Apparatus for treating the surface with neutral particle beams

• US 6,935,269 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2001
• Issued: 08/30/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hag-Joo Lee, SEM Technology Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Hag-Joo Lee, SEM Technology Company Limited
• Inventors: Lee, Bong-Ju, Yoo, Suk-Jae
• Primary Examiner(s): Hassanzadeh, Parviz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Moore, Karla
• Application Number:
  US10/258,775
• Publication Number:
  US 20030168011A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,585 Days
• Field of Search: 156/345.48, 156/345.37, 118/723.AN, 118/723.I, 118/724
• US Class Current: 118/723.00I
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32357 Generation remote from the workpiece, e.g. down-stream

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for treating the surface with neutral particle beams comprising an antenna container, a plasma generating part, a neutral particle beam generating part and a treating part, wherein the antenna container comprises antennas connected to high frequency electric power supply through which high frequency electric power supplies, the plasma generating part transfers gases from a gas injector into plasmas with the supplied power, the neutral particle beam generating part reverts the obtained plasmas to neutral particle beams via the collision thereof with metal plates, and the treating part treats the surface of a target with the neutral particle beams.

Claims

1. An apparatus for treating the surface with neutral particle beams, comprising:

a) an antenna container which comprises an antenna supporting panel by which antennas connected to a high frequency power supply through a RF feed-through are supported, an air inlet port, an air outlet port, an air inlet valve and an air outlet valve;

b) a plasma generating part which comprises a gas inlet valve and a gas outlet valve regulating the inner pressure thereof, a gas inlet port and a gas outlet port, and which transfers a gas introduced through the gas inlet port into plasma ions with high frequency power supplied from the high frequency power supply;

c) a neutral particle generating part located below the plasma generating part, which comprises at least one metal plate having multiple penetrating holes therein and comprised of or coated with a metal whose atoms are substantially heavier than the atoms of the gas introduced into the plasma generating part, and which transfers the plasma ions generated in the plasma generating part into neutral particle beams by the collision of the plasma ions with the metal plate; and

,

d) a treating part below the neutral particle generator, which comprises a target holder to load a target to be treated and an exhaust pipe, and into which the target is treated with the neutral particles generated in the neutral particle generating part,

wherein, the antenna container and the plasma generating part are interconnected by outer vacuum induction units comprised of the air outlet port, the air outlet valve, the gas outlet port and the gas outlet valve such that the deterioration of the antennas by plasma is prevented.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a means for maintaining the antenna container at a predetermined reduced pressure.

3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the neutral particle generating part further comprises a deflecting device that deflects the progressing direction of the plasma ions such that the collision of the plasma ions with metal panel is increased.

4. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the treating part further comprises a deflecting device that deflects the progressing direction of the plasma ions such that the plasma ions are not reached to the surface of a target to be treated.

5. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein a bias voltage is applied to the neutral particle generating part to accelerate the plasma ions generated in the plasma generating part.

6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the neutral particle generating part comprises two or more metal plates in which the first metal plate is located next to the plasma generating part and the others are located below the first metal plate.

7. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the metal comprised of the metal plate is selected from the group consisting of tantalum, molybdenum, tungsten, gold, platinum and alloy thereof.

8. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the size of the penetrating hole formed on the first metal plate is smaller than that of the hole formed on the second metal plate.

9. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the inner cross section of the plasma generating part is a substantially cylindrical shape, the ratio of the diameter of the plasma generating part to the height is no less than 4.

10. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the gas introduced in the plasma generating part is selected from the group consisting of argon, oxygen, fluorine-containing gas, hydrogen peroxide and mixture thereof.

11. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the target holder to load a target is rotating.