Parametric Operator Inference to Simulate the Purging Process in Semiconductor Manufacturing

Abstract

This work presents the application of parametric Operator Inference (OpInf)—a nonintrusive reduced-order modeling (ROM) technique that learns a low-dimensional representation of a high-fidelity model—to the numerical model of the purging process in semiconductor manufacturing. Leveraging the data-driven nature of the OpInf framework, we aim to forecast the flow field within a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) chamber using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation data. Our model simplifies the system by excluding plasma dynamics and chemical reactions, while still capturing the key features of the purging flow behavior. The parametric OpInf framework learns nine ROMs based on varying argon mass flow rates at the inlet and different outlet pressures. It then interpolates these ROMs to predict the system’s behavior for 25 parameter combinations, including 16 scenarios that are not seen in training. The parametric OpInf ROMs, trained on 36% of the data and tested on 64%, demonstrate accuracy across the entire parameter domain, with a maximum error of 9.32%. Furthermore, the ROM achieves an approximate 142-fold speedup in online computations compared to the full-order model CFD simulation. These OpInf ROMs may be used for fast and accurate predictions of the purging flow in the PECVD chamber, which could facilitate effective particle contamination control in semiconductor manufacturing.