Plasma production device and method and RF driver circuit with adjustable duty cycle

• US 20040026231A1
• Filed: 04/17/2003
• Published: 02/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
• Original Assignee: Plasma Control Systems, LLC
• Inventors: Pribyl, Patrick A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,084,832 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 204/164
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32082 Radio frequency generated discharge H01J37/32357, H01J37/32366, H01J37/32394 and H01J37/32403 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/321 the radio frequency energy being inductively coupled to the plasma
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32128 using particular waveforms, e.g. polarised waves
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32174 Circuits specially adapted for controlling the RF discharge
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32522 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/205 providing an omnidirectional coverage turnstile aerials H01Q21/26
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop
• CPC Class Codes: H05H 1/46 using applied electromagnetic fields, e.g. high frequency or microwave energy H05H1/26 takes precedence

Abstract

An RF driver circuit and an orthogonal antenna assembly/configuration, are disclosed as part of a method and system for generating high density plasma. The antenna assembly is an orthogonal antenna system that may be driven by any RF generator/circuitry with suitable impedance matching to present a low impedance. The disclosed RF driver circuit uses switching type amplifier elements and presents a low output impedance. The disclosed low-output impedance RF driver circuits eliminate the need for a matching circuit for interfacing with the inherent impedance variations associated with plasmas. Also disclosed is the choice for capacitance or an inductance value to provide tuning for the RF plasma source. There is also provided a method for rapidly switching the plasma between two or more power levels at a frequencies of about tens of Hz to as high as hundreds of KHz.

Claims

1. A method of making a plasma source to eliminate the need for a matching circuit, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a low output impedance to a radio frequency power source;

selecting a capacitance coupling the radio frequency power source to at least one set of antenna loops such that the capacitance and the antenna loops without a plasma have a resonant frequency that is about equal to a specified frequency for the plasma; and

controlling an average input power by modulating a duty cycle for operating the radio frequency power source.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of modulating the duty cycle to provide for neutral gas flow.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of sensing a spatial distribution of the plasma, and in response thereto modulating the duty cycle to provide times of neutral gas flow, thereby modulating the spatial distribution of the plasma.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a plasma power is switched between two or more levels.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a plasma power is switched from about 30 percent to about 100 percent of full power.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of sensing a spatial distribution of the plasma, and in response thereto modulating the duty cycle to provide times of neutral gas flow, thereby modulating the spatial distribution of a working gas.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the average input power is selected from about 5 watts, about 10 watts, about 5 to 10 watts, and about 10 to 50 watts.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the average input power is applied at an average density of about 1 watt per 10 liters of volume.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the duty cycle is modulated at a frequency selected from at least about 1 Hz, at least about 10 Hz, at least about 100 Hz, at least about 500 Hz, at least about 1000 Hz, at least about 5000 Hz, at least about 10,000 Hz and at least about 100,000 Hz.

10. A method of operating a plasma source to eliminate the need for a matching circuit, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a low output impedance to a radio frequency power source;

selecting a capacitance coupling the radio frequency power source to at least one set of antenna loops such that the capacitance and the antenna loops without a plasma have a resonant frequency that is about equal to a specified frequency for the plasma; and

modulating a spatial distribution of the plasma by changing a duty cycle for operating the radio frequency power source.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of controlling the average input power by modulating the duty cycle.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the average input power is selected from about 5 watts, about 10 watts, about 5 to 10 watts, and about 10 to 50 watts.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein a plasma power is switched in a relatively short time between two or more levels.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein a plasma power is switched from about 30 percent to about 100 percent of full power.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the duty cycle is modulated at a frequency selected from at least about 500 Hz, at least about 1000 Hz, at least about 5000 Hz, and at least about 10,000 Hz.

16. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of sensing a spatial distribution of the plasma, and in response thereto modulating the duty cycle.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the duty cycle is selected to be in a range defined by two of about 10 percent, about 30 percent, about 50 percent, about 80 percent, about 90 percent, and about 100 percent.