Novel methods for cleaning ion implanter components
First Claim
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1. A method of cleaning at least one component of a semiconductor manufacturing tool, said method comprising:
- (a) introducing an etchant gas from an etchant container into a vacuum chamber of the semiconductor manufacturing tool;
(b) terminating introduction of the etchant gas into the vacuum chamber upon attainment of a predetermined pressure in the vacuum chamber; and
(c) reacting the etchant gas with a residue in the vacuum chamber for a sufficient time to at least partially remove the residue from the interior of the vacuum chamber or at least one component contained therein;
wherein the etchant gas is chosen to react selectively with the residue in the vacuum chamber, while being essentially non-reactive with the interior of the vacuum chamber or the components contained therein.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for cleaning residue from components of an ion source region of an ion implanter used in the fabrication of microelectronic devices. To effectively remove residue, the components are contacted with a gas-phase reactive halide composition for sufficient time and under sufficient conditions to at least partially remove the residue. The gas-phase reactive halide composition is chosen to react selectively with the residue, while not reacting with the components of the ion source region or the vacuum chamber.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A method of cleaning at least one component of a semiconductor manufacturing tool, said method comprising:
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(a) introducing an etchant gas from an etchant container into a vacuum chamber of the semiconductor manufacturing tool;
(b) terminating introduction of the etchant gas into the vacuum chamber upon attainment of a predetermined pressure in the vacuum chamber; and
(c) reacting the etchant gas with a residue in the vacuum chamber for a sufficient time to at least partially remove the residue from the interior of the vacuum chamber or at least one component contained therein;
wherein the etchant gas is chosen to react selectively with the residue in the vacuum chamber, while being essentially non-reactive with the interior of the vacuum chamber or the components contained therein. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of cleaning an ion source region of a semiconductor manufacturing tool, said method comprising:
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(a) introducing an etchant material from an etchant container into a vacuum chamber of the ion source region;
(b) terminating introduction of the etchant gas into the vacuum chamber upon attainment of a predetermined pressure;
(c) dissociating the etchant material into a reactive halide species in the vacuum chamber using a plasma means positioned in said vacuum chamber; and
(d) reacting the reactive halide species with a residue in the vacuum chamber for a sufficient time to at least partially remove the residue from the vacuum chamber. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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24. An apparatus for cleaning a vacuum chamber of an ion source region of a semiconductor manufacturing tool, said apparatus comprising:
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(a) an etchant material source having an etchant material disposed therein, wherein the etchant material source is communicatively connected to, and is situated upstream of, the vacuum chamber; and
(b) a valve between the etchant material source and the vacuum chamber;
wherein said apparatus is further characterized by comprising at least one of the following components (I) and (II);
(I) a heating means for the etchant material source; and
(II) an inert gas source having an inert gas disposed therein, wherein the inert gas source is communicatively connected to, and is situated upstream of, the etchant material source. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of ex situ cleaning at least one component of a semiconductor manufacturing tool, said method comprising:
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(a) positioning the component in an ex situ vacuum chamber;
(b) introducing an etchant gas from an etchant container into the ex situ vacuum chamber;
(c) terminating introduction of the etchant gas into the vacuum chamber upon attainment of a predetermined pressure in the vacuum chamber; and
(d) reacting the etchant gas with a residue in the vacuum chamber for a sufficient time to at least partially remove the residue from the at least one component contained therein;
wherein the etchant gas is chosen to react selectively with the residue on the at least one component, while being essentially non-reactive with the interior of the vacuum chamber and the component material itself. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification