US5129958A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Cleaning method for semiconductor wafer processing apparatus
Assignee: Applied Materials Inc
•
Filing: 1991-05-23
•
Granted: 1992-07-14
•
Expires: 2011-05-23
Abstract
Abstract An improvement in a method for cleaning a CVD deposition chamber in a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus is described. The improvement comprises the treatment of fluorine residues in the CVD deposition chamber, left from a prior fluorine plasma cleaning step, by contacting such fluorine residues with one or more reducing gases which will react with the fluorine residues to form one or more gaseous or solid reaction products or a mixture of same.
Inventors
- 👤 Makoto Nagashima
- 👤 Naoaki Kobayashi
- 👤 Jerry Wong
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 03:55
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10P; H10P95/00; H10P72/00; H10P72/04; H10P72/0402; H10P72/0406; C; C23; C23C; C23C16/00; C23C16/44; C23C16/4401; C23C16/4405; C23G; C23G5/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
38 words
An improvement in a method for cleaning a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber in a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus which comprises contacting fluorine residues remaining therein from a plasma fluorine cleaning step with one or more reducing gases.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
38 words
An improvement in a method for cleaning a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber in a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus which comprises contacting fluorine residues remaining therein from a plasma fluorine cleaning step with one or more reducing gases.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
43 words
The improvement of claim 1 wherein said step of contacting said fluorine residues with said one or more reducing gases further includes reacting said reducing gas with said fluorine residues to form one or more solid reaction products in said CVD deposition chamber.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
64 words
The improvement of claim 1 wherein said step of contacting said fluorine residues with said one or more reducing gases further includes reacting said reducing gas with said fluorine residues to form one or more gaseous reaction products and said improvement further includes the step of removing at least a portion of said one or more gaseous reaction products from said CVD deposition chamber.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
53 words
The improvement of claim 1 wherein said step of contacting said fluorine residues with said one or more reducing gases further includes reacting said one or more reducing gases with said fluorine residues to form one or more solid reaction products and one or more gaseous reaction products in said CVD deposition chamber.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
The improvement of claim 4 including the further step of removing at least a portion of said one or more reaction products from said CVD deposition chamber.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
46 words
The improvement of claim 2 wherein said step of reacting said fluorine residues with said one or more reducing gases to form one or more solid reaction products further comprises contacting said fluorine with said reducing gas for a period of at least about 10 seconds.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
46 words
The improvement of claim 3 wherein said step of reacting said fluorine residues with said one or more reducing gases to form one or more gaseous reaction products further comprises contacting said fluorine with said reducing gas for a period of at least about 1 minute.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
48 words
The improvement of claim 1 wherein said step of contacting said fluorine residues with said one or more reducing gases further comprises contacting said fluorine residues with said reducing gas while maintaining said CVD deposition chamber at a temperature of from about 250° C. to about 500° C.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
47 words
The improvement of claim 1 wherein said step of contacting said fluorine residues with said one or more reducing gases further comprises contacting said fluorine with said reducing gas while maintaining said CVD deposition chamber at a temperature of from about 350° C. to about 400° C.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
45 words
The improvement of claim 1 wherein said step of contacting said fluorine residues with said one or more reducing gases further comprises flowing said reducing gas into said CVD deposition chamber at a rate of at least about 100 standard cubic centimeters per minute (sccm).
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
43 words
The improvement of claim 10 wherein said step of contacting said fluorine residues with said one or more reducing gases further comprises flowing said reducing gas into said CVD deposition chamber at a rate of from about 100 sccm to about 500 sccm.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
41 words
The improvement of claim 1 wherein said step of contacting said fluorine residues with said one or more reducing gases further comprises maintaining a pressure of at least about 10 -3 Torr in said CVD deposition chamber during said contacting step.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
47 words
The improvement of claim 12 wherein said step of contacting said fluorine residues with one or more reducing gases products further comprises maintaining a pressure of from at least about 10 -3 Torr up to about 100 Torr in said CVD deposition chamber during said contacting step.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
44 words
The improvement of claim 13 wherein said step of contacting said fluorine residues with said one or more reducing gases further comprises maintaining a pressure of from about 1 Torr up to about 20 Torr in said CVD deposition chamber during said contacting step.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
38 words
The improvement of claim 1 wherein said one or more reducing gases are selected from the class consisting of silane (SiH4), ammonia, hydrogen, phosphine (PH 3 ), diborine (B 2 H 6 ), and arsine (AsH 3 ).
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
88 words
An improved method for cleaning a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber in a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus wherein the improvement comprises contacting fluorine residues remaining therein from a plasma fluorine cleaning step with one or more reducing gases flowing into said chamber at a rate of at least 100 sccm for at least about 10 seconds to form one or more reaction products, while maintaining said CVD deposition chamber at a temperature of at least about 250° C. and a pressure of at least about 10 -3 Torr.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
88 words
An improved method for cleaning a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber in a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus wherein the improvement comprises contacting fluorine residues remaining therein from a plasma fluorine cleaning step with one or more reducing gases flowing into said chamber at a rate of at least 100 sccm for at least about 10 seconds to form one or more reaction products, while maintaining said CVD deposition chamber at a temperature of at least about 250° C. and a pressure of at least about 10 -3 Torr.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
44 words
The improved method of claim 16 wherein said step of contacting said fluorine residues with said one or more reducing gases further includes reacting said reducing gas with said fluorine residues to form one or more solid reaction products in said CVD deposition chamber.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
60 words
The improved method of claim 16 wherein said step of contacting said fluorine residues with said one or more reducing gases further includes reacting said reducing gas with said fluorine residues to form one or more gaseous reaction products and said improvement further includes the step of removing said one or more gaseous reaction products from said CVD deposition chamber.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
73 words
The improved method of claim 16 wherein said step of contacting said fluorine residues with said one or more reducing gases further includes reacting said reducing gas with said fluorine residues to form one or more solid reaction products and one or more gaseous reaction products in said CVD deposition chamber and said improvement further comprises the step of removing at least a portion of said reaction products from said CVD deposition chamber.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
122 words
An improved method for cleaning a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber in a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus wherein the improvement comprises contacting fluorine residues remaining therein from a plasma fluorine cleaning step with one or more reducing gases selected from the class consisting of silane (SiH 4 ), ammonia, hydrogen, phosphine (PH 3 ), diborine (B 2 H 6 ), and arsine (ArH 3 ) flowing into said chamber at a rate of from about 100 to about 500 sccm for at least about 10 seconds to form one or more reaction products, while maintaining said CVD deposition chamber at a temperature of from about 250° C. to about 500° C. and at a pressure of at least about 10 -3 Torr.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
122 words
An improved method for cleaning a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber in a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus wherein the improvement comprises contacting fluorine residues remaining therein from a plasma fluorine cleaning step with one or more reducing gases selected from the class consisting of silane (SiH 4 ), ammonia, hydrogen, phosphine (PH 3 ), diborine (B 2 H 6 ), and arsine (ArH 3 ) flowing into said chamber at a rate of from about 100 to about 500 sccm for at least about 10 seconds to form one or more reaction products, while maintaining said CVD deposition chamber at a temperature of from about 250° C. to about 500° C. and at a pressure of at least about 10 -3 Torr.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4529474A
Cited
US4581101A
Cited
US4857139A
Cited
US4657616A
Cited
US4778532A
Cited
US4749440A
Cited
EP0237153A1
Cited
US4797178A
Cited
EP0296891A2
Cited
US4820377A
Cited
US4975147A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1995-07-14 | 1996-01-13 | 1996-07-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1999-07-14 | 2000-01-13 | 2000-07-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2003-07-14 | 2004-01-13 | 2004-07-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |