# US 12,217,935 B2 · Plasma processing methods using multiphase multifrequency bias pulses

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- Number: US 12,217,935 B2
- Document ID: US12217935B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/807,076
- Filed: 2022-06-15
- Published: 2023-12-21
- Granted: 2025-02-04
- Earliest claimed: 2022-05-22
- Assignees: Tokyo Electron Limited
- Applicants: Tokyo Electron Limited
- Inventors: Ya-Ming Chen; Shyam Sridhar; Peter Lowell George Ventzek; Alok Ranjan
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12217935B2

## CPC

- H01J 37/32018: {Glow discharge}
- H01J 37/32146: {Amplitude modulation, includes pulsing}
- H01J 37/32165: {Plural frequencies}
- H01J 2237/334: Etching
- H01J: ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS (spark-gaps H01T; electric arc lamps H05B31/00; particle accelerators H05H)

## Abstract

A plasma processing method includes generating a plasma within a processing chamber using source power to ignite a glow phase of the plasma, generating low-energy ions at a substrate supported by a substrate holder in the processing chamber from the plasma using lower-frequency radio frequency bias power applied during the glow phase, and generating high-energy ions at the substrate using higher-frequency radio frequency bias power applied during an afterglow phase of the plasma. The frequency of the higher-frequency radio frequency bias power is greater than the frequency of the lower-frequency radio frequency bias power.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A plasma processing method comprising:
generating a plasma within a processing chamber using source power to ignite a glow phase of the plasma;
generating low-energy ions at a substrate supported by a substrate holder in the processing chamber from the plasma using lower-frequency radio frequency (RF) bias power (LBP) applied during the glow phase; and
generating high-energy ions at the substrate using higher-frequency RF bias power (HBP) applied during an afterglow phase of the plasma, the RF frequency of the HBP being greater than the RF frequency of the LBP.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The plasma processing method of claim 1, wherein generating the glow phase comprises applying source power to generate the plasma prior to generating the low-energy ions and continuing to apply the source power while generating the low-energy ions.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The plasma processing method of claim 1 wherein generating the glow phase comprises applying source power to dissociate and redeposit etching by-products after generating the low-energy ions and before generating the high-energy ions.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The plasma processing method of claim 1,
wherein the RF frequency of the LBP is less than about 2 MHz; and
wherein the RF frequency of the HBP is in the high frequency (HF) band ranging from 3 MHz to 30 MHz.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The plasma processing method of claim 4,
wherein the power level of the LBP is less than about 100 W; and
wherein the power level of the HBP is at least about three times the power level of the LBP.

### Claim 6

A plasma etching method comprising:
generating low-energy ions at a substrate supported by a substrate holder within a processing chamber by concurrently coupling both a source power (SP) pulse and a lower-frequency radio frequency (RF) bias power (LBP) pulse to a plasma within the processing chamber for an LBP pulse duration; and
etching the substrate by applying a higher-frequency RF bias power (HBP) pulse to the substrate holder for an HBP pulse duration after the LBP pulse duration without applying source power to the processing chamber, the RF frequency of the HBP pulse being greater than the RF frequency of the LBP pulse.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The plasma etching method of claim 6, further comprising:
applying no source power or bias power to the processing chamber for a delay duration after the LBP duration and before the HBP duration.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The plasma etching method of claim 6, further comprising:
applying the SP pulse to an SP coupling element before the LBP pulse duration to generate the plasma.

### Claim 9 (depends on 6)

The plasma etching method of claim 6, further comprising:
applying the SP pulse to the plasma for an SP duration after the LBP pulse duration and before the HBP pulse duration.

### Claim 10 (depends on 6)

The plasma etching method of claim 6, wherein the RF frequency of the LBP pulse is less than about 2 MHz.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The plasma etching method of claim 10, wherein the RF frequency of the LBP pulse is about 1.2 MHz.

### Claim 12 (depends on 6)

The plasma etching method of claim 6, wherein the power level of the LBP pulse is less than about 100 W.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The plasma etching method of claim 12, wherein the power level of the HBP pulse is greater than the power level of the LBP pulse, the power level of the SP pulse being therebetween.

### Claim 14

A plasma processing method comprising etching a substrate supported by a substrate holder within a processing chamber by cyclically performing a periodic process comprising the following steps:
applying a source power (SP) pulse to an SP coupling element to generate a plasma within the processing chamber;
applying a lower-frequency radio frequency (RF) bias power (LBP) pulse to the substrate holder to selectively deposit passivating species to top surfaces of features of the substrate, the LBP pulse being coupled to the substrate holder while applying the SP pulse to the SP coupling element; and
applying a higher-frequency RF bias power (HBP) pulse to the substrate holder without coupling source power to the SP coupling element to etch the substrate, the RF frequency of the HBP pulse being greater than the RF frequency of the LBP pulse.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The plasma processing method of claim 14, wherein applying the LBP pulse to the substrate to selectively deposit the passivating species comprises:
applying the LBP pulse to the substrate while applying the SP pulse to generate low-energy ions at the substrate; and
continuing to apply the SP pulse to the SP coupling element after applying the LBP pulse to dissociate species for deposition as passivating species to the top surfaces of the features of the substrate.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The plasma processing method of claim 15, wherein the periodic process further comprises:
applying no source power or bias power to the processing chamber for a predetermined duration after applying the HBP pulse to the substrate holder.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The plasma processing method of claim 16,
wherein the SP pulse is periodically applied during the periodic process with a duty cycle of less than 50%; and
wherein both the LBP pulse and the HBP pulse are periodically applied during the periodic process with respective duty cycles of less than 25%.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The plasma processing method of claim 17, wherein the period of the periodic process is between about 1 ms and about 100 ms.

### Claim 19 (depends on 14)

The plasma processing method of claim 14, wherein the RF frequency of the LBP pulse is less than about 2 MHz.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The plasma processing method of claim 19,
wherein the power level of the LBP pulse is less than about 100 W; and
wherein the power level of the HBP pulse is greater than the power level of the LBP pulse, the power level of the SP pulse being therebetween.