Method and apparatus for diagnosing status of parts in real time in plasma processing equipment
AssigneeLam Research Corporation
InventorRoger PATRICK
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus and methods for diagnosing status of a consumable part of a plasma reaction chamber, the consumable part including at least one conductive element embedded therein. The method includes the steps of: coupling the conductive element to a power supply so that a bias potential relative to the ground is applied to the conductive element; exposing the consumable part to plasma erosion until the conductive element draws a current from the plasma upon exposure of the conductive element to the plasma; measuring the current; and evaluating a degree of erosion of the consumable part due to the plasma based on the measured current.
Claims17
A consumable part of a plasma reaction chamber, the consumable part is formed of conductive material and including a surface to be exposed to plasma, includes:
- conductive elements embedded in the consumable part and electrically insulated from the consumable part by a dielectric layer;
- a probe circuit coupled to the conductive elements;
- and
- a power supply coupled to the probe circuit and ground to apply a bias potential to the conductive elements relative to the ground,
- wherein the conductive elements are operative to draw a current from the plasma upon exposure of the conductive elements to the plasma and the probe circuit is operative to measure the current.
A diagnostic sensor for monitoring the operational condition and structural status of an edge ring, comprising:
- a plurality of probes,
- wherein the plurality of probes are embedded in the edge ring and arranged circumferentially at a preset angular interval about a central axis of the edge ring, the plurality of probes being electrically connected to one another using a connection wire which is embedded in the edge ring.
A plasma processing chamber comprising an upper electrode,
- wherein the upper electrode is associated with a diagnostic sensor that includes a plurality of probe units embedded in the upper electrode,
- wherein each probe unit has a probe and a first insulating layer surrounding the probe to electrically insulate the probe from the upper electrode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.