Method to drive spatially separate resonant structure with spatially distinct plasma secondaries using a single generator and switching elements
First Claim
1. A plasma reactor for processing a workpiece, said plasma reactor comprising:
- an enclosure;
a workpiece support within the enclosure facing an overlying portion of the enclosure, said workpiece support and the overlying portion of said enclosure defining a process region therebetween extending generally across the diameter of said wafer support;
said enclosure having a first and second pairs of openings therethrough, the two openings of each of said first and second pairs being at generally opposite sides of said workpiece support;
a first hollow conduit outside of said process region and connected to said first pair of openings, providing a first torroidal path extending through said conduit and across said process region;
a second hollow conduit outside of said process region and connected to said second pair of openings, providing a second torroidal path extending through said conduit and across said process region;
first and second plasma source power applicators inductively coupled to the interiors of said first and second hollow conduits, respectively, each of said first and second plasma source power applicators being capable of maintaining a plasma in a respective one of said first and second torroidal paths;
an RF power generator providing an RE output current;
a current switching network connected between said RF power generator and said first and second plasma source power applicators for applying respective periodic time segments of RF output current to respective ones of said first and second plasma source power applicators.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A plasma reactor for processing a workpiece, the plasma reactor comprising an enclosure, a workpiece support within the enclosure facing an overlying portion of the enclosure, the workpiece support and the overlying portion of the enclosure defining a process region therebetween extending generally across the diameter of said wafer support, the enclosure having a first and second pairs of openings therethrough, the two openings of each of the first and second pairs being near generally opposite sides of said workpiece support, a first hollow conduit outside of the process region and connected to the first pair of openings, providing a first torroidal path extending through the conduit and across the process region, a second hollow conduit outside of the process region and connected to the second pair of openings, providing a second torroidal path extending through the conduit and across the process region, first and second plasma source power applicators inductively coupled to the interiors of the first and second hollow conduits, respectively, each of the first and second plasma source power applicators being capable of maintaining a plasma in a respective one of the first and second torroidal paths, an RF power generator providing an RF output current, a current switching network connected between the RF power generator and the first and second plasma source power applicators for applying respective periodic time segments of RF output current to respective ones of said first and second plasma source power applicators.
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Citations
49 Claims
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1. A plasma reactor for processing a workpiece, said plasma reactor comprising:
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an enclosure; a workpiece support within the enclosure facing an overlying portion of the enclosure, said workpiece support and the overlying portion of said enclosure defining a process region therebetween extending generally across the diameter of said wafer support; said enclosure having a first and second pairs of openings therethrough, the two openings of each of said first and second pairs being at generally opposite sides of said workpiece support; a first hollow conduit outside of said process region and connected to said first pair of openings, providing a first torroidal path extending through said conduit and across said process region; a second hollow conduit outside of said process region and connected to said second pair of openings, providing a second torroidal path extending through said conduit and across said process region; first and second plasma source power applicators inductively coupled to the interiors of said first and second hollow conduits, respectively, each of said first and second plasma source power applicators being capable of maintaining a plasma in a respective one of said first and second torroidal paths; an RF power generator providing an RE output current; a current switching network connected between said RF power generator and said first and second plasma source power applicators for applying respective periodic time segments of RF output current to respective ones of said first and second plasma source power applicators. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A plasma reactor for processing a workpiece, said plasma reactor comprising:
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an enclosure; a workpiece support within the enclosure facing an overlying portion of the enclosure, said workpiece support and the overlying portion of said enclosure defining a process region therebetween extending generally across the diameter of said wafer support; an array of pairs of openings through said vacuum enclosure, the two openings of each pair being at generally opposite sides of said workpiece support; an array of hollow conduits outside of said vacuum chamber, and connected to respective ones of said pairs of openings, whereby to provide respective closed torroidal paths for plasma, each of said respective closed torroidal paths extending outside of said vacuum chamber through a respective one of said array of conduits and extending inside said vacuum chamber between a respective pair of said openings through said process region; respective source power applicators near respective ones of said conduits; a source power RF generator having a cyclical current output; and a current switching network connected between said source power RF generator and each of said respective source power applicators, for dividing each cycle of said cyclical current output into respective time segments and applying said respective time segments to respective ones of said source power applicators. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A plasma reactor for processing a workpiece, said plasma reactor comprising:
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an enclosure; a workpiece support within the enclosure facing an overlying portion of the enclosure, said workpiece support and the overlying portion of said enclosure defining a process region therebetween extending generally across the diameter of said wafer support; said enclosure having at least first and second pairs of openings therethrough, the openings of each pair being at generally opposite sides of said workpiece support; at least first and second hollow conduits outside of said process region and connected between respective ones of said first and second pairs openings, providing first and second torroidal paths extending through said conduit and across said process region; respective plasma source power applicators adjacent respective ones of said conduits for maintaining a plasma in each torroidal path; a source power RF generator having a cyclical current output; and a current switching network connected between said source power RF generator and each of said respective source power applicators, for dividing each cycle of said cyclical current output into respective time segments and applying said respective time segments to respective ones of said source power applicators; wherein the height of said closed torroidal path along an axis generally perpendicular to a plane of said wafer support in a process region overlying said workpiece support is less than elsewhere in said closed torroidal path, whereby to enhance the plasma ion density in said process region relative to the plasma ion density elsewhere in said closed torroidal path. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A plasma reactor for processing a workpiece, said plasma reactor comprising:
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an enclosure; plural workpiece supports within the enclosure facing overlying portions of the enclosure, said workpiece supports and respective ones of the overlying portions of said enclosure defining respective plural process regions therebetween extending generally across the diameters of respective ones of said wafer supports; plural arrays of pairs of openings through said vacuum enclosure, each of said arrays being generally centered around a respective one of said process regions, the two openings of each pair being at generally opposite sides of the corresponding one of said plural workpiece supports; plural arrays of hollow conduits outside of said vacuum chamber, and connected to respective arrays of said pairs of openings, each array of hollow conduits providing a respective plurality of torroidal plasma current path through a corresponding one of said plural process regions; respective source power applicators near respective ones of said conduits; a source power RF generator having a cyclical current output; and a current switching network connected between said source power RF generator and each of said respective source power applicators, for dividing each cycle of said cyclical current output into respective time segments and applying said respective time segments to respective ones of said source power applicators. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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Specification