PLASMA PROCESSING APPARATUS

• US 20150279624A1
• Filed: 02/20/2015
• Published: 10/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi High-Tech Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Koichi, Yasui, Naoki, Toyota, Koji
• Granted Patent: US 10,037,868 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32146 Amplitude modulation, includes pulsing
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32192 Microwave generated discharge H01J37/32357, H01J37/32366, H01J37/32394, H01J37/32403 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32935 Monitoring and controlling tubes by information coming from the object and/or discharge

Abstract

The plasma processing apparatus includes: a processing chamber disposed inside a vacuum vessel; a first high-frequency power supply outputting a first high-frequency power for supplying an electric field to generate a plasma for use in processing a sample to be processed inside the processing chamber; a sample stage disposed inside the processing chamber with the sample placed on an upper surface thereof; a second high-frequency power supply intermittently outputting a second high-frequency power for generating a bias potential to an electrode disposed inside the sample stage and capable of variably adjusting the output time; and a function to adjust operation of the plasma processing apparatus using a result of detection of a temporal change in waveform of current or voltage in a transient state of the second high-frequency power in synchronism with start of the intermittent output of the second high-frequency power.

Claims

1. A plasma processing apparatus comprising:

a processing chamber disposed inside a vacuum vessel;

a first high-frequency power supply outputting a first high-frequency power for supplying an electric field to generate a plasma for use in processing a sample to be processed inside the processing chamber;

a sample stage disposed inside the processing chamber with the sample placed on an upper surface thereof;

a second high-frequency power supply intermittently outputting a second high-frequency power for generating a bias potential to an electrode disposed inside the sample stage and capable of variably adjusting the output time, and

a function to adjust operation of the plasma processing apparatus using a result of detection of a temporal change in waveform of current or voltage in a transient state of the second high-frequency power in synchronism with a start of the intermittent output of the second high-frequency power.

3. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the first high-frequency power supply outputs the first high-frequency power in synchronism with an output of the second high-frequency power.

4. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the second high-frequency power is output in synchronism with a cyclical signal serving as a reference, and a temporal change in waveform of current or voltage in a transient state of the second high-frequency power is detected in synchronism with the cyclical signal.

5. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the second high-frequency power supply outputs the second high-frequency power so that a waveform of the second high-frequency power is synchronized with the cyclical signal, and a temporal change in the waveform is detected by comparing a plurality of waveforms of current or voltage with each other in a predetermined time length in a transient state of the second high-frequency power.

6. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

a temporal change in the waveform is detected by comparing a plurality of waveforms of current or voltage with each other, whose phase is aligned to other phases, in a predetermined time length in a transient state of the second high-frequency power.

7. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

stop of the plasma processing apparatus or change of the processing condition is conducted using a result of detection of the temporal change in waveform of current or voltage in the transient state of the second high-frequency power.

8. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the waveform of the second high-frequency power is detected at every predetermined time interval in the transient state.

2. A plasma processing apparatus comprising:

a processing chamber disposed inside a vacuum vessel;

a first high-frequency power supply outputting a first high-frequency power for supplying an electric field to generate plasma for use in processing a sample to be processed inside the processing chamber;

a sample stage disposed inside the processing chamber with the sample placed on an upper surface thereof;

a second high-frequency power supply outputting a second high-frequency power for generating a bias potential to an electrode disposed inside the sample stage and capable of variably adjusting ON time and OFF time of the output or a ratio thereof, and

a function to adjust operation of the plasma processing apparatus using a result of detection of a temporal change in waveform of current or voltage in a transient state of the second high-frequency power in synchronism with a start of ON period of the second high-frequency power.