Semiconductor manufacturing facility and method of operating the same
AssigneesLot Ces Co., Ltd., Lot Vacuum Co., Ltd.
InventorsJin Ho Bae, Jong Taek Lee, Min Jae Kim
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Abstract
A semiconductor manufacturing facility includes: a process chamber in which an amorphous carbon layer (ACL) process in which amorphous carbon is deposited so that an ACL is formed, is performed; a vacuum pump in which a residual gas generated in the process chamber is discharged from the process chamber while the ACL process is performed; a chamber exhaust pipe through which the process chamber and the vacuum pump communicate with each other; a plasma reactor configured to form a plasma reaction region using plasma; and a gas supplying device configured to supply a treatment gas to the plasma reactor.
Claims5
A semiconductor manufacturing facility comprising:
- a process chamber in which an amorphous carbon layer (ACL) process is performed such that an ACL is formed;
- a vacuum pump that discharges a residual gas generated in the process chamber from the process chamber while the ACL process is being performed;
- a chamber exhaust pipe through which the process chamber and the vacuum pump communicate with each other;
- a plasma reactor configured to form a plasma reaction region using plasma;
- and
- a gas supplying device configured to supply oxygen (O2) gas to the plasma reactor,
- wherein the residual gas is discharged from the process chamber and flows along the chamber exhaust pipe to form an exhaust gas,
- wherein the oxygen gas is decomposed by the plasma in the plasma reaction region to form a reactive species which is an excited gen atoms (O*),
- wherein the excited oxygen atoms (O) is introduced into the vacuum pump through the chamber exhaust pipe,
- wherein hydrogenated amorphous carbon deposited in the vacuum pump reacts with the excited oxygen atoms (O*) and is oxidized,
- wherein a thickness reduction rate of the hydrogenated amorphous carbon deposited in the vacuum pump due to the reaction with the excited oxygen atoms (O*) increases in proportion to an oxygen gas supply flow rate within a range below an upper limit of the oxygen gas supply flow rate,
- wherein the upper limit is an oxygen gas supply flow rate that represents the maximum generation rate of excited oxygen according to an operating power of the plasma reactor,
- wherein the gas supplying device supplies the oxygen gas to the plasma reactor at the upper limit.
A method of operating a semiconductor manufacturing facility, the semiconductor manufacturing facility comprising a process chamber in which an amorphous carbon layer (ACL) process is performed such that an ACL is formed, a vacuum pump that discharges a residual gas generated in the process chamber from the process chamber while the ACL process is being performed, a chamber exhaust pipe through which the process chamber and the vacuum pump communicate with each other;
- a plasma reactor configured to form a plasma reaction region using plasma, and a gas supplying device that supplies oxygen (O2) gas to the plasma reactor, the method comprising:
- a deposited material removing step of removing hydrogenated amorphous carbon deposited in the vacuum pump,
- wherein, in the deposited material removing step, the oxygen gas supplied by the gas supplying device to the plasma reactor is decomposed in the plasma reaction region to generate a reactive species which is an excited oxygen atoms (O*), and the hydrogenated amorphous carbon deposited in the vacuum pump reacts with the excited oxygen atoms (O*) and is removed,
- wherein, in the deposited material removing step, a thickness reduction rate of the hydrogenated amorphous carbon deposited in the vacuum pump increases in proportion to an oxygen gas supply flow rate within a range below an upper limit of the oxygen gas supply flow rate,
- wherein the upper limit is an oxygen gas supply flow rate that represents the maximum generation rate of excited oxygen according to the operating power of the plasma reactor,
- wherein the gas supplying device supplies the oxygen gas to the plasma reactor at the upper limit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.