Patent EP0489407A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0489407A2
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Plasma reactor using UHF/VHF resonant antenna source, and processes
Assignee: Applied Materials Inc
•
Filing: 1991-12-03
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2011-12-03
Abstract
Abstract A plasma reactor (10) uses a ring antenna (25) driven by RF energy (HF, VHF, or UHF) and produces a circularly polarized electromagnetic wave inside the ring. Inside the ring, this wave has a transverse circular electric field and a longitudinal magnetic field. A static magnetic field may be used with the E/M field (typically with direction perpendicular to the wave's electric field component). Placed adjacent to a dielectric window, dome, or bell jar (17), the above apparatus generates a high density, low energy plasma inside a vacuum chamber for etching metals, dielectrics and semiconductor materials (5). When operated at resonance (antenna (25) tuned to resonance with excitation frequency, and magnetic field tuned to resonance with excitation frequency), plasma density may be maximized. Auxiliary bias energy applied to the wafer support cathode (32C) controls the cathode sheath voltage and controls the ion energy independent of density. Various etch processes, deposition processes and combined etch/deposition processes (for example, sputter/facet deposition) are disclosed. Processing of sensitive devices without damage and without microloading can thus be achieved providing high yields.
Inventors
- 👤 Kenneth S. Collins
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 15:43
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01J; H01J37/00; H01J37/32; H01J37/32009; H01J37/32192; H01J37/32211; H01J37/3222; H01J37/32082; H01J37/32091; H01J37/321; H01J37/3211; H01J37/32293; H01J37/32431; H01J37/3266; H01J37/32697; H01J37/32706
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 100
Claim 1
Independent Claim
36 words
A process for forming a plasma, comprising: supplying gas to a vacuum chamber while applying elliptically polarized high frequency electromagnetic energy to the chamber to generate a plasma from the gas for fabricating a selected material.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
64 words
A process for generating a plasma, especially according to claim 1, comprising supporting an object on an electrode within a vacuum chamber; supplying gas to the vacuum chamber; using a substantially closed loop antenna adjacent to the chamber, generating high frequency electromagnetic energy; and coupling the electromagnetic energy into the chamber thereby generating a plasma for fabricating one or more materials on the object.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
38 words
The process of claim 1 or 2, the direct electric field component of the electromagnetic energy being shielded from the chamber and the magnetic component of the electromagnetic energy being coupled into the chamber for generating the plasma.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
The process of one of the preceding claims, the magnetic component of the electromagnetic energy being coupled into the chamber, for inducing elliptical electric fields to generate the plasma.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
13 words
The process of claim 4, wherein the coupled component induces circular electric fields.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
The process of one of the preceding claims, further comprising applying AC energy of selected frequency to the electrode for controlling cathode sheath voltage.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
20 words
The process of claim 6, further comprising varying the power delivered to said electrode for maintaining selected cathode sheath voltage.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
57 words
The process of claim 5 or 6, whereby high ion flux is produced at low ion energy independently of cathode sheath voltage and wherein the power delivered to the antenna defines ion flux density and the power delivered to the electrode defines cathode sheath voltage, for directing ions and controlling ion energy independently of ion flux density.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
21 words
The process of one of the preceding claims, wherein the gas comprises an etchant gas and the plasma produces etchant species.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
21 words
The process of one of the preceding claims, wherein the gas comprises a deposition gas and the plasma produces deposition species.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
31 words
The process of claim 9 or 10, further comprising controlling the antenna power and the bias power delivered to the electrode for selectively effecting anisotropic, semi-anisotropic and isotropic etching and/or deposition.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
34 words
The process of one of claims 2 to 11, wherein the object is a semiconductor wafer and the plasma is generated from the gas for fabricating one or more materials on the semiconductor wafer.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
13 words
The process of claim 12, wherein fabricating comprises etching one or more materials.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
13 words
The process of claim 12, wherein fabricating comprises depositing one or more materials.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
18 words
The process of claim 12, wherein fabricating comprises separately or simultaneously depositing and etching one or more materials.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
The process of one of the preceding claims, further comprising applying bias energy to the wafer support electrode to control the wafer sheath voltage.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
15 words
The process of one of the preceding claims, wherein the material is oxide or polysilicon.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
26 words
The process of one of claims 2 to 17, comprising etching, preferably isotropically etching, a layer of oxide by applying high frequency power to the antenna.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
34 words
The process of one of claims 2 to 18, comprising etching a layer of oxide by applying relatively high frequency power to the antenna and relatively lower frequency power to the wafer support electrode.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
13 words
The process of claim 19, whereby the layer of oxide is anisotropically etched.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
67 words
The process of claim 16, wherein the material etched is oxide formed on poly, comprising applying antenna power of 300 to 5000 watts at 50 to 800 MHz; bias power of 100 to 1000 watts; gas chemistry and the combination comprising one or more of fluorine-, carbon- and hydrogen-containing gas and comprising fluorine-, carbon- and hydrogen-containing gas and inert gas; and pressure less than about 500 millitorr*.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
82 words
The process of claim 16, wherein the material etched is oxide formed on poly, comprising applying antenna power of 500 to 2500 watts at 50 to 400 MHz; bias power of 200 to 1000 watts; gas chemistry selected from (1) the combination comprising one or more of fluorine-, carbon-, and hydrogen-containing gas and (2) the combination comprising one or more of fluorine-, carbon- and hydrogen-containing gas and inert gas; and pressure within the range of about 1 millitorr to about 100 millitorr.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
78 words
The process of claim 16, wherein the material etched is oxide formed on poly, comprising applying antenna power of 800 to 2000 watts at 50 to 250 MHz; bias power of 400 to 800 watts; gas chemistry comprising one or more gases selected from CHF₃, CF₄, C₂F₆, C₄F₈, CHF₃, CH₃F, CH₄, hydrogen, oxygen and inert gas; and pressure within the range of about 5 millitorr to about 50 millitor, for etching the oxygen at 2500 to 10,000 Angstroms/minute**.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
29 words
The process of claim 16, wherein the material is oxide over polysilicon and wherein the gas chemistry comprises CHF₃ and argon for etching the oxide with high oxide/polysilicon selectivity.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
66 words
The process of claim 16, wherein the material is oxide over polysilicon, comprising power of 1 kilowatt, 200 MHz applied to the antenna; relativley lower frequency bias power of about 600 watts applied to the wafer support electrode; gas chemistry comprising CHF₃ and argon; and the chamber pressure comprising 10-30 millitorr, thereby etching the oxide at a rate of about 5,000-6,000 Angstroms/minute with 20/1 oxide/poly selectivity.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
28 words
The process of claim 16, wehrein the material etched is oxide over aluminum and wherein the gas chemistry comprises CHF₃/CF₄/argon for etching the oxide without sputtering the aluminum.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
80 words
The process of claim 16, wherein the material etched is oxide over aluminum, comprising applying antenna power of 300 to 5000 watts, preferably of 300 to 2500 watts, at 50 to 80 MHz, preferably 50 to 400 MHz; bias power of 100 to 1000 watts, preferably 100 to 500 watts; gas chemistry comprising fluorine-containing gas and at least one of hydrogen- and carbon-containing gas and inert gas; and pressure less than about 500 millitorr, preferably less than about 100 millitorr.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
66 words
The process of claim 16 or 27 wherein the material etched is oxide over aluminum, comprising applying antenna power of 800 to 2000 watts at 50-250 MHz; bias power of 100-300 watts; gas chemistry comprising one or more gases selected from CHF₃, CF₄, C₂F₆, C₄F₈, CHF₃, CH₃F, CH₄, hydrogen, oxygen and inert gas; and pressure within the range of about 5 millitorr to about 50 millitorr.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
67 words
The process of claim 16, wherein the material is oxide over aluminum; power of 1.5 kilowatt, 200 MHz is applied to the antenna; relatively lower frequency bias power of about 200 watts is applied to the wafer suppport electrode; the gas comprises 75/75/120 sccm CHF₃/CF₄/argon; and the chamber pressure is 10-30 millitorr, thereby etching the oxide at a rate of about 4,000-5,000 Angstroms/minute without sputtering the aluminum.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
43 words
The process of one of claims 13 to 16 wherein the material etched is oxide, comprising applying antenna power of 100 to 1000 watts at 50 to 800 MHz; gas chemistry comprising fluorine-containing gas; and bias power of about 0 to 200 watts.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
42 words
The process of claim 16, wherein the material etched is oxide, comprising applying bias power of 50 to 400 MHz; gas chemistry selected form CF₄, C₂F₆, NF₃ and SF₆; and chamber pressure within the range of about 5 millitorr to 100 millitorr.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
42 words
The process of one of claims 13 to 16, wherein the material etched is oxide, comprising applying power of about 50 to 250 MHz to the antenna and using a gas chemistry comprising at least one gas selected from CF₄ and NF₃.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
58 words
The process of claim 16, wherein the material is oxide; power of 200-1,000 watts at 200 MHz is applied to the antenna; the gas comprises 30-120 sccm CF₄, and the chamber pressure is 10-50 millitorr, thereby etching the oxide at a rate of about 100 to 1,000 Angstroms/minute at a relatively low cathode sheath voltage of 10-100 volts.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
73 words
The process of claim 16, wherein the material etched is oxide, comprising applying antenna power of 500 to 5000 watts, preferably 500 to 2500 watts at 50 to 800 MHz, preferably 50 to 400 MHz; bias power of 0 to 500 watts, preferably 0 to 300 watts; fluorine-containing gas chemistry; and chamber pressure less than about 50 torr***, preferably in the range of 0.5 torr to 20 torr for isotropically etching the oxide.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
73 words
The process of claim 16, wherein the material etched is oxide, comprising applying antenna power of 500 to 2500 watts at 50 to 250 MHz; bias power of 0 to 300 watts; gas chemistry comprising one or more gases selected from CF₄, C₂F₆, NF₃ and SF₆; chamber pressure within the range of about 0.5 torr to about 5 torr; and a wafer temperature of less than about 125°C, for isotropically etching the oxide.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
59 words
The process of claim 16, wherein the material is oxide; power of 1-1.5 kilowatt at 20 MHz is applied to the antenna; the gas comprises 500-2,000 sccm NF₃ or CF₄; the chamber pressure is about 1 torr and the wafer support cathode is maintained at about 60-75°C, thereby isotropically etching the oxide at a rate of about 2,500-4,500 Angstroms/minute.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
69 words
The process of claim 16, wherein the material etched is polysilicon, comprising applying antenna power of 200 to 1500 watts, preferably 300 to 1000 watts, at 50 to 800 MHz, preferably at 50 to 400 MHz; bias power of 0 to 500 watts, preferably 0 to 300 watts; halogen-containing gas chemistry; and pressure within the range of 1 millitorr to 500 millitorr, preferably of 1 millitorr to 100 millitorr.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
62 words
The process of claim 16, wherein the material etched is polysilicon, comprising applying antenna power of 300 to 750 watts at 50 to 250 MHz; bias power of 0 to 200 watts; gas chemistry comprising at least one gas selected from chlorine, hydrogen bromide, helium, argon, oxygen and sulfur hexafluoride; and pressure within the range of about 1 millitorr to 100 millitorr.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
63 words
The process of claim 16, wherein the material is polysilicon; power of 0.5 kilowatt, 200 MHz is applied to the antenna; relatively lower frequency power of about 500 watts is applied to the wafer support electrode; the gas comprises 80/100/(0-4) sccm Cl₂/He/O₂; and the pressure is 10-50 millitorr, thereby etching the polysilicon at a rate of about 3,000-4,000 Angstroms/minute with 35/1 poly/oxide selectivity.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
57 words
The process of claim 13 or 16, wherein the material etched is photoresist, comprising applying antenna power of 300 to 5000 watts at 50 to 800 MHz; bias power of less than about 1000 watts; gas chemistry comprising at least one gas selected from oxygen, fluorine-containing gas, and nitrogen; and power of 100 millitorr to 50 torr.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
72 words
The process of claim 13 or 16, wherein the material etched is photoresist, comprising applying antenna power of 300 to 2500 watts at 50 to 400 MHz; bias power of of less than about 1000 watts, gas chemistry comprising at least one oxygen source gas selected from oxygen and nitrous oxide, and at least one gas selected from nitrogen, CF₄, C₂F₆, NF₃ and SF₆; and power of 500 millitorr to 10 torr.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
74 words
The process of claim 13 or 16, wherein the material etched is photoresist, comprising applying antenna power of 300 to 2500 watts at 50 to 250 MHz; bias power of less than about 1000 watts; gas chemistry comprising 500 to 2000 sccm oxygen-containing gas selected from oxygen and nitrous oxide, and at least one gas selected from less than about 5000 sccm nitrogen, CF₄ and NF₃; and pressure of 500 millitorr to 5 torr.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
65 words
The process of claim 13 or 16, wherein the material is photoresist; power of 1-1.5 kilowatt at 200 MHz is applied to the antenna, the gas comprises 800-1,000 sccm O₂, 0-200 sccm N₂ and 0-200 sccm CF₄; the chamber pressure is about 1 torr; and the wafer support cathode is maintained at about 100-2,000 °C, thereby etching the photoresist at a rate of about 1-3µm/minute.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
66 words
The process of claim 16, for etching photoresist, comprising antenna power of 300 to 2,500 watts at 50 to 800 MHz; bias power less than about 500 watts, gas chemistry comprising one or more gases or gas combiantions selected from (1) oxygen and (2) oxygen and fluorine-containing gas; and chamber pressure within the range about 1 millitorr to about 500 millitorr, for aniosotropically etching the photoresist.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
98 words
The process of claim 16, for etching photoresist, comprising antenna power of 300 to 1,500 watts at 50 to 250 MHz; bias power less than about 300 watts; gas chemistry comprising (1) one or more oxygen-containing gases selected from oxygen and nitrous oxide and (2) one or more fluorine-containing gases selected from CF₄, NF₃, C₂F₆ and SF₆, chamber pressure within the range about 1 millitorr to about 100 millitorr; and wafer temperature of less than about 125°C, for anisotropically etching the photoresist, wherein the flow rate ratio of the fluorine-containing gas to the oxygen-containing gas preferably is (0-300)/(10-300).
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
73 words
The process fo claim 16, wherein the material is photoresist; power of 1 kilowatt at 200 MHz is applied to the antenna; relatively lower frequency power of 0-200 watts is applied to the wafer support electrode; the gas comprises 30-100 sccm O₂ and 0-50 sccm CF₄; the chamber pressure is 10-30 millitorr; and the wafer support electrode is maintained at about 60°C, thereby etching the photoresist anisotropically at a rate of about 0.8-2µm/minute.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
31 words
The process of claim 14 or 16 for low pressure plasma deposition of silicon nitride, using gas chemistry comprising silicon-containing gas and nitrogen-containing gas and a pressure of < 50 millitorr.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
50 words
The process of claim 14 or 16, for low pressure plasma deposition of nitride, comprising antenna power of 300 to 5,000 watts at 50 to 800 MHz; bias power less than about 1,000 watts; gas chemistry comprising silicon-containing gas and nitrogen-containing gas; and chamber pressure less than about 500 millitorr.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
59 words
The process of claim 14 or 16 for low pressure plasma deposition of silicon nitride, comprising top antenna power of 500 to 2,500 watts at 50 to 250 MHz, bottom bias power of 0-600 watts, gas chemistry of 30-300 sccm SiH₄, 0-50 sccm NH₃ and 100-1,000 sccm N₂; pressure of 1-100 millitorr; and wafer temperature of about 100-500 °C.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
30 words
The process of claim 14 or 16 for low presssure plasma deposition of silicon oxynitride using gas chemistry, comprising silicon-containing gas, nitrogen-containing gas and oxygen-containin gas; and pressure <50 millitorr.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
63 words
The process of claim 16, for low pressure plasma deposition of silicon oxynitride, comprising antenna power of 500 to 2,500 watts at 50 to 250 MHz, bottom bias power of 0-600 watts, gas chemistry comprising 30-300 sccm SiH₄, 0-50 sccm NH₃, 100-1,000 sccm N₂ and oxygen-containing gas selected from oxygen and nitrous oxide; pressure of 10-50 millitorr; and wafer temperature of about 200-400°C.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
66 words
The process of claim 16, for low pressure plasma deposition of silicon oxynitride, comprising antenna power of 500 to 2,500 watts at 50 to 250 MHz, bottom bias power of 0 to 600 watts, gas chemistry comprising 30-200 sccm SiH₄, 0-50 sccm NH₃, 100-1,000 sccm N₂, and 100-1,000 sccm oxygen-containing species selected from N₂O and O₂; pressure of 1-100 millitorr; and wafer temperature of about 100-500°C.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
15 words
The process of claim 14, for effecting high pressure isotropic conformal deposition of silicon dioxide.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
67 words
The proces of claim 14, for high pressure isotropic conformal deposition of silicon oxide, comprising antenna power of 300-5,000 watts, preferably 200 -2,500 watts, at 50 to 800 MHz, preferably at 50-250 MHz; 30-100 sccm of silicon-containing gas selected from silane and TEOS and 200-3,000 sccm of N₂O; chamber pressure of 500 millitorr to 50 torr, preferably 1 to 10 torr, and wafer temperature of about 100-500°C.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
47 words
The process of claim 14, for high pressure isotropic conformal deposition of silicon nitride or silicon oxynitride, comprising antenna power of 300-5,000 watts at 50 - 800 MHz gases selected from silane, ammonia, nitride and nitrous oxide and a chamber pressure of 500 millitorr to 50 torr.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
90 words
The process of claim 55, wherein silicon nitride is preferably deposited using antenna power of 300 to 2,500 watts at 50-400 MHz, a gas mixture comprising silane, ammonia and nitrogen, and pressure of 500 millitorr to 10 torr preferably using antenna power of 500-1,500 watts at 50-250 MHz, bias power of 0-300 watts; the gas mixture comprising 30-100 sccm SiH₄, 0-30 sccm NH₃ and 400-5,000 sccm N₂; and the wafer temperature being 100-500°C and more prefably when the chamber pressure is 1-10 torr and the wafer temperature is 200-400 °C.
Claim 57
Dependent Claim
98 words
The process of claim 55, wherein silicon oxynitride is deposited using antenna power of 300-2,500 watts at 50-400 MHz; a gas mixture comprising silane, ammonia, nitrogen and nitrous oxide; and chamber pressure 500 millitorr to 10 torr, preferably using antenna power of 0.5-1.5 kW at 50-250 MHz; a bias power of 0-300 watts; a gas mixture comprising 30-100 sccm ammonia, 0-30 sccm NH₃, 100-2,500 sccm nitrogen and 100-2,500 sccm N₂O; the pressure being 500 millitorr to 50 torr; and the wafer temperature being 100-500°C and more preferably when the pressure is 1-10 torr and wafer temperature is 200-400°C.
Claim 58
Dependent Claim
60 words
The process of claim 13 or 16, for etching the material aluminum, comprising antenna power of 300 to 2,500 watts at 50 to 800 MHz; bias power of 0 to 600 watts; gas chemistry comprising one or more gases selected from chlorine-containing gas and bromine-containing gas; and chamber pressure whithin the range of about 1 millitorr to about 300 millitorr.
Claim 59
Dependent Claim
56 words
The process of claim 16, for etching the material aluminum, comprising antenna power of 500 to 1,500 watts at 50 to 400 MHz; bias power of 100 to 400 watts; gas chemistry comprising one or more gases selected from Cl₂, BCl₃ and BBr₃; and chamber pressure wihtin the range about 1 millitorr to about 100 millitorr.
Claim 60
Dependent Claim
84 words
The process of claim 13 or 16 for etching aluminum, comprising gas chemistry selected from one or more of chlorine-containing gas and bromine-containing gas, wherein the gas mixture preferably further comprises the additive Br₃, boron tribromide and the process is carried out more preferably using antenna power of 600 to 800 watts at 50 to 250 MHz; bias power of 100 to 200 watts; a BCl₃/Cl₂ flow rate ratio of (30-100)/(30-100); and chamber pressure within the range about 10 millitorr to about 50 millitorr.
Claim 61
Dependent Claim
106 words
The process of claim 13 or 16, comprising etching tungsten using flourine-containing gas chemistry, preferably by applying: a) antenna power of 200-500 watts at 200 MHz; gas chemistry comprising 0-200 sccm SF₆, 0-200 sccm NF₃ and 0-200 sccm argon; and chamber pressure of 10-100 millitorr; or b) antenna power of 100 to 2,500 watts at 50 to 800 MHz; or c) antenna power of 200 to 500 watts at 50 to 250 MHz; bias power of 0 to 200 watts; gas chemistry comprising 0-200 sccm SF₆, 0-200 sccm NF₃. and 0-200 sccm argon; and chamber pressure within the range about 10 millitorr to about 100 millitorr.
Claim 62
Dependent Claim
158 words
The process of claim 13 or 16, comprising anisotropically etching single crystal silicon using gas chemistry selected from one or more of HBr, O₂, He and SiF₄, preferably by applying: a) antenna power of 100 to 2500 watts at 50 to 800 MHz; bias power of 0 to 500 watts; and chamber pressure within the range of about 1 millitorr to about 500 millitorr; b) antenna power of 300 to 700 watts at 50 to 250 MHz; bias power of 50 to 200 watts; gas chemistry comprising one or more gases selected from HBr, NF₃, He and O₂; and chamber pressure within the range 10 millitorr to 50 millitorr for anisotropically etching the silicon; or c) antenna power of 3000-700 watts; bias power 50-150 watts to provide a cathode sheath voltage of about 100 volts; gas mixture comprising 30-100 sccm HBr, 0-20 sccm NF₃, 0-10 sccm oxygen, 0-10 sccm helium and 0-20 sccm SiF₄; and pressure 10-50 millitorr.
Claim 63
Dependent Claim
20 words
The process of claim 13 or 16, wherein the material etched is selected from titanium tungsten and titanium nitride compounds.
Claim 64
Dependent Claim
38 words
The process of claim 13 or 16, wherein the material etched is a barrier layer selected from titanium tungsten and titanium nitride compounds interposed between oxide and aluminum materials wherein antenna frequency is preferably 50 to 800 MHz.
Claim 65
Dependent Claim
81 words
The process of claim 13 or 16 wherein the material etched is a barrier layer selected from titanium tungsten and titanium nitride compounds interposed between oxide and aluminum materials, and wherein the antenna power is 300 to 600 watts at 50 to 250 MHz; the bottom bias power is 100 to 200 watts; the gas comprises 10 to 100 sccm BCl₃, 0 to 20 sccm chlorine and 1 to 20 sccm CF₄; and the chamber pressure is 5 to 50 millitorr.
Claim 66
Dependent Claim
58 words
The process of claim 15 or 16, comprising first, depositing a layer of silicon oxide over aluminum and, second, effecting sputter facet deposition by continuing the oxide deposition and simultaneously sputter etching the depositing oxide at an etch rate less that the deposition rate, preferably using antenna power of 500 to 2,500 watts at 50 to 250 MHz.
Claim 67
Dependent Claim
103 words
The process of Claim 66, wherein the first, deposition step comprises applying antenna power of 500 to 2,5000 watts at 50 to 250 MHz with substantially no bottom bias power to provide a low cathode sheath voltage; a gas comprising a silicon-containing gas and oxygen; chamber pressure of 1 to 30 millitorr; and a wafer temperature of 300 to 400°C; and wherein the second, facet deposition step comprises applying bottom bias power of 200 to 1000 watts to provide a cathode sheath voltage of about 200 to 600 volts; and adding 400 to 800 sccm argon for effecting net deposition with simultaneous etching.
Claim 68
Dependent Claim
64 words
The process of claim 67, wherein preferably the first, deposition step uses antenna power of 1 to 2 kW and a gas mixture comprising 30 to 100 sccm silane and 30 to 200 sccm oxygen and the second, facet deposition step adds 400 to 800 sccm argon and/or the ratio of sputter etch rate to deposition rate is selected to planarize the wafer topography.
Claim 69
Dependent Claim
17 words
The process of claim 19, wherein the gas includes a non-reactive gas for sputter etching the oxide.
Claim 70
Dependent Claim
71 words
An RF plasma processing system, especially for carrying out the process of one of the preceding claims, comprising: a vacuum chamber (16); means in the vacuum chamber for supporting an article such as a semiconductor wafer (5); means (22, 25) for supplying processing gas into the chamber (16); and means (25) for coupling high frequency elliptically polarized electromagnetical energy into the chamber (16) to generate a plasma whithin the chamber (16).
Claim 71
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 70 wherein the coupling means is a single turn of multiple turn substantially closed loop resonant antenna (25).
Claim 72
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system of claim 70 wherein the system includes a conductive shield (46) between the antenna (25) and the chamber (16) for preventing direct coupling of the electric field component of the high frequency electromagnetic energy into the chamber (16).
Claim 73
Independent Claim
52 words
The system of one of claims 70 to 72 further comprising power supply means (26) for supplying high frequency power to the antenna (25) and control means for automatically and iteratively adjusting the frequency of the antenna to resonance and the input impedance thereof to the impedance of the power supply means.
Claim 74
Independent Claim
37 words
The system of one of claism 70 to 73 wherein the physical length of the antenna (25) approximates n lambda/4, where n is a small odd integer and lambda is the wavelength of the electromagnetic excitation frequency.
Claim 75
Independent Claim
37 words
The system of one of claims 70 to 73 wherein the physical length of the antenna (25) approximates n lambda/4, where n is a small even integer and lambda is the wavelength of the electromagnetic excitation frequency.
Claim 76
Independent Claim
29 words
The system of one of claims 70 to 73, wherein the physical length of the antenna (25) approximates lambda/2, where lambda is the wavelength of the electromagnetic excitation frequency.
Claim 77
Independent Claim
29 words
The system of one of claims 70 to 76, further comprising means (41) for applying a voltage to the wafer support means (32) to control the cathode sheath voltage.
Claim 78
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system of claim 77, further comprising means for automatically varying power to the wafer support electrode for maintaining a constant D.C. bias.
Claim 79
Independent Claim
54 words
The system of one of claims 70 to 78, further comprising means (47) for applying a static magnetic field orthogonal to the plane of the antenna (25) selected from uniform (51) diverging (52) and magnetic mirror filed (53, 54) configurations for controlling the location and transport of the plasma relative to the wafer (65).
Claim 80
Independent Claim
68 words
The system of one of claims 70 to 79, wherein the wafer support electrode includes a surface for supporting a wafer (5) thereon and further comprising means for applying a mulitpolar cusp field (54) in a lower chamber region (16A) for providing a relatively high intensity field region about the periphery inside the chamber walls (12) and a relatively lower intensity field region along the wafer support surface.
Claim 81
Dependent Claim
41 words
The system of claim 79 or 80, further comprising magnetic shunt means proximate the wafer support electrode for diverting the static magnetic field from the wafer support electrode to provide a relatively lower intensity field region along the wafer support surface.
Claim 82
Independent Claim
35 words
The system of one of claims 70 to 81, further comprising a high frequency reflector (44) surrounding the antenna (25) outside the chamber (16) for preventing radiation of the high frequency energy into free space.
Claim 83
Independent Claim
95 words
The system of one of claims 70 to 82, wherein the chamber (16) includes a generally cylindrically-shaped dielectric dome (17); wherein the coupling means is a substantially closed loop antenna (25) surrounding the dome (17); and further comprising a conductive shield (46) between the antenna (25) and the dome (17) for preventing coupling of the direct electric field component of the elctromagnetic energy into the chamber, especially for generating a plasma concentrated in the plane of the ring antenna (25) within the dome (17) and extending the plasma downstream to the wafer (5) support electrode.
Claim 84
Dependent Claim
90 words
The system of claim 70, wherein the coupling means is a substantially closed loop antenna (25) surrounding the dome (17) and the wafer support electrode is located proximate to the plane of the antenna (25); and further comprising a conductive shield (46) between the antenna (25) and chamber (16) for preventing coupling of the direct electric field component of the electromagnetic energy into the chamber (16), for generating a plasma concentrated in the plane of the ring antenna and immersing the region of the wafer support electrode in the plasma.
Claim 85
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system of claim 84, further comprising means for applying a voltage to the wafer support means to control the cathode sheath voltage.
Claim 86
Dependent Claim
30 words
The system of claim 71, wherein the chamber (16) includes a dielectric window in one side thereof and the antenna (25) is mounted proximate the window external to the chamber.
Claim 87
Dependent Claim
13 words
The system of claim 71, wherein the antenna is mounted within the chamber.
Claim 88
Dependent Claim
64 words
The system of claim 71, wherein the high frequency energy is coupled to the antenna via one of inductive, capacitive and conductive impedance for matching the impedance of the antenna to the high frequency source or wherein the high frequency energy is coupled to the antenna through a variable capacitor for matching the impedance of the antenna to that of the high frequency source.
Claim 89
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 71, comprising means connected to the antenna selected from fixed and distributed, inductive and capacitive impedances, for tuning the antenna to resonance.
Claim 90
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 71, comprising a variable capacitor connected to the antenna for tuning the antenna to resonance.
Claim 91
Dependent Claim
48 words
The system of claim 71, wherein the length of the antenna approximates lambda/2 and lambda is the wavelength of high frequency RF energy at the plasma excitation frequency, and further comprising a variable capacitor connected near the lambda/4 point on the antenna for tuning the antenna to resonance.
Claim 92
Independent Claim
26 words
The system of one of claims 70 to 91, further comprising a biased grid for extracting a stream of charged ions or electrons from the plasma.
Claim 93
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system of claim 92, further comprising a neutralization grid spaced from the extration grid for extracting a stream of excited neutrals and free radicals.
Claim 94
Independent Claim
21 words
The system of one of claims 70 to 93, wherein the coupling means couples circularly polarized electromagnetic energy into the chamber.
Claim 95
Dependent Claim
169 words
A plasma processing reactor, especially for carrying out the process of one of the preceding claims 1 to 69 and/or for use in the RF plasma processing system of one of claims 70 to 94, comprising: a housing (11) including a dielectric dome (17) defining a plasma chamber (16) therein; electrode means (32C) within the plasma chamber (16) for supporting a semiconductor wafer (5); a gas inlet manifold (23) in the housing for supplying reactant gas to the plasma chamber (16); vacuum pumping means (21) communicating with the plasma chamber (16) for maintaining a vacuum therein; and a high frequency energy source (26) comprising a substnatially closed loop antenna (25) sorrounding the dome (17) and a conductive shield (46) interposed between the antenna (25) and the dome (17) for cooperatively shunting the direct electric field component of the high frequency electromagnetic energy from the plasma chamber (17) and coupling the magnetic component of the high frequency electromagnetic energy into the plasma chamber for inducing closed loop electric fields therein.
Claim 96
Dependent Claim
19 words
The reactor of claim 95, wherein the high frequency energy source has a frequency within the range 50-800 MHz.
Claim 97
Dependent Claim
29 words
The reactor of claim 95 or 96 further comprising means for applying AC energy of selected frequency to the wafer support electrode (32C) for controlling the cathode sheath voltage.
Claim 98
Dependent Claim
82 words
The reactor of one of claims 95 to 97, further comprising an integral transmission line structure adapted to apply AC energy of selected frequency from an external source to the plasma chamber and comprising the electrode means; an outer conductor (32O) surrounding the electrode means (32C); and an insulator (32I) between the electrode means (32C) and the outer conductor (32O) such that AC energy applied to the transmission line structure is coupled along the electrode means for increasing the cathode sheath voltage.
Claim 99
Dependent Claim
21 words
The reactor of one of claims 95 to 98, wherein the power of the AC energy controls the cathode sheath voltage.
Claim 100
Dependent Claim
34 words
The reactor of one of claims 95 to 99, wherein the power of the AC energy supply is automatically varied to maintain at least one a selected cathode sheath voltage and a DC bias.
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