NOVEL METHODS FOR CLEANING ION IMPLANTER COMPONENTS
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of cleaning a vacuum chamber of a semiconductor manufacturing tool, at least one component, or combination thereof, said method comprising:
- (a) introducing an etchant gas from an etchant container into the vacuum chamber;
(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, at least one component contained therein, or combination thereof;
wherein the etchant gas is chosen to react selectively with the residue in the vacuum chamber, the residue on the components contained therein, or combination thereof, while being essentially non-reactive with the interior of the vacuum chamber, the components contained therein, or combination thereof.
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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.
124 Citations
74 Claims
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1. A method of cleaning a vacuum chamber of a semiconductor manufacturing tool, at least one component, or combination thereof, said method comprising:
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(a) introducing an etchant gas from an etchant container into the vacuum chamber; (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, at least one component contained therein, or combination thereof; wherein the etchant gas is chosen to react selectively with the residue in the vacuum chamber, the residue on the components contained therein, or combination thereof, while being essentially non-reactive with the interior of the vacuum chamber, the components contained therein, or combination thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of cleaning a vacuum chamber of a semiconductor manufacturing tool, at least one internal component, or combination thereof, said method comprising:
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(a) introducing an etchant material from an etchant container into the vacuum chamber; (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 source 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, the at least one internal component, or combination thereof. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. An apparatus for cleaning a vacuum chamber of a semiconductor manufacturing tool, at least one internal component, or combination thereof, 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 heater for heating 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 (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. 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 (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A method of cleaning a vacuum chamber of a semiconductor manufacturing tool, at least one component, or combination thereofof the vacuum chamber, said method comprising:
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(a) introducing an etchant gas from an etchant container into the vacuum chamber; (b) withdrawing a plurality of gas species from the vacuum chamber using a vacuum pump to effectuate a continuous flow of the etchant gas therethrough; and (c) flowing the etchant gas through the vacuum chamber for a sufficient time to react the etchant gas with the residue to at least partially remove the residue from the vacuum chamber and/or at least one component contained therein, wherein the etchant gas comprises a gas selected from the group consisting of XeF2, XeF6, XeF4, IF5, IF7, SF6, C2F6 and F2, and 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 (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66)
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67. A method of cleaning accumulated process effluent from the interior of a cryopump, said method comprising purging the cryopump with at least two purge gases, said purge gases including nitrogen and at least one reactive gas selected from the group consisting of oxygen, ozone, nitrogen oxides, species that generate oxygen radicals in situ, and combinations thereof, wherein said method is characterized by at least one of the following purge process sequences (I), (II), and (III):
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(I) (a) purging with essentially pure nitrogen for time x; and (b) purging with the at least one reactive gas for time y, wherein the at least one reactive gas is essentially pure; (II) (a) purging with essentially pure nitrogen at time zero; (b) blending the essentially pure nitrogen with the at least one reactive gas, wherein the nitrogen and the at least one reactive gas are no longer essentially pure; (III) (a) purging with a mixture of nitrogen and at least one reactive gas, wherein the accumulated process effluent is substantially removed from the interior of the cryopump. - View Dependent Claims (68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74)
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Specification