Hitachi-high-technologies Corporation

Kousa Hirota

Tatehito Usui

Satomi Inoue

Shigeru Nakamoto

Kousuke Fukuchi

Masahiro Sumiya

Motohiro Tanaka

Yasuhiro Nishimori

Hiroshige Uchida

In a plasma processing method and apparatus for processing a film to be processed contained in a film structure preliminarily formed on an upper surface of a wafer mounted in a processing chamber, by using plasma, a residual film thickness at an arbitrary time is calculated using a result of comparing detective differential waveform pattern data with actual differential waveform pattern data. The detective differential waveform pattern data is produced by using two basic differential waveform pattern data which respectively use, as parameters, residual thicknesses of the films to be processed in film structures having underlying films with different thicknesses and the wavelengths of the interference light. The detective waveform pattern data being preliminarily prepared prior to processing of the wafer. Determination is made as to whether or not an object of the processing has been reached by using the residual film thickness.

Plasma processing apparatus and plasma processing method

There is provided a plasma processing apparatus which compares a plurality of patterns detected using an interference light intensity pattern using a wavelength from at least one preset film of the plurality of film layers as a parameter and an intensity pattern using a wavelength of light from the other film as a parameter and an light intensity pattern from inside the processing chamber which is detected during processing of the film to be processed; and compares a film thickness corresponding to one of the plurality of patterns having a minimum difference obtained by the comparison and a target film thickness; and determines that the thickness of the film to be processed reaches the target film thickness.

Provided is a plasma processing method capable of removing a Ti-series deposit from the surface of a processing chamber of a plasma processing apparatus without production of a foreign matter such as a boron oxide. The plasma processing method includes carbon-series deposition discharge which succeeds product etching during which a sample containing a Ti material is processed, and during which a carbon-series film is deposited on a Ti reaction by-product deposited on the surface of the processing chamber, and chlorine-series discharge which succeeds the carbon-series deposition discharge and during which the carbon-series film and Ti that are deposited on the surface of the processing chamber are removed.

Plasma processing method and plasma processing apparatus

A plasma processing apparatus includes a processing chamber arranged in a vacuum vessel. A wafer placed on a sample stage in the processing chamber is processed using a plasma formed in the processing chamber. Before etching the film layers provided on the wafer composed of a metal substance and an underlying oxide film or a material having a high dielectric constant, another wafer, provided on a surface thereof a film composed of a metal of the same kind as the metal substance, is processed and particles of the metal are deposited on an inner wall of said processing chamber.

The invention provides a method for performing mass production processing of etching a sample capable of maintaining a stable processing profile. The method for performing mass production processing of etching for subjecting a wafer carried into a vacuum processing reactor to plasma processing uses an apparatus comprising a vacuum processing chamber, a gas supply apparatus, a plasma generating means for generating plasma, an emission spectroscope for monitoring the plasma emission, and a device for storing the emission spectrum, wherein a non-operating time of the apparatus (idling SS) occurs in which the mass production processing of the wafer is temporarily stopped, wherein during cleaning steps Sand S' before and after idling SS, emission intensities SiF() and SiF() in the plasma including the information on the state of deposition of reaction products and the temperature on the uppermost surface of the reactor are monitored, and a database Sis referred to based on these emission spectrums, so that the time of the plasma heating step Safter the idling SS is controlled to heat the reactor, and after performing plasma heating S, the next sample is subjected to etching S

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Kokubunji, Japan

Kousa Hirota