Apparatus and method for detecting an end point of chamber cleaning in semiconductor equipment

Apparatus for processing semiconductor substrates comprising:

• a plasma processing chamber;
• a substrate support member within the chamber having a surface capable of supporting a substrate during processing;
• a fiber optic cable having a first end positioned near the surface of the substrate support member;
• an optical pyrometer connected to a second end of the fiber optic cable for measuring the temperature of a substrate during processing, and after removal of the substrate from the chamber measuring in situ the temperature of a plasma-excited cleaning gas in the chamber during subsequent removal of unwanted solid deposits from the chamber;
• and
• a computer coupled to the pyrometer for determining when the temperature of the plasma-excited gas reaches a steady state value indicative of a cleaning end point, and for thereupon stopping the flow of the cleaning gas.

Apparatus for a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of materials onto semiconductor substrates, the apparatus comprising:

• a processing chamber;
• a chuck within the chamber and having a surface for supporting a substrate during CVD processing;
• a fiber optic cable having a first end positioned at the surface of the chuck;
• an optical pyrometer connected to a second end of the fiber optic cable for measuring the temperature of a substrate during processing and for thereafter measuring in situ the temperature of a plasma-excited cleaning gas in the chamber during subsequent cleaning of unwanted solid deposits within the chamber after removal of the processed substrate;
• a gas supply for admitting processing and cleaning gases sequentially into the chamber;
• a pair of electrodes in the chamber for generating a plasma-discharge in the processing gas and in the cleaning gas;
• a gas outlet for maintaining a desired pressure in the chamber and exhausting processing gases, cleaning gases and other gases and the reaction products of the cleaning gases and solid deposits formed in the chamber during processing;
• and
• a computer coupled to the pyrometer for determining how soon after cleaning is started the temperature of the plasma-excited gas reaches a value indicative of an end point of cleaning, the computer monitoring the gas supply, the power to the electrodes, the pressure and the temperature of the cleaning gases in the chamber and to shut off the cleaning gases when a steady state temperature is reached.