Dose monitor for plasma doping system

• US 6,020,592 A
• Filed: 08/03/1998
• Issued: 02/01/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Incorporated (Applied Materials Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Incorporated (Applied Materials Incorporated)
• Inventors: Goeckner, Matthew, Liebert, Reuel B., Pedersen, Bjorn O.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, KIET TUAN
• Application Number:
  US09/128,370
• Time in Patent Office: 547 Days
• Field of Search: 250/492.21, 250/492.2
• US Class Current: 250/492.21
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/24405 Faraday cages
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/31703 Dosimetry
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32412 Plasma immersion ion implantation
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32935 Monitoring and controlling tubes by information coming from the object and/or discharge

Abstract

Plasma doping apparatus includes a plasma doping chamber, a platen mounted in the plasma doping chamber for supporting a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer, a source of ionizable gas coupled to the chamber, an anode spaced from the platen and a pulse source for applying high voltage pulses between the platen and the anode. The high voltage pulses produce a plasma having a plasma sheath in the vicinity of the workpiece. The high voltage pulses accelerate positive ions across the plasma sheath toward the platen for implantation into the workpiece. The plasma doping apparatus includes at least one Faraday cup positioned adjacent to the platen for collecting a sample of the positive ions accelerated across the plasma sheath. The sample is representative of the dose of positive ions implanted into the workpiece.

Claims

1. Plasma doping apparatus comprising:

a plasma doping chamber;

a platen mounted in said plasma doping chamber for supporting a workpiece, said workpiece constituting a cathode;

a source of ionizable gas coupled to said chamber, said ionizable gas containing a desired dopant for implantation into the workpiece;

an anode spaced from said platen;

a pulse source for applying high voltage pulses between said platen and said anode for producing a plasma having a plasma sheath in the vicinity of said workpiece, said plasma containing positive ions of said ionizable gas, said high voltage pulses accelerating said positive ions across the plasma sheath toward said platen for implantation into the workpiece; and

a Faraday cup positioned adjacent to said platen for collecting a sample of said positive ions accelerated across said plasma sheath, said sample being representative of the number of positive ions implanted into the workpiece.

2. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising means for maintaining said Faraday cup and said platen at substantially equal electrical potentials.

3. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising an electrically conductive mask having an opening aligned with said Faraday cup and means for maintaining said mask and said platen at substantially equal electrical potentials.

4. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein an entrance to said Faraday cup is substantially coplanar with the workpiece.

5. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said Faraday cup comprises a plurality of Faraday cups disposed around said platen.

6. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said Faraday cup comprises an annular Faraday cup disposed around said platen.

7. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising a guard ring disposed around said platen, wherein said Faraday cup is positioned within said guard ring.

8. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising a guard ring disposed around said platen, wherein said Faraday cup comprises a plurality of Faraday cups positioned within said guard ring, and further comprising means for maintaining the Faraday cups at the same potential as the guard ring to suppress capacitive contribution to the measured current.

9. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising a guard ring disposed around said platen, wherein said Faraday cup comprises an annular Faraday cup positioned within said guard ring, and further comprising means for maintaining the annular Faraday cup at the same potential as the guard ring to suppress capacitive contribution to the measured current.

10. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said Faraday cup generates an electrical current representative of the number of positive ions implanted into the workpiece per unit time and wherein said apparatus further comprises a dose processing circuit for integrating said current with respect to time and generating an output representative of the dose of positive ions implanted into the workpiece.

11. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said Faraday cup comprises a plurality of Faraday cups disposed around said platen, each producing a current representative of the number of positive ions implanted into the workpiece per unit time and wherein said plasma doping apparatus further comprises a dose uniformity circuit for comparing the currents produced by said plurality of Faraday cups and generating in response to the comparison an output indicative of the uniformity of ion implantation into the workpiece.

12. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising an electrode positioned at an entrance of said Faraday cup and means for biasing said electrode to suppress escape of secondary electrons from said Faraday cup and/or to suppress hollow cathode discharge.

13. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising at least one magnet disposed at an entrance of said Faraday cup for suppressing escape of secondary electrons from said Faraday cup.

14. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said Faraday cup has an entrance having a lateral dimension, wherein the lateral dimension of said entrance is small in comparison with a depth of said Faraday cup, and wherein a geometric configuration of said Faraday cup suppresses escape of secondary electrons through said entrance.

15. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said chamber has electrically conductive walls and wherein said anode and said chamber are connected to a common electrical potential.

16. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said chamber includes electrically conductive walls and wherein said anode comprises the electrically conductive walls of said chamber.

17. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said platen is configured for supporting a semiconductor wafer.

18. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said Faraday cup comprises an entrance aperture plate defining an entrance aperture for receiving said positive ions, an ion collector plate for collecting said positive ions, a secondary electron collector ring disposed between said aperture plate and said ion collector plate, and means for biasing said secondary electron collector ring at a positive potential with respect to said ion collector plate.

19. In plasma doping apparatus comprising a plasma doping chamber, a platen mounted in said chamber for supporting a workpiece, a source of an ionizable gas coupled to said chamber, an anode spaced from said platen and a pulse source for applying high voltage pulses between said platen and said anode for producing a plasma having a plasma sheath in the vicinity of said workpiece, said plasma containing positive ions of said ionizable gas, said high voltage pulses accelerating said positive ions across the plasma sheath toward said platen for implantation into the workpiece, a method for monitoring a dose of said positive ions implanted into the workpiece comprising the step of:

collecting a sample of said positive ions accelerated across said plasma sheath with a Faraday cup positioned adjacent to said platen, said sample being representative of a number of positive ions implanted into the workpiece.

20. A method as defined in claim 19 wherein the step of collecting a sample of said positive ions is performed with a plurality of Faraday cups disposed around said platen.

21. A method as defined in claim 19 further including the step of configuring said Faraday cup so as to minimize any disturbance to said platen caused by the presence of said Faraday cup.

22. A method as defined in claim 19 further including the step of integrating an electrical current produced by said Faraday cup in response to said positive ions with respect to time and generating an output representative of the dose of positive ions implanted into the workpiece.

23. A method as defined in claim 19 wherein the step of collecting the sample of said positive ions is performed by a plurality of Faraday cups disposed around said platen, each producing a current representative of the number of positive ions implanted into the workpiece per unit time and further including the steps of comparing the currents produced by said plurality of Faraday cups and generating an output indicative of the uniformity of ion implantation into the workpiece.

24. A method as defined in claim 19 further including the step of biasing an electrode positioned at an entrance of said Faraday cup to suppress escape of secondary electrons from said Faraday cup and/or to suppress hollow cathode discharge.

25. A method as defined in claim 19 wherein the step of collecting a sample of said positive ions is performed with two or more Faraday cups embedded in a guard ring disposed around said platen.

26. A method as defined in claim 19 wherein the step of collecting a sample of said positive ions is performed with an annular Faraday cup embedded in a guard ring disposed around said platen.

27. A method as defined in claim 19 wherein the step of collecting a sample of said positive ions is performed with an ion collector plate spaced from an entrance aperture in an entrance aperture plate, further comprising the step of preventing secondary electrons formed at the ion collector plate from moving toward the entrance aperture with a secondary electron collector ring positioned between the ion collector plate and the entrance aperture.

28. Plasma doping apparatus comprising:

a plasma doping chamber;

a platen mounted in said plasma doping chamber for supporting a workpiece;

a source of ionizable gas coupled to said chamber, said ionizable gas containing a desired dopant for implantation into the workpiece;

a pulse source for applying high voltage pulses between said platen and the electrically conductive walls of said chamber for producing a plasma having a plasma sheath in the vicinity of said workpiece, said plasma containing positive ions of said ionizable gas, said high voltage pulses accelerating said positive ions across the plasma sheath toward said platen for implantation into the workpiece; and

a Faraday cup positioned adjacent to said platen for collecting a sample of said positive ions accelerated across said plasma sheath, the sample of said positive ions collected by said Faraday cup being representative of a dose of said positive ions implanted into the workpiece.

29. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 28 wherein said Faraday cup comprises a plurality of Faraday cups disposed around said platen.

30. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 28 wherein said Faraday cup comprises an annular Faraday cup disposed around said platen.

31. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 28 wherein said Faraday cup generates an electrical current representative of the number positive ions implanted into the workpiece per unit time and wherein said apparatus further comprises a dose processing circuit for integrating said current with respect to time and generating an output representative of the dose of positive ions implanted into the workpiece.

32. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 28 wherein said Faraday cup comprises a plurality of Faraday cups disposed around said platen, each producing a current representative of the number of positive ions implanted into the workpiece per unit time and wherein said plasma doping apparatus further comprises a dose uniformity circuit for comparing the currents produced by said plurality of Faraday cups and generating in response to the comparison an output indicative of the uniformity of ion implantation into the workpiece.

33. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 28 further comprising a guard ring disposed around said platen, wherein said Faraday cup is embedded within said guard ring.

34. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 28 further comprising a closed loop pressure control system coupled to said plasma doping chamber for controlling the pressure of said ionizable gas in said chamber.

35. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 28 wherein said Faraday cup comprises an entrance aperture plate defining an entrance aperture for receiving said positive ions, an ion collector plate for collecting said positive ions, a secondary electron collector ring disposed between said aperture plate and said ion collector plate, and means for biasing said secondary electron collector ring at a positive potential with respect to said ion collector plate.

36. Plasma doping apparatus comprising:

a plasma doping chamber;

a platen mounted in said plasma doping chamber for supporting a workpiece, said workpiece constituting a cathode;

an anode spaced from said platen;

a source of ionizable gas coupled to said chamber, said gas containing a desired dopant for implantation into the workpiece;

means for producing a plasma containing positive ions of said ionizable gas between said platen and said anode;

a pulse source for applying high voltage pulses between said platen and said anode for accelerating said positive ions across a plasma sheath of said plasma toward said platen for implantation into the workpiece; and

a Faraday cup positioned adjacent to said platen for collecting a sample of said positive ions accelerated across said plasma sheath, said sample being representative of the dose of positive ions implanted into the workpiece.

37. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 36 wherein said Faraday cup comprises a plurality of Faraday cups disposed around said platen.

38. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 36 wherein said Faraday cup comprises an annular Faraday cup disposed around said platen.

39. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 36 further comprising a guard ring disposed around said platen, wherein said Faraday cup is embedded within said guard ring.

40. Plasma doping apparatus as defined in claim 36 wherein said Faraday cup comprises an entrance aperture plate defining an entrance aperture for receiving said positive ions, an ion collector plate for collecting said positive ions, a secondary electron collector ring disposed between said aperture plate and said ion collector plate, and means for biasing said secondary electron collector ring at a positive potential with respect to said ion collector plate.