Plasma cleaning method for removing residues in a plasma treatment chamber
First Claim
1. A plasma cleaning method for removing aluminum-containing residues in a plasma treatment chamber, comprising:
- introducing a cleaning gas mixture comprising oxygen gas and a chlorine containing gas into a plasma treatment chamber; and
performing a plasma cleaning step by activating the cleaning gas mixture and forming a plasma with the cleaning gas, contacting interior surfaces of the plasma treatment chamber with the plasma cleaning gas and removing aluminum-containing residues on the interior surfaces.
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Abstract
A plasma cleaning method for removing residues previously formed in a plasma treatment chamber by dry etching layers such as photoresist, barriers, etc., on a wafer. The method includes introducing a cleaning gas mixture of an oxidizing gas and a chlorine containing gas into the chamber followed by performing a plasma cleaning step. The plasma cleaning step is performed by activating the cleaning gas mixture and forming a plasma cleaning gas, contacting interior surfaces of the chamber with the plasma cleaning gas and removing residues on the interior surfaces. The cleaning gas mixture can also include a fluorine-based gas. For instance, the cleaning gas can include Cl2 and O2 and optionally CF4. An advantage of the cleaning method is that it is not necessary to open the plasma treatment chamber. Also, it is possible to completely remove all residues and prevent by-products formed during the cleaning step from remaining after the cleaning step.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A plasma cleaning method for removing aluminum-containing residues in a plasma treatment chamber, comprising:
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introducing a cleaning gas mixture comprising oxygen gas and a chlorine containing gas into a plasma treatment chamber; and performing a plasma cleaning step by activating the cleaning gas mixture and forming a plasma with the cleaning gas, contacting interior surfaces of the plasma treatment chamber with the plasma cleaning gas and removing aluminum-containing residues on the interior surfaces. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A plasma cleaning method for removing metal-containing residues in a plasma treatment chamber, comprising:
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introducing a cleaning gas mixture comprising oxygen gas and a chlorine containing gas into a plasma treatment chamber; and performing a plasma cleaning step by activating the cleaning gas mixture and forming a plasma with the cleaning gas, contacting interior surfaces of the plasma treatment chamber with the plasma cleaning gas and removing metal-containing residues on the interior surfaces. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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Specification