Process depending on plasma discharges sustained by inductive coupling

• US 6,017,221 A
• Filed: 05/30/1997
• Issued: 01/25/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Daniel L. Flamm
• Original Assignee: Daniel L. Flamm
• Inventors: Flamm, Daniel L.
• Primary Examiner(s): SCHEINER, LAURIE A
• Application Number:
  US08/866,040
• Time in Patent Office: 970 Days
• Field of Search: 118/50.1, 156/643, 156/345, 156/646, 156/659.1, 219/121.41, 219/121.44, 204/192.1, 204/192.12, 204/192.25, 427/12, 216/2, 437/225, 437/228, 437/233
• US Class Current: 438/14
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/321 the radio frequency energy being inductively coupled to the plasma

Abstract

A process for fabricating a product 28, 119. The process comprises the steps of subjecting a substrate to a composition of entities, at least one of the entities emanating from a species generated by a gaseous discharge excited by a high frequency field in which the vector sum of phase and anti-phase capacitive coupled voltages from the inductive coupling structure substantially balances.

Claims

1. A process for fabricating a product using a plasma source, said process comprising the steps of subjecting a substrate to entities, at least one of said entities emanating from a gaseous discharge excited by a high frequency field from an inductive coupling structure in which a phase portion and an anti-phase portion of capacitive currents coupled from the inductive coupling structure are selectively balanced;

wherein said inductive coupling structure is adjusted using a wave adjustment circuit, said wave adjustment circuit adjusting the phase portion and the anti-phase portion of the capacitively coupled currents.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the wave adjustment circuit selectively adjusts a frequency of an rf power supply.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the high frequency field is adjusted using a variable frequency power supply.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein the wave adjustment circuit comprises a transmission line.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein said process is provided in a chamber.

6. The process of claim 5 wherein the chamber is provided for a process selected from etching, deposition, sputtering, or implantation.

7. The process of claim 1 wherein said inductive coupling structure provides a wave multiple selected from a one-sixteenth wave, a one-eighth-wave, a quarter-wave, a half-wave, a three-quarter wave, and a full-wave.