching processing unit 101 includes a flow path 1. The phosphoric acid solution (H ₃ PO ₄ ) circulates through the flow path 1 while being heated to, for example, approximately 160 ° C. The etching processing unit 101 performs a wet etching process for dissolving a thin film (including a silicon compound) formed on the semiconductor wafer W using a phosphoric acid solution circulating in the flow path 1. The etching processing unit 101 returns the phosphoric acid solution used for the etching processing to the flow path 1. That is, the etching processing unit 101 repeatedly uses the phosphoric acid solution circulating in the flow path 1.

  The measuring apparatus 100 measures the concentration (ppm) of silicon in the phosphoric acid solution circulating in the flow path 1. The measuring apparatus 100 includes a sampling line 2, a heat exchanger 3, an etching solution receiving tank 4, an etching solution supply line 9, a fluorine compound supply line 12 (corresponding to a second supply flow path), an ultrapure water supply line 19, A measuring tank 15, a stirrer 17, a fine particle measurement / feeding line 21, and a liquid fine particle measuring device 22 are provided. The first supply flow path of the present invention is realized by the sampling line 2, the etching solution supply line 9, and the fine particle measurement / feed line 21.

  The sampling line 2 is a flow path for acquiring a phosphoric acid solution circulating in the flow path 1. One end of the sampling line 2 is connected to the flow path 1. The sampling line 2 includes a valve in the middle of the flow path in order to start or stop the acquisition of the phosphoric acid solution from the flow path 1.

  The phosphoric acid solution obtained by the sampling line 2 passes through the heat exchanger 3. The heat exchanger 3 cools the phosphoric acid solution at about 160 ° C. to a range of 5 ° C. to 50 ° C. by exchanging the heat of the phosphoric acid solution and the heat of CWS (Cooling Water Supply). In addition, exhaust heat is performed by sending CWR (Cooling Water Return) from the heat exchanger 3. However, the phosphoric acid solution may be cooled by other methods such as air cooling and cooling with a heat conduction element.

  The phosphoric acid solution that has passed through the heat exchanger 3 is supplied to the etching solution receiving tank 4. The etching solution receiving tank 4 can store, for example, 200 ml of phosphoric acid solution. The gas in the etching solution receiving tank 4 is exhausted from the exhaust line 5 as the phosphoric acid solution is supplied.

  The measuring device 100 includes a level sensor 6 and a temperature sensor 7. The level sensor 6 detects the amount of the phosphoric acid solution stored in the etching solution receiving tank 4. The temperature sensor 7 detects the temperature of the phosphoric acid solution stored in the etching solution receiving tank 4. The measuring apparatus 100 stores a desired amount (for example, 200 ml) of a phosphoric acid solution having a desired liquid temperature (5 to 50 ° C.) in the etching liquid receiving tank 4.

  The etchant supply line 9 is a flow path for supplying the phosphoric acid solution stored in the etchant receiving tank 4 to the measurement tank 15. The etching solution supply line 9 includes a valve in the middle of the flow path in order to start or stop the supply of the phosphoric acid solution to the measurement tank 15. The supply of the phosphoric acid solution to the measurement tank 15 is realized by controlling the opening and closing of the valve and using nitrogen supplied from the purge nitrogen supply line 10 as a carrier. The etching solution supply line 9 includes a flow sensor 11 in the middle of the flow path in order to detect the amount of the phosphoric acid solution supplied to the measurement tank 15. The phosphoric acid solution that is not supplied to the measurement tank 15 and whose silicon concentration is not measured is discharged from the etching solution receiving tank 4 through the waste solution line 8.

  The fluorine compound supply line 12 is a flow path for supplying the fluorine compound to the measurement tank 15. The supply of the fluorine compound is realized by controlling opening / closing of a valve provided in the fluorine compound supply line 12 and using nitrogen supplied from the purge nitrogen supply line 13 as a carrier. The fluorine compound supply line 12 includes a flow sensor 14 in the middle of the flow path in order to supply a predetermined amount (for example, 5 ml) of the compound to the measurement tank 15.

  However, the supply of the phosphoric acid solution and the fluorine compound to the measurement tank 15 is not limited to the method using nitrogen as a carrier, and may be performed by pumping with a pump.

  The ultrapure water supply line 19 is a flow path for supplying ultrapure water to the measurement tank 15. Supply of the ultrapure water to the measuring tank 15 is realized by opening / closing control of a valve provided in the middle of the ultrapure water supply line 19.

  The measuring apparatus 100 includes a level sensor 16. The level sensor 16 detects the amount of liquid in the measurement tank 15. For example, the level sensor 16 detects that 500 ml of ultrapure water has been supplied to the measurement tank 15.

  The stirrer 17 includes a stirring bar 18 on the bottom surface of the measurement tank 15. The stirrer 17 stirs the liquid in the measurement tank 15 by rotating the stirring bar 18 at, for example, 250 rpm.

  One end of the particle measurement liquid feeding line 21 is connected to the measurement tank 15, and the other end is connected to the liquid particle measuring instrument 22. The waste liquid line 25 is connected to the etching liquid receiving tank 4 via the fine particle measuring / feeding line 21 and the in-liquid fine particle measuring device 22. The waste liquid line 25 includes a pump 23 and a flow meter 24 in the middle of the flow path.

  The flow meter 24 detects the amount of liquid flowing through the waste liquid line 25. Due to the pressure of the pump 23, the liquid in the measurement tank 15 is supplied to the in-liquid particle measuring instrument 22 through the particle measuring / feeding line 21. The pump 23 operates based on the measurement result of the flow meter 24 so that the liquid supply amount of the fine particle measurement liquid supply line 21 is constant at a predetermined amount. The liquid particle counter 22 measures the number of particles (units / ml) per unit of the liquid by irradiating the liquid flowing in a certain amount with light and obtaining the intensity of the scattered light. The liquid whose number of fine particles has been measured is discharged from the waste liquid line 25.

  The semiconductor etching apparatus 200 includes a control unit 30 that comprehensively controls the above-described configuration. Specifically, the control unit 30 controls opening / closing of each valve, etching processing of the etching processing unit 101, stirring of the stirrer 17, and driving of the pump 23. The control unit 30 acquires detection signals from the level sensors 6, 16, the flow sensors 11, 14, 21, and the temperature sensor 7. However, it is not essential for the present invention that the control unit 30 controls the etching processing unit 101.

  The control unit 30 includes a storage unit 31 that stores parameters for calculating the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution from the number of fine particles per unit amount of the liquid containing the phosphoric acid solution. Calculation of silicon concentration and parameters will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 30 first supplies ultrapure water to the measurement tank 15 in order to measure the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution (S1). However, in order to measure the silicon concentration, it is assumed that the measurement tank 15 is in an empty state (no liquid is present) in advance as the liquid is discharged from the waste liquid line 20.

  Specifically, in step S <b> 1, the control unit 30 controls opening and closing of the valve of the ultrapure water supply line 9 so that an amount of ultrapure water larger than the capacity of the measurement tank 15 is supplied to the measurement tank 15. Thereby, even if dust exists in the ultrapure water supply line 19 and the measurement tank 15, the dust is discharged from the ultrapure water supply line 19 and the measurement tank 15 together with the ultrapure water overflowing from the measurement tank 15. Is done. Then, the control unit 30 drives the pump 23 until the amount of liquid in the measurement tank 15 reaches a predetermined amount, and wastes ultrapure water from the waste liquid line 20. The control unit 30 stops the pump 23 when the ultrapure water waste liquid ends.

  Next, the control part 30 performs the supply process to the measurement tank 15 of a phosphoric acid solution (S2). And the control part 30 performs the stirring process of the liquid in the measurement tank 15 (S3). Thereby, the phosphoric acid solution is diluted with ultrapure water. Hereinafter, the phosphoric acid solution diluted with ultrapure water is referred to as a phosphoric acid solution after dilution. Siloxane, which is a silicon component, is present in the form of fine particles in the phosphoric acid solution used for repeated etching treatments. Accordingly, the diluted phosphoric acid solution also contains siloxane fine particles.

  Next, the control unit 30 controls the drive of the pump 23 to send the diluted phosphoric acid solution in the measurement tank 15 to the in-liquid particle measuring device 22, while the number of fine particles per unit amount of the diluted phosphoric acid solution ( Count / ml) is measured by the in-liquid particle counter 22 (S4).

  Finally, the control unit 30 calculates the silicon concentration (ppm) based on the number of particles (units / ml) per unit amount of the diluted phosphoric acid solution measured by the in-liquid particle measuring instrument 22 (S5).

  Here, the inventor of the present application determines that the number n (particles / ml) of fine particles contained in the liquid per unit amount of the phosphoric acid solution after dilution in the measurement tank 15 and the silicon concentration d of the phosphoric acid solution before dilution are predetermined. Found to have a relationship. This relationship can be expressed by the following equation.

d = a ₁ × ln (n) + b ₁
Here, ln is a natural logarithmic function.

That is, the silicon concentration d and the natural logarithm ln (n) of the number n of fine particles have a linear relationship with the slope a ₁ and the intercept b ₁ .

Since the storage unit 31 stores the inclination a ₁ and the intercept b ₁ in advance in the control unit 30, in step S5, the silicon of the phosphoric acid solution before dilution is calculated from the number n of fine particles contained in the phosphoric acid solution after dilution per unit amount. The density d can be determined.

  The measuring apparatus 100 does not need to generate silicon tetrafluoride gas as in the prior art, and does not need to adjust the acidity of the phosphoric acid solution using an ionic strength adjusting agent. Based on the natural logarithm of the number of fine particles, the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution circulating in the channel 1 before dilution can be calculated.

  In general, the higher the temperature of the liquid, the more bubbles are contained in the liquid. However, the measuring apparatus 100 cools the phosphoric acid solution to a range of 5 ° C. to 50 ° C. and then dilutes the phosphoric acid solution in the phosphoric acid solution. The number of fine particles per unit amount is measured. Accordingly, the measuring apparatus 100 can reduce bubbles due to vaporization of ultrapure water, which may be erroneously measured as fine particles by the in-liquid fine particle measuring instrument 22, and can more accurately measure liquid fine particles containing a phosphoric acid solution. The number can be measured.

  In addition, the measuring apparatus 100 can perform post-dilution by diluting the phosphoric acid solution with ultrapure water even if the number of fine particles per unit amount of the undiluted phosphoric acid solution exceeds the measurable upper limit number of the in-liquid fine particle measuring device 22. The number of fine particles per unit amount of the phosphoric acid solution can be reduced to a measurable value.

  Moreover, since the measuring apparatus 100 stirs the diluted phosphoric acid solution with the stirrer 17, the liquid in the measuring tank 15 can be made to contain siloxane fine particles more uniformly, and the variation in the measurement of the number of fine particles can be suppressed. be able to.

  However, step S1 and step S3 are not essential processes in the present embodiment. That is, the measuring apparatus 100 may measure the number of fine particles without diluting the phosphoric acid solution with ultrapure water and without stirring. In this case, a mode in which the sampling line 2 is directly connected to the in-liquid particle measuring device 22 may be used.

  Moreover, the measuring apparatus 100 may supply the phosphoric acid solution which has not been cooled by the heat exchanger 3 in step S <b> 2 to the measuring tank 15. However, when the number of fine particles in the in-liquid fine particle measuring device 22 cannot be sufficiently measured due to the small number of fine particles in the phosphoric acid solution before dilution, the measuring apparatus 100 cools the phosphoric acid solution before dilution with the heat exchanger 3 to make the siloxane fine particles It is desirable to increase the number of fine particles by precipitating in this state.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the modified example of the operation of the control unit 30 is different from the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  When the number n1 of fine particles per unit amount of the diluted phosphoric acid solution in the measurement tank 15 is measured (S4), the control unit 30 performs a supply process of the fluorine compound to the measurement tank 15 (S41). After the liquid inside is agitated (S42), the number of fine particles n2 per unit amount of the liquid containing the phosphoric acid solution in the measurement tank 15 is again measured by the in-liquid particulate meter 22 (S43). Then, the control unit 30 calculates the silicon concentration d based on the change amount diff of the number of fine particles (number of fine particles n1−number of fine particles n2) (S50).

  For example, when hydrofluoric acid (HF) is added to a phosphoric acid solution, hydrofluoric acid generates a chemical reaction represented by the following formula.

Si _n O _n-1 (OH) _{2n + 2} + 6nHF → nH ₂ SiF ₆ + (3n + 1) H ₂ O
That is, siloxane (Si ₂ O ₁ (OH) ₄ ) is changed to hexafluorosilicic acid (H ₂ SiF ₆ ). However, all of the siloxane in the liquid does not change to hexafluorosilicic acid, and part thereof changes to hexafluorosilicic acid.

  Since hexafluorosilicic acid is soluble in a phosphoric acid solution, it does not form fine particles. Therefore, when hydrofluoric acid is added to a phosphoric acid solution containing siloxane, the number of fine particles per unit amount in the liquid is reduced because siloxane forming the fine particles is reduced. The amount of change diff of the number of fine particles per unit amount of liquid before and after the addition of hydrofluoric acid increases as the amount of hexafluorosilicic acid produced increases. The amount of change diff increases as the amount of hexafluorosilicic acid produced increases as the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution increases. Therefore, the amount of change diff increases as the silicon concentration increases.

  The inventor of the present application has found that the amount of change diff has a predetermined relationship with the silicon concentration d of the phosphoric acid solution before dilution. This relationship can be expressed by the following equation.

d = a ₂ × ln (diff + c ₂ ) + b ₂
That is, the silicon concentration d and the natural logarithm of the change amount diff offset by the predetermined amount c ₂ have a linear proportional relationship between the slope a ₂ and the intercept b ₂ .

Since the storage unit 31 stores the inclination a ₂ and the intercept b ₂ in advance, the control unit 30 can obtain the silicon concentration d from the change amount diff in step S50.

  In the modified example of the operation of the control unit 30, the measuring apparatus 100 does not need to generate silicon tetrafluoride gas as in the prior art, and needs to adjust the acidity of the phosphoric acid solution using an ionic strength adjusting agent. The silicon concentration can be calculated based on the natural logarithm of the change amount diff.

  Further, in the modified example of the operation of the control unit 30, even when the phosphoric acid solution contains a large amount of impurities and the impurities are measured as fine particles by the in-liquid fine particle measuring instrument 22, the measuring device 100 can add siloxane by adding a fluorine compound. The silicon concentration is calculated by utilizing the decrease in the fine particles made of. Therefore, the measuring apparatus 100 can measure the silicon concentration of the phosphoric acid solution without being affected by the number of fine particles of the impurity even for the phosphoric acid solution containing many impurities.

  Similarly, in a modified example of the operation of the control unit 30, the measuring apparatus 100 uses a minute bubble that does not change due to the fluorine compound even when the phosphoric acid solution contains minute bubbles and the minute bubbles are erroneously measured as fine particles. The silicon concentration can be measured without being affected by the above.

  The fluorine compound is not limited to hydrofluoric acid, but may be one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of hydrofluoric acid, potassium hydrogen fluoride, ammonium hydrogen fluoride, ammonium fluoride, and sodium hydrogen fluoride. May be. When these compounds are added to the phosphoric acid solution as fluorine compounds, the siloxane is converted into hexafluorosilicic acid (hydrofluoric acid), potassium silicofluoride (potassium hydrofluoride), ammonium silicofluoride (ammonium fluoride), by chemical change. It becomes sodium silicofluoride (sodium hydrogen fluoride) or any of these hydrates. Both hydrates are soluble in phosphoric acid solution. However, the substance name in parentheses indicates the added fluorine compound. However, hydrofluoric acid is often available in a semiconductor factory where the semiconductor etching apparatus 200 is used, and is preferably used.

  To be precise, the number of fine particles of the liquid in the measurement tank 15 not only decreases as siloxane changes, but also increases according to the number of fine particles contained in the supplied fluorine compound. However, the number of fine particles contained in the supplied fluorine compound is negligibly small compared to the amount of change in the number of fine particles due to the chemical change of siloxane. However, in order to measure only the amount of change in the number of fine particles according to the chemical change of siloxane, it is desirable to supply a fluorine compound having higher purity (having less fine particles) to the measurement tank 15.

  An example will be described as an example in which the silicon concentration d of the phosphoric acid solution before dilution and the natural logarithm ln (n) of the number n of fine particles per unit amount of the phosphoric acid solution after dilution have a linear proportional relationship. Hereinafter, the silicon concentration d of the phosphoric acid solution before dilution is simply referred to as the silicon concentration d, the number n of fine particles per unit amount of the phosphoric acid solution after dilution is simply referred to as the number n of fine particles, and the natural logarithm ln (n) of the number n of fine particles is simply referred to as “n”. It is called the natural logarithm ln (n).

Example 1
Five types of 85 wt% phosphoric acid solutions, each having a known silicon concentration d, were used. The respective silicon concentrations d are 0 ppm, 8 ppm, 19 ppm, 36 ppm, and 63 ppm.

  The measuring device 100 supplied 500 ml of ultrapure water to the measuring tank 15 (S1), and supplied 5 ml of the phosphoric acid solution to the measuring tank 15 (S2). And the measuring apparatus 100 stirred the phosphoric acid solution after the dilution in the measurement tank 15 only for 60 seconds (S3), and measured the number n1 of fine particles with the liquid fine particle measuring device 22 (Lion Corporation KL-28BF). The fine particles to be measured were those having a particle size of 0.2 μm or more. Table 1 shows five sets of the measured number of fine particles n1 and the known silicon concentration d.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the graph with the number of fine particles n1 as the horizontal axis and the silicon concentration d as the vertical axis, the five points shown in Table 1 are along a logarithmic curve.

  The logarithmic curve shown in FIG. 4 is obtained by, for example, the least square method. The measuring apparatus 100 uses the logarithmic curve to measure the number of fine particles per unit amount of a liquid obtained by diluting the phosphoric acid solution with ultrapure water for the phosphoric acid solution with an unknown silicon concentration dx. The silicon concentration dx of the solution can be calculated.

  Since the relationship between the silicon concentration d and the number of fine particles n1 shown in FIG. 4 is shown in a logarithmic curve, it can be converted into the relationship between the silicon concentration d and the natural logarithm of the number of fine particles n1, as shown in Table 2. . Table 2 is obtained by replacing the number of fine particles n1 shown in Table 1 with a natural logarithm ln (n1).

  When the five points shown in Table 2 are shown in a graph, as shown in FIG. 5, the five points consisting of the silicon concentration d1 and the natural logarithm (ln (n1)) are along a straight line. Represented by an expression.

d = 15.9 × ln (n1) −107.92
By using this equation, the measuring apparatus 100 measures the number of fine particles per unit amount of a liquid obtained by diluting the phosphoric acid solution with ultrapure water with respect to the phosphoric acid solution with an unknown silicon concentration dx. The silicon concentration dx can be calculated.

(Example 2)
In this embodiment, after supplying the phosphoric acid solution to the measuring tank 15 (S2), the measuring apparatus 100 supplies 5 ml of 50 wt% hydrofluoric acid to the measuring tank 15 (S41) and agitates for 20 seconds (S42). ), The number of fine particles n2 per unit amount in the liquid was again measured (S43). In step S <b> 1, the measuring apparatus 100 supplies 200 ml of ultrapure water to the measuring tank 15. Other conditions are the same as those in the first embodiment. As a result, the obtained known silicon concentration d, the number n1 of fine particles per unit amount of the liquid before addition of hydrofluoric acid, the number n2 of fine particles per unit amount of the liquid after addition of hydrofluoric acid, Table 3 shows the relationship with the amount of change diff of the number of fine particles per unit amount of liquid before and after the addition of hydrofluoric acid.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the graph with the amount of change diff as the horizontal axis and the silicon concentration d as the vertical axis, the five points shown in Table 3 are along a logarithmic curve. In the example using phosphoric acid solutions having silicon concentrations of 0 ppm and 8 ppm, the amount of change diff is a negative value. That is, in the example using the phosphoric acid solution having silicon concentrations of 0 ppm and 8 ppm, the number of fine particles is increased by the fine particles contained in the supplied hydrofluoric acid.

  Table 4 shows the relationship between the natural logarithm (ln (diff + 300)) of the amount of change diff offset by 300 (pieces / ml) and the silicon concentration d. When the five points shown in Table 4 are shown in a graph, as shown in FIG. 7, the five points composed of the natural logarithm and the silicon concentration d are along a straight line. The unknown silicon concentration dx is calculated based on the natural logarithm of the change amount diff offset by 300 because this straight line is expressed by the following equation.

dx = 9.46 × ln (diff + 300) −41.95
The amount of hydrofluoric acid of 50 wt% is not limited to 5 ml, but may be a liquid amount that provides a volume ratio of 1 to 15% with respect to the phosphoric acid solution diluted with ultrapure water. The hydrofluoric acid added to the phosphoric acid solution is not limited to 50 wt%.

(Example 3)
This example differs from Example 2 in that the silicon concentration of the undiluted phosphoric acid solution and the impurity content of the undiluted phosphoric acid solution are different, and that the particle size of the fine particles to be measured is 0.5 μm or more. . Other conditions are the same as those of the second embodiment.

  As shown in Table 5, the 85 wt% phosphoric acid solution has silicon concentrations d of 0 ppm, 14 ppm, 24 ppm, 55 ppm, and 70 ppm, respectively. Since these phosphoric acid solutions are circulated and used in the etching processing unit 101, they contain more impurities than the phosphoric acid solutions of Example 2. In particular, since the phosphoric acid solution having a silicon concentration of 24 ppm contains a large amount of impurities, the number of fine particles is extremely larger than the number of fine particles of other phosphoric acid solutions.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the five points including the change amount diff and the silicon concentration d shown in Table 5 are along a logarithmic curve.

  Table 6 shows five sets of the natural logarithm of the amount of change diff offset by 15 (pieces / ml) and the silicon concentration d.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the five points shown in Table 6 are along a linear function shown in the following equation. Therefore, the unknown silicon concentration dx is calculated based on the natural logarithm of the change amount diff offset by 15.

dx = 23.32.46 × ln (diff + 15) −61.40
The above description of the embodiment is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above embodiments but by the claims. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Flow path 2 ... Sampling line 3 ... Heat exchanger 4 ... Etch liquid receiving tank 5 ... Exhaust line 6 ... Level sensor 7 ... Temperature sensor 8 ... Waste liquid line 9 ... Etch liquid supply line 10 ... Purge nitrogen supply line 11 ... Level sensor 12 ... Fluorine compound supply line 13 ... Purge nitrogen supply line 14 ... Level sensor 15 ... Measuring tank 16 ... Level sensor 17 ... Stirrer 18 ... Stirrer 19 ... Ultrapure water supply line 20 ... Waste liquid line 21 ... Fine particle measurement feed Liquid line 22 ... Fine particle measuring instrument 23 ... Pump 24 ... Flow meter 25 ... Waste liquid line 100 ... Measuring device 101 ... Etching processing unit 200 ... Semiconductor etching processing device

Claims (7)

A silicon concentration measuring device for measuring a silicon concentration of a phosphoric acid solution used in circulation for etching a semiconductor,
A measuring instrument that measures the number of fine particles per unit amount of the liquid by irradiating the liquid containing the phosphoric acid solution with light and determining the intensity of the scattered light ;
A first supply channel for supplying a part of the phosphoric acid solution to the measuring instrument;
A calculation unit that calculates the silicon concentration based on a natural logarithm of the number of fine particles measured by the measuring instrument;
A silicon concentration measuring device. A measuring tank provided in the middle of the first supply flow path and storing the liquid;
A second supply channel for supplying a fluorine compound to the measurement tank;
With
The measuring instrument measures the number of first particles in a state where only the liquid is supplied to the measurement tank , and measures the number of second particles in a state where the liquid and the fluorine compound are supplied to the measurement tank ;
The calculation unit calculates the silicon concentration based on a natural logarithm of the amount of change between the number of first particles and the number of second particles.
The silicon concentration measuring apparatus according to claim 1. The fluorine compound is one or more compounds selected from hydrofluoric acid, potassium hydrogen fluoride, ammonium hydrogen fluoride, ammonium fluoride, and sodium hydrogen fluoride.
The silicon concentration measuring apparatus according to claim 2. A third supply channel for supplying ultrapure water to the measurement tank;
An agitation mechanism for agitating the liquid stored in the measurement tank;
A silicon concentration measuring apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, comprising: A cooling mechanism provided in the middle of the first supply flow path for cooling the liquid;
A silicon concentration measuring apparatus according to claim 4, comprising: A silicon concentration measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An etching processing unit for performing the etching process on the thin film of the semiconductor workpiece by using the phosphoric acid solution in circulation;
An etching processing apparatus for a semiconductor comprising: A silicon concentration measurement method for measuring the silicon concentration of a phosphoric acid solution used in circulation for etching a semiconductor,
An extraction step of extracting a portion of the phosphoric acid solution;
A measurement step of measuring the number of fine particles per unit amount of the liquid by irradiating the liquid containing the phosphoric acid solution extracted in the extraction step with light, and determining the intensity of the scattered light ;
A calculation step of calculating the silicon concentration based on the natural logarithm of the number of fine particles measured in the measurement step;
A method for measuring silicon concentration.

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