Method of cleaning a semiconductor process chamber
First Claim
1. A method of cleaning a semiconductor process chamber having deposits on an inner surface thereof, comprising:
- (a) introducing a cleaning gas comprising hydrogen chloride into the process chamber, wherein the cleaning gas is effective to react with and remove the deposits from the inner surface of the process chamber;
(b) removing gas from the process chamber; and
(c) monitoring with a monitoring system at least a portion of the removed gas for a species indicative of an endpoint of the chamber cleaning.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Provided is a novel method of cleaning a semiconductor process chamber having deposits on an inner surface thereof. The method involves: (a) introducing a cleaning gas comprising hydrogen chloride into the process chamber, wherein the cleaning gas is effective to react with and remove the deposits from the inner surface of the process chamber; (b) removing gas from the process chamber; and (c) monitoring at least a portion of the removed gas for a species indicative of an endpoint of the chamber cleaning. The invention allows for the cleaning of semiconductor process chambers in an efficient manner so as to reduce process down time and improve process throughput. The method can be applied to in-line analysis.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A method of cleaning a semiconductor process chamber having deposits on an inner surface thereof, comprising:
-
(a) introducing a cleaning gas comprising hydrogen chloride into the process chamber, wherein the cleaning gas is effective to react with and remove the deposits from the inner surface of the process chamber;
(b) removing gas from the process chamber; and
(c) monitoring with a monitoring system at least a portion of the removed gas for a species indicative of an endpoint of the chamber cleaning. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A method of cleaning a semiconductor process chamber having silicon- or germanium-containing deposits on an inner surface thereof, comprising:
-
(a) introducing a cleaning gas comprising hydrogen chloride into the process chamber; and
(b) continuously monitoring a reactant or a product of the reaction between the hydrogen chloride and the silicon- or germanium-containing deposits with a mass spectrometer. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification