Apparatus for vaporizing liquid raw material and method of cleaning CVD apparatus

• US 6,271,498 B1
• Filed: 06/22/1998
• Issued: 08/07/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nissin Electric Company Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nissin Electric Company Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Inventors: Hayashi, Tsukasa, Miyake, Koji, Kuwahara, Hajime
• Primary Examiner(s): Walberg, Teresa
• Assistant Examiner(s): VAN, QUANG T
• Application Number:
  US09/102,017
• Time in Patent Office: 1,142 Days
• Field of Search: 219/121.43, 219/121-6-1, 118/726, 118/723.VE, 118/723.E, 118/723.ER, 427/356, 438/485, 134/22.14, 134/18, 216/37, 216/74, 505/447, 392/386-406, 392/324-337, 373/11
• US Class Current: 219/121.43
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4405 Cleaning of reactor or parts inside the reactor by using reactive gases
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4481 by evaporation using carrier gas in contact with the source material C23C16/4486 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32862 In situ cleaning of vessels and/or internal parts

Abstract

A vaporizing apparatus has a vaporizing container into which a liquid raw material is introduced and which is made of metal, a heater for heating the vaporizing container to vaporize liquid introduced into the vaporizing container and a metal nozzle (an electrode) disposed in the vaporizing container in such a manner that the nozzle is electrically insulated from the vaporizing container. Moreover, the vaporizing apparatus has a cleaning-solution supply apparatus for supplying, to the inside portion of the vaporizing container, a cleaning solution for solving residues generated in the vaporizing container and a plasma generating power source for supplying high-frequency electric power to a position between the nozzle and the vaporizing container to generate plasma in the vaporizing container by using the vaporized cleaning solution.

Claims

1. A method of cleaning a CVD apparatus having a vaporizer for vaporizing a liquid raw material by applying heat and a processing chamber for forming a thin film on a substrate by a CVD method by using the raw material vaporized by said vaporizer, comprising the steps of:

introducing a cleaning solution comprising components for dissolving residues generated in said vaporizer and said processing chamber into said vaporizer and heating the cleaning solution so as to vaporize the cleaning solution while removing residues in the vaporizer; and

introducing an exhaust gas containing the components of the cleaning solution supplied from said vaporizer to the inside portion of said processing chamber so as to remove residues in said processing chamber.

2. A method of cleaning a CVD apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust gas introduced into said processing chamber is used to generate plasma when residues are removed.

3. A method of cleaning a CVD apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an inert gas composed of at least either a nitrogen gas or a rare gas is introduced into said processing chamber causing a pressure when residues are removed so that the pressure in said processing chamber is controlled.

4. A method of cleaning a CVD apparatus having a vaporizer for vaporizing a liquid raw material by applying heat and a processing chamber for forming a thin film on a substrate by a CVD method by using the raw material vaporized by said vaporizer, comprising the steps of:

introducing a cleaning solution comprising components for dissolving residues generated in said vaporizer and said processing chamber into said vaporizer in such a manner that the cleaning solution is in a vaporized state so as to remove residues in said vaporizer; and

introducing an exhaust gas containing the components of the cleaning solution supplied from said vaporizer into said processing chamber so as to remove residues in said processing chamber.

5. A method of cleaning a CVD apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said vaporizer is heated when residues are removed.

6. A method of cleaning a CVD apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the exhaust gas introduced into said processing chamber is used to generate plasma when residues are removed.

7. A method of cleaning a CVD apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an inert gas composed of at least either or a nitrogen gas or a rare gas is introduced into said processing chamber when residues are removed so that the pressure in the gas in said processing chamber is controlled.

8. An apparatus for vaporizing a liquid raw material to remove residue comprising:

a vaporizing container into which a liquid raw material is introduced and which is made of a conductive material;

a heater for heating said vaporizing container to vaporize liquid introduced into said vaporizing container;

at least one of cleaning-solution supply means and gas supply means, said cleaning-solution supply means for supplying, to the inside portion of said vaporizing container, a cleaning solution for solving residues generated in said vaporizing container, said gas supply means for supplying an inert gas composed of at least either of a nitrogen gas or rare gas to the inside portion of said vaporizing container;

electrode means disposed in said vaporizing container in such a manner that said electrode means is electrically insulated from said vaporizing container; and

a plasma generating power source for supplying high-frequency electric power or pulse voltage to a position between said electrode means and said vaporizing container to generate plasma in said vaporizing container by using the vaporized cleaning solution and/or the inert gas.

9. An apparatus for vaporizing a liquid raw material according to claim 8, wherein said cleaning-solution supply means supplies, to the inside portion of said vaporizing container, the cleaning solution in a vaporized state.

10. An apparatus for vaporizing a liquid raw material according to claim 9, further comprising a direct-current power source for applying negative direct-current bias voltage to either of said vaporizing container or said electrode means.

11. An apparatus for vaporizing a liquid raw material according to claim 10, further comprising magnetic-field forming means for forming a magnetic field which is perpendicular to an electric field generated by said plasma generating power.

12. A method of cleaning a CVD apparatus incorporating an apparatus for vaporizing a liquid raw material and a processing chamber for forming a thin film on a substrate by a CVD method by using the raw material vaporized in said vaporizing apparatus, said method comprising the steps of:

introducing an exhaust gas generated after residues in said vaporizing container have been removed by using the plasma while the inside portion of said processing chamber is vacuum-exhausted; and

generating plasma in said processing chamber by using the exhaust gas so that residues in said processing chamber are removed simultaneously with performing removal of residues in said vaporizing container.

13. A method of cleaning a CVD apparatus according to claim 12, wherein at least either of the vaporized cleaning solution for solving residues generated in said processing chamber or the inert gas is furthermore introduced into said processing chamber when plasma is generated in said processing chamber by using the exhaust gas.