Processing apparatus and method

• US 20050090078A1
• Filed: 01/30/2004
• Published: 04/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ishihara, Shigenori
• Application Number:
  US10/766,865
• Publication Number:
  US 20050090078A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 438/471
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32192 Microwave generated discharge H01J37/32357, H01J37/32366, H01J37/32394, H01J37/32403 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/3003 Hydrogenation or deuterisation, e.g. using atomic hydrogen from a plasma
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/306 Chemical or electrical treatment, e.g. electrolytic etching to form insulating layers H01L21/31

Abstract

A processing method that uses process gas plasma that contains at least hydrogen to terminate dangling bonds in an object that at least partially contains a silicon system material includes the steps of placing the object on a susceptor in a process chamber that includes a dielectric window and the susceptor, and controlling a temperature of the susceptor to a predetermined temperature, controlling a pressure in the process chamber to a predetermined pressure, introducing the process gas into the process chamber, and introducing, via the dielectric window, microwaves for a plasma treatment to the object into the process chamber so that plasma of the process gas has plasma density of 10¹¹ cm⁻³ or greater, wherein a distance between the dielectric window and the object is maintained between 20 mm and 200 mm.

Claims

1. A processing method that uses process gas plasma that contains at least hydrogen to terminate dangling bonds in an object that at least partially contains a silicon system material, said processing method comprising the steps of:

placing the object on a susceptor in a process chamber that includes a dielectric window and the susceptor, and controlling a temperature of the susceptor to a predetermined temperature;

controlling a pressure in the process chamber to a predetermined pressure;

introducing the process gas into the process chamber; and

introducing, via the dielectric window, microwaves for a plasma treatment to the object into the process chamber so that plasma of the process gas has plasma density of 10¹¹ cm<sup>−

3</sup> or greater, wherein a distance between the dielectric window and the object is maintained between 20 mm and 200 mm.

2. A processing method according to claim 1, wherein the plasma treatment requires no bias application.

3. A processing method according to claim 1, wherein said step of introducing the microwaves previously regulates an output of a microwave generator that supplies the microwaves, so as to obtain the plasma density.

4. A processing method according to claim 1, wherein the distance is between 50 mm and 150 mm.

5. A processing method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined temperature is between 200°

C. and 400°

C.

6. A processing method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined pressure is between 13 Pa and 665 Pa.

7. A processing method according to claim 1, wherein said step of controlling the pressure includes the steps of:

igniting plasma under a pressure higher than the predetermined pressure; and

changing the pressure to the predetermined pressure after said igniting step.

8. A processing method according to claim 1, wherein the dielectric window has a thermal conductivity of 70 W/m·

K or greater.

9. A processing method according to claim 1, wherein said step of introducing the microwaves uses an antenna that has one or more slots to introduce the microwaves into the dielectric window.

10. A processing method according to claim 1, wherein the process gas includes inert gas at least at the time of plasma ignition.

11. A processing apparatus that provides a plasma treatment to and terminates dangling bonds in an object that at least partially contains a silicon system material, said processing apparatus comprising:

a process chamber, connected to a microwave generator for supplying microwaves, which includes a dielectric window that allows the microwave from the microwave generator to be introduced into said process chamber, and a susceptor that supports the object;

an introducing part for introducing process gas that contains at least hydrogen gas into the process chamber;

a measurement part for measuring a plasma discharge state of plasma of the process gas; and

a controller for comparing a measurement result by said measurement part with a reference value to maintain plasma density to be 10¹¹ cm<sup>−

3</sup> or greater, and for giving an alarm as abnormal discharge when determining that the plasma density becomes below 10¹¹ cm<sup>−

3</sup>, wherein a distance between the dielectric window and the object is maintained between 20 mm and 200 mm.