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Semiconductor wafer processing is a precise and exacting science with which various wafers and/or substrates are processed to become integrated circuits, LCD flat panel displays, and other such electronic devices. The current state of the art in semiconductor processing has pushed modern lithography to new limits with current commercial applications being run at the 45-nanometer scale, and Moore's Law still in effect. Accordingly, modern processing of semiconductors demands tighter and tighter process controls of the processing equipment.
Often a semiconductor processing deposition or etch processing chamber utilize a device known as a “showerhead” to introduce a reactive gas to the substrate. The device is termed a “showerhead” in that it vaguely resembles a showerhead being generally circular, and having a number of apertures through which the reactive gas is expelled onto the substrate. In the field of semiconductor manufacturing, precise and accurate measurement and adjustment of the distance between the showerhead and a substrate-supporting pedestal in such a deposition or etch processing chamber are needed in order to effectively control the process. If the distance of the gap between the showerhead and the substrate-supporting pedestal are not accurately known, the rate at which the deposition or etching occurs may vary undesirably from a nominal rate. Further, if the pedestal is inclined, to some extent, relative to the showerhead, the rate at which one portion of the substrate is processed via the deposition or etching process will be different than the rate at which other portions are processed. Accordingly, it is imperative in semiconductor processing to accurately determine both the distance of the gap, and any inclination of the substrate-supporting pedestal relative to the showerhead.
A system for determining a distance between a showerhead of a semiconductor processing system and a substrate-supporting pedestal is provided. The system includes a showerhead having a showerhead surface from which reactive gas is expelled and a pedestal having a pedestal surface that faces the showerhead surface. A first capacitive plate is disposed on the pedestal surface. A second capacitive plate is disposed on the showerhead surface. A third capacitive plate disposed on one of the showerhead surface and the pedestal surface, but spaced from the first and second capacitive plates. Capacitance measurement circuitry is operably coupled to the first, second and third capacitive plates.
Embodiments of the present invention generally employ one or more conductive regions on the showerhead and/or the substrate-supporting pedestal to form a capacitor, the capacitance of which varies with the distance between the two conductive surfaces. Preferably, surface regions on the showerhead are isolated from each other, each surface forming one plate of a capacitor, with the lower electrode or pedestal forming the other electrode. Thus, various capacitor pairs exist between the showerhead and the pedestal. The capacitance of each pair is dependent on the distance between the showerhead and pedestal at that point. A measurement is made of each capacitor plate pair, using a capacitance measuring circuit or instrument. The gap between each plate pair is determined from the measured capacitance. By this technique, the gap between the showerhead and pedestal can be determined at the various points on the showerhead corresponding with the various isolated surface regions. This allows measurement of the gap as it is adjusted, to achieve a desired gap setting at each point on the showerhead. Preferably, two or more capacitor plate pairs may be used in combination to measure gap at various points, along with a determination of overall gap, tilt and shape of the gap.
In some cases, as in the case of a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) processing chamber, the showerhead must also function as an electrode in forming a plasma during wafer processing. The same plates on the showerhead surface that act as parts of capacitor plate pairs are, in this case, employed, together, as the plasma-forming electrode. That is, the plates are electrically isolated from one another for the capacitance measurement, but are electrically connected together when acting as the plasma-forming electrode.
As illustrated in
Controller 230 can also be coupled to a suitable display (not shown) such as a monitor, display panel, or series of indicator lights, to indicate the gap and/or parallelism for use by an operator. Further, controller 230 could be coupled directly to various actuators (not shown) that can generate relative movement between pedestal 204 and showerhead 202. In this way, controller 230 can dynamically adjust gap and/or parallelism without significant user interaction.
While
Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, while embodiments of the present invention have generally been described with respect to various electrodes on the showerhead, the pedestal can employ, additionally, or alternatively, various electrodes.
The present application is based on and claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/921,977, filed Apr. 5, 2007, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60921977 | Apr 2007 | US |