Method and system for arc suppression in a plasma processing system
First Claim
1. A plasma processing system, comprising:
- a process reactor configured to facilitate formation of plasma; and
an arc suppression system coupled to said process reactor, said arc suppression system comprising at least one sensor configured to produce at least one signal related to said plasma; and
a controller coupled to said at least one sensor, wherein said controller is configured to determine a state of a probability of occurrence of arcing in said plasma processing system using said at least one signal and to control said plasma processing system according to said state to reduce the probability of occurrence of an arcing event.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An arc suppression system for plasma processing comprising at least one sensor coupled to the plasma processing system, and a controller coupled to the at least one sensor. The controller provides at least one algorithm for determining a state of plasma in contact with a substrate using at least one signal generated from the at least one sensor and controlling a plasma processing system in order to suppress an arcing event. When voltage differences between sensors exceed a target difference, the plasma processing system is determined to be susceptible to arcing. During this condition, an operator is notified, and decision can be made to either continue processing, modify processing, or discontinue processing.
28 Citations
64 Claims
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1. A plasma processing system, comprising:
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a process reactor configured to facilitate formation of plasma; and an arc suppression system coupled to said process reactor, said arc suppression system comprising at least one sensor configured to produce at least one signal related to said plasma; and a controller coupled to said at least one sensor, wherein said controller is configured to determine a state of a probability of occurrence of arcing in said plasma processing system using said at least one signal and to control said plasma processing system according to said state to reduce the probability of occurrence of an arcing event. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An arc suppression system comprising:
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at least one sensor configured to couple to a plasma processing system; and a controller configured to execute at least one algorithm for determining a state of a probability of occurrence of arcing in said plasma processing system using said at least one signal related to said plasma processing system and controlling said plasma processing system according to said state in order to reduce the probability of occurrence of an arcing event. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method for suppressing arcing in a plasma processing system utilizing an arc suppression system comprising at least one sensor coupled to said plasma processing system, and a controller coupled to said at least one sensor, the method comprising:
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measuring at least one signal related to said plasma processing system using said at least one sensor; determining at least one difference signal between said at least one signal and a reference signal; comparing said at least one difference signal to a target difference; determining a state of a probability of occurrence of arcing in said plasma processing system from said comparing; and controlling said plasma processing system in order to reduce the probability of occurrence of an arcing event, wherein said at least one signal is measured using at least one sensor that comprises at least one antenna embedded within at least one of a substrate holder, a chamber wall and a chamber liner. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A method for suppressing arcing in a plasma processing system utilizing an arc suppression system comprising at least one sensor coupled to said plasma processing system, and a controller coupled to said at least one sensor, the method comprising:
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measuring a first signal related to said plasma processing system using a first sensor; measuring a second signal related to said plasma processing system using a second sensor; determining a difference signal between said first signal and said second signal; comparing said difference signal to a target difference; determining a state of a probability of occurrence of arcing in said plasma processing system based on said comparing; and controlling said plasma processing system in order to reduce the probability of occurrence of an arcing event. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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60. A plasma processing system, comprising:
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a plasma reactor configured to facilitate formation of plasma; and means for arc suppression coupled to plasma reactor, said means for arc suppression comprising means for producing at least one signal related to said plasma; and
means for controlling coupled to said at least one sensor, wherein said means for controlling determines a state of a probability of occurrence of arcing in said plasma processing system using said at least one signal and controls said plasma processing system according to said state to reduce the probability of occurrence of an arcing event. - View Dependent Claims (61, 62, 63, 64)
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Specification