Plasma processing method
AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
InventorsItsuko Sakai, Tokuhisa Ohiwa
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Abstract
Disclosed is a plasma processing method, in which a process gas is introduced into an evacuated process chamber for subjecting a target object to a plasma processing. The plasma processing method is featured in that at least a part of the process gas exhausted from the process chamber is introduced again into the process chamber. A specified value is obtained by monitoring the state of the plasma of the process gas within the process chamber, and the introducing conditions of the process gas into the process chamber are controlled to adjust a predetermined property value to a regulated value.
Claims31
A plasma processing method, in which a process gas is introduced into an evacuated process chamber for subjecting a target object to a plasma processing, comprising:
- introducing again at least a part of the process gas exhausted from said process chamber into said process chamber;
- obtaining specified values by monitoring the state of the plasma of the process gas within the process chamber;
- and
- controlling the introducing conditions of the process gas into the process chamber so as to adjust a predetermined property value to a regulated value.
A plasma processing method, in which a process gas is introduced into an evacuated process chamber for subjecting a target object to a plasma processing, comprising:
- introducing again at least a part of the process gas exhausted from said process chamber into said process chamber;
- obtaining specified values by monitoring the state of the plasma of the process gas within the process chamber;
- and
- controlling the introducing conditions of the process gas into the process chamber so as to adjust a predetermined property value to a regulated value;
- wherein said predetermined property value is a property value allowing the change in the state of the plasma in changing the circulating ratio, which is a ratio of the flow rate of the process gas introduced again into the process chamber to the flow rate of the entire process gas introduced into the process chamber, to be correlated to the process characteristics of the target substrate;
- and
- said regulated value represents said property value obtained before changing the circulating ratio.
A plasma processing method, in which a process gas is introduced into an evacuated process chamber for forming a thin film on the surface of a target object, comprising:
- introducing again at least a part of the process gas exhausted from said process chamber into said process chamber while processing a thin film formed of the same material;
- monitoring the rate of change in the thickness of the thin film formed on the surface of said target substrate within said process chamber;
- and
- controlling the introducing conditions of the process gas into the process chamber in changing the circulating ratio of the process gas into the process chamber so as to allow the rate of change in the thickness of said thin film to form a regulated value;
- wherein said regulated value is a rate of change in the thickness of the thin film obtained before changing the circulating ratio.
A plasma processing method, in which a process gas is introduced into an evacuated process chamber so as to process a thin film on the surface of a target substrate, comprising:
- introducing again at least a part of the process gas exhausted from said process chamber into said process chamber;
- monitoring the rate of change in the thickness of a thin film formed on the surface of said target substrate within said process chamber;
- and
- controlling the introducing conditions of the process gas into the process chamber in changing the circulating ratio of the process gas introduced again into the process chamber so as to adjust the rate of change in the thickness of the thin film to a regulated value;
- wherein said regulated value is the rate of change in the thickness of said thin film obtained before changing the circulating ratio.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.