PLASMA PROCESSING APPARATUS AND PLASMA PROCESSING METHOD

• US 20100051584A1
• Filed: 10/14/2009
• Published: 03/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hiromi Asakura, Hiroyuki Suzuki, Ryuzou Houchin, Shogo Okita, Syouzou Watanabe
• Original Assignee: Hiromi Asakura, Hiroyuki Suzuki, Ryuzou Houchin, Shogo Okita, Syouzou Watanabe
• Inventors: SUZUKI, Hiroyuki, HOUCHIN, Ryuzou, ASAKURA, Hiromi, WATANABE, Syouzou, OKITA, Shogo
• Granted Patent: US 8,231,798 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 216/67
• CPC Class Codes: F27D 5/0068 Containers
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/321 the radio frequency energy being inductively coupled to the plasma
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32706 Polarising the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/3065 Plasma etching; Reactive-ion etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67069 for drying etching

Abstract

A tray 15 for a dry etching apparatus 1 has substrate accommodation holes 19A to 19D penetrating thickness direction and a substrate support portion 21 supporting an outer peripheral edge portion of a lower surface 2a of a substrate 2. A dielectric plate 23 has a tray support surface 28 supporting a lower surface of the tray 15, substrate placement portions 29A through 29D inserted from a lower surface side of the tray 15 into the substrate accommodation holes 19A through 19D and having a substrate placement surface 31 at its upper end surface for placing the substrate 2. A dc voltage applying mechanism 43 applies a dc voltage to an electrostatic attraction electrode 40. A heat conduction gas supply mechanism 45 supplies a heat conduction gas between the substrate 2 and substrate placement surface 31. The substrate 2 can be retained on the substrate placement surface 31 with high degree of adhesion. This results in that the cooling efficiency of the substrate 2 is improved and processing is uniformed at the entire region of the substrate surface including the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge.

Claims

1-18. -18. (canceled)

19. A plasma processing apparatus, comprising:

a depressurizable chamber;

a tray adapted to be carried in and out to the chamber, formed with a plurality of substrate accommodation holes penetrating through thickness thereof, and provided with a substrate support portion that projects from a hole wall of each of the substrate accommodation holes and supports an outer peripheral edge of a lower surface of the substrate accommodated in the substrate accommodation hole;

dielectric member arranged in the chamber and provided with a tray support portion for supporting a lower surface of the tray that supports the substrates carried into the chamber, a plurality of substrate placement portions that project upward from the tray support portion, that are respectively inserted into the corresponding substrate accommodation hole from lower surface of the tray, and that respectively have a substrate placement surface at an upper end on which the lower surface of the substrate is placed, a distance from the tray support portion to an upper surface of the substrate support portion being smaller than a distance from the tray support portion to the substrate placement surfaces;

an electrostatic attraction electrode for electrically attracting the substrate to the substrate placement surface, at least a portion of the electrostatic attraction electrode being embedded in the substrate placement portions;

a dc voltage applying mechanism for applying a dc voltage to the electrostatic attraction electrode;

a cooling mechanism for circulating a refrigerant so as to cool the dielectric member having the tray support portion on which the lower surface of the tray is placed and the substrate placement surfaces on which the substrates are placed;

a heat conducting gas supply mechanism for supplying a heat conduction gas to a space formed between the substrates and the substrate placement surfaces.

20. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising:

a support member having an upper portion on which the dielectric member is provided, and

a high-frequency voltage applying mechanism for applying a high frequency voltage for generating the plasma to the support member.

21. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the electrostatic attraction electrode is provided for each of the substrate placement portions, and

wherein the plasma processing apparatus further comprises a high-frequency voltage applying mechanism for applying a high frequency voltage for generating the plasma to each of the electrostatic attraction electrodes so as to be superimposed on the dc voltage and so as to individually control the high-frequency voltage for each of the electrostatic attraction electrodes.

22. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising:

a plurality of second electrodes embedded in the dielectric member, insulated from the electrostatic attraction electrodes, and respectively provided for each of the substrate support portion; and

a high-frequency voltage applying mechanism for applying a high frequency voltage for generating the plasma to the second electrodes.

23. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the high-frequency voltage applying mechanism applying the high-frequency voltage to each of the second electrodes in individually controllable manner.

24. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein each of the substrate placement portions has an annular projection that projects upward from the outer peripheral edge of the substrate placement surface and supports the lower surface of the substrate by its upper end surface, and

wherein the heat conduction gas is supplied by the heat conduction gas supply mechanism to a space enclosed by the lower surface of the substrate and the annular projection.

25. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the gas supply mechanism is capable of individually controlling the heat conduction for each of substrate placement portions.

26. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein each of the substrate placement portions of the dielectric member has a juncture between the substrate placement surface and an outer peripheral surface formed so that an outer diameter of the substrate placement portion increases from the substrate placement side toward the tray support portion view from the penetration direction of the substrate accommodation holes.

27. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the tray has a juncture between each of wall surfaces of substrate accommodation holes and a lower surface of the tray formed so that an inner diameter of the substrate accommodation hole decreases from the lower surface side of the tray toward a upper surface side of the tray view from the penetration direction of the substrate accommodation holes.

28. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the electrostatic attraction electrode is provided for each of the substrate placement portions,

wherein each of the electrostatic attraction electrodes is at least partially arranged adjacent to the substrate placement surface, and

wherein the dc voltage applying mechanism the dc voltage to the electrostatic attraction electrodes so as to individually control the dc voltage for each of the electrostatic attraction electrodes.

29. A plasma processing method comprising:

providing a tray formed with a plurality of substrate accommodation holes that penetrate through thickness thereof, and provided with a substrate support portion that projects from a hole wall of each of the substrate accommodation holes;

accommodating substrates in respective substrate accommodation holes of the tray, thereby an outer peripheral edge portion of a lower surface of each of the substrates being supported by the substrate support portions so that the lower surface of each of the substrates is exposed by each of the substrate accommodation holes viewed from a lower surface side of the tray;

placing the tray with the plurality of substrates accommodated therein above a dielectric member accommodated in a depressurizeable chamber;

moving downward the tray toward the dielectric member so that the lower surface of the tray is supported by a tray support portion of the dielectric member and so that a plurality of substrate placement portions respectively projecting from the tray support portion are inserted to the substrate accommodation holes from the lower surface side of the tray, thereby the lower surface of each of the substrate being placed on a substrate placement surface that is an upper end surface of each of the substrate placement portions, wherein a distance from the tray support portion to an upper surface of the substrate support portion is smaller than a distance from tray support portion to the substrate placement surfaces so that the lower surface of the substrates placed on the substrate placement surfaces are separated to the substrate support portions of the tray with gaps of predetermined amount;

electrostatically attracting each of the substrates to the substrate placement surfaces by applying a dc voltage to an electrostatic attraction electrode at least a portion of which is embedded in the substrate placement portion;

circulating a refrigerant so as to cool the dielectric member having the tray support portion on which the lower surface of the tray is placed and the substrate placement surfaces on which the substrates are placed;

supplying a heat conduction gas to a space formed between the lower surfaces of the substrates and the substrate placement surfaces; and

generating plasma in the chamber.

30. The plasma processing method according to claim 29, wherein the dielectric member is provided on an upper portion of a support member, and

wherein a high-frequency voltage for generating the plasma is applied to the support member.

31. The plasma processing method according to claim 29 wherein a high-frequency voltage for generating the plasma is applied to the electrostatic attraction electrodes so as to be superimposed on the dc voltage.

32. The plasma processing method according to claim 29 wherein a plurality of second electrodes are embedded in the dielectric member, the second electrodes being insulated to the electrostatic attraction electrodes and respectively provided for substrate support portions, and

wherein a high-frequency voltage for generating plasma is applied to the second electrodes.