Plasma process apparatus with in situ monitoring, monitoring method, and in situ residue cleaning method

• US 6,146,492 A
• Filed: 10/14/1998
• Issued: 11/14/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Cho, Sung-bum, Choi, Baik-soon, Shin, Eun-hee, Kim, Hak-pil
• Primary Examiner(s): Mills, Gregory
• Assistant Examiner(s): HASSANZADEH, PARVIZ
• Application Number:
  US09/172,140
• Time in Patent Office: 762 Days
• Field of Search: 156/345, 118/715, 118/719, 118/728, 118/733, 118/729, 204/298.31, 204/298.32, 204/298.01, 315/111.21, 134/1.1, 134/1.2, 134/1.3
• US Class Current: 156/345.24
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32935 Monitoring and controlling tubes by information coming from the object and/or discharge
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32963 End-point detection
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 438/905 Cleaning of reaction chamber

Abstract

A plasma process apparatus having a plasma chamber with in situ monitoring, a monitoring method, and a method for in situ cleaning a plasma chamber. The apparatus includes a sampling manifold which induces flow of a sample gas from a plasma chamber through the manifold. A gas analyzer analyzes the sample gas flowing through the sampling manifold. The in situ monitoring method monitors an initial gas to establish background levels, and bakes the apparatus to reduce contaminants, if necessary. The monitoring method then monitors a process reaction and, after unloading a wafer and discharging a waste gas, monitors an in situ cleaning reaction. Monitoring involves inducing flow of a gas from the plasma chamber through the sampling manifold, and then analyzing the gas in the manifold with a gas analyzer. The cleaning method includes using a mixture of sulfur hexafluoride and chlorine to clean the plasma chamber after etching a polysilicon layer.

Claims

1. A plasma process apparatus having in situ monitoring, the apparatus comprising:

a plasma chamber;

a process gas supply in flow communication with the plasma chamber, the process gas supply supplying a process gas to the plasma chamber;

a waste gas discharge assembly in flow communication with the plasma chamber, the waste gas discharge assembly including a discharge pump and removing a waste gas resulting from a process performed in the plasma chamber;

a sampling manifold in flow communication with the plasma chamber;

a sampling pump in flow communication with the sampling manifold, wherein flow of a sample gas is induced from the plasma chamber through the sampling manifold; and

a gas analyzer in flow communication with the sampling manifold, the gas analyzer analyzing the sample gas flowing through the sampling manifold.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gas analyzer is a Residual Gas Analyzer-Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (RGA-QMS) comprising a mass spectrometer, a turbo pump, and a baking pump.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, the sampling manifold comprising a critical orifice maintaining a manifold vacuum level inside the sampling manifold greater than a chamber vacuum level inside the plasma chamber.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, the sampling manifold further comprising:

a sampling line in flow communication with the plasma chamber at a chamber end and the gas analyzer at an analyzer end; and

a first air valve, a second air valve, a first isolation valve, a second isolation valve, a third isolation valve, and a gate valve located successively in a flow path of the sampling line from the chamber end to the analyzer end.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, the sampling manifold further comprising:

a manifold pressure sensor connected to a pump joint located in the flow path of the sampling line between the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve; and

a sampling pump line providing a flow path from the pump joint to the sampling pump.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, the gas analyzer further comprising an internal sampling pump in flow communication with the sampling pump line of the sampling manifold.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, the sampling manifold further comprising:

a purge gas supply line in flow communication with a purge gas supply, the purge gas supply line supplying a purge gas to the plasma chamber;

a purge junction in flow communication with the purge gas supply line;

a third air valve located in a flow path from the purge junction to the first air valve; and

a fourth air valve located in a flow path from the purge junction to the second air valve.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein

an orifice of the first isolation valve is 100 microns,

an orifice of the second isolation valve is 100 microns, and

an orifice of the third isolation valve is 250 microns.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the sampling line is made of electro-polished stainless steel.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the gas analyzer is a Residual Gas Analyzer-Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (RGA-QMS) comprising a mass spectrometer, a turbo pump, and a baking pump, and

the internal sampling pump is in flow communication with the baking pump.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, the plasma chamber further comprising an Optical Emission Spectroscope (OES) monitoring a time-change in intensity of a set wavelength of light associated with a specific gas.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising:

a load lock chamber at a load lock vacuum level, connected to the plasma chamber; and

a pressure sensor connected to the OES monitoring changes in the chamber vacuum level and the load lock vacuum level.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, the waste gas discharge assembly further comprising a scrubber in flow communication with the discharge pump and the gas analyzer, the scrubber cleaning the waste gas passing out of the discharge pump and cleaning an analyzed gas passing out of the gas analyzer.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the plasma chamber is a chamber in which a storage polysilicon electrode of a semiconductor capacitor is plasma etched.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the process gas includes a mixture of sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) gas and chlorine (Cl₂) gas.

16. A plasma process apparatus comprising:

a plasma chamber;

a gas supply section supplying a process gas and a purge gas to said plasma chamber;

a sampling manifold in flow communication with said plasma chamber, said sampling manifold being maintained at a manifold pressure different than a chamber pressure of said plasma chamber;

a gas analyzer in flow communication with said sampling manifold; and

a sampling pump coupled to said gas analyzer, said sampling pump inducing flow of a sample gas from said plasma chamber through said sampling manifold to said gas analyzer,

said gas analyzer analyzing the purge gas supplied to said plasma chamber, and the process gas as mixed with a reaction gas generated during processing in said plasma chamber, as respective different samples.

17. The plasma process apparatus of claim 16, wherein said gas supply section also supplies the purge gas directly to said sampling manifold.

18. The plasma process apparatus of claim 17, wherein said gas supply section supplies the purge gas directly to said sampling manifold when said gas analyzer is not analyzing samples from said plasma chamber.

19. The plasma process apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

a discharge pump discharging from said plasma chamber waste gas generated during processing; and

a scrubber coupled to said discharge pump and said sampling pump, said scrubber cleaning the discharged waste gas provided by said discharge pump and the flow of sample gas induced through said gas analyzer by said sampling pump.

20. The plasma process apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

an optical emission spectroscope monitoring a time-change in intensity of a set wavelength of light associated with a specific gas within said plasma chamber;

a load lock chamber connected to said plasma chamber; and

a pressure sensor coupled to said optical emission spectroscope, said pressure sensor monitoring changes in a vacuum level of said plasma chamber and a vacuum level or said load lock chamber.

21. The plasma process apparatus of claim 16, wherein said gas analyzer further comprises a baking pump, said plasma chamber and said sampling manifold being baked at respectively different temperatures to minimize contamination levels.

22. The plasma process apparatus of claim 16, wherein said gas analyzer is a residual gas analyzer-quadrupole mass spectrometer.

23. The plasma process apparatus of claim 16, wherein the manifold pressure is maintained lower than the chamber pressure.