公开(公告)号：US12051574B2

公开(公告)日：2024-07-30

申请号：US16978911

申请日：2019-12-20

Applicant: Hitachi High-Tech Corporation

Inventor： Hiroyuki Kobayashi ,  Atsushi Sekiguchi ,  Tatehito Usui ,  Soichiro Eto ,  Shigeru Nakamoto ,  Kazunori Shinoda ,  Nobuya Miyoshi

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/66

CPC classification number: H01J37/32963 ,  H01J37/3244 ,  H01J37/32651 ,  H01L22/26 ,  H01J2237/24507 ,  H01J2237/334

Abstract: This invention provides a wafer processing method comprising a process of irradiating a wafer to be processed placed on the upper surface of a sample table arranged in a processing chamber with light or electromagnetic waves to heat and remove a compound layer of a film layer that is preliminarily formed on the upper surface of the film layer of the upper surface of the wafer, wherein in the process, by receiving the light or electromagnetic waves reflected by the upper surface of the wafer, a signal indicating a temporal change in intensity using the wavelength of the light or electromagnetic waves as a parameter is corrected using information of the intensity of the light or electromagnetic waves detected by receiving the light or electromagnetic waves at a position on the circumferential side of the upper surface of the sample table.

公开(公告)号：US12046522B2

公开(公告)日：2024-07-23

申请号：US17675900

申请日：2022-02-18

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Lei Lian ,  Quentin Walker ,  Zefang Wang ,  Shinichi Koseki

IPC: H01L21/66 ,  G01J1/18 ,  H01J37/32

CPC classification number: H01L22/26 ,  G01J1/18 ,  H01J37/32963 ,  H01J2237/24507 ,  H01J2237/334

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method for determining the endpoint of an etch operation used for forming high aspect ratio features and/or over low open area (

公开(公告)号：US20240222100A1

公开(公告)日：2024-07-04

申请号：US18605526

申请日：2024-03-14

Applicant: Tokyo Electron Limited

Inventor： Shan HU ,  Peter DELIA ,  Scott LEFEVRE

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/66 ,  H01L21/67 ,  G01N21/00

CPC classification number: H01J37/32972 ,  H01J37/32449 ,  H01J37/32963 ,  H01L21/67253 ,  H01L22/26 ,  G01N21/00 ,  H01J37/32458 ,  H01J2237/3345

Abstract: An apparatus for in-situ etching monitoring in a plasma processing chamber includes a continuous wave broadband light source, an illumination system configured to illuminate an area on a substrate with an incident light beam being directed from the continuous wave broadband light source at normal incidence to the substrate, a collection system configured to collect a reflected light beam being reflected from the illuminated area on the substrate, and to direct the reflected light beam to a first light detector, and a controller. The controller is configured to determine a property of the substrate or structures formed thereupon based on a reference light beam and the reflected light beam, and control an etch process based on the determined property. The reference light beam is generated by the illumination system by splitting a portion of the incident light beam and directed to a second light detector.

公开(公告)号：US20240213003A1

公开(公告)日：2024-06-27

申请号：US17908306

申请日：2021-07-13

Applicant: Hitachi High-Tech Corporation

Inventor： Shota UMEDA ,  Kenji TAMAKI ,  Masahiro SUMIYA ,  Yoshito KAMAJI

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  G01M99/00

CPC classification number: H01J37/32963 ,  G01M99/005

Abstract: A diagnosis device that uses information from state sensors provided in a plasma processing apparatus for plasma processing a specimen to diagnose deterioration states of components configuring the plasma processing apparatus includes an execution unit that computes and calculates deterioration degree of each of the components configuring the plasma processing apparatus on the basis of the information from the state sensors, and an analysis unit that sets a computation condition for computing and calculating the deterioration degree by the execution unit on the basis of the information from the state sensors and calculates a maintenance period of the plasma processing apparatus on the basis of the information of the deterioration degree of each of the components configuring the plasma processing apparatus computed and calculated by the execution unit, and makes it possible to decide deterioration degree computation condition having high robustness for each of the components.

公开(公告)号：US20240087860A1

公开(公告)日：2024-03-14

申请号：US17931374

申请日：2022-09-12

Applicant: SANDISK TECHNOLOGIES LLC

Inventor： Shoichi MURAKAMI

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/3213

CPC classification number: H01J37/32972 ,  H01J37/32449 ,  H01J37/32963 ,  H01L21/32134 ,  H01J2237/3321 ,  H01J2237/3345

Abstract: An etching method includes etching a material in an etch chamber by alternating normal-flow etch steps and reduced-flow etch steps, where an etchant gas is provided at a normal flow rate into the etch chamber during the normal-flow etch steps, and the etchant gas is provided at a reduced flow rate lower than the normal flow rate into the etch chamber during the reduced-flow etch steps, obtaining optical emission spectroscopy (OES) data during the reduced-flow etch steps, determining an end point for the etching based on the obtained OES data, and ending the etching at the determined end point.

公开(公告)号：US20240063002A1

公开(公告)日：2024-02-22

申请号：US18501056

申请日：2023-11-03

Applicant: Tokyo Electron Limited

Inventor： Masakazu HAYASHI

IPC: H01J37/32

CPC classification number: H01J37/32963 ,  H01J37/32091 ,  H01J37/32862 ,  H01J2237/24564 ,  H01J2237/334

Abstract: A measuring unit is provided in an electrode disposed inside a chamber or a wire connected to the electrode and measures either a voltage or a current. A gas supply unit supplies a gas to be made into plasma into the chamber. A radio-frequency power supply supplies radio-frequency power in a pulse form making the gas supplied into the chamber plasma to the chamber. A detector detects an end point of plasma processing from a change in any of a voltage, a current, and a phase difference between the voltage and the current measured by the measuring unit with a timing synchronized with a cycle of pulses of the radio-frequency power.

公开(公告)号：US20240063001A1

公开(公告)日：2024-02-22

申请号：US18449488

申请日：2023-08-14

Applicant: MKS Instruments, Inc.

Inventor： Hongke Ye ,  Gordon Hill

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  C23C16/44

CPC classification number: H01J37/32862 ,  H01J37/32963 ,  C23C16/4405

Abstract: Systems and methods of monitoring a cleaning process for a deposition chamber are provided. A chamber cleaning source is activated to supply a cleaning agent to a deposition chamber and a foreline cleaning source disposed downstream of the deposition is activated to supply the cleaning agent to a foreline. The transmission recovery of an optical sensor disposed in the foreline is monitored. The optical sensor is disposed in the foreline at a location downstream of the foreline cleaning source. At least one of a foreline clean endpoint and a chamber clean endpoint is detected based on the monitored transmission recovery.

公开(公告)号：US11830779B2

公开(公告)日：2023-11-28

申请号：US17398822

申请日：2021-08-10

Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Inventor： Keith Berding ,  Blake Erickson ,  Soumendra Barman ,  Zhaozhao Zhu

IPC: H01L21/66 ,  H01L21/3213 ,  H01J37/32

CPC classification number: H01L22/26 ,  H01J37/32963 ,  H01L21/32136 ,  H01L21/32139 ,  H01J2237/334

Abstract: An article, apparatus, and method for detecting an etch material selectivity is provided. A device including a first layer and a second layer is placed in a processing chamber. The first layer includes a first sense material deposited on a first portion of the device and a second sense material deposited on a second portion of the device. The second layer deposited on the first layer includes an etch material. During an etch process based on an initial set of etch parameter settings, a first amount of time to etch the second layer at the first portion of the device and a second amount of time to etch the second layer at the second portion of the device are measured. A first etch rate and a second etch rate of the processing chamber is determined based on the measured first amount of time, the measured second amount of time, and a thickness of the second layer. A first selectivity of the first etch material and a second selectivity of the second etch material is determined based on the first etch rate and the second etch rate. An optimized set of etch parameter settings for subsequent etch processes is determined based on the determined selectivities.

公开(公告)号：US20230352283A1

公开(公告)日：2023-11-02

申请号：US18139470

申请日：2023-04-26

Applicant: FORTH-RITE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC

Inventor： Terry R. Turner ,  Jerome R. Cannon

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  G01N22/00

CPC classification number: H01J37/32963 ,  H01J37/32357 ,  H01J37/32568 ,  H01J37/32091 ,  H01J37/32577 ,  G01N22/00 ,  H01J2237/24564 ,  H01J2237/334

Abstract: A plasma processing control method for detecting an endpoint and controlling plasma processing is disclosed. The plasma processing control method includes tracking one or more harmonics that are produced due to nonlinearity of an impedance of a plasma environment. The one or more harmonics are associated with voltage, current, or a combination thereof. The plasma processing control method further includes analyzing the tracked one or more harmonics and detecting an endpoint of plasma processing based on the analysis of the tracked one or more harmonics. Thereafter, the plasma processing control method includes stopping the plasma processing based on the detected endpoint.

公开(公告)号：US20230352282A1

公开(公告)日：2023-11-02

申请号：US17730751

申请日：2022-04-27

Applicant: Tokyo Electron Limited

Inventor： Jun SHINAGAWA ,  Toshihiro KITAO ,  Chungjong LEE ,  Masaki KITSUNEZUKA ,  Alok RANJAN

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/311

CPC classification number: H01J37/32963 ,  H01J37/32926 ,  H01J37/32972 ,  H01L21/31116 ,  H01J2237/334

Abstract: A method of operating a plasma tool includes executing a plasma process on a wafer. Data associated with the plasma process are measured using a plurality of sensors while the plasma process is executed on the wafer. The plasma process is terminated at an endpoint time. A post-process fault detection is executed by determining whether a post-process wafer state is within a target range. When the post-process wafer state is outside the target range so that a fault is detected, the fault is corrected using the data associated with the plasma process.