This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-021813 filed on Feb. 16, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Various aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a plasma processing apparatus.
In plasma processing, the uniformity of processing is an important factor in improving yield. The uniformity of processing is becoming more and more important with the recent progress in miniaturization of semiconductor devices and the increase in the diameter of semiconductor substrates. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of controlling distribution of plasma in a chamber by providing a plurality of coils of an antenna at positions facing a substrate.
The present disclosure provides a plasma processing apparatus capable of improving uniformity of plasma processing.
One aspect of the present disclosure comprises: a chamber accommodating a substrate; a window member forming an upper portion of the chamber; a gas inlet port disposed in at least one of a sidewall of the chamber and the window member, and configured to supply a gas into the chamber; and an antenna disposed above the chamber with the window member interposed therebetween, having a linear shape and made of a conductive material, and configured to produce plasma from the gas supplied into the chamber by radiating a radio frequency (RF) power into the chamber, wherein the antenna includes: a first coil to which the RF power is supplied; and a plurality of second coils formed in the same shape and arranged around the first coil to be rotationally symmetrical with respect to a central axis of the first coil, wherein one ends of the second coils are connected one-to-one to variable capacitors.
The objects and features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of embodiments, given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Hereinafter, embodiments of a plasma processing apparatus of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are not intended to limit the plasma processing apparatus of the present disclosure.
The present disclosure provides a technique capable of further improving the uniformity of plasma processing.
[Configuration of Plasma Processing System 100]
Hereinafter, a configuration example of a plasma processing system 100 will be described.
The substrate support 11 includes a main body 111 and a ring assembly 112. The main body 111 has a substrate supporting surface 111a that is a central area for supporting the substrate W and a ring supporting surface 111b that is an annular area for supporting the ring assembly 112. The substrate W may also be referred to as “wafer.” The ring supporting surface 111b of the main body 111 surrounds the substrate supporting surface 111a of the main body 111 in plan view. The substrate W is placed on the substrate supporting surface 111a of the main body 111, and the ring assembly 112 is placed on the ring supporting surface 111b of the main body 111 to surround the substrate W on the substrate supporting surface 111a of the main body 111.
In one embodiment, the main body 111 includes a base 1110 and an electrostatic chuck 1111. The base includes an electrically conductive member. The conductive member of the base 1110 functions as a lower electrode. The electrostatic chuck 1111 is disposed on the base 1110. The upper surface of the electrostatic chuck 1111 serves as the substrate supporting surface 111a. The ring assembly 112 includes one or more annular members. At least one of the annular members is an edge ring. Although not shown, the substrate support 11 may include a temperature control module configured to control at least one of the electrostatic chuck 1111, the ring assembly 112, and the substrate W to a target temperature. The temperature regulation module may include a heater 1111a, a heat transfer medium, a channel 1110a, or a combination thereof. A heat transfer fluid, such as brine or a gas, flows through the channel 1110a. Further, the substrate support 11 may include a heat transfer gas supply part configured to supply a heat transfer gas to the gap between the backside of the substrate W and the substrate supporting surface 111a.
The gas introducing member is configured to introduce at least one processing gas from the gas supply part 20 into the plasma processing space 10s. In one embodiment, the gas introducing member includes a central gas injector (CGI) 13. The central gas injector 13 is disposed above the substrate support 11, and is attached to a central opening formed in the window member 101. The central gas injector 13 has at least one gas supply port 13a, at least one gas channel 13b, and at least one gas inlet port 13c. The processing gas supplied to the gas supply port 13a passes through the gas channel 13b and is introduced into the plasma processing space 10s from the gas inlet port 13c. The gas introducing member may include, in addition to or instead of the central gas injector 13, one or multiple side gas injectors (SGI) attached to one or multiple openings formed in the sidewall 102. The side gas injector is an example of a gas inlet port.
The gas supply part 20 may include at least one gas source 21 and at least one flow rate controller 22. In one embodiment, the gas supply part 20 is configured to supply at least one processing gas from the corresponding gas source 21 through the corresponding flow rate controller 22 to the central gas injector 13. The flow rate controllers 22 may include, e.g., a mass flow controller or a pressure-controlled flow rate controller. The gas supply part 20 may include one or more flow rate modulation devices for modulating the flow rate of at least one processing gas or causing it to pulsate.
The power supply 30 includes an radio frequency (RF) power supply 31 coupled to the plasma processing chamber 10 through at least one impedance matching circuit. The RF power supply 31 is configured to supply at least one RF signal such as a source RF power and a bias RF signal to only the antenna 50, or to both the antenna 50 and the conductive member of the substrate support 11. The RF signal may also be referred to as “RF power.” Accordingly, plasma is produced from at least one processing gas supplied to the plasma processing space 10s. Therefore, the RF power supply 31 may function as at least a part of a plasma generator configured to generate plasma from one or more processing gases in the plasma processing chamber 10. Further, by supplying the bias RF signal to the conductive member of the substrate support 11, a bias potential is generated at the substrate W, and ions in the produced plasma can be attracted to the substrate W.
In one embodiment, the RF power supply 31 includes a first RF generator 31a and a second RF generator 31b. The first RF generator 31a is coupled to the antenna 50 through at least one impedance matching circuit, and is configured to generate a source RF signal for plasma generation. The source RF signal may also be referred to as “source RF power.” In one embodiment, the source RF signal has a frequency within a range of 13 MHz to 150 MHz. In one embodiment, the first RF generator 31a may be configured to generate a plurality of source RF signals having different frequencies. The generated one or multiple source RF signals are supplied to the antenna 50. The second RF generator 31b is coupled to the conductive member of the substrate support 11 through at least one impedance matching circuit, and is configured to generate a bias RF signal. The bias RF signal may also be referred to as “bias RF power.” In one embodiment, the bias RF signal has a frequency lower than the frequency of the source RF signal. In one embodiment, the bias RF signal has a frequency within a range of 400 kHz to 13.56 MHz. In one embodiment, the second RF generator 31b may be configured to generate multiple bias RF signals having different frequencies. The generated one or multiple bias RF signals are supplied to the conductive member of the substrate support 11. In various embodiments, at least one of the source RF signal and the bias RF signal may pulsate.
The power supply 30 may include a DC power supply 32 coupled to the plasma processing chamber 10. The DC power supply 32 includes a DC generator 32a. In one embodiment, the DC generator 32a is connected to the conductive member of the substrate support 11, and is configured to generate a bias DC signal. The generated bias DC signal is applied to the conductive member of the substrate support 11. In one embodiment, the bias DC signal may be applied to another electrode such as an electrode in the electrostatic chuck 1111. In various embodiments, the bias DC signal may pulsate. The bias DC generator 32a may be provided in addition to the RF power supply 31, or may be provided instead of the second RF generator 31b.
The exhaust system 40 may be connected to a gas exhaust port 10e disposed at the bottom portion of the plasma processing chamber 10, for example. The exhaust system 40 may include a pressure control valve and a vacuum pump. The pressure control valve adjusts a pressure in the plasma processing space 10s. The vacuum pump may include a turbo molecular pump, a dry pump, or a combination thereof.
The controller 2 processes computer-executable instructions that cause plasma processing apparatus 1 to perform various steps described in the present disclosure. The controller 2 may be configured to control individual components of the plasma processing apparatus 1 to perform various steps described herein. In one embodiment, the controller 2 may be entirely or partially included in the plasma processing apparatus 1. The controller 2 may include a computer 2a, for example. The computer 2a may include a central processing unit (CPU) 2a1, a storage device 2a2, and a communication interface 2a3, for example. The central processing unit 2a1 may be configured to perform various control operations based on programs stored in the storage device 2a2. The storage device 2a2 may include a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a combination thereof. The communication interface 2a3 may communicate with the plasma processing apparatus 1 via a communication line such as a local area network (LAN).
[Configuration of Antenna 50]
The RF power is supplied from the power supply 30 to the inner coil 51. The inner coil 51 generates a magnetic field by the RF power supplied from the power supply 30, and is inductively coupled with the outer coil 52 by the generated magnetic field. The inner coil 51 radiates a part of the RF power supplied from the power supply 30 into the plasma processing chamber 10 and supplies another part of the RF power to the outer coil 52. In the present embodiment, the inner coil 51 has coils 51a and 51b spaced apart from each other. The coils 51a and 51b are arranged to be rotationally symmetrical with respect to the central axis X. In other words, the inner coil 51 has a rotationally symmetrical shape with respect to the central axis X.
In the example of
In the example of
The outer coil 52 has a plurality of coils 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d formed in the same shape. The coils 52a to 52d are examples of a second coil. The coils 52a to 52d are arranged around the inner coil 51 to be rotationally symmetrical with respect to the central axis X. Each of the coils 52a to 52d is inductively coupled with the inner coil 51 and radiates an RF power to the plasma processing space 10s in response to the RF power supplied from the inner coil 51. In the example of
Further, in the present embodiment, the coils 52a to 52d are curved and arranged around the inner coil 51 to be convex toward a direction moving away from the inner coil 51 (i.e., concave when viewed from the inner coil 51). In the example of
In the example of
For example, the coils 52a to 52d of the outer coil 52 may be arranged around the inner coil 51 along the circumference about the central axis X as shown in
Alternatively, as shown in
In
[Circuit Configuration of Antenna 50]
Each of the coils 52a to 52d of the outer coil 52 is connected to one variable capacitor. In the example of
By adjusting the capacitances of the variable capacitors 53a to 53d, the currents flowing through the coils 52a to 52d can be adjusted. The individual adjustment of the capacitances of the variable capacitors 53a to 53d is performed by the controller 2, for example. By adjusting the currents flowing through the coils 52a to 52d, the density of plasma produced in the plasma processing space 10s below the coils 52a to 52d can be adjusted. For example, by increasing or decreasing the currents flowing through the coils 52a to 52d by the same magnitude, the distribution of the plasma density in the radial direction about the central axis X can be adjusted. For example, by adjusting the currents flowing through the coils 52a to 52d to have different magnitudes, the distribution of the plasma density in the circumferential direction about the central axis X can be adjusted.
The first embodiment has been described above. As can be clearly seen from the above description, the plasma processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes the plasma processing chamber 10, the window member 101, the gas inlet port 13c, and the antenna 50. The plasma processing chamber 10 accommodates a substrate W. The window member 101 constitutes the upper portion of the plasma processing chamber 10. The gas inlet port 13c is disposed in at least one of the sidewall of plasma processing chamber 10 and the window member 101 to supply a gas into the plasma processing chamber 10. The antenna 50 is disposed above the plasma processing chamber 10 with the window member 101 interposed therebetween, and is formed in a linear shape and made of a conductive material. The antenna 50 radiates an RF power into the plasma processing chamber 10 to produce plasma from the gas supplied into the plasma processing chamber 10. The antenna 50 has the inner coil 51 and the plurality of coils 52a to 52d. The RF power is supplied to the inner coil 51. The coils 52a to 52d have the same shape, and are arranged around the inner coil 51 to be rotationally symmetrical with respect to the central axis X of the inner coil 51. One end of each of the coils 52a to 52d is connected to one variable capacitor. The plasma processing apparatus 1 configured as described above can improve the uniformity of plasma processing.
Further, in the above-described first embodiment, the other ends of the coils 52a to 52d are grounded. One ends of the variable capacitors 53a to 53d are connected to the coils 52a to 52d, respectively, and the other ends thereof are grounded. Accordingly, by adjusting the capacitances of the variable capacitors 53a to 53d, the currents flowing through the coils 52a to 52d can be individually adjusted.
Further, in the above-described first embodiment, the inner coil 51 has a rotationally symmetrical shape with respect to the central axis X. Accordingly, the magnetic field can be more uniformly radiated into the plasma processing chamber 10, and the uniformity of the plasma processing can be improved.
Further, in the above-described first embodiment, the inner coil 51 includes the coils 51a and 51b spaced apart from each other. Accordingly, the magnetic field can be more uniformly radiated into the plasma processing chamber 10, and the uniformity of the plasma processing can be improved.
Further, in the above-described first embodiment, the coils 52a to 52d are curved and arranged around the inner coil 51 to be convex in the direction moving away from the inner coil 51. Accordingly, the magnitude of the magnetic field radiated to positions below the variable capacitors 53a to 53d can be individually adjusted with high precision.
Further, in the above-described first embodiment, the inner coil 51 and the coils 52a to 52d are arranged on the same plane that intersects the central axis X. Accordingly, the distribution of the magnetic field radiated into the plasma processing chamber 10 can be adjusted with high precision.
In the second embodiment, both ends of the coils of the outer coil 52 are connected through variable capacitors.
Further, in the antenna 50 configured as shown in
In the third embodiment, one ends of the coils of the outer coil 52 are grounded through variable capacitors, and the other ends thereof are opened.
Further, in the antenna 50 configured as shown in
For example, as shown in
Further, in the third embodiment, the voltages at the open ends of the coils 52a to 52d are high, so that the strength of the electric field radiated from the open ends increases. Therefore, charged particles such as ions are attracted near the open ends by the electric field emitted from the coils 52a to 52d, and the attracted charged particles may sputter the window member 101 near the open ends. Accordingly, particles may be generated at the window member 101 near the open ends.
Therefore, in the third embodiment, as shown in
[Other Applications]
The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be variously modified within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure.
For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, a device for measuring the state of plasma produced in the plasma processing space 10s may be provided, and the capacitances of the variable capacitors 53a to 53d may be adjusted based on the measured plasma state. For example, when the measured plasma distribution is not uniform, the capacitances of the variable capacitors 53a to 53d may be adjusted such that the currents that suppress the non-uniformity flow through the coils 52a to 52d. Such control is implemented by the controller 2, for example.
When the non-uniformity of processing on the substrate W is detected in a previous step, the plasma may be intentionally distributed to eliminate such non-uniformity in the plasma processing apparatus 1. Accordingly, in a semiconductor device manufactured by multiple steps, it is possible to suppress the non-uniformity of the processing as a whole and improve the quality of the semiconductor device.
It should be noted that the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive. The above-described embodiments can be embodied in various forms. Further, the above-described embodiments may be omitted, replaced, or changed in various forms without departing from the scope of the appended claims and the gist thereof.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosures. Indeed, the embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosures. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosures.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2022-021813 | Feb 2022 | JP | national |