Tokyo Electron Limited

Daihen Corporation

Koichi Nagami

Norikazu Yamada

Kazuya Nagaseki

Shinji Himori

Kazunobu Fujiwara

Toshifumi Tachikawa

Chishio Koshimizu

Tatsuro Ohshita

Jun Abe

Shinji Kubota

Koji Maruyama

Takashi Dokan

Koji Itadani

Natsumi Torii

Hiroshi Tsujimoto

Shinya Morikita

Masafumi Urakawa

Shin Hirotsu

Yusuke Aoki

Toshikatsu Tobana

Kumiko Ono

Naoyuki Umehara

Fumiya Takata

Satoru Hamaishi

Takenobu Ikeda

Tadashi Gondai

Koji Yamagishi

Kazuya Matsumoto

Yusuke Hayasaka

Shingo Takahashi

Tatsuya Ikenari

Kota Ishiharada

Yuji Aota

Daisuke Maehara

Atsushi Sasaki

Tsuyoshi Komoda

A plasma processing method according to an exemplary embodiment includes applying a first direct-current voltage to a lower electrode of a substrate support provided in a chamber of a plasma processing apparatus, in a first period during generation of plasma in the chamber. The plasma processing method further includes applying a second direct-current voltage to the lower electrode in a second period different from the first period during generation of plasma in the chamber. The second direct-current voltage has a level different from a level of the first direct-current voltage. The second direct-current voltage has a same polarity as a polarity of the first direct-current voltage.

Plasma processing method and plasma processing apparatus

The disclosed plasma processing apparatus is provided with a chamber, a substrate support, and a power source system. The substrate support has an electrode and configured to support a substrate in the chamber. The power source system is electrically connected to the electrode and configured to apply a bias voltage to the electrode to draw ions from a plasma in the chamber into the substrate on the substrate support. The power source system is configured to output a first pulse to the electrode in a first period and output a second pulse to the electrode in a second period after the first period, as the bias voltage. Each of the first pulse and the second pulse is a pulse of a voltage. A voltage level of the first pulse is different from a voltage level of the second pulse.

Plasma processing apparatus and plasma processing method

There is provided a plasma processing apparatus for performing plasma processing or a substrate, comprising: a chamber; a substrate support disposed in the chamber and including a base, an electrostatic chuck on the base, and an edge ring disposed to surround a substrate mounted on the electrostatic chuck; a Radio Frequency (RF) power supply for supplying RF power for generating plasma from gases in the chamber; a DC power supply for applying a negative DC voltage to the edge ring; a waveform control element for controlling a waveform of the DC voltage; and a controller for controlling a time taken for the DC voltage to reach a desired value by adjusting a constant of the waveform control element.

A plasma processing apparatus includes a chamber and a substrate support provided in the chamber. A power supply unit is connected to a lower electrode of the substrate support. The power supply unit applies a first DC voltage to the lower electrode during generation of plasma from an etching gas in the chamber. The first DC voltage is a positive DC voltage. The power supply unit applies a second DC voltage to the lower electrode during the generation of plasma from the etching gas in the chamber, to etch the substrate placed on the substrate support. The second DC voltage is a negative DC voltage. The DC voltage output by the power supply unit is continuously switched from the first DC voltage to the second DC voltage.

In a disclosed plasma processing apparatus, an electrostatic chuck provided in a chamber includes a first region on which a substrate is placed and a second region on which an edge ring is placed. The first region includes a first electrode provided therein. The second region including a second electrode provided therein. A first feed line connects the first electrode and a bias power supply generating a pulse of a voltage applied to the first electrode to each other. A second feed line connects the second electrode and the bias power supply or another bias power supply generating a pulse of the voltage applied to the second electrode to each other. The second feed line includes one or more sockets and one or more feed pins. The one or more feed pins have flexibility in a radial direction thereof and are fitted into the one or more sockets.

Plasma processing apparatus

An etching apparatus includes: a placement table serving as a lower electrode and configured to place a workpiece to be subjected to an etching processing thereon; a DC power supply configured to generate a negative DC voltage applied to the placement table; and a controller configured to: periodically apply a negative DC voltage to the placement table from the DC power supply when the etching processing on the workpiece placed on the placement table is initiated, and decrease a frequency of the negative DC voltage applied to the placement table with an elapse of processing time of the etching processing.

Etching apparatus and etching method

There is a plasma processing apparatus comprising: a chamber; a substrate support provided in the chamber, the substrate support including a bias electrode; a plasma generator configured to generate plasma from a gas in the chamber; and a bias power supply electrically connected to the bias electrode and configured to generate a sequence of a plurality of voltage pulses applied to the bias electrode, wherein each of the plurality of voltage pulses has a leading edge period in which the voltage pulse transitions from a reference voltage level to a pulse voltage level and a trailing edge period in which the voltage pulse transitions from the pulse voltage level to the reference voltage level, and at least one of a time length of the leading edge period and a time length of the trailing edge period is greater than 0 seconds and less than or equal to 0.5 microseconds.

There is provided a radio frequency power filter circuit used in a plasma processing apparatus that includes an electrode and a feeding body connected to a center of a rear surface of the electrode and generates plasma by applying radio frequency power, the filter circuit including a series resonance circuit provided in a wiring line between a conductive member provided in the plasma processing apparatus and a power supply configured to supply DC power or power having a frequency of less than 400 kHz to the conductive member, and including a coil connected in series to the wiring line and a capacitor connected between the wiring line and a ground. A central axis of the coil and a central axis of the feeding body coincide with each other.

Filter circuit and plasma processing apparatus

A disclosed plasma processing method includes generating plasma in a chamber of a plasma processing apparatus by supplying radio frequency power from a radio frequency power source in a first period. The plasma processing method further includes stopping supply of the radio frequency power from the radio frequency power source in a second period following the first period. The plasma processing method further includes applying a negative direct-current voltage from a bias power source to a substrate support in a third period following the second period. In the third period, the radio frequency power is not supplied. In the third period, the negative direct-current voltage is set to generate ions in a chamber by secondary electrons that are emitted by causing ions in the chamber to collide with a substrate.

A plasma processing apparatus includes: a placement table serving as a lower electrode and configured to place thereon a workpiece to be subjected to a plasma processing; a DC power supply configured to alternately generate a positive DC voltage and a negative DC voltage to be applied to the placement table; and a controller configured to control an overall operation of the plasma processing apparatus. The controller is configured to: measure a voltage of the workpiece placed on the placement table; calculate, based on the measured voltage of the workpiece, a potential difference between the placement table and the workpiece in a period during which the negative DC voltage is applied to the placement table; and control the DC power supply such that a value of the negative DC voltage applied to the placement table is shifted by a shift amount that decreases the calculated potential difference.

Plasma processing apparatus and power supply control method

A control method of a plasma processing apparatus including a first electrode and a second electrode includes supplying a bias power to the first electrode, and supplying a negative DC voltage to the second electrode. The negative DC voltage periodically repeats a first state that takes a first voltage value and a second state that takes a second voltage value having an absolute value smaller than the first voltage value. The control method further includes a first control process of applying the first state of the negative DC voltage in a partial time period within each cycle of a signal synchronized with a cycle of a radio frequency of the bias power, or in a partial time period within each cycle of a periodically varying parameter measured in a transmission path of the bias power, and applying the second state continuously with the first state.

Control method and plasma processing apparatus

A plasma processing apparatus includes: a chamber; a substrate support provided inside the chamber and including an electrode, an electrostatic chuck provided on the electrode, and an edge ring that is disposed on the electrostatic chuck while surrounding the substrate placed on the electrostatic chuck; a radio-frequency power supply that supplies radio-frequency power for generating plasma from a gas within the chamber; a DC power supply that applies a negative DC voltage to the edge ring; and a controller that controls the radio-frequency power and the DC voltage. The controller controls the apparatus to execute a process including: (a) stopping application of the DC voltage while stopping supply of the radio-frequency power; and (b) starting the application of the DC voltage after a predetermined delay time elapses since the supply of the radio-frequency power.

An apparatus for plasma processing is configured to generate plasma in a chamber and periodically apply a pulsed negative DC voltage to an upper electrode from a DC power supply in the plasma processing on a substrate and in plasma cleaning. A duty ratio of the pulsed negative DC voltage used for the plasma processing is smaller than a duty ratio of the pulsed negative DC voltage used for the plasma cleaning. An absolute value of an average value of an output voltage of the DC power supply used for the plasma processing is smaller than an absolute value of an average value of the output voltage of the DC power supply used for the plasma cleaning.

Growing community of inventors

Miyagi, Japan

Koichi Nagami