Wide dynamic range ion energy bias control; fast ion energy switching; ion energy control and a pulsed bias supply; and a virtual front panel

• US 9,105,447 B2
• Filed: 08/27/2013
• Issued: 08/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AES Global Holdings Pte Ltd. (Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (China))
• Original Assignee: Advanced Energy Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Brouk, Victor, Hoffman, Daniel J., Carter, Daniel, Kovalevskii, Dmitri
• Primary Examiner(s): Ahmed, Shamim
• Application Number:
  US14/011,305
• Publication Number:
  US 20140061156A1
• Time in Patent Office: 714 Days
• Field of Search: 216/59, 216/61, 438/714, 315/111.21
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/241 High voltage power supply or regulation circuits components H01J37/248
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32091 the radio frequency energy being capacitively coupled to the plasma
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32137 controlling of the discharge by modulation of energy
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32146 Amplitude modulation, includes pulsing
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32174 Circuits specially adapted for controlling the RF discharge

Abstract

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatus for operating a plasma processing chamber. In particular, a periodic voltage function combined with an ion current compensation can be provided as a bias to a substrate support as a modified periodic voltage function. This in turn effects a DC bias on the surface of the substrate that controls an ion energy of ions incident on a surface of the substrate. A peak-to-peak voltage of the periodic voltage function can control the ion energy, while the ion current compensation can control a width of an ion energy distribution function of the ions. Measuring the modified periodic voltage function can provide a means to calculate an ion current in the plasma and a sheath capacitance of the plasma sheath. The ion energy distribution function can be tailored and multiple ion energy peaks can be generated, both via control of the modified periodic voltage function.

Claims

1. A method of operating a plasma processing chamber comprising:

sustaining a plasma in contact with a substrate on a substrate support within the plasma processing chamber;

accessing an effective capacitance, C₁, of the substrate support;

providing a modified periodic voltage function to the substrate support in order to effect a potential on a surface of the substrate, the modified periodic voltage function formed from a combination of a periodic voltage function and an ion current compensation, I_C; and

calculating ion current, I_I, in the plasma as a function of measurements of the modified periodic voltage function.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the modified periodic voltage function comprises:

a rapidly increasing voltage called a first portion;

a substantially constant voltage starting at an end of the first portion and called a second portion;

a voltage step, Δ

V, below the substantially constant voltage starting at an end of the second portion and called a third portion; and

a sloped voltage starting Δ

V below the substantially constant voltage, starting at an end of the third portion, and called a fourth portion, the sloped voltage having a slope dV₀/dt controlled by the ion current compensation.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising, adjusting the ion current compensation, I_C, until the following equation is met:

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising adjusting the ion current compensation, I_C, away from the ion current, I_I, so as to increase a width of the ion energy distribution function from the minimum.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein, when the equation is met, the following equation is true:

6. The method of claim 2, wherein ion current, I_I, is calculated by:

determining a first slope, dV₀₁/dt, for a first ion current compensation, I_C1;

determining a second slope, dV₀₂/dt, for a second ion current compensation, I_C2; and

calculating the ion current, I_I, as a function of the effective capacitance, C₁, the first slope, dV₀₁/dt, the second slope, dV₀₂/dt, the first ion current compensation, I_C1, and the second ion current compensation, I_C2.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the ion current, I_I, is calculated via the following equation:

8. The method of claim 2, further comprising controlling an ion energy, eV, of ions incident on the substrate surface by controlling the voltage step, Δ

V, thereby effecting the potential on the substrate surface.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising effecting two or more ion energy distribution peaks by providing two different voltage steps, Δ

V, for two adjacent cycles of the modified periodic voltage function.

10. The method of claim 2, further comprising calculating a capacitance of the plasma sheath, C₂, in real time and noninvasively.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein C₂ is calculated as a function of ion current, I_I.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein C₂ is calculated from the following equation:

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring an ion energy, eV, of ions incident on the substrate surface as a function of the voltage step, Δ

V.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the ion energy, eV, is calculated from the voltage step, Δ

V, the effective capacitance, C₁, and the sheath capacitance, C₂, as follows;

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the modified periodic voltage function includes one or more periodically repeating fixed waveforms.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising remotely and noninvasively monitoring a density of the plasma as a function of the ion current, I_I.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising adjusting a peak-to-peak voltage of the periodic voltage function in response to the density of the plasma crossing one or more thresholds.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing includes retrieval of the effective capacitance from a memory.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the modified periodic voltage function includes a voltage step, Δ

V, followed by a sloped portion having a slope dV₀/dt.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the ion current, I_I, is a function of the voltage step, Δ

V, and the slope of the sloped portion, dV₀/dt.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the slope, dV₀/dt, is calculated using at least one voltage measurement from each of two different cycles of the modified periodic voltage function.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the voltage step, Δ

V, corresponds to an average potential on the surface of the substrate opposite the substrate support and thereby effects an average ion energy, eV, of ions incident on the substrate.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the slope of the sloped portion, dV₀/dt, is a function of the ion current compensation, I_C.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting the ion current compensation, I_C, until it equals the ion current, I_I, thus minimizing a width of an ion energy distribution function via effecting a constant potential on the surface of the substrate opposite the substrate support.

25. The method of claim 3, further comprising adjusting the ion current compensation, I_C, in order to vary the potential on the surface of the substrate opposite the substrate support, thus increasing a width of the ion energy distribution function to a desired width.