Monitoring substrate processing using reflected radiation
First Claim
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1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
- a chamber capable of processing a substrate;
a radiation source to provide a radiation;
a radiation polarizer adapted to polarize the radiation to one or more polarization angles that are selected in relation to an orientation of a feature being processed on the substrate;
a radiation detector to detect radiation reflected from the substrate during processing and generate a signal; and
a controller to process the signal.
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Abstract
A substrate processing apparatus 27 comprises a chamber 35 capable of processing a substrate 20, a radiation source 58 to provide a radiation, a radiation polarizer 59 adapted to polarize the radiation to one or more polarization angles that are selected in relation to an orientation 33 of a feature 25 being processed on the substrate 20, a radiation detector 54 to detect radiation reflected from the substrate 20 during processing and generate a signal, and a controller 100 to process the signal.
67 Citations
99 Claims
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1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
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a chamber capable of processing a substrate;
a radiation source to provide a radiation;
a radiation polarizer adapted to polarize the radiation to one or more polarization angles that are selected in relation to an orientation of a feature being processed on the substrate;
a radiation detector to detect radiation reflected from the substrate during processing and generate a signal; and
a controller to process the signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
the chamber comprises a substrate support, gas supply, gas energizer, and gas exhaust; and
the controller analyzes the signal to detect an attribute in the signal related to a process endpoint, the attribute comprising a valley, peak, upward slope or downward slope, in the signal; and
the controller operates one or more of the substrate support, gas supply, gas energizer, and gas exhaust, to change a process condition upon detection of the signal attribute.
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15. A method of processing a substrate in a process zone, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a substrate in the process zone;
(b) setting process conditions to process the substrate with an energized gas;
(c) providing radiation that is polarized at one or more polarization angles that are selected in relation to an orientation of a feature being processed on the substrate;
(d) detecting radiation reflected from the substrate and generating a signal in response to the detected radiation; and
(e) processing the signal. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
changing a process condition upon detection of the signal attribute.
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29. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
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a chamber capable of processing a substrate;
a radiation source to provide a radiation;
a radiation polarizer adapted to polarize the radiation to a plurality of polarization angles;
a radiation detector to detect radiation reflected from the substrate during processing and generate a signal; and
a controller to process the signal. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method of processing a substrate in a process zone, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a substrate in the process zone;
(b) setting process conditions to process a feature on the substrate with an energized gas;
(c) providing radiation that is polarized to a plurality of polarization angles;
(d) detecting radiation reflected from the substrate and generating a signal in response to the detected radiation; and
(e) processing the signal. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
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a chamber capable of processing a substrate;
a radiation source to provide a radiation;
a radiation detector to detect radiation reflected from the substrate during processing and generate a signal; and
a bandpass filter to filter the signal. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. A substrate processing method comprising:
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(a) placing a substrate in a process zone;
(b) setting process conditions of an energized gas to process the substrate;
(c) providing a source of radiation in the process zone;
(d) detecting radiation that is reflected from a substrate during processing of the substrate and generating a signal; and
(e) bandpass filtering the signal. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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76. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
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a process chamber comprising a substrate support, gas inlet, gas energizer, gas exhaust, and a wall having a recess with a window therein and a mask over the window; and
a process monitoring system capable of monitoring a process that may be conducted in the process chamber, through the window in the recess of the wall. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86)
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87. A method of processing a substrate in a chamber, the method comprising:
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placing the substrate in the chamber;
providing an energized gas in the chamber to process the substrate;
masking a window provided in a recess in a wall of the chamber; and
monitoring a process that may be conducted in the chamber through the window in the recess in the wall. - View Dependent Claims (88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94)
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95. A substrate etching method comprising:
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(a) placing a substrate in a process zone, the substrate having a first layer with an initial thickness;
(b) providing energized gas in the process zone to etch features in the first layer in the substrate, the features having a principal orientation;
(c) polarizing radiation at one or more of (i) a first polarization angle that is substantially parallel to the principal orientation of the features being etched on the substrate, and (ii) a second polarization angle that is substantially perpendicular to the principal orientation;
(d) directing the polarized radiation onto the substrate;
(e) detecting an intensity of the polarized radiation reflected from the substrate and generating a signal trace; and
(f) evaluating the signal trace to identify a feature of the signal trace that occurs when a predetermined thickness of the first layer remains on the substrate to determine an endpoint of the process. - View Dependent Claims (96, 97)
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98. A substrate etching apparatus comprising:
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(a) a chamber comprising a substrate support, gas supply, gas energizer, and gas exhaust;
the chamber capable of maintaining an energized gas therein to etch features in the substrate, the features having a principal orientation;
(b) a radiation polarizer to polarize radiation to one or more of (i) a first polarization angle that is substantially parallel to the principal orientation of the features being etched in the substrate, and (ii) a second polarization angle that is substantially perpendicular to the principal orientation;
(c) a radiation detector to detect an intensity of the polarized radiation reflected from the substrate and generate a signal trace; and
(d) a controller to evaluate the signal trace to identify a feature of the signal trace that occurs when a predetermined thickness of the first layer remains on the substrate to determine an endpoint of the process. - View Dependent Claims (99)
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Specification