JP2978613B2 - Single wafer plasma etching system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a single-wafer plasma etching apparatus, and more particularly to a single-wafer plasma etching apparatus using a material to be etched by plasma for an upper electrode plate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional single-wafer plasma etching apparatus does not have a mechanism for periodically measuring and monitoring a distance between electrodes during etching without opening a processing chamber.

That is, it is necessary to periodically stop the etching, open the processing chamber, and physically measure the distance between the electrodes.

[0004]

In the conventional single-wafer plasma etching apparatus, the change in the etching amount of the upper electrode plate, that is, the change in the distance between the electrodes cannot be monitored without opening the processing chamber. Since it was necessary to open the chamber and perform the physical measurement, a time for stopping the apparatus was required, and there was a problem that the operation rate was reduced.

Further, since the distance between the electrodes changes even during the continuous processing, there is a problem that the etching is not stable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a single-wafer plasma etching apparatus capable of measuring an amount of shaving of an upper electrode plate and a distance between electrodes without periodically stopping the apparatus.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a single-wafer plasma etching apparatus according to the present invention has a monitor mechanism, and sets a semiconductor substrate on a lower electrode plate in a processing chamber, and A single-wafer plasma etching apparatus using a material to be etched by plasma for an electrode plate, wherein the monitor mechanism is configured such that an upper electrode plate is etched and a distance between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate (distance between electrodes) is reduced. The inter-electrode distance is measured by raising the pin for measuring the inter-electrode distance (measure pin) from the center of the lower electrode plate every time the wafer is transferred, and bringing the tip of the measure pin into contact with the surface of the upper electrode plate. This is a mechanism for monitoring.

[0008]

[Effect] The amount of shaving of the etched upper electrode plate is
Each time a wafer is transferred, the measuring pin is raised from the center of the lower electrode plate and the tip of the measuring pin is brought into contact with the surface of the upper electrode plate to provide a measurement function. The distance between the electrodes can be monitored by measuring the shaving amount of the upper electrode plate.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a single-wafer plasma etching apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. However, the evacuation system and the gas supply system are omitted.

Referring to FIG. 1, an upper electrode plate 4 and a lower electrode plate 2 are provided vertically inside a processing chamber 1, and the upper electrode plate 4 and the lower electrode plate 2 are connected to a plasma generator 8. Have been.

Further, the measure pin 3 for measuring the distance between the electrodes is moved up and down by the motor 5 from the center of the lower electrode plate 2 to the upper electrode plate 4.

The sensor section 6 measures the distance to the surface of the upper electrode plate 4 using the measuring pin 3.

In the processing chamber 1, a semiconductor substrate (hereinafter, referred to as a semiconductor substrate)
Each time a wafer is transported, the measure pin 3 rises through the lower electrode plate 2, and the tip of the measure pin 3 contacts the upper electrode plate 4.

The measuring pin 3 is driven up and down by a motor 5, and the distance to the surface of the upper electrode plate 4 can be measured by the sensor unit 6. That is, the amount of shaving on the surface of the upper electrode plate 4 can be monitored. This value is sent from the sensor unit 6 to the device CPU 7.

The device CPU 7 compares the value with a preset value, and if the value exceeds the value, generates an alarm or the like.

[0017]

As described above, the present invention has a function of measuring the distance between the electrodes and the amount of shaving of the upper electrode plate by the measuring pin each time the wafer is transferred, so that the apparatus is periodically stopped. There is no need for physical measurement, and there is an effect that downtime of the device can be shortened.

Further, since the measurement is performed for each wafer to be processed, the plasma during the processing becomes constant irrespective of the change in the amount of shaving on the surface of the upper electrode plate, and there is an effect that quality trouble can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Processing room 2 Lower electrode plate 3 Measure pin 4 Upper electrode plate 5 Motor 6 Sensor part 7 Device CPU 8 Plasma generator

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A single-wafer plasma etching apparatus having a monitor mechanism, wherein a semiconductor substrate is set on a lower electrode plate in a processing chamber and a material etched by plasma is used for an upper electrode plate. The mechanism detects that the distance between the upper and lower electrode plates (distance between the electrodes) has changed due to the etching of the upper electrode plate, and that a pin for measuring the distance between the electrodes (measure pin) ), And a mechanism for measuring and monitoring the distance between the electrodes by bringing the tip of the measuring pin into contact with the surface of the upper electrode plate.