SURFACE MODIFICATION CONTROL FOR ETCH METRIC ENHANCEMENT
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring and controlling a process of plasma-assisted surface modification of a layer formed on a substrate, the method comprising:
- flowing a surface modification gas into a plasma processing chamber of a plasma processing system;
igniting a plasma in the plasma processing chamber to initiate a surface modification process for a layer formed on a substrate; and
acquiring optical emission spectra from an optical emission spectroscopy system attached to the plasma processing chamber, during the surface modification process for the layer.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method is disclosed for monitoring and controlling a process of plasma-assisted surface modification of a layer formed on a substrate. The method includes flowing a surface modification gas into a plasma processing chamber of a plasma processing system, igniting a plasma in the plasma processing chamber to initiate a surface modification process for a layer formed on a substrate, and acquiring optical emission spectra from an optical emission spectroscopy system attached to the plasma processing chamber, during the surface modification process for the layer. For one embodiment, the method includes altering at least one parameter of the surface modification process based on the acquired optical emission spectra. For one embodiment, the acquired optical emission spectra can include an intensity of a spectral line, a slope of a spectral line, or both to enable endpoint control of the surface modification process. Additional methods and related systems are also disclosed.
-
Citations
38 Claims
-
1. A method for monitoring and controlling a process of plasma-assisted surface modification of a layer formed on a substrate, the method comprising:
-
flowing a surface modification gas into a plasma processing chamber of a plasma processing system; igniting a plasma in the plasma processing chamber to initiate a surface modification process for a layer formed on a substrate; and acquiring optical emission spectra from an optical emission spectroscopy system attached to the plasma processing chamber, during the surface modification process for the layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
-
-
37. A method for monitoring and controlling a surface modification process in a plasma processing tool, the method comprising:
-
flowing a surface modification gas into a plasma processing chamber of a plasma processing system; igniting a plasma in the plasma processing chamber to initiate surface modification process for a layer formed on a substrate; and monitoring the plasma in the plasma processing chamber during the surface modification process using a monitoring system, wherein the monitoring system comprises at least one of an optical emission spectroscopy, a laser induced fluorescence, a laser interferometry, laser spectroscopy, a mass spectrometry, a Raman spectroscopy, a residual gas analyzer (RGA), or a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) system. - View Dependent Claims (38)
-
Specification