Detection of arcing events in wafer plasma processing through monitoring of trace gas concentrations
First Claim
1. A method of detecting substrate arcing in a semiconductor plasma processing apparatus, comprising:
- placing a substrate on a substrate support in a reaction chamber of a plasma processing apparatus;
introducing process gas into the reaction chamber;
generating a plasma from the process gas;
processing the substrate with the plasma;
monitoring intensities of real-time spectrometry signals of selected gas species produced in the reaction chamber during plasma processing, wherein the selected gas species are generated by a substrate arcing event; and
detecting the arcing event when the intensities are above a threshold value.
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Abstract
A method of detecting substrate arcing in a semiconductor plasma processing apparatus is provided. A substrate is placed on a substrate support in a reaction chamber of a plasma processing apparatus. Process gas is introduced into the reaction chamber. A plasma is generated from the process gas and the substrate is processed with the plasma. Intensities of real-time spectrometry signals of selected gas species produced in the reaction chamber during plasma processing are monitored. The selected gas species are generated by a substrate arcing event. The arcing event is detected when the intensities are above a threshold value.
63 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of detecting substrate arcing in a semiconductor plasma processing apparatus, comprising:
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placing a substrate on a substrate support in a reaction chamber of a plasma processing apparatus; introducing process gas into the reaction chamber; generating a plasma from the process gas; processing the substrate with the plasma; monitoring intensities of real-time spectrometry signals of selected gas species produced in the reaction chamber during plasma processing, wherein the selected gas species are generated by a substrate arcing event; and detecting the arcing event when the intensities are above a threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A plasma processing apparatus comprising:
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a substrate holder for supporting a substrate within an interior of a reaction chamber; a gas supply supplying process gas to the interior of the reaction chamber using a gas distribution member; a power source supplying energy into the interior of the reaction chamber and energizing the process gas into a plasma state for processing the substrate; a gas sensor adapted to monitor gas species in the reaction chamber during plasma processing to identify gas species produced by substrate arcing; and an alarm to generate a warning signal when gas species produced by substrate arcing are identified. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification