Method and apparatus for determining an etch property using an endpoint signal
First Claim
1. An in-situ method of determining an etch property for etching a layer on a substrate in a plasma processing system comprising:
- providing a thickness of said layer, wherein said thickness comprises at least one of a minimum thickness, a maximum thickness, a mean thickness, and a thickness range;
etching said layer on said substrate;
measuring at least a first endpoint signal corresponding to emission from a chemical constituent whose concentration decays during endpoint and a second endpoint signal corresponding to emission from a chemical constituent whose concentration rises during endpoint using a diagnostic system coupled to said plasma processing system, wherein at least one endpoint signal comprises an endpoint transition; and
determining said etch rate from a ratio of said thickness to a difference between a time during said endpoint transition and a starting time of said etching.
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Abstract
The present invention presents a plasma processing system for etching a layer on a substrate comprising a process chamber, a diagnostic system coupled to the process chamber and configured to measure at least one endpoint signal, and a controller coupled to the diagnostic system and configured to determine in-situ at least one of an etch rate and an etch rate uniformity of the etching from the endpoint signal. Furthermore, an in-situ method of determining an etch property for etching a layer on a substrate in a plasma processing system is presented comprising the steps: providing a thickness of the layer; etching the layer on the substrate; measuring at least one endpoint signal using a diagnostic system coupled to the plasma processing system, wherein the endpoint signal comprises an endpoint transition; and determining the etch rate from a ratio of the thickness to a difference between a time during the endpoint transition and a starting time of the etching.
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21 Claims
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1. An in-situ method of determining an etch property for etching a layer on a substrate in a plasma processing system comprising:
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providing a thickness of said layer, wherein said thickness comprises at least one of a minimum thickness, a maximum thickness, a mean thickness, and a thickness range; etching said layer on said substrate; measuring at least a first endpoint signal corresponding to emission from a chemical constituent whose concentration decays during endpoint and a second endpoint signal corresponding to emission from a chemical constituent whose concentration rises during endpoint using a diagnostic system coupled to said plasma processing system, wherein at least one endpoint signal comprises an endpoint transition; and determining said etch rate from a ratio of said thickness to a difference between a time during said endpoint transition and a starting time of said etching. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification