EP2479782A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Plasma processing apparatus and method
Assignee: Tokyo Electron Ltd
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Filing: 2005-06-21
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2025-06-21
Abstract
Abstract A plasma etching apparatus includes an upper electrode (34) and a lower electrode (16), between which plasma of a process gas is generated to perform plasma etching on a wafer (W). The apparatus further comprises a variable DC power supply (50) to apply a DC voltage to the upper electrode (34), so as to cause the absolute value of a self-bias voltage V dc on the surface thereof to be large enough to obtain a suitable sputtering effect on the surface, and to increase the plasma sheath length on the upper electrode (34) side to generate predetermined pressed plasma.
Inventors
- 👤 Akira Koshiishi
- 👤 Yoshinobu Ooya
- 👤 Manabu Iwata
- 👤 Daisuke Yano
- 👤 Yohei Yamazawa
- 👤 Hidetoshi Hanaoka
- 👤 Toshihiro Hayami
- 👤 Hiroki Yamazaki
- 👤 Manabu Sato
- 👤 Masaru Sugimoto
- 👤 Kunihiko Hinata
- 👤 Noriyuki Kobayashi
- 👤 Chishio Koshimizu
- 👤 Ryuji Ohtani
- 👤 Kazuo Kibi
- 👤 Masashi Saito
- 👤 Naoki Matsumoto
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 14:35
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10P; H10P50/00; H10P50/20; H10P50/28; H10P50/282; H10P50/283; H10P14/00; H10P14/40; H01; H01J; H01J37/00; H01J37/32; H01J37/32009; H01J37/32082; H01J37/32091; H01J37/32137; H01J37/32155; H01J37/32165; H01J37/32431; H01J37/32532; H10P50/286; H10P50/287; H01J2237/00; H01J2237/32; H01J2237/33; H01J2237/334; H01J2237/3342
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 37
Claim 1
Independent Claim
144 words
A plasma processing apparatus characterized by comprising: a process chamber configured to accommodate a target substrate and to be vacuum-exhausted; a first electrode and a second electrode disposed opposite each other within the process chamber, the second electrode being configured to support the target substrate; a first RF power application unit configured to apply a first RF power having a relatively higher frequency to the first electrode; a second RF power application unit configured to apply a second RF power having a relatively lower frequency to the second electrode; a DC power supply configured to apply a DC voltage to the first electrode; a process gas supply unit configured to supply a process gas into the process chamber; and a control unit configured to control any one of application voltage, application current, and application power from the DC power supply to the first electrode.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
35 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the DC power supply is configured such that any one of application voltage, application current, and application power to the first electrode is variable.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit is configured to control whether the DC voltage is to be applied or not, from the DC power supply to the first electrode.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
51 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by further comprising a detector configured to detect a generated plasma state, wherein the control unit controls any one of application voltage, application current, and application power from the DC power supply to the first electrode, based on information from the detector.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
26 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the first electrode is an upper electrode, and the second electrode is a lower electrode.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the first RF power applied to the first electrode has a frequency of 13.56 MHz or more.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the first RF power applied to the first electrode has a frequency of 40 MHz or more.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the second RF power applied to the second electrode has a frequency of 13.56 MHz or less.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
28 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the DC power supply is configured to apply a voltage within a range of -2,000 to +1,000V.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
28 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the DC voltage applied from the DC power supply has an absolute value of 500V or more.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
47 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the DC voltage is a negative voltage having an absolute value larger than that of a self-bias voltage generated on a surface of the first electrode by the first RF power applied to the first electrode.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
27 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that a surface of the first electrode facing the second electrode is made of a silicon-containing substance.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
43 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that a conductive member regularly grounded is disposed within the process chamber to release through plasma a current caused by the DC voltage applied from the DC power supply to the first electrode.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
35 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that the first electrode is an upper electrode, the second electrode is a lower electrode, and the conductive member is disposed around the second electrode.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
35 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that the first electrode is an upper electrode, the second electrode is a lower electrode, and the conductive member is disposed near the first electrode.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
25 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 15, characterized in that the conductive member is disposed to form a ring shape around the first electrode.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
28 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that the conductive member has a recess to prevent flying substances from being deposited during a plasma process.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
71 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that an exhaust plate is disposed inside the process chamber between a process space and an exhaust port to rectify a flow of exhaust gas, and the conductive member is present at a position in height between the exhaust plate and a substrate mount face of the second electrode so as for the conductive member to be exposed to the plasma.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
61 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 18, characterized in that a deposition shield having an insulating surface is disposed along an inner surface of the process chamber or around the second electrode, and the conductive member is grounded through a conductive portion of the process chamber or a conductive internal body of the deposition shield.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
42 words
The plasma processing apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 19, characterized in that a conductive focus ring is disposed on the second electrode to surround the target substrate, and the conductive member is separated outward from the focus ring.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
103 words
A plasma processing method using the plasma processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 20, the method comprising supplying the process gas into the process chamber, while applying the first RF power to the first electrode, and applying the second RF power to the second electrode, to generate plasma of the process gas, thereby performing a plasma process on the target substrate supported by the second electrode, characterized in that the method comprises: applying a DC voltage to the first electrode; and performing the plasma process on the target substrate while the applying the DC voltage to the first electrode.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
47 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 21, characterized in that the first RF power applied to the first electrode has a frequency of 13.56 to 60 MHz, and the second RF power applied to the second electrode has a frequency of 300 kHz to 13.56 MHz.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
19 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 21, characterized in that the process gas is a gas containing fluorocarbon.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
23 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 23, characterized in that the gas containing fluorocarbon contains at least C 4 F 8 .
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
20 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 24, characterized in that the gas containing fluorocarbon further contains an inactive gas.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
33 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 21, characterized by comprising etching an insulating film on the target substrate supported by the second electrode, wherein the insulating film is an organic insulating film.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
20 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 26, characterized in that the organic insulating film is an SiOC family film.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
26 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 27, characterized in that an underlying film made of silicon carbide (SiC) is disposed under the SiOC family film.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
22 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 21, characterized in that the DC voltage has an absolute value of 1,500V or less.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
21 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 21, characterized in that a process pressure is set at 1.3 to 26.7 Pa.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
26 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 21, characterized in that the first RF power applied to the first electrode is set at 3,000W or less.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
26 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 21, characterized in that the second RF power applied to the second electrode is set at 100 to 5,000W.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
64 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 21, characterized by comprising etching an insulating film on the target substrate supported by the second electrode, wherein the process gas is a mixture gas of C 4 F 8 , N 2 , and Ar, with a flow-rate ratio of C 4 F 8 /N 2 /Ar = [4 to 20]/[100 to 500]/[500 to 1,500] mL/min.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
27 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 21, comprising etching an insulating film on the target substrate supported by the second electrode, in an over etching step.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
53 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 21, characterized by comprising etching an insulating film on the target substrate supported by the second electrode, wherein the process gas comprises a combination of C 5 F 8 , Ar, and N 2 to increase selectivity of the insulating film relative to an underlying film.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
61 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 21, characterized by comprising etching an insulating film on the target substrate supported by the second electrode, wherein the process gas comprises CF 4 or a combination of C 4 F 8 , CF 4 , Ar, N 2 , and O 2 to increase selectivity of the insulating film relative to a mask.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
93 words
The plasma processing method according to claim 21, characterized by comprising etching an insulating film on the target substrate supported by the second electrode, wherein the process gas comprises any one of a combination of C 4 F 6 , CF 4 , Ar, and O 2 , a combination of C 4 F 6 , C 3 F 8 , Ar, and O 2 , and a combination of C 4 F 6 , CH 2 F 2 , Ar, and O 2 to increase an etching rate of the insulating film.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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