Method and apparatus for controlling ion energy distribution

• US 9,287,092 B2
• Filed: 04/26/2010
• Issued: 03/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AES Global Holdings Pte Ltd. (Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (China))
• Original Assignee: Advanced Energy Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Brouk, Victor, Heckman, Randy
• Primary Examiner(s): Abraham, Ibrahime A
• Application Number:
  US12/767,775
• Publication Number:
  US 20100276273A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,150 Days
• Field of Search: 118/663, 156/345.28, 156/345.51, 156/627, 156/643, 204/192.11, 204/192.32, 204/298.04, 204/298.08, 204/298.06, 216/61, 216/67, 219/121.41, 219/121.43, 257/E21.252, 427/8
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/54 Controlling or regulating the coating process
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/509 using internal electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32009 Arrangements for generation of plasma specially adapted for examination or treatment of objects, e.g. plasma sources plasma generation in general H05H1/24
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32045 Circuits specially adapted for controlling the glow discharge
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32082 Radio frequency generated discharge H01J37/32357, H01J37/32366, H01J37/32394 and H01J37/32403 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32146 Amplitude modulation, includes pulsing
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32174 Circuits specially adapted for controlling the RF discharge
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32577 Electrical connecting means
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32706 Polarising the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32715 Workpiece holder
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32935 Monitoring and controlling tubes by information coming from the object and/or discharge
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32944 Arc detection
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3299 Feedback systems
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/01 Resonant DC/DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/158 including plural semiconductor devices as final control devices for a single load
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/4815 Resonant converters H02M7/4811 and H02M7/4826 take precedence

Abstract

Systems, methods and apparatus for regulating ion energies in a plasma chamber are disclosed. An exemplary system includes an ion-energy control portion, and the ion-energy control portion provides at least one ion-energy control signal responsive to at least one ion-energy setting that is indicative of a desired distribution of energies of ions bombarding a surface of a substrate. A controller is coupled to the switch-mode power supply, and the controller provides at least two drive-control signals. In addition, a switch-mode power supply is coupled to the substrate support, the ion-energy control portion and the controller. The switch-mode power supply includes switching components configured to apply power to the substrate responsive to the drive signals and the ion-energy control signal so as to effectuate the desired distribution of the energies of ions bombarding the surface of the substrate.

Claims

1. A system for plasma-based processing, comprising:

a plasma processing chamber configured to contain a plasma;

a substrate support positioned within the plasma processing chamber and disposed to support a dielectric or semiconductor substrate,

an ion-energy control portion, the ion-energy control portion including a controllable DC voltage source to provide a DC output voltage with a magnitude that is determined by an ion-energy control setting, wherein the magnitude of the DC output voltage of the DC voltage source establishes a corresponding single concentration of a particular ion-energy at the surface of the substrate;

a switch-mode power supply coupled to the substrate support and the ion-energy control portion, the switch-mode power supply including at least two switching components, a first of the at least two switching components switchably connects the DC output voltage to the substrate support to provide the DC output voltage as a sole source of power that establishes the particular ion-energy at the surface of the substrate, and a second of the at least two switching components switchably connects a ground potential to the substrate support, wherein the at least two switching components are arranged in a configuration selected from the group consisting of a half-bridge configuration and a full-bridge configuration;

a controller electrically coupled to each of the first and second of the at least two switching components of the switch-mode power supply by a corresponding one of a first and second drive-control-signal lines, the controller configured to provide a first and second drive-control signals, respectively, to separately open and close the first and second of the at least two switching components and control a timing of the drive-control signals to alternately switch the DC output voltage and the ground potential to the substrate support to produce a substantially constant negative voltage at the surface of the substrate between positive voltage pulses to effectuate the single concentration of desired ion energy at the surface of the substrate; and

a waveform memory, the waveform memory programmed to include timing information for the drive-control signals.

2. The system of claim 1, including a plasma power supply configured to apply power at one or more frequencies to the plasma processing chamber so as to ignite and sustain the plasma.

3. The system of claim 1, including an arc detection component, the arc detection component detecting an indication of an arc and provide an arc signal to the controller responsive to the indication of the arc.

4. A plasma-based processing apparatus, comprising:

a controllable DC voltage source to provide a DC output voltage with a magnitude that is determined by an ion-energy control setting;

at least two switching components, the at least two switching components disposed between the DC voltage source and an output that is configured to couple to a substrate holder, a first of the at least two switching components switchably connects the DC output voltage to the output to provide DC power as a sole source of power to the output, and a second of the at least two switching components switchably connects a ground potential to the output, wherein the at least two switching components are arranged in a configuration selected from the group consisting of a half-bridge configuration and a full-bridge configuration;

a controller electrically coupled to each of the first and second of the at least two switching components, the controller configured to provide a first and second separate drive-control signals, respectively, to the first and second of the at least two switching components by a corresponding one of a first and separate second drive-control-signal lines and control a timing of the drive-control signals to alternately switch the DC voltage and the ground potential to the output to generate a particular voltage waveform, which when applied to a dielectric or semiconductor substrate on the substrate holder, produces a substantially constant negative voltage at the surface of the substrate between positive voltage pulses, the substantially constant negative voltage effectuates the single concentration of desired ion energy; and

a waveform memory, the waveform memory programmed to include timing information for the drive-control signals.

5. The plasma-based processing apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least two switching components include one or more field effect transistors.

6. The plasma-based processing apparatus of claim 4, wherein the controller includes a controller selected from the group consisting of an FPGA, a digital signal processor, a digital controller, and a processor.