SYSTEM, METHOD, AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING ION ENERGY DISTRIBUTION IN PLASMA PROCESSING SYSTEMS

• US 20180019100A1
• Filed: 08/02/2017
• Published: 01/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AES Global Holdings Pte Ltd. (Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (China))
• Original Assignee: Advanced Energy Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Brouk, Victor, Hoffman, Daniel J., Carter, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 11,011,349 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32009 Arrangements for generation of plasma specially adapted for examination or treatment of objects, e.g. plasma sources plasma generation in general H05H1/24
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32174 Circuits specially adapted for controlling the RF discharge
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32935 Monitoring and controlling tubes by information coming from the object and/or discharge
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3299 Feedback systems

Abstract

Systems, methods and apparatus for regulating ion energies in a plasma chamber and chucking a substrate to a substrate support are disclosed. An exemplary method includes placing a substrate in a plasma chamber, forming a plasma in the plasma chamber, controllably switching power to the substrate so as to apply a periodic voltage function (or a modified periodic voltage function) to the substrate, and modulating, over multiple cycles of the periodic voltage function, the periodic voltage function responsive to a defined distribution of energies of ions at the surface of the substrate so as to effectuate the defined distribution of ion energies on a time-averaged basis.

Claims

1-37. -37. (canceled)

38. An apparatus for plasma-based processing, comprising:

a controllable DC voltage source to provide a DC output voltage with a magnitude that is determined by an ion-energy control setting;

an output that is configured to couple to a substrate holder;

a first switching component disposed between the DC voltage source and the output;

a second switching component coupled between a ground connection and the output; and

a controller electrically coupled to each of the first and second switching components, the controller configured to provide a first and second drive-control signals, respectively, to the first and second switching components by a corresponding one of a first and second drive-control-signal lines and control a timing of the drive-control signals to close the first switching component to couple the DC output voltage to the output, open the first switching component to decouple the DC output voltage from the output, close the second switching component to couple ground to the output while the first switching component is open, and open both the first and second switches to remove the DC output voltage and ground from the output; and

a DC current source coupled to the output to provide ion current compensation, at least, while the first and second switches are open.

39. The apparatus of claim 38 including:

an inductive capacitive link coupled between each of the first and second switching components and the output.

40. An apparatus for plasma-based processing, comprising:

a controllable DC voltage source to provide a DC output voltage with a magnitude that is determined by an ion-energy control setting;

an output that is configured to couple to a substrate holder;

a first switching component disposed between the DC voltage source and the output;

a second switching component coupled between a ground connection and the output;

a controller including a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium, encoded with processor readable instructions to perform a method for providing a modified periodic voltage function to the output, the method including;

providing a first and second drive-control signals, respectively, to the first and second switching components by a corresponding one of a first and second drive-control-signal lines;

controlling a timing of the drive-control signals to close the first switching component to couple the DC output voltage to the output, open the first switching component to decouple the DC output voltage from the output, close the second switching component to couple ground to the output while the first switching component is open, and open both the first and second switches to remove the DC output voltage and ground from the output; and

providing ion current compensation with a DC current source to the output, at least, while the first and second switches are open.

41. An apparatus for plasma-based processing, comprising:

a controllable DC voltage source to provide a DC output voltage with a magnitude that is determined by an ion-energy control setting;

an output that is configured to couple to a substrate holder;

a first switching component disposed between the DC voltage source and the output;

a second switching component coupled between a ground connection and the output; and

means for providing a first and second drive-control signals, respectively, to the first and second switching components;

means for closing the first switching component to couple the DC output voltage to the output, then opening the first switching component to decouple the DC output voltage from the output, then closing the second switching component to couple ground to the output while the first switching component is open, and then opening both the first and second switches to remove the DC output voltage and ground from the output; and

means for providing ion current compensation to the output, at least, while the first and second switches are open.