Ion source apparatus and cleaning optimized method thereof

• US 7,947,129 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2004
• Issued: 05/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sen Corporation (Sumitomo Heavy Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Sen Corporation (Sumitomo Heavy Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Murata, Hirohiko, Sato, Masateru
• Primary Examiner(s): CARRILLO, BIBI SHARIDAN
• Application Number:
  US10/861,758
• Publication Number:
  US 20050016838A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,545 Days
• Field of Search: 118/723.FE, 118/723.FI, 250/492.21, 134/1, 134/1.1, 134/2, 134/18, 134/34, 134/37, 134/42
• US Class Current: 134/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2209/017 Cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/022 Avoiding or removing foreign or contaminating particles, debris or deposits on sample or tube
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 27/16 using high-frequency excitation, e.g. microwave excitation
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/08 Ion sources; Ion guns

Abstract

An ion source apparatus includes a rare gas supply source supplying rare gas instead of ion source gas to a plasma chamber, means to determine time and timing for cleaning electrodes in consideration of a collecting amount of insulation layers accreting to the electrodes of an extraction electrode system. Based on the above, the ion source apparatus removes the insulation layers by sputtering with ion beam of the rare gas while adjusting extraction or accelerate voltage and supply amount of the rare gas as a setting parameter. Moreover, by adjusting the setting parameter which changes a diameter of ion beam based on the rare gas when the ion beam collides onto each electrode surface of the extraction electrode system, the beam diameter is focused within an effective range in which intension of the sputtering of the insulation layers is maximized thus evenly removing the insulation layers.

Claims

1. A cleaning optimized method for use with an ion source apparatus in which a plasma is formed by supplying an implantation ion source gas to a plasma chamber, and ion beams extracted from the plasma pass through an extraction electrode system comprising a plurality of electrodes for creating an electric field to which ion source materials from the ion beam accrete to form an insulation layer of ion source material,

wherein the method comprising the steps of:

supplying a rare gas instead of the ion source gas to the plasma chamber thus forming plasma based on the rare gas and extracting a rare gas ion beam from the plasma based on the rare gas; and

changing a beam diameter of the rare gas ion beam colliding onto the insulation layer by adjusting an extraction voltage of the extraction electrode system or adjusting a supply amount of the rare gas to maximize removal of the insulation layer of the ion source material on the extraction electrode system as the rare gas ion beam collides with the insulation layer on the extraction electrode system.

2. The cleaning optimized method according to claim 1, wherein the rare gas is a mixture of H₂ gas and Ar gas and a mixing ratio of Ar gas and H₂ gas is obtained by diluting Ar gas with H₂ gas of approximately 10% to 90% by volume.

3. A cleaning optimized method for use with an ion source apparatus in which a plasma is formed by supplying an implantation ion source gas to a plasma chamber, and ion beams extracted from the plasma pass through an extraction electrode system comprising a plurality of electrodes for creating an electric field to which ion source materials from the ion beam accrete to form an insulation layer of ion source material,

wherein the method comprising steps of:

supplying a rare gas instead of the ion source gas to the plasma chamber thus forming plasma based on the rare gas and extracting a rare gas ion beam from the plasma based on the rare gas;

adjusting an extraction voltage of the extraction electrode system at a given value or adjusting a supply amount of the rare gas at a given value to adjust a diameter of the rare gas ion beam to control sputtering of the insulation layer as the rare gas ion beam collides with the insulation layer adhering to the plurality of electrodes of said extraction electrode system.

4. A method for cleaning an ion source apparatus in which a plasma is formed by supplying an implantation ion source gas to a plasma chamber, and ion beams are extracted from the plasma chamber through an extraction electrode system comprising a plurality of electrodes by means of an electric field, an optimized cleaning method for removing deposited insulation layers produced by ions from the implantation ion source gas accreting to and collecting over an electrode surface of the extraction electrode system comprising the steps of:

supplying a rare gas instead of the implantation ion source gas to the plasma chamber to form a plasma based on the rare gas, and extracting a rare gas ion beam from the plasma chamber causing ions in the rare gas ion beam to collide with the electrode surface of the extraction electrode system and sputter etch the electrode surface of the extraction electrode system; and

changing a beam diameter of the rare gas ion beam by adjusting a plasma generating parameter of the rare gas supplied to the plasma chamber and/or adjusting an extraction voltage of the extraction electrode system to control a sputtering rate of the rare gas ion beam and maximize sputtering and removing of the deposited insulation layers from the electrode surface of the extraction electrode system.

5. The cleaning optimized method according to claim 4, wherein the plasma generating parameter for changing the beam diameter of the rare gas'"'"'s ion beam includes adjustment of supplied high-frequency power (w) of an antenna within the plasma chamber and adding hydrogen gas to the rare gas to dilute the rare gas and thereby adjust a mixing ratio of hydrogen gas to the rare gas.

6. The cleaning optimized method according to claim 4, wherein a cleaning time period is determined according to a previously observed elapsed time period of a previous ion implantation and a predicted collecting amount of insulation layers or a predicted thickness of insulation layers accreting on the electrode surface observed during the previous ion implantation.

7. The cleaning optimized method according to claim 4, wherein He, Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe gas, or a mixture of H₂ and Ar gas, are used as the rare gas.

8. The cleaning optimized method according claim 4, wherein the extraction electrode system includes a plasma electrode, extraction electrode, suppression electrode and ground electrode, in which cleaning with the rare gas'"'"'s ion beam'"'"'s sputtering is determined by adjusting an applied voltage of the plasma electrode and the extraction electrode, and cleaning is performed on the electrode surface of the extraction electrode system and additionally on interior walls of the plasma chamber.

9. The cleaning optimized method according to claim 4, additionally comprising performing ion implantation using the implantation ion source gas and creating a table by measuring a time period of ion implantation and measuring an amount of deposited insulation layers, and tabulating a cleaning time period with the amount of deposited insulation layers and determining an appropriate time to supply the rare gas to the plasma chamber from a rare gas supply source.