US 6,890,861 B1 · Semiconductor processing equipment having improved particle performance

Abstract

A ceramic part having a surface exposed to the interior space, the surface having been shaped and plasma conditioned to reduce particles thereon by contacting the shaped surface with a high intensity plasma. The ceramic part can be made by sintering or machining a chemically deposited material. During processing of semiconductor substrates, particle contamination can be minimized by the ceramic part as a result of the plasma conditioning treatment. The ceramic part can be made of various materials such as alumina, silicon dioxide, quartz, carbon, silicon, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, boron nitride, boron carbide, aluminum nitride or titanium carbide. The ceramic part can be various parts of a vacuum processing chamber such as a liner within a sidewall of the processing chamber, a gas distribution plate supplying the process gas to the processing chamber, a baffle plate of a showerhead assembly, a wafer passage insert, a focus ring surrounding the substrate, an edge ring surrounding an electrode, a plasma screen and/or a window.

Claims35

Dependent claims

A method of processing semiconductor substrates and reducing particle contamination during processing of the substrates, the method comprising steps of:

(a) installing at least one ceramic part made of a non-oxide ceramic material and having a machined and/or sintered surface in an interior space of a vacuum processing chamber so that the surface is exposed to the interior space;
(b) after step (a), treating the exposed surface to reduce particles of the non-oxide ceramic material attached to the exposed surface by a high intensity plasma conditioning treatment;
(c) after step (b), inserting at least one production wafer into the processing chamber and then, processing at least one production wafer by supplying process gas to the processing chamber;
and
(d) removing the at least one production wafer from the processing chamber.

2 more elements

A method of plasma conditioning a machined and/or sintered surface of a ceramic part of a semiconductor vacuum processing chamber, the part being made of a ceramic material, the method comprising treating the surface to reduce particles of the ceramic material attached to the surface by contacting the surface with a high intensity plasma in the absence of production wafers in the processing chamber and, before processing production wafers in the processing chamber with the ceramic part being present in the processing chamber.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Semiconductor processing equipment having improved particle performance

Life of this patent

Semiconductor processing equipment having improved particle performance

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims35