Method for cleaning a process chamber

#1. Field of the Invention

#Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods of cleaning a deposition chamber using a remote plasma source.

#2. Description of the Related Art

#So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention are attained and can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to the embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings.

#It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

#FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of one embodiment of a deposition chamber.

#The present invention generally provides methods and apparatus for cleaning deposition chambers, such as deposition chambers used in the fabrication of integrated circuits and semiconductor devices. The deposition chambers that may be cleaned using the methods described herein include chambers that may be used to deposit oxides, such as carbon-doped silicon oxides, and other dielectric materials. An example of a chamber that may be cleaned using the methods described herein is the Producer® Chamber, available from Applied Materials, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif. The Producer® Chamber is a CVD chamber with two isolated processing regions that may be used to deposit carbon-doped silicon oxides and other materials. A chamber having two isolated processing regions is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,681, which is incorporated by reference herein. The Producer® Chamber has a port to which remote plasma sources may be attached. A Producer® Chamber with a remote plasma source, model number 5707024-F, available from Advanced Energy Industries, Inc., of Fort Collins, Colo., may be used in embodiments of the methods described herein. In the embodiments described herein, one remote plasma source may be attached to a Producer® Chamber such that remote plasma source is connected to both isolated processing regions of the Producer® Chamber. However, the processes described below may also be performed by using two remote plasma sources connected, such as via a tee line, to each processing region of the Producer® Chamber, and adjusting the flow rates accordingly. The gas flow rates described below refer to flow rates experienced by each of the isolated processing regions. Thus, the gas flow rates experienced by the Producer® Chamber as a whole, i.e., the combination of both of the isolated processing regions, are approximately twice the gas flow rates experienced by each of the isolated processing regions. While some examples of embodiments are described with respect to cleaning a processing region of a Producer® Chamber that has two processing regions, the methods described herein may be used to clean a processing region of a chamber that has one or more processing regions.

#An example of a chamber that has two processing regions is shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows a cross sectional view of a chamber 100 that is connected to two remote plasma sources 800. The chamber 100 has processing regions 618 and 620. One remote plasma source 800 is connected to processing region 618, and the other remote plasma source 800 is connected to processing region 620. A heater pedestal 628 is movably disposed in each processing region 618, 620 by a stem 626 which extends through the bottom of the chamber body 602 where it is connected to a drive system 603. Each of the processing regions 618, 620 also preferably include a gas distribution assembly 608 disposed through the chamber lid 604 to deliver gases into the processing regions 618, 620. The gas distribution assembly 608 of each processing region also includes a gas inlet passage 640 which delivers gas into a shower head assembly 642.

#In various embodiments described herein, the remote plasma source that is used in the various chamber cleaning methods has a maximum power of between about 5 kilowatts (kW) and about 8 kilowatts. Other prior remote plasma sources have lower maximum powers. A remote plasma source with a higher power can generate a hotter plasma, and thus, more radicals to clean the chamber. A remote plasma source with a higher power can provide enough power to produce a larger number of free radicals than a remote plasma source with a lower power. While some free radicals from a remote plasma source with a higher power may recombine into other molecules, which are typically not as effective as free radicals for cleaning a chamber, a remote plasma source with a higher power can provide enough free radicals that a sufficient number of free radicals will be present to clean the chamber in spite of recombination.