Anelva Corporation

Nec Corporation

Nihon Koshuha Co., Ltd.

Nihon Koshua Co., Ltd.

Tsutomu Tsukada

Yukito Nakagawa

Katsumi Ukai

Seiji Samukawa

Kibatsu Shinohara

Hisaaki Sato

Etsuo Wani

Toshio Adachi

Hiroyuki Ueyama

Kouji Ikeda

Nobuyuki Takahashi

Hirofumi Matsumoto

Shigeru Mizuno

Nobuaki Tsuchiya

Yoichiro Numasawa

Shinya Hasegawa

Tomoaki Koide

Ken-ichi Takagi

Yoichi Ino

Tatsuo Asamaki

Kiyoshi Hoshino

Koki Yasuda

Hirobumi Matsumoto

Hideo Takei

Yasuo Niimura

Teruo Saitoh

Tatsunori Koizumi

Toshio Tamaki

Ishao Ashaishi

Tatsuhiko Yoshida

A plasma processing apparatus includes a cathode,having a large diameter part,and a long thin small diameter part,, and the upper end surface of the large diameter part,faces the plasma forming space,. The substrate,which is to be processed is mounted on the upper end surface of the large diameter part,. The lower end of the small diameter part,is connected via the matching circuit,to the high frequency power source,. The transmission path within the chamber comprises a large diameter coaxial line, a small diameter coaxial line and a radial line which connects them. The large diameter coaxial line includes the large diameter part,, the first side wall,and the insulator,. The radial line includes the lower surface of the large diameter part,, the upper surface of the bottom plate,and the gap,between them. The small diameter coaxial line includes the small diameter part,, the second side wall,and the gap,. Appropriate impedance matching is achieved between the two coaxial lines and the radial line.

Plasma processing apparatus

This invention discloses a plasma processing apparatus for carrying out a process onto a substrate utilizing a plasma generated by supplying RF energy with a plasma generation gas. This apparatus comprises a vacuum chamber having a pumping system, a substrate holder for placing the substrate to be processed in the vacuum chamber, a gas introduction means for introducing the plasma generation gas into a plasma generation space, an energy supply means for supplying the RF energy with the plasma generation gas. The antenna has multiple antenna elements provided symmetrically to the center on the axis of the substrate and an end shorting member shorting each end of the antenna elements so that an RF current path symmetrical to the center is applied. Multiple circuits resonant at a frequency of the RF energy are formed symmetrically of the antenna elements and the end shorting member. Length obtained by adding total length of neighboring two of the antenna elements and length of the RF current path between ends of neighboring two of the antenna elements corresponds to one second of wavelength of the RF energy.

A plasma processing apparatus is furnished with a reactor which is furnished with a susceptor 12, a reaction gas delivery mechanism which delivers reaction gas to the inside of the reactor, a pumping mechanism 24 which pumps out an interior of the reactor, and a plasma-generating mechanism. The reactor is made of metal, the plasma-generating mechanism includes an at least single-winding coil 16 which produces an induced electric field, and the coil is established within the reactor and surrounding the plasma-generating space in a state surrounded by dielectrics parts 15 and 17.

A surface processing apparatus includes a microwave generator which generates low UHF band microwaves of from 300 MHz to 1 GHz, a cavity resonator in which the microwaves generated in the microwave generator resonate in the TM 010 mode, an airtight process chamber which is connected to the cavity resonator, a radiation plate which is arranged in a part of the cavity resonator which is connected with the process chamber, the radiation plate has a plurality of radiation holes which are established symmetrically with respect to a central axis of the cavity resonator, and cover plates made of a dielectric material which close off the radiation holes in an airtight manner.

Surface processing apparatus

A plasma processing apparatus includes a plasma chamber and an antenna formed by a first set of parallel antenna elements and a second set of parallel antenna elements, the antenna elements of the first set being interdigitally arranged with those of the second set. An energy source supplies oscillation energy of first phase to the first set of antenna elements and oscillation energy of second, opposite phase to the second set of antenna elements to produce oppositely moving energy fields in the chamber at such a frequency that electrons are confined in a plasma produced in the chamber.

Plasma processing apparatus for producing plasma at low electron

The plasma generator includes a plasma generation chamber which is pumped and into which plasma generation gas is introduced. An antenna provided outside the plasma generation chamber, a RF source supplying a RF power with the antenna to excite the antenna. A part or whole of the plasma generation chamber is made of dielectric. The antenna radiates the RF through the dielectric and includes an antenna element which longitudinal direction is vertical to the direction for the plasma. The plasma generation chamber has a side wall intersecting the longitudinal direction of the antenna element at both sides. A part or whole of a plasma generation chamber is made of dielectric having relative permittivity .epsilon..sub.S. The antenna radiates a RF through the dielectric and is comprised of multiple antenna elements which longitudinal directions are on a plane vertical to the direction for the plasma. A shield is provided at the opposite side of the electric interposing the antenna, and, the electric distance between the antenna and the shield is shorter than the length made from adding 1/.epsilon..sub.S times of the thickness of the dielectric with the distance between the dielectric and the antenna. A surface treatment apparatus using the plasma generator, includes a substrate holder for placing a substrate to be treated in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the antenna elements in the plasma generation chamber.

Plasma generator with a shield interposing the antenna

A plasma processing apparatus comprises a plasma chamber having a gas inlet opening and a gas outlet opening. A first high-frequency energy source supplies accelerating energy to a holder that supports a semiconductor specimen within the chamber to produce a high-frequency accelerating electric field. Gas is introduced to the chamber through the inlet opening and accelerated by the electric field toward the specimen. An antenna structure is connected to a second high-frequency energy source which supplies exciting energy at a frequency in the range between 100 MHz and 1 GHz which is higher than the frequency of the accelerating energy. The antenna structure has radially outwardly extending, circumferentially equally spaced apart elements of length equal to the quarter wavelength of the exciting energy so that there is a phase difference of 180 degrees between adjacent ones of the antenna elements. The accelerated gas is uniformly excited and converted to high-density plasma.

Plasma processing apparatus which uses a uniquely shaped antenna to

A dry etching apparatus with the use of reactive gas plasma is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a vacuum chamber, and first and second electrodes opposite to each other in the chamber for generating therebetween gas plasma by discharging while introducing reactive gas in the chamber thereby etching a sample placed on the first electrode. A cover member is provided for covering at least the periphery portion positioned at the outer side of the sample on the surface of the first electrode. The reactive gas introducer is provided on the second electrode at the position opposite to the sample thereby directing the gas to the sample.

Dry etching apparatus and method

A dry etching apparatus has a vacuum chamber provided therein with an RF electrode. On the RF electrode an object substrate(s) is placed. The RF electrode is covered with a substrate bed(s) and detachable dielectric members. The substrate bed(s) includes a dielectric portion and a conductive portion provided just under the dielectric portion. The conductive portion is equipotential in terms of direct current to the RF electrode. At least one gap extension is consituted of a gap(s) between the dielectric members, a gap(s) between the dielectric members and the substrate bed(s), etc. and extends from the surface of the RF electrode to the plasma space. The gap extension(s) extends zigzaggedly from the RF electrode to the plasma space so that the plasma space can not structurally be viewed from the surface of the RF electrode irrespective the dimesions of the substrate. To the RF electrode is applied a negative DC voltage having larger absolute value than that of a negative self-bias voltage at the object substrate(s) induced by plasma discharge.

Plasma etching apparatus with dielectrically isolated electrodes

A plasma processing apparatus comprises a vacuum vessel, an anode and a cathode arranged in the vacuum vessel, and a discharge producing power source for intermittently producing main discharge between the anode and the cathode to process a substrate arranged in the proximity of the anode and the cathode. The discharge producing power source comprises a magnetic field setting device including magnetic coils arranged closely to the vacuum vessel and having pole pieces and alternate current power sources for the magnetic coils. The plasma processing apparatus is able to remarkably increase processing speeds and considerably reduce the temperature rise and damage therefrom of substrates to be processed. Moreover, the magnetic field setting device is arranged in a small size to make the plasma processing apparatus compact and small-sized.

A vacuum processing apparatus comprising a load-lock chamber, a vacuum transferring chamber and a processing chamber respectively having evacuating systems for evacuating the respective chambers. The load-lock chamber has a first isolation valve for isolating and opening communication of the load-lock chamber with the atmosphere and a second isolating valve for isolating and opening communication of the load-lock chamber with the vacuum transferring chamber. The processing chamber comprises a vessel detachably located at an arranging aperture formed in a wall of the vacuum transferring chamber and closing the arranging aperture in an air-tight manner from the outside of the apparatus. A substrate arranging portion is arranged in the vacuum transferring chamber so as to be move toward and away from the vessel to form an air-tight chamber space in the vessel isolated from the vacuum transferring chamber when the substrate arranging portion has moved to the vessel. The vacuum transferring chamber comprises therein a substrate transferring mechanism for transferring the substrates along transferring passages in the vacuum transferring chamber. The substrate arranging portion comprises a substrate lifter for moving the substrate between the transferring passages and the substrate arranging portion.

Vacuum processing apparatus

An exhaust system utilizes a booster pump and an auxiliary pump of vacuum process apparatus which vacuum treats a substrate with gases of the chlorine series. A vessel of the auxiliary pump on the air exhaust side is filled with an inert gas of a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure, and a dry adsorption column capable of adsorbing the gases of the chlorine series is connected to an air exhaust pipe of the auxiliary pump. Further, a dust trap having a cooling surface is provided between the booster pump and the auxiliary pump, and the wall surface of the gas passage between the booster pump and the auxiliary pump is heated.

Waste gas exhaust system for vacuum process apparatus

In a dry etching apparatus comprising a plurality of etching chambers each of which comprises a first and a second electrode member opposite to each other, an object is successively etched in each etching chamber, with the object supported on either the first or the second electrode member, under different distributions of etching rate. When the object is placed on the first electrode member in each etching chamber and a gas is introduced through an aperture formed on the second electrode member, each distribution of etching rate can be varied by changing a position of the aperture. A side wall member may be extended from a periphery of the second electrode member towards the first electrode member in each etching chamber to confine plasma within a space defined by the first and the second electrode members and the side wall member. The side wall member is varied in length and/or diameter from an etching chamber to another to realize the different distributions of etching rate. Alternatively, a ring member may be arranged in a space between the first and the second electrode members in each etching chamber. The different distributions are established by changing a distance between the first and the second electrode members from an etching chamber to another. Electric power for the first and the second electrode members may be varied in each etching chamber.

Dry etching apparatus comprising etching chambers of different etching

In a monitoring method of monitoring status of a silicon layer etched in a hollow space by plasma, a chlorine including gas is introduced into a hollow space to cause CCl-radical to occur in the hollow space. A first spectrum region is selected to detect first emission spectra of the CCl-radical which are variable in intensity only during the etching and which may include a wavelength of 307 nm. Preferably, a second spectrum region is selected to second emission spectra invariable even during the etching and to indicate the beginning and the end of the etching by monitoring a relationship between the first and the second emission spectra. The second spectrum region may include a wavelength of 396 nm. Alternatively, emission spectra of OH-radical which results from water remaining in the hollow space may be monitored as the first emission spectra.

Method of monitoring status of a silicon layer by detecting, emission

In order to monitor the status, such as a decreasing or an increasing thickness, of a layer in response to a single light beam produced from a chamber in which the layer is processed, as by etching or sputtering, by the use of plasma, a monitoring device splits, according to spectral regions, the beam into two components of intensities variable with time and calculates a difference between the intensities, a power of the difference, and a ratio between the intensities. The status is monitored by selecting the difference, power, and ratio. The spectral regions may be 3962 and 3050 A for an aluminum layer being etched and 3248 and 8115 A for a copper layer sputter-formed in argon. Preferably, the difference and the power are monitored a predetermined interval of time after start of etch. The ratio is used in combination with a plasma sputtering device.

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Tokyo, Japan

Tsutomu Tsukada