Plasma confinement rings having reduced polymer deposition characteristics
AssigneeLam Research Corporation
InventorsRajinder Dhindsa, Felix Kozakevich, James H. Rogers, David Trussell
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Abstract
Plasma confinement ring assemblies are provided that include confinement rings adapted to reach sufficiently high temperatures on plasma-exposed surfaces of the rings to avoid polymer deposition on those surfaces. The plasma confinement rings include thermal chokes adapted to localize heating at selected portions of the rings that include the plasma exposed surfaces. The thermal chokes reduce heat conduction from those portions to other portions of the rings, which causes selected portions of the rings to reach desired temperatures during plasma processing.
Claims12
A method of processing a semiconductor substrate in a plasma processing chamber, comprising:
- supplying a polymerizing process gas into a plasma processing chamber comprising a plurality of vertically-stacked plasma confinement rings each including a plasma-exposed surface;
- and
- producing a plasma from the polymerizing process gas and etching a semiconductor substrate in the plasma processing chamber;
- during the etching, the plasma-exposed surface of each of the plasma confinement rings reaches a temperature that prevents polymer deposits produced during etching from forming thereon;
- wherein one or more of the plasma confinement rings comprises at least one circumferentially extending slot, a gap between an inner ring and an outer ring and/or at least one surface that is roughened and/or coated with a material that blocks IR radiation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.