Plasma processing equipment

• US 7,930,992 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2004
• Issued: 04/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: Nozawa, Toshihisa, Ishibashi, Kiyotaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Hassanzadeh; Parvis
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dhingra; Rakesh
• Application Number:
  US10/570,631
• Publication Number:
  US 20070113788A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,426 Days
• Field of Search: 118/723.MW, 156/345.41
• US Class Current: 118/723.0MW
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32192 Microwave generated discharge H01J37/32357, H01J37/32366, H01J37/32394, H01J37/32403 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32238 Windows
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32458 Vessel

Abstract

Resonance can be surely provided under any plasma condition in such a manner that an antenna (3) is arranged in an opening of an upper part of a chamber (1) to produce an electromagnetic field generated by a microwave, a top plate (4) for sealing the opening of the chamber (1) is provided under the antenna (3), a ring-shaped ridge (41) is provided on a lower surface of the top plate (4) such that a thickness thereof in a diameter direction is tapered so as to be varied sequentially. Thus, only one kind of top plate has the same effect as a top plate having various thicknesses, so that absorption efficiency to the plasma can be considerably improved and the plasma can be generated stably over a range from a high pressure to a low pressure.

Claims

1. A plasma processing equipment comprising:

a plasma generation chamber in which a substrate to be processed is housed and plasma is generated;

an antenna arranged in an opening of an upper part of said plasma generation chamber to produce an electromagnetic field generated by a microwave; and

a top plate mounted under said antenna to seal the opening of said plasma generation chamber, wherein

said top plate comprises a concave and convex configuration having at least one tapered ring-shaped concave portion formed around the center on its lower surface,

a top of said tapered ring-shaped concave portion includes a flat portion,

said antenna comprises a slot plate in which slots are formed so as to be distributed in a predetermined pattern, and

at least one ring-shaped convex portion is formed on the lower surface of the top plate so as to extend in a position corresponding to the predetermined pattern of slots in the slot antenna.

2. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 1, wherein said top plate comprises a thin part and a thick part provided by said concave and convex configuration, and a thickness of said thin part is set to λ

/4±

λ

/8.

3. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 1, wherein said concave and convex configuration comprises a plurality of tapered ring-shaped concave portions, a first convex portion formed between said tapered ring-shaped concave portions, and a second convex portion formed outside a tapered ring-shaped concave portion at the most outer periphery.

4. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 3, wherein said second ridge is thicker than said first ridge.

5. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 1, wherein a concave portion is formed in the center of said top plate on the side of the antenna, and a material having a dielectric constant different from that of said top plate is arranged in said concave portion.

6. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 5, wherein a depth of the concave portion of said top plate on the side of the antenna is not less than λ

/8.

7. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 5, wherein a depth of the concave portion of said top plate on the side of the antenna is not less than λ

/4.

8. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 1, wherein a convex portion of said concave and convex configuration is formed in the center of said top plate on the side of said substrate to be processed, and a thickness of the top plate at the periphery of said convex portion is λ

/4±

λ

/8.

9. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 1, wherein said substrate to be processed is in the form of a disk, and

when it is assumed that a radius of said substrate to be processed is R, at least one of the convex portions or concave portions of the concave and convex configuration is formed beyond the radius R from the center of said top plate.

10. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 1, wherein when it is assumed that a distance between said top plate and said substrate to be processed is D, the at least one convex portion or the at least one concave portion of said concave and convex configuration is formed within the radius D from the center of said top plate.

11. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 1, wherein the at least one ring-shaped convex portion comprises a plurality of ring-shaped convex portions formed concentrically on the lower surface of said top plate.

12. A plasma processing equipment comprising:

a plasma generation chamber in which a substrate to be processed is housed and plasma is generated;

an antenna arranged in an opening of an upper part of said plasma generation chamber to produce an electromagnetic field generated by a microwave; and

a top plate mounted under said antenna to seal the opening of said plasma generation chamber, wherein

said top plate comprises a plurality of conical projections formed on a lower surface of said top plate and arranged in the form of a ring,

said antenna comprises a slot plate in which slots are formed so as to be distributed in a predetermined pattern, and

the conical projections are formed so as to correspond to the slots in the slot antenna.

13. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 12, wherein the conical projections are formed about a center of the lower surface of said top plate and arranged in the form of concentric rings.