Method and apparatus for generating plasma with ion blocker plate
AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.
InventorsKallol Bera, Xiaopu Li, Tsutomu Tanaka
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods of generating a plasma in a semiconductor processing chamber comprise: applying a radio frequency (RF) power to generate a plasma in a plasma region of the processing chamber, the processing chamber containing: a showerhead, an ion blocker plate, and a substrate, and the plasma region being defined by a front surface of the showerhead and a back surface of the ion blocker plate; and applying a bias the ion blocker plate so that there is no light-up in the processing chamber. Some methods further include dynamically tuning the bias by assessing conditions of light-up or no light-up and adjusting the bias. Some methods further include applying the bias zonally.
Claims15
A method of generating a plasma in a semiconductor processing chamber, the method comprising:
- processing a substrate in the semiconductor processing chamber including a housing;
- applying a radio frequency (RF) power from a power source to generate a plasma in a plasma region of the processing chamber, the processing chamber containing:
- a showerhead having a front surface and a back surface located below a plenum and a plurality of apertures in fluid communication with the plenum, an ion blocker plate, and the substrate, and the plasma region defined by the front surface of the showerhead and a back surface of the ion blocker plate;
- and
- applying a bias to the ion blocker plate to mitigate light-up in the ion blocker plate.
A method of generating a plasma in a semiconductor processing chamber including a housing, the method comprising:
- applying a radio frequency (RF) power from a power source to a showerhead of the processing chamber to generate a plasma in a plasma region of the processing chamber, the processing chamber containing:
- the showerhead having a front surface and a back surface located below a plenum and a plurality of apertures in fluid communication with the plenum, an ion blocker plate, and the substrate, the plasma region being defined by the front surface of the showerhead and a back surface of the ion blocker plate;
- applying a bias comprising direct current (DC) or low frequency radio frequency (LFRF) to the ion blocker plate;
- and
- modulating the bias to mitigate light-up in the ion blocker plate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.