KR101533711B1 - Microwave plasma processing chamber having mutli separated electrode - Google Patents

Abstract

A microwave plasma processing chamber having a multi-division electrode includes a chamber body defining a space in which a plasma is generated, a plurality of multi-division electrodes driven by microwaves, and an electrode mounting member on which the multi-division electrodes are mounted And a microwave generator for generating a microwave supplied to the multi-division electrode. According to the microwave plasma processing apparatus having the multi-division electrode of the present invention, it is possible to variably control the power ratio of the microwaves supplied to the plurality of multi-division electrodes by using a plurality of multi-division electrodes, So that the plasma generation efficiency can be increased.

Microwave, Plasma, Multi-split electrode

Description

[0001] MICROWAVE PLASMA PROCESSING CHAMBER HAVING MUTLI SEPARATED ELECTRODE [0002]

The present invention relates to a microwave plasma processing chamber, and more particularly, to a microwave plasma processing chamber having a multi-division electrode.

A plasma is a highly ionized gas containing the same number of positive ions and electrons. Plasma discharges are used in gas excitation to generate active gases including ions, free radicals, atoms, and molecules. Active gases are widely used in various fields and various semiconductor manufacturing processes for manufacturing devices such as integrated circuit devices, liquid crystal displays, solar cells, etc. can be used, for example etching, deposition, cleaning, ashing and so on.

As a method for generating plasma, accelerating particles are ionized by colliding with atoms or molecules. However, industrially applied plasma is mainly ionized by inducing gas discharge by applying electric field from the outside, Consists of. There are various types of plasmas depending on the frequency used in such an electric field application method, and one of them is a microwave plasma. It is known that microwave plasma can easily generate a large amount of free radicals and electrons in plasma interact with neutral particles to turn the neutral particles into an excited energy state, which can lead to highly efficient chemical reactions.

In recent years, the semiconductor manufacturing industry has been further improved due to various factors such as miniaturization of semiconductor devices, enlargement of substrates to be processed such as a silicon wafer substrate, a glass substrate or a plastic substrate for manufacturing a semiconductor circuit, A plasma processing technique is required. In particular, there is a demand for an improved plasma source and a plasma processing technique having excellent processing capability for a large-area substrate to be processed.

The enlargement of the substrate to be processed leads to the enlargement of the overall production equipment. The enlargement of the production facilities increases the overall equipment area and consequently increases the production costs. Therefore, there is a demand for a plasma reactor and a plasma processing system capable of minimizing a facility area as much as possible. Particularly, in the semiconductor manufacturing process, productivity per unit area is one of the important factors affecting the final product price.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a microwave plasma processing chamber having a multi-split electrode that is easy to expand into a large area.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a microwave plasma processing chamber having a multi-division electrode capable of efficiently supplying microwaves and thereby increasing plasma generation efficiency.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a microwave plasma processing chamber. A microwave plasma processing chamber of the present invention includes: a chamber body defining a space in which a plasma is generated; A multi-division electrode assembly including a plurality of multi-division electrodes driven by microwaves and an electrode mounting member on which the multi-division electrodes are mounted; And a microwave source for generating a microwave supplied to the multi-division electrode.

In one embodiment, a switching circuit for dividing and supplying a microwave provided from the microwave source to the plurality of multi-division electrodes and a switching controller for controlling the switching operation of the switching circuit.

In one embodiment, the switching circuit includes a plurality of switching semiconductor elements.

In one embodiment, the ratio of the power of the microwave divided and supplied to the plurality of multi-division electrodes may vary according to the switching operation of the switching circuit.

In one embodiment, the substrate support is provided inside the chamber body and the substrate to be processed is placed thereon. And at least one bias power supply for supplying bias power to the substrate support.

In one embodiment, the electrode mounting member includes a plurality of gas supply holes.

According to the microwave plasma processing apparatus having the multi-division electrode of the present invention, it is possible to variably control the power ratio of the microwaves supplied to the plurality of multi-division electrodes by using a plurality of multi-division electrodes, So that the plasma generation efficiency can be increased.

For a better understanding of the present invention, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments of the present invention may be modified into various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described in detail below. The present embodiments are provided to enable those skilled in the art to more fully understand the present invention. Therefore, the shapes and the like of the elements in the drawings can be exaggeratedly expressed to emphasize a clearer description. It should be noted that in the drawings, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals. Detailed descriptions of well-known functions and constructions which may be unnecessarily obscured by the gist of the present invention are omitted.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a microwave plasma processing chamber according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of a multi-division electrode assembly.

1 and 2, a microwave plasma processing chamber 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a chamber body 11 defining a space in which a plasma is generated, And a multi-division electrode assembly (30). Inside the chamber body 11, a substrate support 14 on which the substrate W is placed is provided. Although not specifically shown in the figure, the process gas supplied from the gas supply source is supplied to the interior of the chamber body 11 and exhausted by the vacuum pump 18. The multi-division electrode assembly 30 includes a plurality of multi-division electrodes 33 driven by microwaves and an electrode mounting member 31 on which a plurality of multi-division electrodes 33 are mounted. The plurality of multi-division electrodes 33 are electrically connected to the microwave generating source 40 and are supplied with microwaves to generate plasma in the chamber body 11. The substrate processing process for the substrate W is performed by the plasma generated inside the chamber body 11. [

The chamber body 11 may be made of a metal material such as aluminum, stainless steel, or copper. Or a coated metal such as anodized aluminum or nickel plated aluminum. Or a composite metal in which carbon nanotubes are covalently bonded may be used. Or a refractory metal. As such, the chamber body 11 can be made of any material suitable for the intended plasma process to be performed. The structure of the chamber body 11 may have any suitable structure, for example, a circular structure or a rectangular structure, and any other structure for the uniform generation of the plasma and the substrate W according to the substrate W to be processed. The substrate 13 to be processed is, for example, a wafer substrate, a glass substrate, a plastic substrate, or the like for manufacturing various devices such as a semiconductor device, a display device, a solar cell and the like. In the embodiment of the present invention, the plasma processing chamber 10 is subjected to plasma processing on the substrate W under a low-pressure state below atmospheric pressure. However, the plasma processing chamber 10 can also be used in an atmospheric plasma processing system for processing substrates to be processed at atmospheric pressure.

Inside the plasma processing chamber 10, a substrate support 14 for supporting a substrate W is provided. The substrate support 12 is connected to bias power sources 20 and 21 and biased. For example, two bias power supplies 20, 21, which supply different radio frequency power sources, are electrically connected to the substrate support 14 through a common impedance matcher 22 (or each impedance matcher) . The dual bias structure of the substrate support 14 facilitates plasma generation within the plasma processing chamber 10 and can further improve plasma ion energy control to improve process productivity. Or a single bias structure. Alternatively, the substrate support 14 may be deformed into a structure having a zero potential without the supply of bias power. And the substrate support 14 may comprise an electrostatic chuck. Or the substrate support 14 may comprise a heater. Basically, the substrate support 14 is structured as a fixed or vertically movable structure. Or the substrate support 14 has a parallel linear or rotationally movable structure. And may include a drive mechanism for linearly or rotationally moving the substrate support 14 in such moveable structure. An exhaust baffle (not shown) may be configured for uniform exhaust of the gas in the lower portion of the chamber body 11.

The structure for supplying the process gas into the interior of the chamber body 11 may have a structure that is supplied through the multi-division electrode assembly 30, for example. For this purpose, the electrode mounting member 31 may be provided with a plurality of gas supply holes 32. The plurality of humidifying supply holes 32 may be arranged between the plurality of multi-division electrodes 33. [ The gas supply structure may be composed of one gas supply channel or may be composed of two or more independent and different gas supply channels. It is possible to separate and supply different gases independently to increase the efficiency of plasma processing.

3 is a circuit diagram of a switching circuit for dividing and supplying a microwave with a multi-division electrode assembly.

Referring to FIG. 3, a switching circuit 41 and a switching control unit 41 are provided to distribute and supply the microwave to the plurality of multi-division electrodes 33. The switching circuit 41 may be composed of a plurality of switching semiconductor elements and may be driven in accordance with the control signal of the switching control unit 41 so that the ratio of the power of microwaves divided and supplied to the plurality of multi- Do. By controlling the power ratio, more uniform large-area plasma can be generated in the interior of the chamber body 11 and controllability against plasma ion energy can be increased.

The embodiments of the microwave plasma processing apparatus having the multi-division electrode of the present invention described above are merely illustrative and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and equivalent implementations It will be appreciated that embodiments are possible. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims. It is also to be understood that the invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

  The microwave plasma processing chamber having the multi-division electrode of the present invention can be very usefully used for manufacturing various types of semiconductor devices such as the manufacture of semiconductor integrated circuits, the manufacture of flat panel displays, and the manufacture of solar cells.

1 is a schematic diagram of a microwave plasma processing chamber according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a top view of the multi-segment electrode assembly.

3 is a circuit diagram of a switching circuit for dividing and supplying a microwave with a multi-division electrode assembly.

Description of the Related Art [0002]

10: plasma processing chamber 11: chamber body

14: substrate support 18: vacuum pump

20, 21: bias power source 22: impedance matching device

30: Multi-pole electrode assembly 31: Electrode mounting member

32: gas inlet 33: multiple electrode

40: microwave source 41: switching circuit

42: switching control unit W: substrate to be processed

Claims (6)

A chamber body defining a space in which the plasma is generated; A multi-division electrode assembly including a plurality of multi-division electrodes driven by microwaves and an electrode mounting member on which the multi-division electrodes are mounted; A microwave generator for generating a microwave supplied to the multi-division electrode; A switching circuit for dividing and supplying a microwave provided from the microwave source to the plurality of multi-division electrodes; And A switching controller for controlling a switching operation of the switching circuit; , ≪ / RTI & Wherein the ratio of the power of the microwave divided and supplied to the plurality of multi-division electrodes is variable according to the switching operation of the switching circuit. The microwave plasma processing chamber delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein the switching circuit comprises a plurality of switching semiconductor devices. delete The method according to claim 1, A substrate support disposed inside the chamber body and on which a substrate to be processed is placed; And And at least one bias power supply for supplying bias power to the substrate support. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the electrode mounting member includes a plurality of gas supply holes.

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