US5453305A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Plasma reactor for processing substrates
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1993-09-02
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Granted: 1995-09-26
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Expires: 2013-09-02
Abstract
Abstract A plasma reactor and method for forming a dense plasma from a gas is described incorporating a housing, a gas inlet to the housing, a pump for evacuating the housing, a magnetic coil to generate a magnetic field in the housing, a radio frequency power supply, an electrode or induction coil in the housing, a microwave power supply. The invention overcomes the problem of an upper plasma density limit independent of increases in microwave power.
Inventors
- 👤 Young H. Lee
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 20:43
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01J; H01J37/00; H01J37/32; H01J37/32009; H01J37/32192; B; B01; B01J; B01J19/00; B01J19/08; B01J19/12; B01J19/122; B01J19/126; B01J19/129; H01J37/32082; H01J37/321; H01J37/32431; H01J37/32532; H01J37/32587; H01J37/32596; H01J37/3266; H01J37/32678; B01J2219/00; B01J2219/08; B01J2219/0894
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
181 words
A method for forming a plasma from a gas comprising the steps of: holding said gas and said plasma to be formed in a housing, admitting said gas having one or more gas species into said housing, evacuating said housing to a pressure, generating a magnetic field along a first axis in a first region within said housing, applying first radio frequency power along a second axis to said gas and to said plasma in said first region, and concurrently with said step of applying first radio frequency power, applying microwave power along a third axis to said gas and to said plasma in said first region, whereby electrons are excited to electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) in said first region, said step of applying first radio frequency power includes the step of selecting the frequency of said first radio frequency power as a function of said magnetic field along said first axis and one of said gas species in said gas whereby ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) is obtained of said ions of said one of said gas species in said plasma.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
181 words
A method for forming a plasma from a gas comprising the steps of: holding said gas and said plasma to be formed in a housing, admitting said gas having one or more gas species into said housing, evacuating said housing to a pressure, generating a magnetic field along a first axis in a first region within said housing, applying first radio frequency power along a second axis to said gas and to said plasma in said first region, and concurrently with said step of applying first radio frequency power, applying microwave power along a third axis to said gas and to said plasma in said first region, whereby electrons are excited to electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) in said first region, said step of applying first radio frequency power includes the step of selecting the frequency of said first radio frequency power as a function of said magnetic field along said first axis and one of said gas species in said gas whereby ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) is obtained of said ions of said one of said gas species in said plasma.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said step of applying first radio frequency power includes the step of first positioning in said first region a first electrode of nonmagnetic material, and second positioning in said housing and outside said first region a second electrode of nonmagnetic material.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 2 wherein said step of applying first radio frequency power includes the step of applying said first radio frequency power across said first and second electrodes.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method of claim 2 wherein said step of applying first radio frequency power includes the step of selecting said first electrode having inner sidewall surfaces of a material whereby atoms of said material on said inner sidewall surfaces may be ionized in said plasma for deposition on a substrate.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 4 further including the step of positioning said substrate between said first and second electrodes.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said step of evacuating inlcudes the step of evacuating said housing below 1 mTorr.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said step of generating includes the step of generating said magnetic field in the range from 1170 to 1430 gauss.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said step of applying first radio frequency power includes the step of applying said first radio frequency power at a frequency in the range from 0.1 to 100 MHz.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said step of applying first radio frequency power includes the step of applying said first radio frequency power in the range from 10 to 500 watts.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said step of applying first radio frequency power includes the step of applying said first radio frequency power to said plasma in the range from 0.01 W/cm 3 to 0.63 w/cm 3 .
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 2 further including the step of applying second radio frequency power to said second electrode.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 2 wherein said step of first positioning includes the step of selecting said first electrode having cylindrical inner sidewalks concentric with said first axis.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 1 further including the step of positioning an extraction grid adjacent said first region, and applying a voltage to said extraction grid for removing ions from said first region in response to said applied voltage.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
85 words
The method of claim 1 further including the step of positioning an extraction grid adjacent said first region, applying a voltage to said extraction grid for a first time period to remove ions from said first region, applying a voltage to said extraction grid for a second time period to repel ions from said first region, and applying a voltage to said extraction grid for a third time period to remove ions from said first region whereby ions pass through said extraction grid in pulses.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
67 words
The method of claim 14 further including the step of selecting an extraction grid having a plurality of holes therethrough wherein said holes have sidewalls and a longitudinal axis with respect to its sidewalls in a direction, a length and a width whereby ions passing therethrough correspond to said direction and ions striking said sidewalls impinge from an angle off from said predetermined direction and are neutralized.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1998-09-25 | 1999-03-27 | 1999-09-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2002-09-25 | 2003-03-27 | 2003-09-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2006-09-25 | 2007-03-27 | 2007-09-26 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |