The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 31, 1989
Filed:
Nov. 10, 1988
Toshiaki Ogawa, Itami, JP;
Nobuo Fujiwara, Itami, JP;
Kenji Kawai, Itami, JP;
Teruo Shibano, Itami, JP;
Hiroshi Morita, Itami, JP;
Kyusaku Nishioka, Itami, JP;
Abstract
An apparatus for treating semiconductor wafers utilizing a plasma generated by electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) is disclosed in which a microwave is supplied to a plasma generating chamber via a rectangular waveguide, a rectangular-to-circular microwave converter, and a circular polarization converter. The polarization converter may comprise a phase shift plate of a dielectric material or an electrically conductive material disposed in a circular waveguide in the form of a metallic cylinder. The polarization converter transforms a circular TE.sub.11 mode microwave supplied from the rectangular-to-circular microwave converter to a circularly polarized one by rotating the direction of the electric field of the microwave in the TE.sub.11 mode one complete turn in one period of the microwave. Thus, the electric field strength of the microwave supplied to the plasma generating chamber is averaged over the time along the circumferential direction in the plasma generating chamber to make the density of plasma generation therein spatially uniform. The spatially uniformly distributed plasma generated in the plasma generating chamber is conveyed to the wafer in the wafer treating chamber to effect a treatment of the wafer.