FULL SPECTRUM ADAPTIVE FILTERING (FSAF) FOR LOW OPEN AREA ENDPOINT DETECTION
First Claim
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1. A method of detecting a desired etch state while etching a substrate, the method comprising:
- (a) providing first and second reference spectrums;
(b) detecting optical emissions during etching of the substrate to generate a runtime optical emission spectrum (OES);
(c) comparing the runtime OES with the first and second reference spectrums using adaptive filtering to generate a comparator output; and
(d) repeating (b) and (c) until the desired etch state is detected based on the comparator output.
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Abstract
A method for precise endpoint detection during etch processing of a substrate based on adaptive filtering of the optical emission spectrum (OES) data, even in low open area etching, is provided. Endpoint detection performed in this manner offers the benefits of increased signal-to-noise ratio and decreased computation costs and delay when compared to conventional endpoint detection techniques.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of detecting a desired etch state while etching a substrate, the method comprising:
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(a) providing first and second reference spectrums; (b) detecting optical emissions during etching of the substrate to generate a runtime optical emission spectrum (OES); (c) comparing the runtime OES with the first and second reference spectrums using adaptive filtering to generate a comparator output; and (d) repeating (b) and (c) until the desired etch state is detected based on the comparator output. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A computer-readable medium containing a program for detecting a desired etch state while etching a substrate, which, when executed by a processor, performs operations comprising:
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(a) providing first and second reference spectrums; (b) detecting optical emissions during etching of the substrate to generate a runtime optical emission spectrum (OES); (c) comparing the runtime OES with the first and second reference spectrums using adaptive filtering to generate a comparator output; and (d) repeating (b) and (c) until the desired etch state is detected based on the comparator output. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. A digital filter for detecting a desired etch state while etching a substrate, comprising:
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a runtime input; a first reference input; a second reference input; a first adaptive filter coupled to the runtime input and the first reference input and having a first filter output; a second adaptive filter coupled to the runtime input and the second reference input and having a second filter output; a third adaptive filter coupled to a compressed version of the first filter output and a compressed version of the second filter output and having a third filter output; and a fourth adaptive filter coupled to the third filter output and having a fourth filter output used as the output of the digital filter for desired etch state detection. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification