Method and Apparatus for Detecting Plasma Unconfinement
First Claim
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1. A plasma processing chamber comprising:
- a top insulator block disposed at a top side of the plasma processing chamber;
a powered substrate support disposed below the top insulator block and at a bottom side of the plasma processing chamber;
a top edge electrode disposed at the top side and surrounding the top insulator block;
a bottom edge electrode located opposite to the top edge electrode and surrounding the powered substrate support, the bottom edge electrode facing the top edge electrode, the bottom edge electrode located at the bottom side to form a gap between the top edge electrode and the bottom edge electrode, wherein the gap is formed to facilitate reception of a process gas, the process gas to be excited with radio frequency power to generate plasma within the gap; and
a signal monitor being positioned to have a view through a window of a wall of the plasma processing chamber, the view being toward the gap to monitor intensities of the plasma, the intensities used to determine whether the plasma is confined or unconfined within the gap.
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Abstract
A method for detecting plasma unconfinement in a reaction chamber during a bevel edge cleaning operation is provided. The method initiates with selecting a wavelength associated with expected by products of a bevel edge clean process. The method includes cleaning the bevel edge area of a substrate and monitoring the intensity of the selected wavelengths during the cleaning for deviation from a threshold wavelength intensity. The cleaning is terminated if the deviation from the threshold wavelength intensity exceeds a target deviation.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A plasma processing chamber comprising:
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a top insulator block disposed at a top side of the plasma processing chamber; a powered substrate support disposed below the top insulator block and at a bottom side of the plasma processing chamber; a top edge electrode disposed at the top side and surrounding the top insulator block; a bottom edge electrode located opposite to the top edge electrode and surrounding the powered substrate support, the bottom edge electrode facing the top edge electrode, the bottom edge electrode located at the bottom side to form a gap between the top edge electrode and the bottom edge electrode, wherein the gap is formed to facilitate reception of a process gas, the process gas to be excited with radio frequency power to generate plasma within the gap; and a signal monitor being positioned to have a view through a window of a wall of the plasma processing chamber, the view being toward the gap to monitor intensities of the plasma, the intensities used to determine whether the plasma is confined or unconfined within the gap. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system comprising:
a plasma processing chamber including; a top insulator block disposed at a top side of the plasma processing chamber; a gas supply channel located at a side of the top insulator block for facilitating a transfer of a process gas into the plasma processing chamber; a powered substrate support disposed below the top insulator block and at a bottom side of the plasma processing chamber, the powered substrate support facing the top insulator block; a top edge electrode disposed at the top side and surrounding the top insulator block; a bottom edge electrode located opposite to the top edge electrode and surrounding the powered substrate support, the bottom edge electrode facing the top edge electrode, the bottom edge electrode located at the bottom side to form a gap between the top edge electrode and the bottom edge electrode, the gap facilitating reception of the process gas via the gas supply channel, the process gas to be excited with radio frequency power to generate plasma within the gap, the plasma to be used to perform a bevel etch cleaning process; a dielectric between the bottom edge electrode and the powered substrate support; a vacuum supply channel for transferring the plasma from the gap; a vacuum pump connected with the vacuum supply channel to generate a vacuum to transfer the plasma from the gap, the plasma to be transferred via the vacuum supply channel; a signal monitor being positioned to have a view through a window within a wall of the plasma processing chamber, the view being toward the gap to monitor intensities of the plasma; a system controller coupled with the signal monitor to determine based on the intensities whether the plasma is confined or unconfined within the gap, the system controller configured to terminate the bevel etch cleaning process in response to determining that the plasma is unconfined. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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15. A plasma processing chamber comprising:
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a top insulator block disposed at a top side of the plasma processing chamber; a powered substrate support disposed below the top insulator block and at a bottom side of the plasma processing chamber; a top edge electrode disposed at the top side and surrounding the top insulator block; and a bottom edge electrode located opposite to the top edge electrode and surrounding the powered substrate support, the bottom edge electrode facing the top edge electrode, the bottom edge electrode located at the bottom side to form a gap between the top edge electrode and the bottom edge electrode, wherein the gap facilitates reception of a process gas, the process gas to be excited with radio frequency power to generate plasma within the gap; and a signal monitor having a sensor, the sensor integrated into the plasma processing chamber to monitor intensities of the plasma, the intensities used to determine whether the plasma is confined or unconfined within the gap. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification