Patent EP0650182A1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0650182A1
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Plasma etch reactors and methods of operating thereof
Assignee: Applied Materials Inc
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Filing: 1994-10-05
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2014-10-05
Abstract
Abstract The disclosure relates to a method of operating a plasma etch ractor, consisting of introducing a gas into the reactor (10) which disassociates as a plasma into an etch species which etches oxide films on a work piece in the reactor and a non-etching species combinable with the etch species into an etch-preventing polymer condensable onto the work piece below a characteristic deposition temperature, providing an interior wall (20) comprising a material which scavenges the etching species, and maintaining a temperature of the interior wall above the deposition temperature.
Inventors
- 👤 Michael Rice
- 👤 Jeffrey Marks
- 👤 David W. Groechel
- 👤 Nicolas J. Bright
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 05:30
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01J; H01J37/00; H01J37/32; H01J37/32431; H01J37/32798; H01J37/32853; H01J37/32871; H01J37/32816; H01J37/32834; H01J37/32009; H01J37/32082; H01J37/321; H01J37/3211; H01J37/32137; H01J37/32155; H01J37/32165; H01J37/32458; H01J37/32467; H01J37/32522; H01J37/32532; H01J37/3255; H10; H10P; H10P50/00; H10P50/20; H10P50/28; H10P50/282; H10P50/283; H10P50/286; H10P50/287; H10P72/00; H10P72/06; H10P72/0602; H01J2237/00; H01J2237/32; H01J2237/33; H01J2237/334; H01J2237/3343; H01J2237/3346; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S438/00; Y10S438/909
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 36
Claim 1
Independent Claim
81 words
A method of operating a plasma etch reactor, comprising: introducing a gas into said reactor which disassociates as a plasma into an etch species which etches oxide films on a work piece in the reactor and a non-etching species combinable with the etch species into an etch-preventing polymer condensable onto the work piece below a characteristic deposition temperature; providing an interior wall comprising a material which scavenges said etching species; maintaining a temperature of said interior wall above said deposition temperature.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
60 words
The method of Claim 1 wherein said maintaining step comprises: providing a heating element near said interior wall; applying sufficient power to said heating element so as to maintain the temperature of said interior wall above said deposition temperature by a predetermined difference; and refraining from applying power to said heating element whenever a plasma is ignited in said reactor.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of Claim 2 wherein said sufficient power is a function of a difference between a temperature measured on a portion of said reactor near said interior wall and a temperature predetermined for that portion.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of Claim 3 wherein said portion is an outer surface of said reactor adjacent said interior wall.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
53 words
The method of Claim 2 wherein said reactor further comprises an article within said reactor containing a material which scavenges said etching species, said method further comprising: maintaining a temperature of said article at a temperature corresponding to a desired content ratio of said non-etching species and said etching species in said plasma.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of Claim 5 wherein said desired content ratio in said plasma corresponds to a content ratio of said non-etching species in said polymer at which said polymer is impervious to attack by said etching species in said plasma.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of Claim 6 wherein said etching species comprises fluorine and said non-etching species comprises carbon and wherein said gas comprises a carbonfluorine gas.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of Claim 7 wherein said interior wall comprises quartz and said scavenging article comprises silicon.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of Claim 1 wherein said reactor comprises an inductively coupled reactor having a cylindrical helical RF antenna surrounding a chamber of said reactor, and wherein said interior wall comprises a cylindrical quartz side wall supporting said antenna.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
83 words
The method of Claim 5 wherein said step of maintaining the temperature of said interior wall further comprises: providing a cooling element in said reactor; providing a cooling thermal path between said interior wall and said cooling element having a first heat flow rate greater than a heat flow rate from said plasma to said interior wall; and providing a heating thermal path between said interior wall and said heating element having a heat flow rate greater than said first heat flow rate.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of Claim 10 wherein the step of providing a cooling thermal path comprises setting a heat flow rate of said cooling thermal path by placing a first thermally resistant element in said cooling thermal path.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of Claim 11 wherein said,first thermally resistant element comprises polyamide material.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of Claim 11 wherein the step of providing a heating thermal path comprises setting a heat flow rate of said heating thermal path by placing an other second thermally resistant element in said heating thermal path.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of Claim 13 wherein said other thermally resistant element comprises a thin air gap.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of Claim 13 wherein the step of maintaining the temperature of said article comprises: providing an article heating element having an article heating thermal path to said article; and providing an article cooling path between said article and said cooling element.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of Claim 15 wherein the step of providing said article heating element comprises setting a heat flow rate of said article heating thermal path by providing a heat flow resistant element in said article heating path.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of Claim 16 wherein said. heat flow resistant element in said article heating path comprises a thin air gap.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
91 words
A plasma etch reactor having a vacuum chamber into which a gas is introduced which disassociates as a plasma into an etch species which etches oxide films on a work piece in the reactor and a non-etching species combinable with the etch species into an etch-preventing polymer condensable onto the work piece below a characteristic deposition temperature, said reactor comprising: an interior wall of said chamber, said interior wall comprising a material which scavenges said etching species; and means for maintaining a temperature of said interior wall above said deposition temperature.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
48 words
The reactor of Claim 18 wherein said means for maintaining said temperature comprises: a heating element near said interior wall; control means for applying sufficient power to said heating element so as to maintain the temperature of said interior wall above said deposition temperature by a predetermined difference.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
24 words
The reactor of Claim 19 further comprising: means for signaling said means for applying to stop whenever a plasma is ignited in said reactor.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
52 words
The reactor of Claim 19 wherein said control means comprises: sensor means for sensing a temperature of a portion of said reactor near said interior wall; and means for determining said sufficient power proportional to a difference between the temperature sensed by said sensor means and a temperature predetermined for that portion.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
19 words
The reactor of Claim 21 wherein said portion is an outer surface of said reactor adjacent said interior wall.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
56 words
The reactor of Claim 19 further comprising: an article comprising a ceiling of a chamber of said reactor containing a material which scavenges said etching species; and control means for maintaining a temperature of said article at a temperature corresponding to a desired content ratio of said non-etching species and said etching species in said plasma.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
40 words
The reactor of Claim 23 wherein said desired content ratio in said plasma corresponds to a content ratio of said non-etching species in said polymer at which said polymer is impervious to attack by said etching species in said plasma.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
25 words
The reactor of Claim 24 wherein said etching species comprises fluorine and said non-etching species comprises carbon and wherein said gas comprises a carbonfluorine gas.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
17 words
The reactor of Claim 25 wherein said interior wall comprises quartz and said scavenging article comprises silicon.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
39 words
The reactor of Claim 18 wherein said reactor comprises an inductively coupled reactor having a cylindrical helical RF antenna surrounding a chamber of said reactor, and wherein said interior wall comprises a cylindrical quartz side wall supporting said antenna.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
22 words
The reactor of Claim 27 wherein said heating element comprises a circular heating wire near and surrounding said cylindrical quartz side wall.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
80 words
The reactor of Claim 23 wherein said means for maintaining the temperature of said interior wall further comprises: a cooling element overlying said ceiling; a cooling thermal path between said interior wall and said cooling element having a first heat flow rate greater than a heat flow rate from said plasma to said interior wall; and a heating thermal path between said interior wall and said heating element having a heat flow rate greater than said first heat flow rate.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
17 words
The reactor of Claim 29 further comprising a first thermally resistant element in said cooling thermal path.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
14 words
The reactor of Claim 30 wherein said first thermally resistant element comprises polyamide material.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
17 words
The reactor of Claim 30 further comprising an other thermally resistant element in said heating thermal path.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
16 words
The reactor of Claim 32 wherein said other thermally resistant element comprises a thin air gap.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
72 words
The reactor of Claim 32 wherein said means for controlling the temperature of said article comprises: an article cooling path between said article and said cooling element having a heat flow rate greater than the rate of heat flow from said plasma to said article; and an article heating element having an article heating thermal path to said article with a heat flow rate greater than that of said article cooling path.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
17 words
The reactor of Claim 34 further comprising a heat flow resistant element in said article heating path.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
21 words
The reactor of Claim 35 wherein said heat flow resistant element in said article heating path comprises a thin air gap.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
JPS6212129A
Cited
EP0552491A1
Cited
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