Processing device, electrode, electrode plate, and processing method

• US 8,038,835 B2
• Filed: 04/05/2010
• Issued: 10/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: Urakawa, Masafumi, Yatsuda, Kouichi, Hayashi, Kazuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Kackar; Ram N.
• Application Number:
  US12/754,372
• Publication Number:
  US 20100230386A1
• Time in Patent Office: 561 Days
• Field of Search: 118/715, 156/345.33, 156/345.34
• US Class Current: 156/345.34
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3244 Gas supply means

Abstract

A processing gas fed from a gas feed pipe (8) through a gas introducing port (9) flows first into an outer annular gas flow channel (20a), where it is circumferentially diffused, and then into an inner annular gas flow channel (20b) via a passageway (23), and from this inner annular gas flow channel (20b) it flows into a gas diffusion gap (7) in the back surface of a shower head (6) via a gas feed hole 25. Thereafter, the processing gas is diffused in the gas diffusion gap (7) and delivered from gas delivery holes (5) to a semiconductor wafer (W). This makes it possible to improve the uniformity of in-plane process, as compared with the prior art, and to make a uniform process.

Claims

1. A processing device comprising:

a processing room for accommodating a substrate to be processed to perform a predetermined process, the processing room comprising a cylindrical vacuum chamber and a disk-shaped cover arranged to close the cylindrical vacuum chamber;

a placing table provided in the processing room, the substrate to be processed being placed on the placing table;

a gas introducing port to which a gas feed pipe is connected;

a shower head provided in the cylindrical vacuum chamber below the disk-shaped cover and above the placing table to be opposed to a placing face of the placing table, the shower head comprising an electrode supporting body having a first plurality of gas delivery holes and an electrode plate having a second plurality of gas delivery holes corresponding to the first plurality of gas delivery holes, the electrode plate being replaceably coupled to a side of the electrode supporting body which is opposed to the placing face of the placing table such that the electrode plate is opposed to the placing face and the first plurality of gas delivery holes are aligned with the second plurality of gas delivery holes;

a gas diffusion gap, provided on an opposite side of the shower head to the electrode plate, for diffusing a processing gas and delivering the processing gas into the processing room via the gas delivery holes;

a light transmitting window provided to be located at a center of the shower head, the light transmitting window comprising a first window coupled to a center area of the disk shaped cover, and a second window coupled to a center area of the electrode supporting body, the second window including gas delivery holes consistent with holes in the electrode plate;

a detection mechanism for optically detecting a processed state of the substrate to be processed, the detection mechanism being arranged outside the processing room and in optical line of sight of the substrate via the light transmitting window;

an annular gas flow channel, formed to be annular with its center located on an axis that is perpendicular to an upper surface of the placing table and which passes through the light transmitting window, the annular gas flow channel being built in the disk shaped cover with the gas diffusion gap interposed between the annular gas flow channel and the shower head such that the annular gas flow channel diffusing the processing gas introduced from the gas introducing port and then supplying the processing gas to the gas diffusion gap; and

an annular baffle plate provided on a side surface of the annular gas flow channel that is closer to the gas diffusion gap, the annular baffle plate having a plurality of gas feed holes, wherein;

each of the first and second plurality of the gas feed holes are staggered in two circumferential paths,

the annular gas flow channel comprises an outer annular gas flow channel and an inner annular gas flow channel that is in communication with the outer annular gas flow channel, the outer and inner annular gas flow channel being separated by an annular convex portion projecting downward from a ceiling of the annular gas channel toward the baffle plate, and

the gas introducing port is connected to one of the outer annular gas flow channel and the inner annular gas flow channel, and the gas feed holes are provided in a region of the annular baffle plate that corresponds to the other of the outer annular gas flow channel and the inner annular gas flow channel.

2. The processing device according to claim 1, wherein the light transmitting window comprises gas delivery holes.

3. The processing device according to claim 2, wherein

the gas delivery holes provided in the light transmitting window are formed with a diameter and a pitch that are the same as those of the gas delivery holes provided in the shower head.

4. The processing device according to claim 2, wherein

the processing device is configured to perform the process on the substrate to be processed while an arranged direction of the gas delivery holes provided in the light transmitting window is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to an arranged direction of semiconductor chips formed on the substrate to be processed.