Apparatus and method for monitoring processing of a substrate
First Claim
1. A method of etching a substrate in a process chamber comprising a wall, the method comprising:
- providing a substrate in the process chamber, the substrate having a surface;
introducing an etching gas into the process chamber;
applying an RF current through a multi-turn antenna covering a top surface of the chamber wall to pass RF energy through the chamber wall to the etching gas inside the process chamber to energize the etching gas to etch trenches in the substrate;
detecting radiation reflected from the substrate from directly above the surface of the substrate after the radiation propagates through the chamber wall; and
evaluating the detected radiation to monitor the depth of a layer being etched on the substrate.
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Abstract
Apparatus for in-situ monitoring of a process in a semiconductor wafer processing system consists of a process chamber having a dome, an enclosure disposed above the chamber, a process monitoring assembly positioned proximate the dome, an opening in the dome, and a window covering the opening. A portion of the apparatus supports the process monitoring assembly to establish a line-of-sight propagation path of monitoring beams from above the dome, through the window to the substrate to facilitate etch depth measurement without encountering interference from high power energy sources proximate the chamber. A method of fabricating a process monitoring apparatus consists of the steps of boring an opening into a dome, positioning the process monitoring assembly in proximity to the dome so as to allow a line-of-sight propagation path of monitoring beams from the process monitoring assembly to a wafer, and covering the opening with a window. The window is permanent or removable dependent upon the type of process monitoring assembly being used in the system.
53 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of etching a substrate in a process chamber comprising a wall, the method comprising:
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providing a substrate in the process chamber, the substrate having a surface; introducing an etching gas into the process chamber; applying an RF current through a multi-turn antenna covering a top surface of the chamber wall to pass RF energy through the chamber wall to the etching gas inside the process chamber to energize the etching gas to etch trenches in the substrate; detecting radiation reflected from the substrate from directly above the surface of the substrate after the radiation propagates through the chamber wall; and evaluating the detected radiation to monitor the depth of a layer being etched on the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of etching a substrate in a process chamber, the process chamber comprising a wall and having a non-vertical multi-turn antenna above the wall, the method comprising:
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placing in the process chamber, a substrate having a layer; introducing an etching gas into the process chamber; powering the non-vertical multi-turn antenna covering a top surface of the chamber wall to couple energy through the wall to the etching gas inside the process chamber to energize the etching gas to etch the layer on the substrate; detecting radiation reflected from the substrate from directly above the surface of the substrate after the radiation propagates through the wall; and evaluating the detected radiation to monitor the depth of the layer being etched on the substrate.
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25. A method of etching a substrate in a process chamber, the process chamber comprising a ceiling and a multi-turn antenna above the ceiling, the method comprising:
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providing a substrate in the process chamber, the substrate having a surface; introducing an etching gas into the process chamber; applying an RF current to the multi-turn antenna to pass RF energy through the ceiling of the process chamber to the etching gas inside the process chamber to energize the etching gas; detecting radiation reflected from the substrate from directly above the surface of the substrate after the radiation propagates through the ceiling; and evaluating the detected radiation to monitor etching of the substrate.
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Specification