SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESSING WITH A REMOTE PLASMA SOURCE FOR SELF-CLEANING
First Claim
1. A method of cleaning a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reaction chamber with cleaning gas provided through a remote plasma discharge chamber, comprising:
- dissociating cleaning gas within the remote plasma discharge chamber, wherein said dissociated cleaning gas is exposed to an anodized aluminum alloy wall of the remote plasma discharge chamber;
supplying activated species from the remote plasma discharge chamber to the reaction chamber through a piping;
opening a valve on the piping after conducting a CVD reaction and prior to supplying activated species, wherein opening a valve comprises withdrawing a valve body completely from a path to form an opening substantially as wide as internal surfaces of the piping; and
removing adhered deposits from CVD reactions on a wall of the reaction chamber.
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Abstract
A plasma CVD device includes a reaction chamber, a remote plasma discharge chamber that is provided remotely from the reaction chamber, and piping that links the reaction chamber and the remote plasma discharge chamber. The remote plasma discharge chamber activates cleaning gas by plasma discharge energy, and the activated cleaning gas is introduced into the inside of the reaction chamber through the piping and changes solid substances that adhere to the inside of the reaction chamber in consequence of film formation, to gaseous substances, thereby cleaning the inside of the reaction chamber. The device is characterized by at least one of the following: (a) the remote plasma discharge chamber generates active species using radio frequency oscillating output energy of a preselected frequency; (b) the piping is made of materials that are not corroded by the active species; or (c) the piping is provided with a through-flow type valve.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of cleaning a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reaction chamber with cleaning gas provided through a remote plasma discharge chamber, comprising:
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dissociating cleaning gas within the remote plasma discharge chamber, wherein said dissociated cleaning gas is exposed to an anodized aluminum alloy wall of the remote plasma discharge chamber;
supplying activated species from the remote plasma discharge chamber to the reaction chamber through a piping;
opening a valve on the piping after conducting a CVD reaction and prior to supplying activated species, wherein opening a valve comprises withdrawing a valve body completely from a path to form an opening substantially as wide as internal surfaces of the piping; and
removing adhered deposits from CVD reactions on a wall of the reaction chamber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of cleaning a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reaction chamber with cleaning gas provided through a remote plasma discharge chamber, comprising:
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dissociating cleaning gas within the remote plasma discharge chamber, wherein said dissociated cleaning gas is exposed to an anodized aluminum alloy wall of the remote plasma discharge chamber;
supplying activated species from the remote plasma discharge chamber to the reaction chamber through a piping, wherein said piping is a straight-line structure between the remote plasma discharge chamber and the chemical vapor deposition reaction chamber;
opening a valve on the piping after conducting a CVD reaction and prior to supplying activated species, wherein opening a valve comprises withdrawing a valve body completely from a path to form an opening substantially as wide as internal surfaces of the piping, wherein when cleaning gas flows from the remote plasma discharge chamber to the reaction chamber, no appreciable pressure loss arises in the piping and at the valve; and
removing adhered deposits from CVD reactions on a wall of the reaction chamber.
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18. A method of cleaning a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reaction chamber with cleaning gas provided through a remote plasma discharge chamber, comprising:
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dissociating cleaning gas within the remote plasma discharge chamber, wherein said dissociated cleaning gas is exposed to an anodized aluminum alloy wall of the remote plasma discharge chamber;
supplying activated species from the remote plasma discharge chamber to the CVD reaction chamber, wherein the activated species flows rectilinearly from the remote plasma discharge chamber to the CVD reaction chamber in a piping;
opening a valve on the piping after conducting a CVD reaction and prior to supplying activated species, wherein opening a valve comprises withdrawing a valve body completely from a path to form an opening substantially as wide as internal surfaces of the piping, wherein when cleaning gas flows from the remote plasma discharge chamber to the reaction chamber, no appreciable pressure loss arises in the piping and at the valve; and
removing adhered deposits from CVD reactions on a wall of the reaction chamber. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification