US20120175060A1 - Detection of arcing events in wafer plasma processing through monitoring of trace gas concentrations - Google Patents
Detection of arcing events in wafer plasma processing through monitoring of trace gas concentrations Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20120175060A1 US20120175060A1 US13/422,670 US201213422670A US2012175060A1 US 20120175060 A1 US20120175060 A1 US 20120175060A1 US 201213422670 A US201213422670 A US 201213422670A US 2012175060 A1 US2012175060 A1 US 2012175060A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- gas
- plasma processing
- plasma
- substrate
- processing apparatus
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 77
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 title description 4
- 238000012544 monitoring process Methods 0.000 title description 2
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 75
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 47
- 238000006243 chemical reaction Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 33
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 10
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 claims description 122
- 229920002120 photoresistant polymer Polymers 0.000 claims description 31
- 238000000354 decomposition reaction Methods 0.000 claims description 21
- 238000009826 distribution Methods 0.000 claims description 9
- 238000005070 sampling Methods 0.000 claims description 9
- 238000009616 inductively coupled plasma Methods 0.000 claims description 8
- 238000004949 mass spectrometry Methods 0.000 claims description 7
- 238000005033 Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 230000008021 deposition Effects 0.000 claims description 5
- 239000003989 dielectric material Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000010521 absorption reaction Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000012546 transfer Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000004020 conductor Substances 0.000 claims 1
- 150000002739 metals Chemical class 0.000 claims 1
- 238000004611 spectroscopical analysis Methods 0.000 abstract description 5
- XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicon Chemical compound [Si] XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 32
- 229910052710 silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 32
- 239000010703 silicon Substances 0.000 description 32
- 235000012431 wafers Nutrition 0.000 description 28
- 238000005530 etching Methods 0.000 description 17
- 238000012360 testing method Methods 0.000 description 17
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 13
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 description 11
- 239000000047 product Substances 0.000 description 11
- 238000000151 deposition Methods 0.000 description 8
- 238000005979 thermal decomposition reaction Methods 0.000 description 7
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 5
- 238000000623 plasma-assisted chemical vapour deposition Methods 0.000 description 5
- 239000010409 thin film Substances 0.000 description 5
- 239000011248 coating agent Substances 0.000 description 4
- 238000000576 coating method Methods 0.000 description 4
- 150000002500 ions Chemical class 0.000 description 4
- VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicium dioxide Chemical compound O=[Si]=O VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 238000004458 analytical method Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000005229 chemical vapour deposition Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000007547 defect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000001020 plasma etching Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000011160 research Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000035945 sensitivity Effects 0.000 description 3
- WZJUBBHODHNQPW-UHFFFAOYSA-N 2,4,6,8-tetramethyl-1,3,5,7,2$l^{3},4$l^{3},6$l^{3},8$l^{3}-tetraoxatetrasilocane Chemical compound C[Si]1O[Si](C)O[Si](C)O[Si](C)O1 WZJUBBHODHNQPW-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- XKRFYHLGVUSROY-UHFFFAOYSA-N Argon Chemical compound [Ar] XKRFYHLGVUSROY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- RYGMFSIKBFXOCR-UHFFFAOYSA-N Copper Chemical compound [Cu] RYGMFSIKBFXOCR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- YCKRFDGAMUMZLT-UHFFFAOYSA-N Fluorine atom Chemical compound [F] YCKRFDGAMUMZLT-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229910052581 Si3N4 Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- BOTDANWDWHJENH-UHFFFAOYSA-N Tetraethyl orthosilicate Chemical compound CCO[Si](OCC)(OCC)OCC BOTDANWDWHJENH-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229910052782 aluminium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N aluminium Chemical compound [Al] XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229910052786 argon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000006227 byproduct Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000009833 condensation Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000005494 condensation Effects 0.000 description 2
- 229910052802 copper Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000010949 copper Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910052731 fluorine Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000011737 fluorine Substances 0.000 description 2
- NBVXSUQYWXRMNV-UHFFFAOYSA-N fluoromethane Chemical compound FC NBVXSUQYWXRMNV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000011261 inert gas Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000011368 organic material Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000005240 physical vapour deposition Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000010223 real-time analysis Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000000427 thin-film deposition Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000000007 visual effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000004215 Carbon black (E152) Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910007264 Si2H6 Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910004014 SiF4 Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- BLRPTPMANUNPDV-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silane Chemical compound [SiH4] BLRPTPMANUNPDV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- AZDRQVAHHNSJOQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N alumane Chemical compound [AlH3] AZDRQVAHHNSJOQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- QVGXLLKOCUKJST-UHFFFAOYSA-N atomic oxygen Chemical compound [O] QVGXLLKOCUKJST-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000003990 capacitor Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910010293 ceramic material Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000012512 characterization method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052681 coesite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000000470 constituent Substances 0.000 description 1
- QUQFTIVBFKLPCL-UHFFFAOYSA-L copper;2-amino-3-[(2-amino-2-carboxylatoethyl)disulfanyl]propanoate Chemical compound [Cu+2].[O-]C(=O)C(N)CSSCC(N)C([O-])=O QUQFTIVBFKLPCL-UHFFFAOYSA-L 0.000 description 1
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052906 cristobalite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 230000001419 dependent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000002845 discoloration Methods 0.000 description 1
- PZPGRFITIJYNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N disilane Chemical compound [SiH3][SiH3] PZPGRFITIJYNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 238000001312 dry etching Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000005684 electric field Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000005672 electromagnetic field Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000004907 flux Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910052736 halogen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 150000002367 halogens Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 229930195733 hydrocarbon Natural products 0.000 description 1
- 150000002430 hydrocarbons Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 238000005468 ion implantation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007257 malfunction Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000873 masking effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005297 material degradation process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000004377 microelectronic Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007935 neutral effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- QJGQUHMNIGDVPM-UHFFFAOYSA-N nitrogen group Chemical group [N] QJGQUHMNIGDVPM-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910052760 oxygen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000001301 oxygen Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000000206 photolithography Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000010453 quartz Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000002994 raw material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000000376 reactant Substances 0.000 description 1
- HBMJWWWQQXIZIP-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon carbide Chemical compound [Si+]#[C-] HBMJWWWQQXIZIP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910010271 silicon carbide Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000000377 silicon dioxide Substances 0.000 description 1
- HQVNEWCFYHHQES-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon nitride Chemical compound N12[Si]34N5[Si]62N3[Si]51N64 HQVNEWCFYHHQES-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- ABTOQLMXBSRXSM-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon tetrafluoride Chemical compound F[Si](F)(F)F ABTOQLMXBSRXSM-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 238000001228 spectrum Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000004544 sputter deposition Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052682 stishovite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001052 transient effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910052905 tridymite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000011179 visual inspection Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000001039 wet etching Methods 0.000 description 1
- RUDFQVOCFDJEEF-UHFFFAOYSA-N yttrium(III) oxide Inorganic materials [O-2].[O-2].[O-2].[Y+3].[Y+3] RUDFQVOCFDJEEF-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
- H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
- H01J37/32—Gas-filled discharge tubes
- H01J37/32917—Plasma diagnostics
- H01J37/32935—Monitoring and controlling tubes by information coming from the object and/or discharge
- H01J37/32972—Spectral analysis
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
- H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
- H01J37/32—Gas-filled discharge tubes
- H01J37/32917—Plasma diagnostics
- H01J37/32935—Monitoring and controlling tubes by information coming from the object and/or discharge
Definitions
- Plasma processing apparatuses are used to process substrates by techniques including etching, physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), ion implantation and resist removal.
- PVD physical vapor deposition
- CVD chemical vapor deposition
- One type of plasma processing apparatus used in plasma processing includes a reaction chamber containing upper and bottom electrodes. An RF generated plasma between the electrodes produces energetic ions and neutral species that etch the wafer substrate and chamber parts within the reaction chamber.
- a method of detecting substrate arcing in a semiconductor plasma processing apparatus is provided.
- a substrate is placed on a substrate support in a reaction chamber of a plasma processing apparatus.
- Process gas is introduced into the reaction chamber.
- a plasma is generated from the process gas and the substrate is processed with the plasma.
- Intensities of real-time spectrometry signals of selected gas species produced in the reaction chamber during plasma processing are monitored.
- the selected gas species are generated by a substrate arcing event.
- the arcing event is detected when the intensities are above a threshold value.
- a plasma processing apparatus in another embodiment, includes a substrate holder which supports a substrate within an interior of a reaction chamber.
- a gas supply supplies process gas to the interior of the reaction chamber using a gas distribution member.
- a power source supplies energy into the interior of the reaction chamber and energizes the process gas into a plasma state for processing the substrate.
- a gas sensor is adapted to monitor gas species in the reaction chamber during plasma processing to identify gas species produced by substrate arcing. An alarm generates a warning signal when gas species produced by substrate arcing are identified.
- FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of a plasma apparatus.
- FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of an inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus.
- FIG. 2A is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of atomic mass for processing of a silicon coupon coated with organic photoresist in Ar plasma.
- FIG. 2B is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of atomic mass for processing of a silicon coupon coated with organic photoresist with thermal paste applied to the backside of the coupon during processing in Ar plasma.
- FIG. 2C is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of atomic mass for processing of a silicon coupon during processing in Ar plasma.
- FIG. 3 is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of atomic mass for processing of a silicon coupon in CF 4 plasma.
- FIG. 4A is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of atomic mass during the occurrence of an arcing event for processing of a silicon coupon coated with organic photoresist in Ar plasma.
- FIG. 4B is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of time during the occurrence of an arcing event for processing of a silicon coupon coated with organic photoresist in Ar plasma.
- FIG. 5 is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of atomic mass for a CF 4 /N 2 gas mixture, in which no plasma is generated.
- Semiconductor materials can be manufactured into specific electronic devices, such as transistors, diodes, capacitors and the like, by the selective build up and removal of layers of materials.
- semiconductor materials can be manufactured into specific electronic devices, such as transistors, diodes, capacitors and the like, by the selective build up and removal of layers of materials.
- the continuing increase in the number of devices on a chip and the accompanying decrease in the minimum feature sizes have placed increasingly difficult demands upon many of the fabrication steps used in integrated circuit fabrication including depositing layers of different materials onto sometimes difficult topologies and the removal of material and formation of features within those layers.
- PECVD Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition
- SiO 2 , Si 3 N 4 , Si or the like with high purity and high quality.
- raw material can be supplied to a reaction chamber in the form of gaseous constituents so that gaseous molecules are thermally dissociated and combined in the gas and on a surface of the substrates so as to form a thin film.
- Etching is one technique for removing layers of semiconductor or other materials from a given substrate and producing features on integrated circuits. For example, openings (e.g., trenches or vias) can be formed in a substrate layer by depositing an overlying mask layer, such as an organic photoresist. The mask layer can be patterned into the shape of a trench, contact or via, followed by etching.
- an overlying mask layer such as an organic photoresist
- Plasma etching is of particular interest in producing electronic devices due to better resolution and improved dimensional and shape control capabilities in comparison to various methods of wet etching. Accordingly, plasma etching is favorably utilized where superior pattern control and delineation are required, such as the processing of semiconductor wafers to form large scale integrated devices and integrated circuits.
- a plasma reactor may be employed to perform various processes on a semiconductor wafer in microelectronic fabrication including dry etching or deposition.
- a wafer is placed inside a vacuum chamber of the reactor and process gases, including etchant or deposition gases, are introduced into the chamber.
- the gases are energized to ignite and maintain a plasma.
- the plasma may be employed to etch a particular material from the wafer or may be employed to deposit a thin film layer of material onto the wafer.
- the processing chambers are configured to receive processing gases (i.e., etch chemistries) while a radio frequency (RF) power is applied to one or more electrodes of the processing chamber.
- RF radio frequency
- the pressure inside the processing chamber is also controlled for the particular process.
- the process gases in the chamber are activated such that a plasma is created. The plasma is thus generated to perform the desired etching of the selected layers of the semiconductor wafer.
- arcing refers to transient high density plasma filaments that carry electrical current between two surfaces in the reactor and/or the wafer.
- Substrate arcing refers to arcing that occurs either between the reactor and the wafer; or between two locations within the wafer. Substrate arcing can potentially cause material degradation of the wafer, including undesirable sputtering of material, depositing of material or high temperature volatilization of some materials.
- arcs typically have small diameters and short duration, the power density of the arc can cause significant damage, even if the total power dissipation is small.
- substrate arcing events can produce fine craters (i.e., on the orders of microns) which can damage critical features, including gate structures, intermetal dielectric layers (inorganic or organic) or metallic interconnect lines, resulting in the malfunction or failure of the integrated circuit component.
- critical features including gate structures, intermetal dielectric layers (inorganic or organic) or metallic interconnect lines, resulting in the malfunction or failure of the integrated circuit component.
- a method of detecting substrate arcing is provided, through the real-time monitoring of gas species and identification of gas species produced by substrate arcing in the plasma processing apparatus.
- Substrate arcing events within a wafer or between a wafer surface and a plasma chamber surface releases volatile species into the plasma.
- a substrate arcing event can cause rapid heating of the substrate and release volatile decomposition products associated with silicon, aluminum, copper (i.e., aluminum-, copper-, or silicon-bearing species) or organic materials (i.e., photoresist or organic dielectrics), resulting in a sudden increase or spike in the concentration of decomposition products near the wafer surface.
- Products related to the decomposition of photoresist can produce more stable molecules, which are capable of diffusing to a sensor capable of measuring gas concentrations, located near the wafer surface.
- decomposition products related to the silicon, aluminum or copper may condense on the surface of the wafer prior to detection.
- substrate arcing events can produce gaseous species (e.g., from decomposition of organic materials) some gaseous species may be undetectable due to the high background concentration of process gases (i.e., etching gases or CVD gases).
- process gases used for etching include hydrocarbon gases (e.g., C X H Y ), fluorocarbon gases (e.g., C X F Y ), hydrofluorocarbon gases (e.g., C X H Y F Z ), halogen-containing gases (e.g., NF 3 , HBr, Cl 2 ), oxygen-containing gases (e.g., O 2 ), nitrogen-containing gases (e.g., N 2 , NH 3 ) or inert gases (e.g., He, Ar).
- hydrocarbon gases e.g., C X H Y
- fluorocarbon gases e.g., C X F Y
- hydrofluorocarbon gases e.g., C X H
- process gases used for thin-film deposition include silicon-containing reactant gas selected from the group consisting of SiH 4 , SiF 4 , Si 2 H 6 , tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane (TMCTS) and mixtures thereof.
- the process gases for thin-film deposition may include H 2 , O 2 , N 2 , NH 3 , NF 3 , N 2 O, and NO, and mixtures thereof.
- FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary semiconductor material plasma processing apparatus 100 for etching.
- Plasma processing apparatus 100 comprises a reaction chamber 102 containing a substrate support 104 on which a substrate 106 is supported during plasma processing.
- the substrate support 104 for supporting a substrate 106 in the interior of the reaction chamber 102 can include a clamping device, preferably an electrostatic chuck, which is operable to clamp the substrate 106 on the substrate support 104 during processing.
- the exemplary plasma process chamber 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a showerhead electrode assembly having a top plate 108 forming a wall of the reaction chamber 102 and a showerhead electrode 110 attached to the top plate 108 .
- Gas supply 112 supplies process gas to the interior of the reaction chamber 102 , via showerhead electrode 110 .
- showerhead electrode 110 includes multiple gas passages 114 extending through the thickness of the showerhead electrode 110 for injecting process gas into a space in a plasma reaction chamber 102 located between showerhead electrode 110 and the substrate support 104 .
- the process gas flows through showerhead electrode 110 and into the interior of the reaction chamber 102 .
- the process gas is energized into the plasma state in the plasma process chamber 100 by a power source 116 A, such as an RF source driving showerhead electrode 110 , and/or a power source 116 B at one or more frequencies from about 0.3 to about 600 MHz (e.g., 2 MHz, 13.56 MHz, 60 MHz) driving an electrode in the substrate support 104 at one or more frequencies from about 0.3 to about 600 MHz (e.g., 2 MHz, 13.56 MHz, 60 MHz).
- the RF power applied to the showerhead electrode 110 can be changed to perform different process steps such as when different gas compositions are supplied into the plasma process apparatus 100 .
- showerhead electrode 110 can be grounded.
- the plasma can be generated in the interior of plasma process chamber 100 by supplying RF energy from two RF sources to the showerhead electrode 110 and/or the substrate support 104 , or the showerhead electrode 110 can be electrically grounded and RF energy at a single frequency or multiple frequencies can be supplied to the substrate support 104 .
- a plasma confinement ring assembly 118 can be provided outwardly of showerhead electrode 110 and substrate support 104 to confine the plasma in the space located between the showerhead electrode 110 and substrate support 104 .
- Gaseous species associated with substrate arcing can be detected by collecting volatile decomposition products for analysis by gas sensor 120 with a sampling structure 122 and transported to gas sensor along gas line 124 . To prevent condensation of such gaseous species, gas line 124 can be heated. For greater sensitivity of the gaseous species associated with substrate arcing, sampling structure 122 can be placed in the vicinity of the substrate 106 placed on substrate support 104 .
- sampling structure 122 can be a tube placed outwardly of the plasma confinement rings 118 .
- Exemplary sampling tube materials can include quartz, silicon, silicon nitride or silicon carbide or other plasma resistant ceramic materials such as yttria.
- sampling structure 122 can be a channel embedded directly in showerhead electrode 110 .
- the alarm 126 can be an audio warning, visual warning, an electronic record or instructing an operator to take corrective action to minimize substrate arcing or to terminate plasma processing.
- inductively coupled plasma (ICP) processing apparatus 200 can be used for depositing (e.g., plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition or PECVD) and plasma etching of materials on substrates by supplying process gas into a vacuum chamber at a low pressure (i.e., below 50 mTorr) and the application of radio-frequency (RF) energy to the gas.
- FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an ICP plasma processing apparatus 200 .
- An example of an ICP plasma processing chamber is the TCP® etch or deposition system, manufactured by Lam Research Corporation, Fremont, Calif.
- the ICP plasma processing apparatus is also described, for example, in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No.
- Reaction chamber 202 includes a substrate support 204 for supporting the substrate 206 in the interior of the reaction chamber 202 .
- Dielectric window 208 forms a top wall of reaction chamber 202 .
- Process gases are injected to the interior of the reaction chamber 202 through a gas distribution member 210 .
- gas distribution member 210 include a showerhead, gas injector or other suitable arrangement.
- a gas supply 212 supplies process gases to the interior of reaction chamber 202 through gas distribution member 210 .
- process gases are introduced into the interior of reaction chamber 202 , they are energized into a plasma state by an energy source 216 supplying energy into the interior of reaction chamber 202 .
- the energy source 216 is an external planar antenna powered by an RF source 218 A and RF impedance matching circuitry 2188 to inductively couple RF energy into reaction chamber 202 .
- An electromagnetic field generated by the application of RF power to planar antenna energizes the process gas to form a high-density plasma P (e.g., 10 11 -10 12 ions/cm 3 ) above substrate 206 .
- a dielectric window 208 underlies planar antenna and gas distribution member 210 is placed below dielectric window 208 .
- a high-density plasma is generated in the zone between gas distribution member 210 and substrate 206 , for either deposition or etching of substrate 206 .
- gaseous species associated with substrate arcing can be detected by collecting such gaseous species for analysis with gas sensor 220 with a sampling structure 222 and transported to gas sensor along gas line 224 .
- gas line 224 can be heated.
- sampling structure 222 is placed in the vicinity of substrate 206 placed on substrate support 204 .
- a warning signal from alarm 226 is generated.
- the alarm 226 can be an audio warning, visual warning, an electronic record or instructing an operator to take corrective action to minimize substrate arcing or to terminate plasma processing.
- the gas sensor 120 / 220 can be a mass spectrometer, preferably, a residual gas analyzer (RGA) mass spectrometer.
- RGA mass spectrometers are suitable for measuring trace gas concentrations in vacuum systems and operate by analyzing the sample gas.
- the sample gas is ionized and the ions are separated based on mass-to-charge ratio by a quadrupolar electric field using a combination of direct current (DC) and radio-frequency (RF) potentials.
- DC direct current
- RF radio-frequency
- the instrument measures the flux of ions versus mass-to-charge ratio, and thereby provides a detailed chemical analysis of the sample gas.
- the RGA can be equipped with an electron multiplier for additional sensitivity or higher scanning speeds (e.g., 20 Hz or more at a single mass).
- the RGA can be used to detect the decomposition by-products of photoresist, which is detectable over the background processing gases.
- a real-time signal from a mass spectrometer can be generated during plasma processing.
- the real-time signal from the mass spectrometer can include either a full spectrum of atomic masses (e.g., up to 200 AMU) or collection at a single mass.
- gaseous species relating to a substrate arcing event are readily detectable, due to the high background concentration of process gases.
- the gaseous species relating to a substrate arcing event and the process gas may generate overlapping peaks (i.e., two peaks at the same AMU) during real-time RGA mass spectrometry characterization.
- a peak associated with such gaseous species may be undetectable.
- selected gas species associated with substrate arcing must be readily detected in the presence of processing gas.
- Selected gas species associated with substrate arcing can be identified by comparing: (i) baseline (or reference) spectrometry signals of the process gas in the absence of an arcing event; to (ii) spectrometry signals during a substrate arcing event. In comparing the two different spectrometry signals, selected gas species associated with substrate arcing can be readily identified.
- the gas sensors can include inductively coupled plasma optical emission (ICP-OE) spectrometers, infrared absorption spectrometers or a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers.
- ICP-OE inductively coupled plasma optical emission
- FTIR Fourier transform infrared
- the thermal decomposition test was performed by coating a 193 nm organic photoresist on a silicon test coupon (about 3 cm ⁇ 3 cm) and plasma processing the test coupon in Ar plasma. Each test coupon was placed over a bare silicon wafer. A gas mixture of 200 SCCM Ar was introduced into the etch chamber at a chamber pressure of 80 mTorr. Duel-frequency RF power was applied to the bottom electrode, about 1500 W at a frequency of about 2 MHz and about 800 W at a frequency of about 60 MHz. The temperature of the lower electrode was set at about 60° C.; the temperature of the upper electrode was set at about 120° C. During plasma processing, the temperature of the silicon wafer was about 20° C. to about 30° C.
- FIG. 2A is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity (in arbitrary units) as a function of atomic mass (in atomic mass units or AMU) for the decomposition of organic photoresist in an Ar plasma.
- the real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer for the silicon and silicon with a photoresist coating without decomposing was measured.
- the test conditions described above were repeated for: (i) a bare silicon wafer with no coupon in Ar plasma; and (ii) a photoresist-coated silicon coupon attached to a bare silicon wafer with thermal paste in Ar plasma.
- the thermal paste was applied to the backside of the test coupon to facilitate the removal of heat from the photoresist coating due to plasma processing. This results in a much lower temperature at the test coupon, as compared to the case with no thermal paste.
- the real-time signals from the RGA mass spectrometer for the bare silicon coupon and the photoresist coated silicon coupon with thermal paste are illustrated in FIGS. 2B and 2C , respectively.
- the real-time signals in FIGS. 2A-2C were measured during the first few seconds of plasma processing.
- organic photoresist decomposition products were detected by RGA mass spectrometry during an arcing event.
- the tests were performed in a 2300® EXELAN® FLEX-3X® dielectric etching system coupled with a RGA200 residual gas analyzer for real-time analysis of gas concentration during plasma processing.
- a silicon coupon was coated with 193 nm organic photoresist and subjected to plasma processing in Ar plasma.
- the composition of the gases flowing through the processing chamber were monitored by RGA mass spectrometry.
- the photoresist coated wafer was attached to a bare silicon coupon (about 3 cm ⁇ 3 cm) that was partially grounded by bonding a metal wire to the coupon.
- Argon flowing at 575 SCCM was introduced into the etch chamber at a chamber pressure of 80 mTorr.
- RF power was applied to the bottom electrode with a power of about 1000 W at a frequency of about 27 MHz.
- the temperature of the lower electrode was set at about 20° C.; the temperature of the upper electrode was set at about 80° C.
- the composition of the gases flowing through the processing chamber were monitored by RGA mass spectrometry.
- the silicon wafer was exposed to plasma processing for about 60 seconds, in which an arcing event was detected after about 25 seconds of processing. After testing was completed, the arcing event was confirmed by a visual inspection of the silicon coupon and the showerhead electrode. Both the silicon coupon and showerhead electrode exhibited discoloration that was characteristic of damage caused by arcing.
- FIG. 4A is a real-time signal from the RGA mass spectrometer of intensity (in arbitrary units) as a function of atomic mass (in atomic mass units or AMU) for the decomposition of organic photoresist in Ar plasma. Regions of interest (i.e., mass 12.1, mass 15, mass 25.3, mass 26.3 and mass 85.6) in FIG. 4A , are indicated by the dark arrows.
- FIG. 4B is a real-time signal from the RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of plasma processing time for mass 12.1, mass 15, mass 25.3, mass 26.3 and mass 85.6. As illustrated in FIG. 4B , five atomic masses experienced a sharp increase in intensity at about 20 seconds.
- the use of fluorine-based etching gases may potentially mask the mass peaks which indicate the occurrence of photoresist decomposition associated with an arcing event.
- Real-time analysis of gas concentration of a CF 4 /N 2 etching gas mixture was performed by flowing 150 SCCM CF 4 /50 N 2 into the etching chamber at a pressure of 80 mTorr. No plasma was generated.
- the real-time signal from the RGA mass spectrometer for the CF 4 /N 2 gas mixture is illustrated in FIG. 5 . From FIG. 5 , the CF 4 /N 2 real-time signal from the mass spectrometer is characterized by intense peaks at mass 12.1 and 25.3, potentially masking any increase in intensity due to arcing. In comparing the real-time signals of FIG. 4A and FIG. 5 , it has been determined that arcing events resulting in extra peaks at mass 15 and mass 26.3 are readily detectable in a CF 4 etching gas.
Abstract
A method of detecting substrate arcing in a semiconductor plasma processing apparatus is provided. A substrate is placed on a substrate support in a reaction chamber of a plasma processing apparatus. Process gas is introduced into the reaction chamber. A plasma is generated from the process gas and the substrate is processed with the plasma. Intensities of real-time spectrometry signals of selected gas species produced in the reaction chamber during plasma processing are monitored. The selected gas species are generated by a substrate arcing event. The arcing event is detected when the intensities are above a threshold value.
Description
- Plasma processing apparatuses are used to process substrates by techniques including etching, physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), ion implantation and resist removal. One type of plasma processing apparatus used in plasma processing includes a reaction chamber containing upper and bottom electrodes. An RF generated plasma between the electrodes produces energetic ions and neutral species that etch the wafer substrate and chamber parts within the reaction chamber.
- In one embodiment, a method of detecting substrate arcing in a semiconductor plasma processing apparatus is provided. A substrate is placed on a substrate support in a reaction chamber of a plasma processing apparatus. Process gas is introduced into the reaction chamber. A plasma is generated from the process gas and the substrate is processed with the plasma. Intensities of real-time spectrometry signals of selected gas species produced in the reaction chamber during plasma processing are monitored. The selected gas species are generated by a substrate arcing event. The arcing event is detected when the intensities are above a threshold value.
- In another embodiment, a plasma processing apparatus includes a substrate holder which supports a substrate within an interior of a reaction chamber. A gas supply supplies process gas to the interior of the reaction chamber using a gas distribution member. A power source supplies energy into the interior of the reaction chamber and energizes the process gas into a plasma state for processing the substrate. A gas sensor is adapted to monitor gas species in the reaction chamber during plasma processing to identify gas species produced by substrate arcing. An alarm generates a warning signal when gas species produced by substrate arcing are identified.
-
FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of a plasma apparatus. -
FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of an inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus. -
FIG. 2A is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of atomic mass for processing of a silicon coupon coated with organic photoresist in Ar plasma. -
FIG. 2B is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of atomic mass for processing of a silicon coupon coated with organic photoresist with thermal paste applied to the backside of the coupon during processing in Ar plasma. -
FIG. 2C is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of atomic mass for processing of a silicon coupon during processing in Ar plasma. -
FIG. 3 is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of atomic mass for processing of a silicon coupon in CF4 plasma. -
FIG. 4A is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of atomic mass during the occurrence of an arcing event for processing of a silicon coupon coated with organic photoresist in Ar plasma. -
FIG. 4B is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of time during the occurrence of an arcing event for processing of a silicon coupon coated with organic photoresist in Ar plasma. -
FIG. 5 is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of atomic mass for a CF4/N2 gas mixture, in which no plasma is generated. - Semiconductor materials can be manufactured into specific electronic devices, such as transistors, diodes, capacitors and the like, by the selective build up and removal of layers of materials. In the fabrication of integrated circuits, the continuing increase in the number of devices on a chip and the accompanying decrease in the minimum feature sizes have placed increasingly difficult demands upon many of the fabrication steps used in integrated circuit fabrication including depositing layers of different materials onto sometimes difficult topologies and the removal of material and formation of features within those layers.
- Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) can be used to form various thin films in a semiconductor integrated circuit. For example, PECVD can form thin films such as SiO2, Si3N4, Si or the like with high purity and high quality. In the reaction process of forming a thin film, raw material can be supplied to a reaction chamber in the form of gaseous constituents so that gaseous molecules are thermally dissociated and combined in the gas and on a surface of the substrates so as to form a thin film.
- Etching is one technique for removing layers of semiconductor or other materials from a given substrate and producing features on integrated circuits. For example, openings (e.g., trenches or vias) can be formed in a substrate layer by depositing an overlying mask layer, such as an organic photoresist. The mask layer can be patterned into the shape of a trench, contact or via, followed by etching.
- Plasma etching is of particular interest in producing electronic devices due to better resolution and improved dimensional and shape control capabilities in comparison to various methods of wet etching. Accordingly, plasma etching is favorably utilized where superior pattern control and delineation are required, such as the processing of semiconductor wafers to form large scale integrated devices and integrated circuits.
- A plasma reactor may be employed to perform various processes on a semiconductor wafer in microelectronic fabrication including dry etching or deposition. A wafer is placed inside a vacuum chamber of the reactor and process gases, including etchant or deposition gases, are introduced into the chamber. The gases are energized to ignite and maintain a plasma. Depending upon the composition of the gases from which the plasma is formed, the plasma may be employed to etch a particular material from the wafer or may be employed to deposit a thin film layer of material onto the wafer. The processing chambers are configured to receive processing gases (i.e., etch chemistries) while a radio frequency (RF) power is applied to one or more electrodes of the processing chamber. The pressure inside the processing chamber is also controlled for the particular process. Upon applying the desired RF power to the electrode(s), the process gases in the chamber are activated such that a plasma is created. The plasma is thus generated to perform the desired etching of the selected layers of the semiconductor wafer.
- As integrated circuit devices continue to shrink in both their physical size and their operating voltages, their associated manufacturing yields become more susceptible to any defects affecting critical features. Defects on the wafer surface can locally disrupt pattern transfer during photolithography and etching steps.
- One such source of defects is related to arcing events which can occur during plasma processing of the wafer. In general, arcing refers to transient high density plasma filaments that carry electrical current between two surfaces in the reactor and/or the wafer. Substrate arcing refers to arcing that occurs either between the reactor and the wafer; or between two locations within the wafer. Substrate arcing can potentially cause material degradation of the wafer, including undesirable sputtering of material, depositing of material or high temperature volatilization of some materials. Although arcs typically have small diameters and short duration, the power density of the arc can cause significant damage, even if the total power dissipation is small. For example, substrate arcing events can produce fine craters (i.e., on the orders of microns) which can damage critical features, including gate structures, intermetal dielectric layers (inorganic or organic) or metallic interconnect lines, resulting in the malfunction or failure of the integrated circuit component. Thus, a need exists for a reliable method of detecting substrate arcing in real-time to ensure the plasma processing apparatuses experiencing substrate arcing are taken off-line for maintenance before multiple wafers are damaged.
- A method of detecting substrate arcing is provided, through the real-time monitoring of gas species and identification of gas species produced by substrate arcing in the plasma processing apparatus. Substrate arcing events within a wafer or between a wafer surface and a plasma chamber surface releases volatile species into the plasma. For example, a substrate arcing event can cause rapid heating of the substrate and release volatile decomposition products associated with silicon, aluminum, copper (i.e., aluminum-, copper-, or silicon-bearing species) or organic materials (i.e., photoresist or organic dielectrics), resulting in a sudden increase or spike in the concentration of decomposition products near the wafer surface. Products related to the decomposition of photoresist, for example, can produce more stable molecules, which are capable of diffusing to a sensor capable of measuring gas concentrations, located near the wafer surface. On the other hand, decomposition products related to the silicon, aluminum or copper may condense on the surface of the wafer prior to detection.
- Although substrate arcing events can produce gaseous species (e.g., from decomposition of organic materials) some gaseous species may be undetectable due to the high background concentration of process gases (i.e., etching gases or CVD gases). Examples of process gases used for etching include hydrocarbon gases (e.g., CXHY), fluorocarbon gases (e.g., CXFY), hydrofluorocarbon gases (e.g., CXHYFZ), halogen-containing gases (e.g., NF3, HBr, Cl2), oxygen-containing gases (e.g., O2), nitrogen-containing gases (e.g., N2, NH3) or inert gases (e.g., He, Ar). Examples of process gases used for thin-film deposition include silicon-containing reactant gas selected from the group consisting of SiH4, SiF4, Si2H6, tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane (TMCTS) and mixtures thereof. The process gases for thin-film deposition may include H2, O2, N2, NH3, NF3, N2O, and NO, and mixtures thereof.
-
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary semiconductor materialplasma processing apparatus 100 for etching.Plasma processing apparatus 100 comprises areaction chamber 102 containing asubstrate support 104 on which asubstrate 106 is supported during plasma processing. Thesubstrate support 104 for supporting asubstrate 106 in the interior of thereaction chamber 102 can include a clamping device, preferably an electrostatic chuck, which is operable to clamp thesubstrate 106 on thesubstrate support 104 during processing. - The exemplary
plasma process chamber 100 shown inFIG. 1 includes a showerhead electrode assembly having atop plate 108 forming a wall of thereaction chamber 102 and ashowerhead electrode 110 attached to thetop plate 108.Gas supply 112 supplies process gas to the interior of thereaction chamber 102, viashowerhead electrode 110.Showerhead electrode 110 includesmultiple gas passages 114 extending through the thickness of theshowerhead electrode 110 for injecting process gas into a space in aplasma reaction chamber 102 located betweenshowerhead electrode 110 and thesubstrate support 104. - The process gas flows through
showerhead electrode 110 and into the interior of thereaction chamber 102. Next, the process gas is energized into the plasma state in theplasma process chamber 100 by apower source 116A, such as an RF source drivingshowerhead electrode 110, and/or apower source 116B at one or more frequencies from about 0.3 to about 600 MHz (e.g., 2 MHz, 13.56 MHz, 60 MHz) driving an electrode in thesubstrate support 104 at one or more frequencies from about 0.3 to about 600 MHz (e.g., 2 MHz, 13.56 MHz, 60 MHz). The RF power applied to theshowerhead electrode 110 can be changed to perform different process steps such as when different gas compositions are supplied into theplasma process apparatus 100. In another embodiment,showerhead electrode 110 can be grounded. - In one embodiment, the plasma can be generated in the interior of
plasma process chamber 100 by supplying RF energy from two RF sources to theshowerhead electrode 110 and/or thesubstrate support 104, or theshowerhead electrode 110 can be electrically grounded and RF energy at a single frequency or multiple frequencies can be supplied to thesubstrate support 104. Additionally, a plasmaconfinement ring assembly 118 can be provided outwardly ofshowerhead electrode 110 andsubstrate support 104 to confine the plasma in the space located between theshowerhead electrode 110 andsubstrate support 104. A detailed discussion of plasma confinement rings and secondary grounds used in RF capacitively coupled plasma reactors can be found in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,534,751, which is hereby incorporated by reference. - Once a substrate arcing event occurs and upon the release of gaseous species associated with decomposition products, it would be preferable to detect these decomposition products before such gases become diluted in dynamic flow of the processing gases and the concentration of the decomposition products in the etching gases falls below the detection limit of the gas detector.
- Gaseous species associated with substrate arcing can be detected by collecting volatile decomposition products for analysis by
gas sensor 120 with asampling structure 122 and transported to gas sensor alonggas line 124. To prevent condensation of such gaseous species,gas line 124 can be heated. For greater sensitivity of the gaseous species associated with substrate arcing,sampling structure 122 can be placed in the vicinity of thesubstrate 106 placed onsubstrate support 104. - In one embodiment,
sampling structure 122 can be a tube placed outwardly of the plasma confinement rings 118. Exemplary sampling tube materials can include quartz, silicon, silicon nitride or silicon carbide or other plasma resistant ceramic materials such as yttria. In another embodiment,sampling structure 122 can be a channel embedded directly inshowerhead electrode 110. Once substrate arcing has been detected, a signal fromalarm 126 is generated. For example, thealarm 126 can be an audio warning, visual warning, an electronic record or instructing an operator to take corrective action to minimize substrate arcing or to terminate plasma processing. - In another embodiment, as illustrated in
FIG. 2 , inductively coupled plasma (ICP)processing apparatus 200 can be used for depositing (e.g., plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition or PECVD) and plasma etching of materials on substrates by supplying process gas into a vacuum chamber at a low pressure (i.e., below 50 mTorr) and the application of radio-frequency (RF) energy to the gas.FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an ICPplasma processing apparatus 200. An example of an ICP plasma processing chamber is the TCP® etch or deposition system, manufactured by Lam Research Corporation, Fremont, Calif. The ICP plasma processing apparatus is also described, for example, in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,458, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.Reaction chamber 202 includes asubstrate support 204 for supporting thesubstrate 206 in the interior of thereaction chamber 202.Dielectric window 208 forms a top wall ofreaction chamber 202. Process gases are injected to the interior of thereaction chamber 202 through agas distribution member 210. Examples ofgas distribution member 210 include a showerhead, gas injector or other suitable arrangement. Agas supply 212 supplies process gases to the interior ofreaction chamber 202 throughgas distribution member 210. - Once process gases are introduced into the interior of
reaction chamber 202, they are energized into a plasma state by anenergy source 216 supplying energy into the interior ofreaction chamber 202. Preferably, theenergy source 216 is an external planar antenna powered by anRF source 218A and RF impedance matching circuitry 2188 to inductively couple RF energy intoreaction chamber 202. An electromagnetic field generated by the application of RF power to planar antenna energizes the process gas to form a high-density plasma P (e.g., 1011-1012 ions/cm3) abovesubstrate 206. - A
dielectric window 208 underlies planar antenna andgas distribution member 210 is placed belowdielectric window 208. A high-density plasma is generated in the zone betweengas distribution member 210 andsubstrate 206, for either deposition or etching ofsubstrate 206. - Similar to the
FIG. 1 embodiment, gaseous species associated with substrate arcing can be detected by collecting such gaseous species for analysis withgas sensor 220 with asampling structure 222 and transported to gas sensor alonggas line 224. To prevent condensation of the decomposition products,gas line 224 can be heated. For greater sensitivity of decomposition products,sampling structure 222 is placed in the vicinity ofsubstrate 206 placed onsubstrate support 204. Once substrate arcing has been detected, a warning signal fromalarm 226 is generated. For example, thealarm 226 can be an audio warning, visual warning, an electronic record or instructing an operator to take corrective action to minimize substrate arcing or to terminate plasma processing. - In a preferred embodiment, the
gas sensor 120/220 can be a mass spectrometer, preferably, a residual gas analyzer (RGA) mass spectrometer. RGA mass spectrometers are suitable for measuring trace gas concentrations in vacuum systems and operate by analyzing the sample gas. The sample gas is ionized and the ions are separated based on mass-to-charge ratio by a quadrupolar electric field using a combination of direct current (DC) and radio-frequency (RF) potentials. The instrument measures the flux of ions versus mass-to-charge ratio, and thereby provides a detailed chemical analysis of the sample gas. The RGA can be equipped with an electron multiplier for additional sensitivity or higher scanning speeds (e.g., 20 Hz or more at a single mass). In the preferred embodiment, the RGA can be used to detect the decomposition by-products of photoresist, which is detectable over the background processing gases. For example, a real-time signal from a mass spectrometer can be generated during plasma processing. The real-time signal from the mass spectrometer can include either a full spectrum of atomic masses (e.g., up to 200 AMU) or collection at a single mass. - As described above, not all gaseous species relating to a substrate arcing event are readily detectable, due to the high background concentration of process gases. For example, the gaseous species relating to a substrate arcing event and the process gas may generate overlapping peaks (i.e., two peaks at the same AMU) during real-time RGA mass spectrometry characterization. In this case, due to the lower concentration of such gaseous species relative to the process gas, a peak associated with such gaseous species may be undetectable.
- Thus, selected gas species associated with substrate arcing must be readily detected in the presence of processing gas. Selected gas species associated with substrate arcing can be identified by comparing: (i) baseline (or reference) spectrometry signals of the process gas in the absence of an arcing event; to (ii) spectrometry signals during a substrate arcing event. In comparing the two different spectrometry signals, selected gas species associated with substrate arcing can be readily identified.
- In alternative embodiments, the gas sensors can include inductively coupled plasma optical emission (ICP-OE) spectrometers, infrared absorption spectrometers or a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers. However, the ICP-OE and FTIR techniques may be less than satisfactory for certain applications, because the ability to detect different gases is strongly dependent upon atomic and molecular structure.
- To simulate an arcing event during plasma processing, silicon coupons (about 3 cm×3 cm) were coated with a 193 nm organic photoresist coating and subsequently thermally decomposed during plasma processing in Ar plasma. These tests demonstrated that thermal decomposition of by-products of organic photoresists in an inert gas plasma were detectable using the RGA mass spectrometry technique. Tests were performed in a 2300® EXELAN® FLEX-3X® dielectric etching system, manufactured by Lam Research Corporation (Fremont, Calif.) and gas species were monitored by a RGA200 residual gas analyzer, manufactured by Stanford Research Systems (Sunnyvale, Calif.).
- The thermal decomposition test was performed by coating a 193 nm organic photoresist on a silicon test coupon (about 3 cm×3 cm) and plasma processing the test coupon in Ar plasma. Each test coupon was placed over a bare silicon wafer. A gas mixture of 200 SCCM Ar was introduced into the etch chamber at a chamber pressure of 80 mTorr. Duel-frequency RF power was applied to the bottom electrode, about 1500 W at a frequency of about 2 MHz and about 800 W at a frequency of about 60 MHz. The temperature of the lower electrode was set at about 60° C.; the temperature of the upper electrode was set at about 120° C. During plasma processing, the temperature of the silicon wafer was about 20° C. to about 30° C. higher than the temperature of the lower electrode, which was set to about 60° C. The temperature of the test coupon mounted on the silicon wafer is potentially much higher, depending on the extent of thermal coupling between the coupon and the silicon wafer. In this case, with poor thermal contact, the test coupon is expected to achieve a temperature much higher than that of the silicon wafer. The total process time was about 120 seconds. During plasma processing, the composition of the gases flowing through the processing chamber were monitored by RGA mass spectrometry. The combination of the plasma exposure and heating resulted in the thermal decomposition of the organic photoresist.
FIG. 2A is a real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer of intensity (in arbitrary units) as a function of atomic mass (in atomic mass units or AMU) for the decomposition of organic photoresist in an Ar plasma. - To identify the atomic mass peak associated with organic photoresist decomposition, the real-time signal from an RGA mass spectrometer for the silicon and silicon with a photoresist coating without decomposing was measured. The test conditions described above were repeated for: (i) a bare silicon wafer with no coupon in Ar plasma; and (ii) a photoresist-coated silicon coupon attached to a bare silicon wafer with thermal paste in Ar plasma.
- To prevent thermal decomposition, the thermal paste was applied to the backside of the test coupon to facilitate the removal of heat from the photoresist coating due to plasma processing. This results in a much lower temperature at the test coupon, as compared to the case with no thermal paste. The real-time signals from the RGA mass spectrometer for the bare silicon coupon and the photoresist coated silicon coupon with thermal paste are illustrated in
FIGS. 2B and 2C , respectively. The real-time signals inFIGS. 2A-2C were measured during the first few seconds of plasma processing. - In comparing
FIGS. 2A-2C , it has been determined that a peak atatomic mass 86 was associated with the thermal decomposition of organic photoresist, which also exhibited a gradual decay as a function of time with continued plasma processing. Thus, this testing has demonstrated that the thermal decomposition of photoresist results in an extra peak atmass 86. - However, although a peak at
mass 86 was identified as a potential indicator for photoresist decomposition, the use of fluorine-based etching gases may potentially mask the peak atmass 86 associated with photoresist decomposition. The above described test was repeated using CF4 gas instead of Ar for processing a bare silicon coupon. The real-time signal from the RGA mass spectrometer for bare silicon in CF4 plasma is illustrated inFIG. 3 . From the real-time signal inFIG. 3 , it has been determined that CF4 plasma is characterized by two intense peaks atmass 85 and atmass 86, in the absence of organic photoresist. Thus, the detection of amass peak 86 to indicate organic photoresist decomposition could be less than completely satisfactory if the process gas is fluorocarbon based (e.g., CF4). - In the next set of tests, organic photoresist decomposition products were detected by RGA mass spectrometry during an arcing event. As described above, the tests were performed in a 2300® EXELAN® FLEX-3X® dielectric etching system coupled with a RGA200 residual gas analyzer for real-time analysis of gas concentration during plasma processing.
- A silicon coupon was coated with 193 nm organic photoresist and subjected to plasma processing in Ar plasma. During plasma processing, the composition of the gases flowing through the processing chamber were monitored by RGA mass spectrometry. To induce arcing, the photoresist coated wafer was attached to a bare silicon coupon (about 3 cm×3 cm) that was partially grounded by bonding a metal wire to the coupon.
- Argon flowing at 575 SCCM was introduced into the etch chamber at a chamber pressure of 80 mTorr. RF power was applied to the bottom electrode with a power of about 1000 W at a frequency of about 27 MHz. The temperature of the lower electrode was set at about 20° C.; the temperature of the upper electrode was set at about 80° C. During plasma processing, the composition of the gases flowing through the processing chamber were monitored by RGA mass spectrometry. The silicon wafer was exposed to plasma processing for about 60 seconds, in which an arcing event was detected after about 25 seconds of processing. After testing was completed, the arcing event was confirmed by a visual inspection of the silicon coupon and the showerhead electrode. Both the silicon coupon and showerhead electrode exhibited discoloration that was characteristic of damage caused by arcing.
-
FIG. 4A is a real-time signal from the RGA mass spectrometer of intensity (in arbitrary units) as a function of atomic mass (in atomic mass units or AMU) for the decomposition of organic photoresist in Ar plasma. Regions of interest (i.e., mass 12.1,mass 15, mass 25.3, mass 26.3 and mass 85.6) inFIG. 4A , are indicated by the dark arrows.FIG. 4B is a real-time signal from the RGA mass spectrometer of intensity as a function of plasma processing time for mass 12.1,mass 15, mass 25.3, mass 26.3 and mass 85.6. As illustrated inFIG. 4B , five atomic masses experienced a sharp increase in intensity at about 20 seconds. From about 25 to 30 seconds, the five atomic masses reached a maximum intensity. At about 35 seconds, the intensities of the five atomic masses fell to their original levels. Thus, this testing has demonstrated that the thermal decomposition of photoresist associated with an arcing event results in extra peaks at mass 12.1,mass 15, mass 25.3, mass 26.3 and mass 85.6. - As described above, the use of fluorine-based etching gases may potentially mask the mass peaks which indicate the occurrence of photoresist decomposition associated with an arcing event. Real-time analysis of gas concentration of a CF4/N2 etching gas mixture was performed by flowing 150 SCCM CF4/50 N2 into the etching chamber at a pressure of 80 mTorr. No plasma was generated. The real-time signal from the RGA mass spectrometer for the CF4/N2 gas mixture is illustrated in
FIG. 5 . FromFIG. 5 , the CF4/N2 real-time signal from the mass spectrometer is characterized by intense peaks at mass 12.1 and 25.3, potentially masking any increase in intensity due to arcing. In comparing the real-time signals ofFIG. 4A andFIG. 5 , it has been determined that arcing events resulting in extra peaks atmass 15 and mass 26.3 are readily detectable in a CF4 etching gas. - The preferred embodiments are merely illustrative and should not be considered restrictive in any way. The scope of the invention is given by the appended claims, rather than the preceding description, and all variations and equivalents which fall within the range of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.
Claims (19)
1. (canceled)
2. (canceled)
3. (canceled)
4. (canceled)
5. (canceled)
6. (canceled)
7. (canceled)
8. (canceled)
9. (canceled)
10. (canceled)
11. A plasma processing apparatus comprising:
a substrate holder for supporting a substrate within an interior of a reaction chamber;
a gas supply supplying process gas to the interior of the reaction chamber using a gas distribution member;
a power source supplying energy into the interior of the reaction chamber and energizing the process gas into a plasma state for processing the substrate;
a gas sensor adapted to monitor gas species in the reaction chamber during plasma processing to identify gas species produced by substrate arcing; and
an alarm to generate a warning signal when gas species produced by substrate arcing are identified.
12. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the gas sensor is a residual gas analyzer (RGA) mass spectrometer, an inductively coupled plasma optical emission (ICP-OE) spectrometer, an infrared absorption spectrometer or a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer.
13. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the gas sensor is a residual gas analyzer (RGA) mass spectrometer adapted to monitor a real-time signal from mass spectrometry of processes gases during plasma processing and the gas species produced by substrate arcing are decomposition products of an organic photoresist.
14. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the plasma processing apparatus is a plasma etcher adapted to semiconductors, metals or dielectrics; or a deposition chamber adapted to deposit conductive or dielectric material.
15. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the gas distribution member is a showerhead.
16. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 15 , further comprising:
a sampling structure adapted to collect gas species from the reaction chamber during plasma processing; and
a gas line adapted to transfer gas species to the gas sensor.
17. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the sampling structure is a channel in the showerhead or a tube adjacent to the substrate holder; and the gas line is heated.
18. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the gas distribution member is a showerhead electrode; and the power source is a radio-frequency (RF) power source.
19. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 18 , further comprising a plasma confinement ring assembly located outwardly of the showerhead electrode and the substrate holder.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US13/422,670 US20120175060A1 (en) | 2008-05-12 | 2012-03-16 | Detection of arcing events in wafer plasma processing through monitoring of trace gas concentrations |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US12/149,982 US8158017B2 (en) | 2008-05-12 | 2008-05-12 | Detection of arcing events in wafer plasma processing through monitoring of trace gas concentrations |
US13/422,670 US20120175060A1 (en) | 2008-05-12 | 2012-03-16 | Detection of arcing events in wafer plasma processing through monitoring of trace gas concentrations |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US12/149,982 Division US8158017B2 (en) | 2008-05-12 | 2008-05-12 | Detection of arcing events in wafer plasma processing through monitoring of trace gas concentrations |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20120175060A1 true US20120175060A1 (en) | 2012-07-12 |
Family
ID=41267171
Family Applications (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US12/149,982 Active 2031-02-14 US8158017B2 (en) | 2008-05-12 | 2008-05-12 | Detection of arcing events in wafer plasma processing through monitoring of trace gas concentrations |
US13/422,670 Abandoned US20120175060A1 (en) | 2008-05-12 | 2012-03-16 | Detection of arcing events in wafer plasma processing through monitoring of trace gas concentrations |
Family Applications Before (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US12/149,982 Active 2031-02-14 US8158017B2 (en) | 2008-05-12 | 2008-05-12 | Detection of arcing events in wafer plasma processing through monitoring of trace gas concentrations |
Country Status (6)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (2) | US8158017B2 (en) |
JP (1) | JP5536041B2 (en) |
KR (1) | KR101570552B1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN102027576B (en) |
TW (2) | TWI591742B (en) |
WO (1) | WO2009139828A2 (en) |
Cited By (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
TWI562230B (en) * | 2014-07-17 | 2016-12-11 | Hitachi High Tech Corp | |
US10436717B2 (en) | 2016-11-18 | 2019-10-08 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Compositional optical emission spectroscopy for detection of particle induced arcs in a fabrication process |
US10446453B2 (en) | 2017-03-17 | 2019-10-15 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Surface modification control for etch metric enhancement |
US10453653B2 (en) | 2016-09-02 | 2019-10-22 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Endpoint detection algorithm for atomic layer etching (ALE) |
US10773282B2 (en) | 2016-03-31 | 2020-09-15 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Controlling dry etch process characteristics using waferless dry clean optical emission spectroscopy |
US10910201B1 (en) | 2019-08-22 | 2021-02-02 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Synthetic wavelengths for endpoint detection in plasma etching |
US11049754B2 (en) | 2017-12-26 | 2021-06-29 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Method for controlling semiconductor process |
Families Citing this family (15)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
ITRM20080304A1 (en) * | 2008-06-11 | 2009-12-12 | Univ Palermo | PORTABLE DEVICE FOR DETECTION OF PARTIAL DISCHARGES |
US20110108058A1 (en) * | 2009-11-11 | 2011-05-12 | Axcelis Technologies, Inc. | Method and apparatus for cleaning residue from an ion source component |
US8502689B2 (en) * | 2010-09-23 | 2013-08-06 | Applied Materials, Inc. | System and method for voltage-based plasma excursion detection |
KR101843443B1 (en) | 2011-10-19 | 2018-05-15 | 삼성전자주식회사 | plasma equipment and maintenance method of the same |
DE102012200211A1 (en) * | 2012-01-09 | 2013-07-11 | Carl Zeiss Nts Gmbh | Device and method for surface treatment of a substrate |
US10128090B2 (en) | 2012-02-22 | 2018-11-13 | Lam Research Corporation | RF impedance model based fault detection |
KR101288047B1 (en) | 2012-05-25 | 2013-07-23 | 주식회사 나노텍 | Gas analysis apparatus using multi-frequency |
CN103834927B (en) * | 2014-03-17 | 2016-08-17 | 上海华虹宏力半导体制造有限公司 | The method judging Magnet performance |
KR20180073700A (en) * | 2015-11-16 | 2018-07-02 | 도쿄엘렉트론가부시키가이샤 | Advanced optical sensors and methods for plasma chambers |
US10083883B2 (en) * | 2016-06-20 | 2018-09-25 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Wafer processing equipment having capacitive micro sensors |
US10267728B2 (en) * | 2016-09-28 | 2019-04-23 | Lam Research Corporation | Systems and methods for detecting oxygen in-situ in a substrate area of a substrate processing system |
KR102090057B1 (en) | 2017-12-11 | 2020-03-17 | 주식회사 이엘 | TOF MS gas mass analysis monitoring system for semiconductor process chamber and gas line |
US10975470B2 (en) * | 2018-02-23 | 2021-04-13 | Asm Ip Holding B.V. | Apparatus for detecting or monitoring for a chemical precursor in a high temperature environment |
KR20200060624A (en) * | 2018-11-22 | 2020-06-01 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Apparatus and Method for Plasma treating and method of fabricating semiconductor using the same |
US11817297B2 (en) | 2020-03-06 | 2023-11-14 | Applied Materials, Inc. | System and method for managing substrate outgassing |
Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20050017168A1 (en) * | 2003-07-23 | 2005-01-27 | Seon-Woo Kim | Residual gas analyzer of semiconductor device manufacturing equipment |
US20050228529A1 (en) * | 2004-04-07 | 2005-10-13 | Mks Instruments, Inc. | Controller and method to mediate data collection from smart sensors for fab applications |
US20060000799A1 (en) * | 2004-06-30 | 2006-01-05 | Hyun-Ho Doh | Methods and apparatus for determining endpoint in a plasma processing system |
US7199327B2 (en) * | 2002-06-28 | 2007-04-03 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method and system for arc suppression in a plasma processing system |
US20080075834A1 (en) * | 2004-10-23 | 2008-03-27 | Kartik Ramaswamy | Dosimetry using optical emission spectroscopy/residual gas analyzer in conjuntion with ion current |
Family Cites Families (50)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5241152A (en) | 1990-03-23 | 1993-08-31 | Anderson Glen L | Circuit for detecting and diverting an electrical arc in a glow discharge apparatus |
DE4127504A1 (en) | 1991-08-20 | 1993-02-25 | Leybold Ag | DEVICE FOR SUPPRESSING ARCES |
US5718813A (en) | 1992-12-30 | 1998-02-17 | Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. | Enhanced reactive DC sputtering system |
US5698082A (en) | 1993-08-04 | 1997-12-16 | Balzers Und Leybold | Method and apparatus for coating substrates in a vacuum chamber, with a system for the detection and suppression of undesirable arcing |
US5534751A (en) | 1995-07-10 | 1996-07-09 | Lam Research Corporation | Plasma etching apparatus utilizing plasma confinement |
US6184158B1 (en) | 1996-12-23 | 2001-02-06 | Lam Research Corporation | Inductively coupled plasma CVD |
US5993615A (en) | 1997-06-19 | 1999-11-30 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for detecting arcs |
TW386249B (en) * | 1997-06-30 | 2000-04-01 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Method and device for manufacturing semiconductor thin film |
US6534007B1 (en) | 1997-08-01 | 2003-03-18 | Applied Komatsu Technology, Inc. | Method and apparatus for detecting the endpoint of a chamber cleaning |
US5979225A (en) | 1997-08-26 | 1999-11-09 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Diagnosis process of vacuum failure in a vacuum chamber |
EP1025276A1 (en) | 1997-09-17 | 2000-08-09 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Device and method for detecting and preventing arcing in rf plasma systems |
US6192287B1 (en) | 1997-09-23 | 2001-02-20 | On-Line Technologies, Inc. | Method and apparatus for fault detection and control |
KR100257903B1 (en) | 1997-12-30 | 2000-08-01 | 윤종용 | Plasma etching apparatus capable of in-situ monitoring, its in-situ monitoring method and in-situ cleaning method for removing residues in plasma etching chamber |
JP3296292B2 (en) | 1998-06-26 | 2002-06-24 | 松下電器産業株式会社 | Etching method, cleaning method, and plasma processing apparatus |
US6346428B1 (en) | 1998-08-17 | 2002-02-12 | Tegal Corporation | Method and apparatus for minimizing semiconductor wafer arcing during semiconductor wafer processing |
US6286362B1 (en) | 1999-03-31 | 2001-09-11 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Dual mode leak detector |
US6455437B1 (en) | 1999-04-07 | 2002-09-24 | Applied Materials Inc. | Method and apparatus for monitoring the process state of a semiconductor device fabrication process |
TW440907B (en) | 2000-03-02 | 2001-06-16 | United Microelectronics Corp | Plasma arcing sensor |
TW505939B (en) | 2000-03-28 | 2002-10-11 | Kumamoto Technopolis Foundatio | Apparatus for detecting plasma anomalous discharge and method of detecting the same |
JP2001313280A (en) * | 2000-04-02 | 2001-11-09 | Axcelis Technologies Inc | Postetched photoresist and method for removing residue |
US6603538B1 (en) | 2000-11-21 | 2003-08-05 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Method and apparatus employing optical emission spectroscopy to detect a fault in process conditions of a semiconductor processing system |
US6514850B2 (en) * | 2001-01-31 | 2003-02-04 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Interface with dielectric layer and method of making |
US6670278B2 (en) | 2001-03-30 | 2003-12-30 | Lam Research Corporation | Method of plasma etching of silicon carbide |
US6815362B1 (en) | 2001-05-04 | 2004-11-09 | Lam Research Corporation | End point determination of process residues in wafer-less auto clean process using optical emission spectroscopy |
JP3541359B2 (en) | 2001-09-19 | 2004-07-07 | 独立行政法人 科学技術振興機構 | Substrate mounting table incorporating part of ultrasonic probe and sealing device for ultrasonic probe through hole |
US7092077B2 (en) | 2001-09-24 | 2006-08-15 | Entegris, Inc. | System and method for monitoring contamination |
US6977184B1 (en) | 2001-10-31 | 2005-12-20 | Lam Research Corporation | Method and apparatus for nitride spacer etch process implementing in situ interferometry endpoint detection and non-interferometry endpoint monitoring |
JP4074079B2 (en) * | 2001-11-01 | 2008-04-09 | Necエレクトロニクス株式会社 | Plasma processing apparatus and plasma processing method |
US6741092B2 (en) | 2001-12-28 | 2004-05-25 | Formfactor, Inc. | Method and system for detecting an arc condition |
US6703250B2 (en) | 2002-02-14 | 2004-03-09 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | Method of controlling plasma etch process |
US6736944B2 (en) | 2002-04-12 | 2004-05-18 | Schneider Automation Inc. | Apparatus and method for arc detection |
US7086347B2 (en) * | 2002-05-06 | 2006-08-08 | Lam Research Corporation | Apparatus and methods for minimizing arcing in a plasma processing chamber |
US7006205B2 (en) | 2002-05-30 | 2006-02-28 | Applied Materials Inc. | Method and system for event detection in plasma processes |
US6894474B2 (en) | 2002-06-07 | 2005-05-17 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Non-intrusive plasma probe |
US7247252B2 (en) | 2002-06-20 | 2007-07-24 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | Method of avoiding plasma arcing during RIE etching |
US6772072B2 (en) | 2002-07-22 | 2004-08-03 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Method and apparatus for monitoring solid precursor delivery |
US20040031699A1 (en) * | 2002-08-19 | 2004-02-19 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Method for performing real time arcing detection |
AU2003272656A1 (en) | 2002-09-27 | 2004-04-19 | Tokyo Electron Limited | A method and system for etching high-k dielectric materials |
US7026174B2 (en) | 2002-09-30 | 2006-04-11 | Lam Research Corporation | Method for reducing wafer arcing |
US6927076B2 (en) | 2002-10-05 | 2005-08-09 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd | Method for recovering a plasma process |
US6759342B2 (en) | 2002-10-11 | 2004-07-06 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd | Method of avoiding dielectric arcing |
US6787484B2 (en) | 2002-12-17 | 2004-09-07 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd | Method of reducing visible light induced arcing in a semiconductor wafer manufacturing process |
US7169625B2 (en) | 2003-07-25 | 2007-01-30 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Method for automatic determination of semiconductor plasma chamber matching and source of fault by comprehensive plasma monitoring |
US7064812B2 (en) | 2003-08-19 | 2006-06-20 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method of using a sensor gas to determine erosion level of consumable system components |
US7015414B2 (en) | 2003-09-30 | 2006-03-21 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method and apparatus for determining plasma impedance |
JP4448335B2 (en) | 2004-01-08 | 2010-04-07 | 東京エレクトロン株式会社 | Plasma processing method and plasma processing apparatus |
US7581549B2 (en) * | 2004-07-23 | 2009-09-01 | Air Products And Chemicals, Inc. | Method for removing carbon-containing residues from a substrate |
US7334477B1 (en) | 2004-12-22 | 2008-02-26 | Lam Research Corporation | Apparatus and methods for the detection of an arc in a plasma processing system |
US7305311B2 (en) | 2005-04-22 | 2007-12-04 | Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. | Arc detection and handling in radio frequency power applications |
JP4754419B2 (en) * | 2006-07-03 | 2011-08-24 | 学校法人立命館 | Plasma abnormal discharge diagnostic method, plasma abnormal discharge diagnostic system, and computer program |
-
2008
- 2008-05-12 US US12/149,982 patent/US8158017B2/en active Active
-
2009
- 2009-05-04 WO PCT/US2009/002726 patent/WO2009139828A2/en active Application Filing
- 2009-05-04 JP JP2011509471A patent/JP5536041B2/en active Active
- 2009-05-04 KR KR1020107025359A patent/KR101570552B1/en active IP Right Grant
- 2009-05-04 CN CN2009801174991A patent/CN102027576B/en active Active
- 2009-05-12 TW TW098115717A patent/TWI591742B/en active
- 2009-05-12 TW TW106100910A patent/TW201712776A/en unknown
-
2012
- 2012-03-16 US US13/422,670 patent/US20120175060A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7199327B2 (en) * | 2002-06-28 | 2007-04-03 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method and system for arc suppression in a plasma processing system |
US20050017168A1 (en) * | 2003-07-23 | 2005-01-27 | Seon-Woo Kim | Residual gas analyzer of semiconductor device manufacturing equipment |
US20050228529A1 (en) * | 2004-04-07 | 2005-10-13 | Mks Instruments, Inc. | Controller and method to mediate data collection from smart sensors for fab applications |
US20060000799A1 (en) * | 2004-06-30 | 2006-01-05 | Hyun-Ho Doh | Methods and apparatus for determining endpoint in a plasma processing system |
US20080075834A1 (en) * | 2004-10-23 | 2008-03-27 | Kartik Ramaswamy | Dosimetry using optical emission spectroscopy/residual gas analyzer in conjuntion with ion current |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
---|
MKS Instruments, Inc. Microvision Plus Specification Sheet. 2004. http://www.mksinst.com/docs/UR/microv.pdf * |
Cited By (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
TWI562230B (en) * | 2014-07-17 | 2016-12-11 | Hitachi High Tech Corp | |
US10773282B2 (en) | 2016-03-31 | 2020-09-15 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Controlling dry etch process characteristics using waferless dry clean optical emission spectroscopy |
US11273469B2 (en) | 2016-03-31 | 2022-03-15 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Controlling dry etch process characteristics using waferless dry clean optical emission spectroscopy |
US10453653B2 (en) | 2016-09-02 | 2019-10-22 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Endpoint detection algorithm for atomic layer etching (ALE) |
US10436717B2 (en) | 2016-11-18 | 2019-10-08 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Compositional optical emission spectroscopy for detection of particle induced arcs in a fabrication process |
US10446453B2 (en) | 2017-03-17 | 2019-10-15 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Surface modification control for etch metric enhancement |
US11049754B2 (en) | 2017-12-26 | 2021-06-29 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Method for controlling semiconductor process |
US10910201B1 (en) | 2019-08-22 | 2021-02-02 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Synthetic wavelengths for endpoint detection in plasma etching |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
WO2009139828A2 (en) | 2009-11-19 |
TWI591742B (en) | 2017-07-11 |
TW201001582A (en) | 2010-01-01 |
WO2009139828A3 (en) | 2010-01-21 |
CN102027576A (en) | 2011-04-20 |
CN102027576B (en) | 2013-02-27 |
US20090280581A1 (en) | 2009-11-12 |
JP2011523774A (en) | 2011-08-18 |
TW201712776A (en) | 2017-04-01 |
KR101570552B1 (en) | 2015-11-19 |
JP5536041B2 (en) | 2014-07-02 |
KR20110021768A (en) | 2011-03-04 |
US8158017B2 (en) | 2012-04-17 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US8158017B2 (en) | Detection of arcing events in wafer plasma processing through monitoring of trace gas concentrations | |
CN107424898B (en) | Cleaning method of plasma processing apparatus | |
US6136214A (en) | Plasma processing method and apparatus | |
US6492186B1 (en) | Method for detecting an endpoint for an oxygen free plasma process | |
Yonekura et al. | Investigation of ash damage to ultralow-k inorganic materials | |
US9412567B2 (en) | Plasma monitoring method and plasma monitoring system | |
TWI808080B (en) | Method of etching a substrate, substrate processing chamber, and optical emission spectrometer assembly | |
US7842619B2 (en) | Plasma processing method | |
TW201833980A (en) | Compositional optical emission spectroscopy for detection of particle induced arcs in a fabrication process | |
KR100690144B1 (en) | Gas analyzer using plasma | |
US7758763B2 (en) | Plasma for resist removal and facet control of underlying features | |
US20060196846A1 (en) | Plasma processing method and apparatus, and method for measuring a density of fluorine in plasma | |
JP3563214B2 (en) | Plasma etching method | |
US6743733B2 (en) | Process for producing a semiconductor device including etching using a multi-step etching treatment having different gas compositions in each step | |
Pearton et al. | Optical emission spectroscopy of electron cyclotron resonance discharges for III-V semiconductor processing | |
KR19990081761A (en) | Etching method | |
JP2007103604A (en) | Etching method and processor | |
de Castro et al. | End-point detection of polymer etching using Langmuir probes | |
Lee et al. | In-Situ Optical Monitoring of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma During Organic Surface Removal | |
Prasanna | Substrate cleaning using a remote hydrogen rf-plasma | |
Abatchev et al. | DIFFERENTIAL SURFACE CHARGING OF THE DIELECTRIC DURING PLASMA ETCHING AND SURFACE CHARGE LEAKAGE KINETIC |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |