Plasma processing equipment

• US 7,430,985 B2
• Filed: 01/27/2003
• Issued: 10/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: Kasai, Shigeru
• Primary Examiner(s): Hassanzadeh; Parviz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dhingra; Rakesh K
• Application Number:
  US10/502,807
• Publication Number:
  US 20050082004A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,080 Days
• Field of Search: 118/723.MW, 118/723.MA, 118/723.MR, 156/345.36, 156/345.41
• US Class Current: 118/723.0MW
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32192 Microwave generated discharge H01J37/32357, H01J37/32366, H01J37/32394, H01J37/32403 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/06 Coaxial lines
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/40 Radiating elements coated with or embedded in protective material
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/526 Electromagnetic shields
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0407 Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna dipole H01Q9/285; monopole H01Q9/40

Abstract

Plasma processing equipment capable of increasing the heat resistance of a wave guide by using a high dielectric material, comprising a processing container 44 formed to allow vacuuming, a loading table 46 installed in the processing container for placing a processed body W thereon, a microwave transmission plate 72 installed in an opening part at the ceiling of the processing container, a flat antenna member 76 for feeding microwave into the processing container through the microwave transmission plate, a shield cover body 80 earthed so as to cover the upper part of the flat antenna member, and a waveguide 90 for feeding the microwave from a microwave generating source to the flat antenna member, characterized in that the waveguide is formed of a high dielectric waveguide 94 using the high dielectric material, whereby the heat resistance of the waveguide can be increased.

Claims

1. A plasma processing equipment comprising:

an evacuatable processing container;

a loading table, installed in the processing container, for loading thereon an object to be processed;

a microwave transmission plate provided in an opening of a ceiling of the processing container;

a flat antenna member for supplying microwaves into the processing container via the microwave transmission plate;

a grounded shield cover body covering an upper side of the flat antenna member; and

a waveguide for supplying the microwaves from a microwave generating source to the flat antenna member,

wherein at least a part of the waveguide comprises a coaxial waveguide including a tube-shaped waveguide main body of an outer side and a guide axis that penetrates a central portion of the waveguide main body, and

wherein at least one of the waveguide main body and the guide axis includes, along its longitudinal axis, a high dielectric portion formed of a high dielectric material and a conductor portion formed of a conductor material such that the conductor portion and the high dielectric portion have the same diameter, and the high dielectric material has a relative dielectric constant of 100 or greater.

2. The equipment of claim 1, wherein a mode converter is interposed in the waveguide, and the coaxial waveguide is employed between the mode converter and the flat antenna member.

3. The equipment of claim 1, wherein the high dielectric material has a relative dielectric constant greater than or equal to 1000.

4. The equipment of claim 1, wherein the high dielectric material includes one or more materials selected from the group consisting of PZT (complex materials containing Pb, Zr, Ti and O), BST (complex materials containing Ba, Sr, Ti and O) and SBT (complex materials containing Sr, Bi, Ta and O).

5. The equipment of claim 1, wherein the flat antenna member is provided with microwave radiation holes formed of through holes arranged in a concentric or a spiral shape.

6. The equipment of claim 1, wherein the flat antenna member is provided with plural pairs of radiation holes formed in a concentric or a spiral shape, each pair of radiation holes being of two adjacent microwave radiation holes formed of through holes disposed in directions differing from each other by about 90 degrees.

7. The equipment of claim 1, wherein the waveguide is provided with a slug matcher using a dielectric material.

8. The equipment of claim 7, wherein the slug matcher is disposed close to the flat antenna member.

9. The equipment of claim 7, wherein the slug matcher includes two matching members which are made of a dielectric material and are appropriately spaced apart from each other along a propagation direction of the microwave, wherein the two matching members are capable of being moved as a unit.

10. The equipment of claim 9, wherein the two matching members are capable of being individually moved along the propagation direction of the microwave.

11. The equipment of claim 7, wherein the microwave is propagated in a vibration mode of a TEM mode from the microwave generating source.

12. The equipment of claim 7, wherein a mode converter is interposed in the waveguide, and the slug matcher is installed at a portion of the waveguide connecting the mode converter and the flat antenna member.

13. The equipment of claim 1, wherein there is a space between the guide axis and the tube-shaped waveguide main body through which the microwaves travel and the space is hollow and annular shaped.

14. The equipment of claim 13, wherein the space extends along the guide axis from a mode converter to a delay member disposed above the flat antenna member.

15. The equipment of claim 1, wherein the microwaves create an electric field of higher intensity in the space than inside the guide axis.

16. The equipment of claim 1, wherein the conductor portion includes a upper part and a lower part and the high dielectric portion is interposed between the upper and the lower part.

17. The equipment of claim 1, wherein the waveguide main body includes the high dielectric portion and the conductor portion, and the guide axis is entirely formed of the conductor material.

18. The equipment of claim 1, wherein the guide axis includes the high dielectric portion and the conductor portion, and the waveguide main body is entirely formed of the conductor material.

19. The equipment of claim 1, wherein each of the waveguide main body and the guide axis includes the high dielectric portion and the conductor portion.