Self cleaning method of forming deep trenches in silicon substrates

A method of etching a trench in a silicon substrate and cleaning a reactor comprising:

• (a) loading a silicon substrate into an etch reactor having deposits from another silicon substrate formed therein, said substrate having at least one layer of material formed thereon;
• (b) conducting a first etch operation that removes a portion of said at least one layer of material and the deposits;
• and
• (c) conducting a second etch operation that removes a portion of said silicon substrate and forms deposits in said etch reactor.

A method for plasma etching a trench in a silicon substrate comprising:

• (a) placing a first silicon substrate into a plasma etch processing chamber having deposits formed within said chamber from plasma etch processes conducted on a substrate prior to said first substrate, said first silicon substrate having a plurality of film layers comprising a patterning mask oxide layer, a hard mask layer and a pad oxide layer wherein said pad oxide layer is adjacent to said substrate and said hard mask layer is disposed between said pad oxide layer and said patterning mask oxide layer and a portion of said patterning mask oxide layer has been removed to expose a portion of said hard mask layer;
• (b) conducting a plasma etch process within said processing chamber that exposes a portion of the silicon substrate and removes the deposits formed from the plasma etch processes conducted on a substrate prior to said first substrate;
• (c) conducting a plasma etch process that removes a portion of the first silicon substrate and forms deposits within said processing chamber;
• (d) removing said first silicon substrate from said processing chamber;
• and
• (e) without performing a cleaning operation, loading into said plasma etch processing chamber a second silicon substrate having a plurality of film layers comprising a patterning mask oxide layer, a hard mask layer and a pad oxide layer wherein said pad oxide layer is adjacent to said substrate and said hard mask layer is disposed between said pad oxide layer and said patterning mask oxide layer and a portion of said patterning mask oxide layer has been removed to expose a portion of said hard mask layer.

A method of etching substrates comprising:

• (a) loading a substrate having at least two layers formed thereon into a first etch reactor and conducting an etch process to remove a portion of said at least two layers to expose a portion of a layer;
• (b) loading said substrate having a portion of a layer exposed into a second etch reactor, said second reactor having deposits formed therein from another substrate;
• (c) conducting a first etch process in said second etch reactor on said substrate having a portion of a layer exposed that removes a portion of said exposed layer and said deposits;
• (d) conducting a second etch process in said second etch reactor that removes a portion of the silicon substrate and forms deposits inside said second etch reactor;
• and
• (e) without removing said deposits formed by said second etch operation, loading into said second etch reactor a second substrate having a portion of a layer exposed.