Monitoring radical particle concentration using mass spectrometry
AssigneeMKS Instruments, Inc.
InventorsChenglong Yang, Jimmy Liu, James Edward Blessing
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A monitoring system detects and measures a quantity of radical particles within a gas. A test chamber is coupled to a flow channel that transmits a gas. The test chamber defines an aperture connecting the test chamber and the flow channel, and the aperture permits a subset of the gas to enter the test chamber from the flow channel. An ionizer is positioned within the test chamber and generates radical ions from radical particles of the subset of the gas. A mass spectrometer measures a quantity of the radical ions, thereby providing a measurement of the radical particles in the gas.
Claims20
A radical particle monitor, comprising:
- a tubular flow channel configured to transmit, along an axis thereof, a gas including radicals;
- a test chamber coupled to the flow channel so as to be offset from the axis of the flow channel, wherein an interior of the test chamber and an interior of the flow channel are in fluid communication with one another via an aperture located between the interior of the flow channel and the interior of the test chamber;
- an ionizer positioned within the interior of the test chamber, wherein the ionizer has a line-of-sight with the aperture;
- and
- a mass analyzer coupled to the test chamber.
A radical particle monitor for measuring radicals within a semiconductor process chamber, the radical particle monitor comprising:
- a test chamber having an aperture fluidically connecting an interior of the test chamber with an interior of the semiconductor process chamber;
- an ionizer positioned within the interior of the test chamber, wherein the ionizer has a line-of-sight with the aperture;
- and
- a mass analyzer coupled to the test chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.