Dry etching endpoint detection system
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorMasato Kijima
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and system for determining a dry etching endpoint, at which a dry etching process should be terminated. The dry etching process is carried out in a plasma etching system and comprises the steps of detecting an intensity of light emission generated in the dry etching process, the light emission being extracted through a window located on a side wall portion of a reaction chamber below a horizontal plane which is defined by a surface of a body to be etch treated. The detected intensity is compared to a predetermined threshold level.
Claims4
A method of determining a dry etching endpoint, at which a dry etching process should be terminated, said dry etching process being carried out in a plasma etching system including an etching chamber, said method comprising:
- detecting an intensity of light emission occurring in the etching chamber during a dry etching process, said light emission detection being performed through a window located on a side wall portion of a reaction chamber, the window being located entirely below a horizontal plane which is defined by a surface of a body to be etch treated;
- and
- comparing said detected intensity to a predetermined threshold level.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.