# US 11,443,928 B2 · Etching apparatus and etching method thereof

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- Number: US 11,443,928 B2
- Document ID: US11443928B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/163,523
- Filed: 2021-01-31
- Published: 2022-08-04
- Granted: 2022-09-13
- Earliest claimed: 2021-01-31
- Assignees: Winbond Electronics Corp.
- Applicants: Winbond Electronics Corp.
- Inventors: Shih-Chieh Lin; Shuen-Hsiang Ke
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11443928B2

## CPC

- H01J 37/32963: {End-point detection}
- G01B 11/0625: {with measurement of absorption or reflection}
- G01B 11/0683: {measurement during deposition or removal of the layer}
- H10P 50/00: Etching of wafers, substrates or parts of devices
- H10P 74/238: {comprising acting in response to an ongoing measurement without interruption of processing, e.g. endpoint detection or in-situ thickness measurement}
- H01J: ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS (spark-gaps H01T; electric arc lamps H05B31/00; particle accelerators H05H)
- G01B: MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10

## Abstract

An etching apparatus and an etching method thereof are provided. An end point detector detects a light intensity at a specific wavelength for light generated when an etching process is performed on a material to be processed, and generates an end point detection signal. The material to be processed includes a material layer and at least one mask layer formed on the material layer. A control device determines an etching completion time of the mask layer according to the end point detection signal, calculates a thickness of the mask layer according to the etching completion time, and adjusts an etching time of the material layer according to the thickness of the mask layer.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An etching apparatus, comprising:
an etching device, performing an etching process on a material to be processed to form a feature structure, and the material to be processed comprises a material layer and at least one mask layer formed on the material layer, wherein the etching device comprises:
an end point detector, detecting a light intensity at a specific wavelength for light generated when the etching process is performed on the mask layer to be processed and generating an end point detection signal; and
a control device, coupled to the etching device and determining an etching completion time of the mask layer to be etched according to the end point detection signal, calculating a thickness of the mask layer to be etched according to the etching completion time, and adjusting an etching time of the material layer according to the thickness of the mask layer to be etched, wherein the etching process is performed on the material layer after adjusting the etching time of the material layer.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The etching apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control device calculates a thickness difference according to the thickness of the mask layer and adjusts the etching time of the material layer according to the thickness difference.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The etching apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the thickness difference is equal to a value obtained by subtracting a default thickness from the thickness of the mask layer.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The etching apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the material to be processed comprises a plurality of mask layers, the control device determines an etching completion time of each of the mask layers, calculates a thickness of each of the mask layers according to the etching completion time of each of the mask layers, and adjusts the etching time of the material layer according to a sum of the thicknesses of the mask layers.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The etching apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the control device calculates a thickness difference of the mask layers according to the sum of the thicknesses of the mask layers, and adjusts the etching time of the material layer according to the thickness difference.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The etching apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the thickness difference is equal to a value obtained by subtracting a sum of default thicknesses of the mask layers from the sum of the thicknesses of the mask layer.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The etching apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control device multiplies the etching completion time of each of the at least one mask layer by a corresponding etching rate to obtain the thickness of each of the at least one mask layer.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The etching apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the etching device further comprises:
an etching chamber, accommodating the material to be processed; and
an etching gas generator, generating an etching gas and providing the etching gas to the etching chamber to generate plasma with which the etching process is performed on the material to be processed.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The etching apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the material layer is an elemental semiconductor substrate or a compound semiconductor substrate.