Mixed mode pulsing etching in plasma processing systems
First Claim
1. A plasma processing system for processing a substrate using mixed-mode pulsing, the plasma processing system comprising:
- a substrate;
a plasma processing chamber for processing the substrate;
a work piece holder within an interior region of the plasma processing chamber;
at least one plasma generating source;
at least one reactive gas source for providing at least a first reactive gas into the interior region of the plasma processing chamber;
at least one non-reactive gas source for providing at least a first non-reactive gas into the interior region of the plasma processing chamber; and
a tangible computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions for;
(a) disposing the substrate on the work piece holder within the interior region;
(b) performing a mixed-mode pulsing (MMP) preparation phase, including flowing the first reactive gas into the interior region,exciting the first reactive gas with a first RF signal having a first RF frequency, the first RF signal representing an RF signal having chirped frequencies, andforming a first plasma with at least the first reactive gas to process the substrate with the first plasma;
(c) performing a mixed mode pulsing (MMP) reactive phase, including flowing at least the first non-reactive gas into the interior region, andforming a second plasma with at least the first non-reactive gas to process the substrate with the second plasma, wherein the second plasma is formed with a flow of the first reactive gas during the MMP reactive phase that is less than a flow of the first reactive gas during the MMP preparation phase; and
(d) repeating steps (b) and (c) for a plurality of times.
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Abstract
A method for processing substrate in a chamber, which has at least one plasma generating source, a reactive gas source for providing reactive gas into the interior region of the chamber, and a non-reactive gas source for providing non-reactive gas into the interior region, is provided. The method includes performing a mixed-mode pulsing (MMP) preparation phase, including flowing reactive gas into the interior region and forming a first plasma to process the substrate that is disposed on a work piece holder. The method further includes performing a MMP reactive phase, including flowing at least non-reactive gas into the interior region, and forming a second plasma to process the substrate, the second plasma is formed with a reactive gas flow during the MMP reactive phase that is less than a reactive gas flow during the MMP preparation phase. Perform the method steps a plurality of times.
22 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A plasma processing system for processing a substrate using mixed-mode pulsing, the plasma processing system comprising:
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a substrate; a plasma processing chamber for processing the substrate; a work piece holder within an interior region of the plasma processing chamber; at least one plasma generating source; at least one reactive gas source for providing at least a first reactive gas into the interior region of the plasma processing chamber; at least one non-reactive gas source for providing at least a first non-reactive gas into the interior region of the plasma processing chamber; and a tangible computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions for; (a) disposing the substrate on the work piece holder within the interior region; (b) performing a mixed-mode pulsing (MMP) preparation phase, including flowing the first reactive gas into the interior region, exciting the first reactive gas with a first RF signal having a first RF frequency, the first RF signal representing an RF signal having chirped frequencies, and forming a first plasma with at least the first reactive gas to process the substrate with the first plasma; (c) performing a mixed mode pulsing (MMP) reactive phase, including flowing at least the first non-reactive gas into the interior region, and forming a second plasma with at least the first non-reactive gas to process the substrate with the second plasma, wherein the second plasma is formed with a flow of the first reactive gas during the MMP reactive phase that is less than a flow of the first reactive gas during the MMP preparation phase; and (d) repeating steps (b) and (c) for a plurality of times. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A plasma processing system for processing a substrate using mixed-mode pulsing, the plasma processing system comprising:
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a substrate; a plasma processing chamber for processing the substrate; a work piece holder within an interior region of the plasma processing chamber; at least one plasma generating source; at least one reactive gas source for providing at least a first reactive gas into the interior region of the plasma processing chamber; at least one non-reactive gas source for providing at least a first non-reactive gas into the interior region of the plasma processing chamber; and a tangible computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions for; (a) disposing the substrate on a work piece holder within the interior region; (b) performing a mixed-mode pulsing (MMP) preparation phase, including flowing the first reactive gas into the interior region, and forming a first plasma with at least the first reactive gas to process the substrate with the first plasma; (c) performing a mixed mode pulsing (MMP) reactive phase, including flowing at least the first non-reactive gas into the interior region, and forming a second plasma with at least the first non-reactive gas to process the substrate with the second plasma, wherein the second plasma is formed with a flow of the first reactive gas during the MMP reactive phase that is less than a flow of the first reactive gas during the MMP preparation phase, wherein the plasma processing chamber is configured during the MMP reactive phase to generate non-reactive ions having a level of ion energy that is higher than required to etch an adsorbed layer on a surface of the substrate but insufficient to etch a non-adsorbed layer of the substrate, the adsorbed layer formed during the MMP preparation phase; and (d) repeating steps (b) and (c) for a plurality of times. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A plasma processing system for processing a substrate using mixed-mode pulsing, the plasma processing system comprising:
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a substrate; a plasma processing chamber for processing the substrate; a work piece holder within an interior region of the plasma processing chamber; at least one reactive gas source for providing at least a first reactive gas into the interior region of the plasma processing chamber; at least one non-reactive gas source for providing at least a first non-reactive gas into the interior region of the plasma processing chamber; at least one gas pulsing valve for flowing a first reactive gas into the interior region during a mixed-mode pulsing (MMP) preparation phase; at least one gas pulsing valve for flowing a first non-reactive gas into the interior region during a mixed-mode pulsing (MMP) reactive phase; and
,at least one plasma generating source comprising a pulse-capable RF power supply; and
,a tangible computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions for; (a) flowing the first reactive gas during the MMP reactive phase at a flow rate that is less than the flow rate of the first reactive gas during the MMP preparation phase; and
,(b) for supplying an RF signal having chirped frequencies to excite the first reactive gas during the MMP preparation phase. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification