JP2023097106A - Plasma processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To properly prevent high output power as a noise component from entering a chiller unit arranged in a plasma processing device.SOLUTION: A plasma processing device comprises: a plasma processing chamber which is coupled to a ground potential and has a conductive base plate formed with a first opening and a second opening; a substrate supporting part which has a coolant passage; a DC generation part; a first insulation pipeline which connects an inlet of the coolant passage to the first opening; a second insulation pipeline which connects an outlet of the coolant passage to the second opening; a chiller unit; a first stainless pipeline which connects an outlet of the chiller unit to the first insulation pipeline; a second stainless pipeline which connects an inlet of the chiller unit to the second insulation pipeline; a first conductive spacer which is arranged between the first insulation pipeline and the first stainless pipeline and has an opening ratio of 30%-80%; and a second conductive spacer which is arranged between the second insulation pipeline and the second stainless pipeline and has an opening ratio of 30%-80%.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present disclosure relates to plasma processing apparatuses.

Patent Document 1 discloses a semiconductor device that has a temperature control section, which is a pipe for flowing a fluid inside a mounting table, and that causes a fluid from a temperature control system to flow into the temperature control section, thereby cooling or heating an electrostatic chuck. A processing device is disclosed. The temperature control system is controlled by a controller.

JP 2013-105359 A

The technology according to the present disclosure suppresses electrical noise components propagating from the plasma processing chamber to the chiller unit via stainless steel piping.

One aspect of the present disclosure is a plasma processing chamber having a conductive baseplate, the conductive baseplate having a first opening and a second opening and coupled to a ground potential; a substrate support disposed within a plasma processing chamber and having a coolant flow path; a DC generator coupled to the substrate support and configured to generate a DC signal; a first insulating pipe extending through an opening to the lower surface of the conductive base plate and fluidly connected to an inlet of the coolant channel; a second insulating pipe extending to the lower surface of the refrigerant channel and fluidly connected to the outlet of the coolant channel; a chiller unit disposed outside the plasma processing chamber; and an outlet of the chiller unit and the first insulating pipe. a first stainless steel pipe that fluidly connects the piping, a second stainless steel pipe that fluidly connects the inlet of the chiller unit and the second insulating pipe, and the first insulating pipe and the first stainless steel pipe. A first conductive spacer having an aperture ratio of 30% to 80% and arranged across the cross section between and between the second insulating pipe and the second stainless steel pipe across the cross section a second conductive spacer disposed and having an aperture ratio of 30% to 80%.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress electrical noise components that propagate from the plasma processing chamber to the chiller unit via the stainless steel pipe.

It is an explanatory view showing typically the outline of the composition of the plasma treatment system concerning this embodiment. It is a sectional view showing an example of composition of a plasma treatment apparatus concerning this embodiment. It is an enlarged view of the connection part of chiller piping and conductive piping. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing another configuration example of a conductive spacer; FIG. 10 is a plan view showing another arrangement example of conductive spacers; It is a graph which shows the influence of the noise component in the conventional plasma processing apparatus. It is a graph which shows the effect of the plasma processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional plasma processing apparatus.

In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, a semiconductor substrate supported by a substrate support (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrate") is etched by exciting a processing gas supplied in a chamber to generate plasma. Various plasma treatments such as treatment, film formation, and diffusion are performed.

In this plasma processing, it is required to uniformly control the temperature distribution of the substrate to be processed in order to improve the uniformity of the process characteristics with respect to the substrate. The temperature distribution of the substrate during plasma processing is adjusted, for example, by a temperature control module provided inside the substrate support. This temperature control module includes, for example, a heater and a channel, and the coolant from the chiller unit is circulated in the channel.

By the way, in the chiller unit for circulating the coolant in the channel provided inside the substrate support in this way, a high output power supplied to plasma processing is provided via a pipe connecting the channel and the chiller unit. Power (RF power or DC pulse signal) may enter as an electrical noise component. When high output power intrudes in this way, there is a risk that various measuring devices (for example, a temperature sensor and a flow rate sensor) provided in the chiller unit may malfunction. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the electrostatic chuck is cooled or heated by allowing fluid from the temperature control system to flow through the inside of the mounting table. Intrusion of noise components is not considered.

The technology according to the present disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances, and suppresses electrical noise components that propagate from the plasma processing chamber to the chiller unit via stainless steel pipes. The configuration of the plasma processing apparatus according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this specification, elements having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, thereby omitting redundant description.

<Plasma processing system>

In one embodiment, the plasma processing system includes a plasma processing apparatus 1 and a controller 2 as shown in FIG. The plasma processing system is an example of a substrate processing system, and the plasma processing apparatus 1 is an example of a substrate processing apparatus. The plasma processing apparatus 1 includes a plasma processing chamber 10 , a substrate support section 11 and a plasma generation section 12 . Plasma processing chamber 10 has a plasma processing space. The plasma processing chamber 10 also has at least one gas inlet for supplying at least one process gas to the plasma processing space and at least one gas outlet for exhausting gas from the plasma processing space. The gas supply port is connected to the gas supply section 30, which will be described later, and the gas discharge port is connected to the exhaust system 50, which will be described later. The substrate support 11 is arranged in the plasma processing space and has a substrate support surface for supporting the substrate.

The plasma generator 12 is configured to generate plasma from at least one processing gas supplied within the plasma processing space. Plasma formed in the plasma processing space includes capacitively coupled plasma (CCP), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), ECR plasma (Electron-Cyclotron-resonance plasma), helicon wave excited plasma (HWP: Helicon Wave Plasma), surface wave plasma (SWP: Surface Wave Plasma), or the like. Also, various types of plasma generators may be used, including alternating current (AC) plasma generators and direct current (DC) plasma generators. In one embodiment, the AC signal (AC power) used in the AC plasma generator has a frequency within the range of 100 kHz to 10 GHz. Accordingly, AC signals include RF (Radio Frequency) signals and microwave signals. In one embodiment, the RF signal has a frequency within the range of 100 kHz-150 MHz.

Controller 2 processes computer-executable instructions that cause plasma processing apparatus 1 to perform the various steps described in this disclosure. Controller 2 may be configured to control elements of plasma processing apparatus 1 to perform the various processes described herein. In one embodiment, part or all of the controller 2 may be included in the plasma processing apparatus 1 . The control unit 2 may include a processing unit 2a1, a storage unit 2a2, and a communication interface 2a3. The control unit 2 is implemented by, for example, a computer 2a. Processing unit 2a1 can be configured to perform various control operations by reading programs from storage unit 2a2 and executing the read programs. This program may be stored in the storage unit 2a2 in advance, or may be obtained via a medium when necessary. The acquired program is stored in the storage unit 2a2, read from the storage unit 2a2 and executed by the processing unit 2a1. The medium may be various storage media readable by the computer 2a, or may be a communication line connected to the communication interface 2a3. The processing unit 2a1 may be a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The storage unit 2a2 may include RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), or a combination thereof. The communication interface 2a3 may communicate with the plasma processing apparatus 1 via a communication line such as a LAN (Local Area Network). Moreover, the storage medium may be temporary or non-temporary.

<Plasma processing device>
Next, a configuration example of a capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus as an example of the plasma processing apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of a capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus.

A capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus 1 includes a plasma processing chamber 10 , a temperature control section 20 , a gas supply section 30 , a power supply 40 and an exhaust system 50 . Further, the plasma processing apparatus 1 includes a substrate support section 11 and a gas introduction section. The gas introduction is configured to introduce at least one process gas into the plasma processing chamber 10 . The gas introduction section includes a showerhead 13 . Plasma processing chamber 10 also includes a conductive baseplate 14 that forms at least a portion of the bottom of plasma processing chamber 10 . Substrate support 11 is positioned above conductive base plate 14 within plasma processing chamber 10 . The showerhead 13 is arranged above the substrate support 11 . In one embodiment, showerhead 13 forms at least a portion of the ceiling of plasma processing chamber 10 . The plasma processing chamber 10 has a plasma processing space 10 s defined by a showerhead 13 , side walls 10 a of the plasma processing chamber 10 and a substrate support 11 . Plasma processing chamber 10 is grounded. The showerhead 13 and substrate support 11 are electrically insulated from the housing of the plasma processing chamber 10 .

The substrate support 11 includes a body portion 110 and a ring assembly 120 . Body portion 110 has a central region 110 a for supporting substrate W and an annular region 110 b for supporting ring assembly 120 . A wafer is an example of a substrate W; The annular region 110b of the body portion 110 surrounds the central region 110a of the body portion 110 in plan view. The substrate W is placed on the central region 110 a of the body portion 110 , and the ring assembly 120 is placed on the annular region 110 b of the body portion 110 so as to surround the substrate W on the central region 110 a of the body portion 110 . Accordingly, the central region 110a is also referred to as a substrate support surface for supporting the substrate W, and the annular region 110b is also referred to as a ring support surface for supporting the ring assembly 120. FIG.

In one embodiment, the body part 110 also includes a conductive base 111 , an electrostatic chuck 112 and an insulating support part 113 .

Conductive base 111 includes a conductive member. The conductive member of the conductive base 111 can function as a lower electrode. A conductive base 111 is arranged above the conductive base plate 14 via an insulating support 113 . In other words, the insulating support 113 is arranged on the conductive base plate 14 and the conductive base 111 is arranged above the insulating support 113 . The insulating support 113 includes at least one ceramic member.

The electrostatic chuck 112 is arranged on the conductive base 111 . Electrostatic chuck 112 includes a ceramic member 112a and an electrostatic electrode 112b disposed within ceramic member 112a. Ceramic member 112a has a central region 110a. In one embodiment, ceramic member 112a also has an annular region 110b. Note that another member surrounding the electrostatic chuck 112, such as an annular electrostatic chuck or an annular insulating member, may have the annular region 110b. In this case, the ring assembly 120 may be placed on the annular electrostatic chuck or the annular insulating member, or may be placed on both the electrostatic chuck 112 and the annular insulating member. Also, at least one RF/DC electrode coupled to an RF power source 41 and/or a DC power source 42, described below, may be disposed within the ceramic member 112a. In this case, at least one RF/DC electrode functions as the bottom electrode. If a bias RF signal and/or a DC signal, described below, is applied to at least one RF/DC electrode, the RF/DC electrode is also called a bias electrode. The conductive member of the conductive base 111 and at least one RF/DC electrode may function as a plurality of lower electrodes. Also, the electrostatic electrode 112b may function as a lower electrode. Accordingly, the substrate support 11 includes at least one bottom electrode.

Ring assembly 120 includes one or more annular members. In one embodiment, the one or more annular members include one or more edge rings and at least one cover ring. The edge ring is made of a conductive material or an insulating material, and the cover ring is made of an insulating material.

A coolant flow path 130 is formed in the conductive base 111 . The coolant channel 130 functions as a temperature control module configured to control at least one of the electrostatic chuck 112, the ring assembly 120 and the substrate W to a target temperature. A coolant (heat transfer fluid) is circulated and supplied to the coolant flow path 130 between it and the temperature control unit 20 which will be described later.

The coolant channel 130 is connected to the first insulating pipe 131 and the second insulating pipe 132 . The first insulating pipe 131 and the second insulating pipe 132 can be made of Al ₂ O ₃ in one example.
In one embodiment, the first insulating pipe 131 extends from the inlet side of the coolant channel 130 to the lower surface of the conductive base plate 14 through the first opening 14a formed in the conductive base plate 14, and is electrically conductive. electrical contact with the conductive base plate 14 . The second insulating pipe 132 extends from the outlet side of the coolant channel 130 to the lower surface of the conductive base plate 14 through the second opening 14b formed in the conductive base plate 14, and electrically come into direct contact. The coolant from the temperature control unit 20 flows through the first insulating pipe 131 , the coolant flow path 130 and the second insulating pipe 132 in this order and circulates inside the substrate supporting unit 11 . In the substrate supporting portion 11 , the temperature of at least one of the electrostatic chuck 112 , the ring assembly 120 and the substrate W is adjusted by heat exchange of the coolant in at least the coolant channel 130 .

Note that the substrate supporter 11 may include another temperature control module configured to control at least one of the electrostatic chuck 112, the ring assembly 120, and the substrate W to the target temperature. Other temperature control modules may include heaters, heat transfer media, or combinations thereof. In one embodiment, one or more heaters are positioned within the ceramic member 112 a of the electrostatic chuck 112 . The substrate support 11 is also configured to supply a heat transfer gas to the gap between the back surface of the substrate W and the central region 110a or the gap between the back surface of the ring assembly 120 and the annular region 110b. A hot gas supply may be included.

The showerhead 13 is configured to introduce at least one process gas from the gas supply 30 into the plasma processing space 10s. The showerhead 13 has at least one gas supply port 13a, at least one gas diffusion chamber 13b, and multiple gas introduction ports 13c. The processing gas supplied to the gas supply port 13a passes through the gas diffusion chamber 13b and is introduced into the plasma processing space 10s through a plurality of gas introduction ports 13c. Showerhead 13 also includes at least one upper electrode. In addition to the showerhead 13, the gas introduction part may include one or more side gas injectors (SGI: Side Gas Injectors) attached to one or more openings formed in the side wall 10a.

The temperature control section 20 includes at least one chiller unit 21 , first chiller piping 22 and second chiller piping 23 . The chiller unit 21 may include at least one temperature controller 21a, at least one flow controller 21b and at least one sensor group 21c. Each temperature controller 21 a may include, for example, a tank or a heat exchanger for controlling the temperature of the refrigerant circulating between the refrigerant flow paths 130 . Each flow controller 21b may include, for example, a mass flow controller or a pressure-controlled flow controller. Each sensor group 21c can include, for example, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, or a flow sensor. In one embodiment, chiller unit 21 is located external to plasma processing chamber 10 as shown in FIG.

A first chiller pipe 22 connects the outlet of the chiller unit 21 and a first opening 14 a formed in the lower surface of the conductive base plate 14 . In other words, the first chiller pipe 22 connects the outlet of the chiller unit 21 and the first insulating pipe 131 connected to the inlet side of the refrigerant channel 130 . In one embodiment, first chiller piping 22 is in electrical contact with conductive baseplate 14 . In one embodiment, first chiller piping 22 may be formed of a stainless material. That is, the first chiller pipe 22 can constitute the "first stainless steel pipe" according to the technology of the present disclosure.
A second chiller pipe 23 connects the inlet of the chiller unit 21 and a second opening 14 b formed in the lower surface of the conductive base plate 14 . In other words, the second chiller pipe 23 connects the inlet of the chiller unit 21 and the second insulating pipe 132 connected to the outlet side of the refrigerant channel 130 . In one embodiment, second chiller piping 23 is in electrical contact with conductive baseplate 14 . In one embodiment, the second chiller piping 23 may be made of stainless material. That is, the second chiller pipe 23 can constitute the "second stainless steel pipe" according to the technology of the present disclosure.
Then, the temperature control unit 20 distributes the refrigerant whose temperature has been adjusted by the chiller unit 21 to the first chiller pipe 22, the first insulating pipe 131, the refrigerant flow path 130, the second insulating pipe 132, and the second chiller. The temperature of at least one of the electrostatic chuck 112, the ring assembly 120 and the substrate W is adjusted by circulating the pipe 23 in this order.

A first conductive spacer 24 is arranged between the first chiller pipe 22 and the first insulating pipe 131, as shown in FIG. In one example, the first conductive spacer 24 has a thickness of 1.5 mm or more and 5 mm or less, preferably 2.0 mm or more and 5 mm or less.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the first conductive spacer 24 is formed with one or a plurality of through holes 24a passing through the first conductive spacer 24 in the thickness direction (longitudinal direction). In one example, it is desirable that the through-holes 24a each have a diameter of less than φ3 mm. Further, the through holes 24a formed in the first conductive spacers 24 preferably have an aperture ratio of 80% or less, preferably 30% or more and 80% or less in a plan view, for example.
As a result, the first conductive spacer 24 causes the coolant from the chiller unit 21 to flow from the first chiller pipe 22 to the first insulating pipe 131 through the through hole 24a, while at the same time allowing the plasma processing chamber to flow. It blocks or attenuates the transmission (intrusion) of high output power (RF power or DC pulse signal) from 10 to the first chiller pipe 22 .
In the technology according to the present disclosure, the “high output” power output from the power supply 40 described later is, for example, a DC pulse signal of 9.5 kV or more, preferably 7 kV or more, and an RF signal of 8 kV or more. .5 kW or more, preferably 7 kW or more.

Note that the configuration of the first conductive spacer 24 is only an example, and if it can block or attenuate the entry of electrical noise components from the plasma processing chamber 10 side to the first chiller pipe 22, the first conductive spacer 24 can be used. The configuration of the spacer 24 is not limited to this.
For example, the thickness of the first conductive spacers 24 is preferably at least greater than the wavelength of the high output power to be subjected to plasma processing. Moreover, it is desirable that the through hole 24a is at least smaller than the wavelength of the high output power used for plasma processing.
Further, the hole shape of the through hole 24a formed in the first conductive spacer 24 is not limited to the punching hole, and may be any shape. For example, the first conductive spacer 24 may have a mesh portion as shown in FIG. 4, and a rectangular hole in the mesh portion may constitute the through hole 24a. In this case, it is desirable that the diagonal length (length L in FIG. 4) of each mesh portion is less than 3 mm. In this case, it is desirable that the mesh portion formed in the first conductive spacer 24 has an aperture ratio of 60% or less, preferably 30% or more and 60% or less in plan view, for example.

A second conductive spacer 25 is arranged between the second chiller pipe 23 and the second insulating pipe 132 . In one embodiment, the second conductive spacers 25 may have a configuration similar to the first conductive spacers 24 as shown in FIGS. That is, the second conductive spacer 25 may have any configuration as long as it can block or attenuate noise components from entering the first chiller pipe 22 from the plasma processing chamber 10 side.

2 and 3, plasma processing chamber 10 (conductive base plate 14), first and second chiller pipes 22, 23, and first and second conductive spacers 24, 25, respectively. configured independently.
However, the configuration of the first and second conductive spacers 24, 25 is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. It may be configured integrally.
Alternatively, although not shown, the first and second conductive spacers 24, 25 may be configured integrally with the first and second chiller pipes 22, 23, respectively.

Returning to the description of FIG.
Gas supply 30 may include at least one gas source 31 and at least one flow controller 32 . In one embodiment, gas supply 30 is configured to supply at least one process gas from respective gas sources 31 through respective flow controllers 32 to showerhead 13 . Each flow controller 32 may include, for example, a mass flow controller or a pressure-controlled flow controller. Additionally, gas supply 30 may include at least one flow modulation device for modulating or pulsing the flow rate of at least one process gas.

Power supply 40 includes an RF power supply 41 coupled to plasma processing chamber 10 through at least one impedance match circuit. RF power supply 41 is configured to supply at least one RF signal (RF power) to at least one lower electrode and/or at least one upper electrode. Thereby, plasma is formed from at least one processing gas supplied to the plasma processing space 10s. Therefore, the RF power supply 41 can function as at least part of the plasma generator 12 . Also, by supplying a bias RF signal to at least one lower electrode, a bias potential is generated in the substrate W, and ion components in the formed plasma can be drawn into the substrate W. FIG.

In one embodiment, the RF power supply 41 includes a first RF generator 41a and a second RF generator 41b. The first RF generator 41a is coupled to at least one lower electrode and/or at least one upper electrode via at least one impedance matching circuit to generate a source RF signal (source RF power) for plasma generation. configured as In one embodiment, the source RF signal has a frequency within the range of 10 MHz to 150 MHz. In one embodiment, the first RF generator 41a may be configured to generate multiple source RF signals having different frequencies. One or more source RF signals generated are provided to at least one bottom electrode and/or at least one top electrode.

A second RF generator 41b is coupled to the at least one lower electrode via at least one impedance matching circuit and configured to generate a bias RF signal (bias RF power). The frequency of the bias RF signal may be the same as or different from the frequency of the source RF signal. In one embodiment, the bias RF signal has a frequency lower than the frequency of the source RF signal. In one embodiment, the bias RF signal has a frequency within the range of 100 kHz to 60 MHz. In one embodiment, the second RF generator 41b may be configured to generate multiple bias RF signals having different frequencies. One or more bias RF signals generated are provided to at least one bottom electrode. Also, in various embodiments, at least one of the source RF signal and the bias RF signal may be pulsed.

Power supply 40 may also include a DC power supply 42 coupled to plasma processing chamber 10 . The DC power supply 42 includes a first DC generator 42a and a second DC generator 42b. In one embodiment, the first DC generator 42a is connected to the at least one bottom electrode and configured to generate a first DC signal. The generated first DC signal is applied to at least one bottom electrode. In one embodiment, the second DC generator 42b is connected to the at least one top electrode and configured to generate a second DC signal. The generated second DC signal is applied to at least one top electrode.

In various embodiments, the first and second DC signals may be pulsed. In this case, a sequence of voltage pulses is applied to at least one bottom electrode and/or at least one top electrode. The voltage pulses may have rectangular, trapezoidal, triangular, or combinations thereof pulse waveforms. In one embodiment, a waveform generator for generating a sequence of voltage pulses from a DC signal is connected between the first DC generator 42a and the at least one bottom electrode. Therefore, the first DC generator 42a and the waveform generator constitute a voltage pulse generator. When the second DC generator 42b and the waveform generator constitute a voltage pulse generator, the voltage pulse generator is connected to at least one upper electrode. The voltage pulse may have a positive polarity or a negative polarity. Also, the sequence of voltage pulses may include one or more positive voltage pulses and one or more negative voltage pulses in one cycle. The first and second DC generators 42a and 42b may be provided in addition to the RF power supply 41, or the first DC generator 42a may be provided instead of the second RF generator 41b. good.

The exhaust system 50 may be connected to a gas outlet 10e provided at the bottom of the plasma processing chamber 10, for example. Exhaust system 50 may include a pressure regulating valve and a vacuum pump. The internal pressure of the plasma processing space 10s is adjusted by the pressure regulating valve. Vacuum pumps may include turbomolecular pumps, dry pumps, or combinations thereof.

While various exemplary embodiments have been described above, various additions, omissions, substitutions, and modifications may be made without being limited to the exemplary embodiments described above. Also, elements from different embodiments can be combined to form other embodiments.

<Substrate processing method by plasma processing apparatus>
Next, an example of a method for processing the substrate W in the plasma processing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described. In the plasma processing apparatus 1, the substrate W is subjected to various plasma processing such as etching processing, film forming processing, and diffusion processing.

First, the substrate W is loaded into the plasma processing chamber 10 and placed on the electrostatic chuck 112 of the substrate supporter 11 . Next, a voltage is applied to the electrostatic electrode 112b of the electrostatic chuck 112, whereby the substrate W is attracted and held by the electrostatic chuck 112 by electrostatic force.

After the substrate W is adsorbed and held by the electrostatic chuck 112, the inside of the plasma processing chamber 10 is then decompressed to a predetermined degree of vacuum. Next, the processing gas is supplied to the plasma processing space 10 s from the gas supply unit 30 through the shower head 13 . Further, power for plasma generation is supplied from the power supply 40 to the lower electrode, thereby exciting the processing gas and generating plasma. At this time, bias power may be supplied from the power supply 40 . Then, in the plasma processing space 10s, the substrate W is plasma-processed by the action of the generated plasma.

When the desired plasma processing result is obtained for the substrate W, the plasma processing in the plasma processing apparatus 1 is terminated. When the plasma processing ends, the power supply for plasma generation from the power source 40 and the processing gas supply from the gas supply unit 30 are stopped. If bias power is being supplied during plasma processing, the bias power supply is also stopped.

Next, the adsorption and holding of the substrate W by the electrostatic chuck 112 is stopped, and the substrate W after plasma processing and the electrostatic chuck 112 are discharged. Thereafter, the substrate W is detached from the electrostatic chuck 112 and unloaded from the plasma processing apparatus 1 . Thus, a series of plasma processing is completed.

<Effects, etc.>
Here, as described above, spacers (first and second In the conventional plasma processing system in which the conductive spacers 24, 25) are not arranged, the high output power (RF signal or DC signal) output from the power supply 40 during plasma processing is transmitted to the chiller unit through the chiller piping. There was a risk of transmission as an electrical noise component. When high-frequency power enters the chiller unit as a noise component in this way, as shown in FIG. As a result, the desired processing result for the substrate W may not be obtained.

In this respect, according to the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. First and second conductive spacers 24, 25 are positioned between the chiller pipes 22, 23, respectively. Through-holes 24a and 25a are formed in the first and second conductive spacers 24 and 25 with a desired shape, size, and preferably an aperture ratio of 30% or more and 80% or less.
As an example, the high output voltage from the plasma processing chamber 10 reaches the chiller unit 21 through the inner peripheral surface of the chiller piping. By placing the first and second conductive spacers 24, 25 between the insulating pipes 131, 132 and the first and second chiller pipes 22, 23, the Transmission of noise components can be suppressed.
It should be noted that the noise component of the high output power whose intrusion into the chiller piping is suppressed is released to the ground from the grounded plasma processing chamber 10 as an example.

FIG. 7 shows temporal changes in the high output power output from the power supply 40 and the measurement results by the sensor group 21c in the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment in which the first and second conductive spacers 24 and 25 are arranged. is a graph showing As can be seen from comparison with FIG. 6, in the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, hunting in the measurement results of the sensor group 21c due to the high output power output from the power source 40 could be suppressed. Specifically, the distortion (magnetostriction waveform distortion) of the measurement result of the sensor group 21c due to the noise component of the high-frequency power in the conventional plasma processing apparatus shown in FIG. The magnetostrictive waveform distortion in the shown plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the present application was less than 10%.
Thus, in the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment, between the first insulating pipe 131 and the second insulating pipe 132 (plasma processing chamber 10) and the first and second chiller pipes 22 and 23, By arranging the first and second conductive spacers 24 and 25, even when high-output power was supplied from the power source 40, the entry of noise components into the chiller unit 21 could be appropriately suppressed.

In the conventional plasma processing apparatus, in order to suppress heat transfer from the plasma processing chamber to the chiller unit during plasma processing, as shown in FIG. In some cases, an insulator In is arranged between the . The insulator In is made of resin, for example. However, when the insulator In is arranged in this way, the high output power (RF signal or DC signal) output from the power supply may leak to the outer space of the chiller pipe 220 and reach the chiller unit. (radiated noise).

In this regard, in the plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment, the conductive base plate 14 and the first and second chiller pipes 22 and 23 are brought into electrical contact without arranging an insulator. In other words, the insulator In, which has conventionally been arranged between the conductive base plate 14 and the first and second chiller pipes 22 and 23, is made of a metal material.
As a result, the high output power output from the power supply 40 can be more appropriately released to the ground without leaking (without generating radiation noise) at the portion where the conventional insulator In is installed.

In addition, as a result of extensive studies by the present inventors, it was found that the insulator In for suppressing heat transfer was omitted as in the above embodiment, and the conductive base plate 140 and the chiller pipe were connected by a conductive spacer. However, it was found that the thermal effect on the chiller unit could be appropriately suppressed. From this point of view as well, it is desirable to provide conductive spacers between the conductive base plate 140 (first and second insulating pipes 131, 132) and the first and second chiller pipes 22, 23. .

It should be considered that the embodiments disclosed this time are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The embodiments described above may be omitted, substituted, or modified in various ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

Reference Signs List 1 plasma processing apparatus 10 plasma processing chamber 11 substrate support 14 conductive base plate 21 chiller unit 22 first chiller pipe 23 second chiller pipe 24 first conductive spacer 24a through-hole 25 second conductive spacer 25a through-hole hole 42 DC power supply 130 refrigerant channel 131 first insulating pipe 132 second insulating pipe

Claims (14)

A plasma processing chamber having a conductive baseplate, the conductive baseplate having a first opening and a second opening and coupled to a ground potential;
a substrate support disposed within the plasma processing chamber and having a coolant channel;
a DC generator coupled to the substrate support and configured to generate a DC signal;
a first insulating pipe extending from the substrate supporting portion to the lower surface of the conductive base plate through the first opening and fluidly connected to an inlet of the coolant channel;
a second insulating pipe extending from the substrate supporting portion to the lower surface of the conductive base plate through the second opening and fluidly connected to an outlet of the coolant channel;
a chiller unit located outside the plasma processing chamber;
a first stainless steel pipe that fluidly connects the outlet of the chiller unit and the first insulating pipe;
a second stainless steel pipe that fluidly connects the inlet of the chiller unit and the second insulating pipe;
a first conductive spacer disposed across the cross section between the first insulating pipe and the first stainless steel pipe and having an aperture ratio of 30% to 80%;
a second conductive spacer disposed across the cross section between the second insulating pipe and the second stainless pipe and having an aperture ratio of 30% to 80%. The first stainless steel pipe is electrically connected to the conductive base plate via the first conductive spacer, and the second stainless steel pipe is electrically connected to the conductive base plate via the second conductive spacer. 2. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1, electrically connected with the base plate. The substrate support part
a conductive base having the coolant channel;
an electrostatic chuck positioned on the conductive base;
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. an electrostatic electrode disposed within the electrostatic chuck;
a bias electrode disposed below the electrostatic electrode within the electrostatic chuck;
4. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein said DC generator is coupled to said bias electrode. 5. The plasma processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said first conductive spacer is integrated with said conductive base plate. The plasma processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said second conductive spacer is integrated with said conductive base plate. The plasma processing apparatus of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the DC signal has a voltage of 7 kV or higher. 8. The first conductive spacer and/or the second conductive spacer has a plurality of through-holes to realize an aperture ratio of 30% to 60%, according to any one of claims 1 to 7. 3. The plasma processing apparatus according to . The plasma according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said first conductive spacer and/or said second conductive spacer has a mesh portion with an aperture ratio of 30% to 80%. processing equipment. 10. The plasma processing apparatus of any one of claims 1-9, further comprising an RF generator coupled to the plasma processing chamber and configured to generate an RF signal. A plasma processing chamber having a conductive baseplate, the conductive baseplate having a first opening and a second opening and coupled to a ground potential;
a substrate support disposed within the plasma processing chamber and having a coolant channel;
an RF generator coupled to the plasma processing chamber and configured to generate an RF signal;
a first insulating pipe extending from the substrate supporting portion to the lower surface of the conductive base plate through the first opening and fluidly connected to an inlet of the coolant channel;
a second insulating pipe extending from the substrate supporting portion to the lower surface of the conductive base plate through the second opening and fluidly connected to an outlet of the coolant channel;
a chiller unit disposed outside the plasma processing chamber; a first stainless steel pipe fluidly connecting an outlet of the chiller unit and the first insulating pipe;
a second stainless steel pipe that fluidly connects the inlet of the chiller unit and the second insulating pipe;
a first conductive spacer disposed across the cross section between the first insulating pipe and the first stainless steel pipe and having an aperture ratio of 30% to 80%;
a second conductive spacer disposed across the cross section between the second insulating pipe and the second stainless steel pipe and having an aperture ratio of 30% to 80%. A plasma processing chamber having a conductive baseplate, the conductive baseplate having an opening and coupled to a ground potential;
a substrate support disposed within the plasma processing chamber and having a coolant channel;
an insulating pipe extending from the substrate supporting portion to the lower surface of the conductive base plate through the opening and fluidly connected to the coolant channel;
a chiller unit located outside the plasma processing chamber;
a stainless steel pipe that fluidly connects the chiller unit and the insulating pipe;
A plasma processing apparatus comprising: a conductive spacer disposed across a cross section between the insulating pipe and the stainless pipe and having an aperture ratio of 30% to 80%. 13. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said stainless steel pipe is electrically connected to said conductive base plate via said conductive spacer. The substrate support part
a conductive base having the coolant channel;
14. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 12 or 13, comprising an electrostatic chuck arranged on said conductive base.

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