Method of cleaning CVD apparatus

• US 5,607,515 A
• Filed: 10/25/1995
• Issued: 03/04/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Hironari
• Primary Examiner(s): Warden, Robert J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Markoff, Alexander
• Application Number:
  US08/547,924
• Time in Patent Office: 496 Days
• Field of Search: 134/1, 134/1.3, 134/22.1, 134/21, 134/22.11, 134/18, 134/22.12
• US Class Current: 134/18
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4405 Cleaning of reactor or parts inside the reactor by using reactive gases
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/455 characterised by the method used for introducing gases into reaction chamber or for modifying gas flows in reaction chamber
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45561 Gas plumbing upstream of the reaction chamber

Abstract

A vacuum CVD apparatus including a reaction chamber into which a fluorine-containing compound gas and a carrier gas are introduced for cleaning. The fluorine-containing compound gas reacts with the matter deposited on the inner surface of the reaction chamber to gasify and remove the matter, preventing contamination of a semiconductor wafer later placed in the reaction chamber. Thus, it is possible to achieve high reliability of VSLIs produced in the reaction chamber.

Claims

1. A method of cleaning contaminants that react with fluorine from walls of a vacuum CVD apparatus comprising:

providing a reaction chamber that may accommodate a plurality of semiconductor wafers;

placing in the reaction chamber a monitor wafer that transmits a laser light beam and that is covered by a contaminant also disposed on walls of the CVD apparatus, the contaminant not transmitting the laser light beam;

heating the reaction chamber and maintaining a vacuum in the reaction chamber;

shining a laser light beam on the monitor wafer and detecting a laser light beam transmitted through the monitor wafer and the contaminant on the monitor wafer;

introducing into and discharging from the reaction chamber a flow of a fluorine-containing compound gas and a carrier gas while switching the paths of the gases in a flip-flop manner from end to end of the reaction chamber, thereby removing the contaminant from walls of the reaction chamber and from the monitor wafer;

monitoring the laser light beam transmitted through the monitor wafer and contaminant on the monitor wafer; and

terminating the flow of the fluorine containing compound gas when the laser light beam transmitted exceeds a threshold.