ELECTROSTATIC CHUCKING METHOD AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS

• US 20160189994A1
• Filed: 12/18/2015
• Published: 06/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: SUH, Jisoo, SASAKI, Yasuharu, TOMIOKA, Taketoshi, KISHI, Hiroki
• Granted Patent: US 10,269,607 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67109 mainly by convection
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/6833 Details of electrostatic chucks
• CPC Class Codes: H02N 13/00 Clutches or holding devices using electrostatic attraction, e.g. using Johnson-Rahbek effect

Abstract

An electrostatic chucking method uses a substrate processing apparatus including an electrostatic chuck, a focus ring, a supply unit configured to supply a heat transfer medium to a space formed between the focus ring and the electrostatic chuck, and a plurality of electrodes provided at a region in the electrostatic chuck which corresponds to the focus ring. The electrostatic chucking method includes supplying by the supply unit the heat transfer medium to the space for a plasma processing period for which a plasma for processing the substrate is generated, and applying different voltages to the plurality of electrodes to attract and hold the focus ring on the electrostatic chuck for a period other than the plasma processing period.

Claims

1. An electrostatic chucking method using a substrate processing apparatus including:

an electrostatic chuck on which a substrate is mounted;

a focus ring provided on the electrostatic chuck to surround a region where the substrate is mounted;

a supply unit configured to supply a heat transfer medium to a space formed between the focus ring and the electrostatic chuck; and

a plurality of electrodes provided at a region in the electrostatic chuck, which corresponds to the focus ring, the method comprising;

supplying by the supply unit the heat transfer medium to the space for a plasma processing period for which a plasma for processing the substrate is generated; and

applying different voltages to the plurality of electrodes to attract and hold the focus ring on the electrostatic chuck for a period other than the plasma processing period.

2. The electrostatic chucking method of claim 1, wherein said applying different voltages to the plurality of electrodes comprises applying the different voltages such that a potential difference is generated between the electrodes.

3. The electrostatic chucking method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrodes are provided to correspond to an inner peripheral side of the focus ring and an outer peripheral side of the focus ring, and

wherein said applying different voltages to the plurality of electrodes comprises applying voltages of a first polarity to the electrodes provided to correspond to the inner peripheral side of the focus ring and voltages of a second polarity opposite to the first polarity to the electrodes provided to correspond to the outer peripheral side of the focus ring.

4. The electrostatic chucking method of claim 1, wherein the period other than the plasma processing period is a period in which the substrate is loaded into the processing chamber or a period in which the substrate is unloaded from the processing chamber, and for the period other than the plasma processing period, the heat transfer medium is not supplied to the space.

5. The electrostatic chucking method of claim 1, wherein said applying different voltages to the plurality of electrodes comprises applying the different voltages to the plurality of electrodes under a weak plasma processing condition in which a high frequency power ranging from 0 W to 2000 W is applied for plasma generation.

6. The electrostatic chucking method of claim 1, wherein the period other than the plasma processing period is a cleaning period in which a plasma for cleaning the processing chamber is generated after a substrate is unloaded from the processing chamber and before a next substrate is loaded into the processing chamber, and for the period other than the plasma processing period, the heat transfer medium is supplied to the space.

7. The electrostatic chucking method of claim 1, wherein the period other than the plasma processing period is a period in which the operation of the substrate processing apparatus is stopped.

8. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

an electrostatic chuck on which a substrate is mounted;

a focus ring provided on the electrostatic chuck to surround a region where the substrate is mounted;

a supply unit configured to supply a heat transfer medium to a space formed between the focus ring and the electrostatic chuck;

a plurality of electrodes provided at a region in the electrostatic chuck, which corresponds to the focus ring; and

a control unit configured to control a supply of the heat transfer medium by the supply unit to the space for a plasma processing period for which a plasma for processing the substrate is generated and to control an application of different voltages to the plurality of electrodes to attract and hold the focus ring on the electrostatic chuck for a period other than the plasma processing period.