Claims
- 1. A method of controlling by-product buildup on the interior surfaces of a semiconductor plasma processing apparatus during processing of a workpiece, comprising:
- a) providing a semiconductor plasma processing apparatus comprised of a reactor chamber and an exhaust system through which reactor chamber gases are removed from said reaction chamber; and
- b) applying a layer of polyfluoroethylene polymer selected from the group consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene (--CF.sub.2 CF.sub.2 --).sub.n, polychlorotrifluoroethylene (--CF.sub.2 CFCl--).sub.n and copolymers of tetrafluoroethylene and chlorotrifluoroethylene, said polyfluoroethylene polymer being in the form of an oil, grease or wax, to at least a portion of the interior surfaces of said reactor chamber and said exhaust system, wherein said layer of polymeric material exhibits a sticking coefficient of 10.sup.-4 or less and contributes a partial pressure which is 1% or less of the total vapor pressure over the entire operational pressure range for said chamber.
- 2. The method of claim 1 in which said polyfluoroethylene polymer has a molecular weight in the range of from about 5,000 to 800,000.
- 3. The method of claim 1 in which said layer of polymeric material is comprised of a copolymer of polyfluoroethylene with at least one comonomer selected from the group consisting of alpha olefins, fluorinated olefins, and vinyl ethers.
- 4. The method of claim 1 in which said layer has a thickness of 300,000 Angstroms (30 .mu.m) or less.
- 5. The method of claim 1 in which said polyfluoroethylene is polychlorotrifluoroethylene.
- 6. The method of claim 5 in which said polychlorotrifluoroethylene has a molecular weight ranging from about 10,000 to 500,000 and said layer exhibits a thicknesses ranging from about 5 Angstroms (0.0005 .mu.m) to about 20,000 Angstroms (2 .mu.m).
Parent Case Info
This application is a Divisional application of prior U.S. application Ser. No. 08/138,528 filed on Oct. 15, 1993.
US Referenced Citations (3)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
140975 |
May 1985 |
JPX |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
138528 |
Oct 1993 |
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