Method and apparatus for improving etch and deposition uniformity in plasma semiconductor processing
First Claim
1. A plasma processing system comprising:
- a plasma processing chamber;
a substrate support supporting a substrate within the processing chamber;
a dielectric member having an interior surface facing the substrate support, wherein the dielectric member forms a wall of the processing chamber;
a primary gas supply supplying a primary gas into the chamber;
a secondary gas supply supplying a secondary gas into the chamber in a zone adjacent the periphery of the substrate, the secondary gas supply injecting the secondary gas at an acute angle with respect to a plane parallel to the exposed surface of the substrate; and
a radio frequency energy source which inductively couples radio frequency energy through the dielectric member and into the chamber to energize the primary gas into a high density plasma state to process the substrate.
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Abstract
A plasma processing system and method for processing substrates such as by chemical vapor deposition or etching. The system includes a plasma processing chamber, a substrate support for supporting a substrate within the processing chamber, a dielectric member having an interior surface facing the substrate support, the dielectric member forming a wall of the processing chamber, a primary gas supply supplying a primary gas such as process gas into the chamber, a secondary gas supply supplying a secondary gas such as a substantially inert, a substrate passivating or a reactant scavenging gas into the chamber, and an RF energy source such as a planar coil which inductively couples RF energy through the dielectric member and into the chamber to energize the primary gas into a plasma state. The secondary gas is concentrated near the periphery of the substrate, improving etching/deposition uniformity across the substrate surface.
216 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A plasma processing system comprising:
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a plasma processing chamber; a substrate support supporting a substrate within the processing chamber; a dielectric member having an interior surface facing the substrate support, wherein the dielectric member forms a wall of the processing chamber; a primary gas supply supplying a primary gas into the chamber; a secondary gas supply supplying a secondary gas into the chamber in a zone adjacent the periphery of the substrate, the secondary gas supply injecting the secondary gas at an acute angle with respect to a plane parallel to the exposed surface of the substrate; and a radio frequency energy source which inductively couples radio frequency energy through the dielectric member and into the chamber to energize the primary gas into a high density plasma state to process the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of depositing or etching a layer on an exposed surface of a substrate comprising:
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placing the substrate on a substrate support in a processing chamber, wherein an interior surface of a dielectric member forming a wall of the process chamber faces the substrate support; supplying a primary gas into the processing chamber from a primary gas supply; supplying a secondary gas into the processing chamber from a secondary gas supply, the secondary gas being concentrated around the periphery of the substrate, the secondary gas supply injecting the secondary gas at an acute angle with respect to a plane parallel to the exposed surface of the substrate; energizing the primary gas into a high density plasma state by inductively coupling radio frequency energy produced by a radio frequency energy source through the dielectric member into the processing chamber, the primary gas being plasma phase reacted with the exposed surface of the substrate such that a layer of material is deposited or etched on the exposed surface. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification