Plasma treatment method and apparatus

• US 6,264,788 B1
• Filed: 04/21/2000
• Issued: 07/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: Nagaseki, Kazuya, Nishikawa, Hiroshi, Koshiishi, Akira, Imafuku, Kosuke, Tomoyasu, Masayuki, Sakamoto, Yoshio, Komino, Mitsuaki, Hirose, Keizo, Endo, Shosuke, Takenaka, Hiroto, Naito, Yukio, Tahara, Kazuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Mills, Gregory
• Assistant Examiner(s): HASSANZADEH, PARVIZ
• Application Number:
  US09/556,133
• Time in Patent Office: 459 Days
• Field of Search: 156/345, 118/728, 118/723.E, 118/500, 118/719, 118/724, 118/725, 118/504, 118/505, 118/506
• US Class Current: 156/345.43
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4405 Cleaning of reactor or parts inside the reactor by using reactive gases
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4407 Cleaning of reactor or reactor parts by using wet or mechanical methods
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4483 using a porous body
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4485 by evaporation without using carrier gas in contact with the source material C23C16/4486 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45565 Shower nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4557 Heated nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/5096 Flat-bed apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/517 using a combination of discharges covered by two or more of groups C23C16/503 - C23C16/515
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32082 Radio frequency generated discharge H01J37/32357, H01J37/32366, H01J37/32394 and H01J37/32403 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32146 Amplitude modulation, includes pulsing
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32155 Frequency modulation
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32165 Plural frequencies
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3244 Gas supply means
• 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 156/916 Differential etching apparatus including chamber cleaning means or shield for preventing deposits

Abstract

A plasma treatment method comprising exhausting a process chamber so as to decompress the process chamber, mounting a wafer on a suscepter, supplying a process gas to the wafer through a shower electrode, applying high frequency power, which has a first frequency f₁ lower than an inherent lower ion transit frequencies of the process gas, to the suscepter, and applying high frequency power, which has a second frequency f₂ higher than an inherent upper ion transit frequencies of the process gas, whereby a plasma is generated in the process chamber and activated species influence the water.

Claims

1. A plasma treatment apparatus for plasma-treating a substrate under a decompressed atmosphere, comprising:

a chamber;

an opening, formed in said chamber, for allowing the substrate to be conveyed into the chamber or taken out thereof;

means for exhausting the chamber of gases;

a lower electrode on which the substrate is placed;

an upper electrode located inside the chamber and facing the lower electrode;

gas supply means for supplying a treatment gas from the upper electrode toward the substrate placed on the lower electrode;

a ring member located in the chamber and detachably fitted around the lower electrode;

lift means for vertically moving the lower electrode together with the ring member; and

a baffle plate fitted around the ring member, said baffle plate being moved to a position that is higher in level than an upper end of the opening of the chamber when the ring tember is lifted by said lift means, the baffle plate at said position serving to shield a region near the opening of the chamber from a plasma generation region and also to allow reaction products which are produced by heat or plasma, to be adhered to the baffle plate, said baffle plate being also movable by said lift means to a position that is higher in level than a lower end of the opening of the chamber.

2. A plasma treatment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a shielding plate located around the baffle plate,

said shielding plate closing the opening of the chamber when the lower electrode is lifted by said lift means.

3. A plasma treatment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a shielding plate located around said baffle plate,

said shielding plate closing the opening of the chamber when the lower electrode is lifted by said lift means and the baffle plate comes to a position which is in a central region of the opening of the chamber.