Method of controlling chamber parameters of a plasma reactor in accordance with desired values of plural plasma parameters, by translating desired values for the plural plasma parameters to control values for each of the chamber parameters

• US 20060278610A1
• Filed: 08/23/2006
• Published: 12/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Inventors: Hoffman, Daniel J.
• Application Number:
  US11/508,543
• Publication Number:
  US 20060278610A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 216/61
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32174 Circuits specially adapted for controlling the RF discharge
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32935 Monitoring and controlling tubes by information coming from the object and/or discharge

Abstract

Plural chamber parameters of a plasma reactor are controlled in accordance with desired values of plural plasma parameters, by concurrently translating desired values for the plural plasma parameters to control values for each of plural chamber parameters, and then setting each of the chamber parameters to corresponding ones of the control values. The translating consists of the following steps: (a) for each one of the chamber parameters, ramping the level of the one chamber parameter while sampling RF electrical parameters at an RF bias power input to the wafer support pedestal and computing from each sample of the RF electrical parameters the values of plural plasma parameters, and storing the values with the corresponding levels of the one chamber parameter as corresponding chamber parameter data; (b) for each one of the chamber parameters, deducing, from the corresponding chamber parameter data, a single variable function for each of the plural plasma parameters having the one chamber parameter as an independent variable; (c) from combinations of the functions, constructing surfaces defining simultaneous values of all of the chamber parameters, each respective surface corresponding to a respective constant value of one of the plural plasma parameters, and storing the surfaces.

Claims

1. A method of controlling plural chamber parameters of a plasma reactor in accordance with desired values of plural plasma parameters, said chamber parameters comprising bias power and source power, said plural plasma parameters being selected from a group comprising etch rate, wafer voltage, ion energy, and wafer current, said method comprising:

concurrently translating desired values for said plural plasma parameters to control values for each of plural chamber parameters; and

setting each of said chamber parameters to corresponding ones of said control values.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of translating comprises:

a. for each one of said chamber parameters, ramping the level of the one chamber parameter while sampling RF electrical parameters at an RF bias power input to said wafer support pedestal and computing from each sample of said RF electrical parameters the values of plural plasma parameters, and storing said values with the corresponding levels of said one chamber parameter as corresponding chamber parameter data;

b. for each one of said chamber parameters, deducing, from the corresponding chamber parameter data, a single variable function for each of said plural plasma parameters having said one chamber parameter as an independent variable;

c. from combinations of said functions, constructing surfaces defining simultaneous values of all of said chamber parameters, each respective surface corresponding to a respective constant value of one of said plural plasma parameters, and storing said surfaces.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of translating further comprises:

a. for each one of said plural plasma parameters, fetching a relevant surface of constant value corresponding to the user-selected value of said one plasma parameter, and determining an intersection of the relevant surfaces which defines a target value for each of said chamber parameters.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of constructing surfaces defining simultaneous values of all of said chamber parameters comprises the following step carried out for each one of said plural plasma parameters:

combining the single variable functions dependent upon respective chamber parameters into a single composite function having plural variables of said chamber parameters.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the step of constructing surfaces defining simultaneous values of all of said chamber parameters further comprises the following step carried out for each one of said plural plasma parameters:

setting the composite function equal to a succession of values of the respective plasma parameter.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of constructing surfaces defining simultaneous values of all of said chamber parameters further comprises the following step carried out for each one of said plural plasma parameters:

for each one of said succession of values, solving for a surface defining a set of simultaneous values of source power, bias power and chamber pressure for which the respective plasma parameter has the one value.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of sampling RF electrical parameters at an RF bias power input to said wafer support pedestal comprises:

sensing an input impedance, an input current and an input voltage to a transmission line coupled between a bias power impedance match circuit and an electrode within the wafer pedestal.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of computing from each sample of said RF electrical parameters the values of plural plasma parameters is carried out separately for plasma parameters of ion density, wafer voltage and etch rate.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of computing from each sample of said RF electrical parameters the values of plural plasma parameters comprises:

computing a junction admittance of a junction between said transmission line and the electrode within the wafer pedestal from said input impedance, input current and input voltage and from parameters of the transmission line.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the step of computing from each sample of said RF electrical parameters the values of plural plasma parameters further comprises:

providing shunt electrical quantities of a shunt capacitance between the electrode and a ground plane;

providing load electrical quantities of a load capacitance between the electrode and a wafer on the pedestal.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of computing from each sample of said RF electrical parameters the values of plural plasma parameters further comprises:

computing said etch rate, plasma ion density and wafer voltage from said junction admittance, said shunt electrical quantities, said load electrical quantities and a frequency of RF bias power applied to said electrode.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said parameters of said transmission line comprise a length of said transmission line, a characteristic impedance of said transmission line and a complex loss factor of said transmission line.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said shunt electrical quantities are computed from the size of an electrode-to-ground gap length, an area of said wafer, an electrode-to-ground dielectric constant and an electrode-to-ground conductive loss component.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said load electrical quantities are computed from an electrode-to-wafer gap length, an area of the wafer, an electrode-to-wafer dielectric constant and an electrode-to-wafer conductive loss component.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of computing said etch rate, plasma ion density and wafer voltage comprises:

first computing said wafer voltage and an imaginary part of a plasma admittance comprising a plasma susceptance, and computing said ion density and etch rate from said wafer voltage and said plasma susceptance.

16. The method of claim 3 wherein the number of said plural plasma parameters equals the number of said plural chamber parameters.