KR20090103711A - Plasma process apparatus, component within the chamber and method for detecting the life of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A plasma processing apparatus is provided to prevent waste due to replacement of a part which is not old. CONSTITUTION: A plasma processing apparatus includes a plurality of parts inside a chamber. A chemical element layer(51,52,53) for detecting lifetime made of element different from the parts inside the chamber is formed in the parts inside the chamber. The chemical element layer for detecting lifetime is formed in a position corresponding to a worn surface of the parts inside the chamber, and is formed in a depth corresponding to a maximum value of allowable worn thickness of the parts inside the chamber.

Description

Plasma processor, chamber and component life detection methods {PLASMA PROCESS APPARATUS, COMPONENT WITHIN THE CHAMBER AND METHOD FOR DETECTING THE LIFE OF THE SAME}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for detecting the lifetime of a plasma processing apparatus, a component within a chamber and a component within a chamber, and more particularly, to a method for detecting a lifetime of a plasma processing apparatus, a component within a chamber and a component within a chamber that can accurately detect the lifetime of the component within a chamber. It is about.

Components in a chamber of a plasma processing apparatus such as a focus ring made of silicon, an electrode, an insulator made of quartz, and the like are worn out by sputtering by plasma or the like, and thus are treated as consumables that are regularly replaced.

Prediction or detection of the replacement time of parts in the chamber as consumables is very difficult, and it is possible to continue to use even if the waste or lifespan of replacement is reached before the end of life, for example, due to the gaps between the parts. Abnormal discharge occurs, which causes problems such as generation of particles.

Conventionally, the life of components in a chamber as consumables has been set based on the usage time, for example. That is, when the service life was set to 200 hours in advance, for example, when the use time had elapsed 200 hours, an alarm for replacing parts was sounded, and replacement of the parts in the chamber was performed based on this.

However, the lifespan of the components in the chamber varies depending on the type of process performed, the use situation of the plasma processing apparatus, and the like, and does not necessarily correspond to the use time. Therefore, in the replacement of parts based on the usage time, problems caused by waste of spare parts replacement or abnormal discharge cannot be solved.

Therefore, various techniques have been proposed to provide countermeasures for problems such as abnormal discharges in the plasma processing apparatus.

That is, patent document 1 is mentioned as a prior art document regarding the plasma processing apparatus which predicts or detects generation of abnormal discharge. Patent Literature 1 discloses a high frequency power supply for generating a direct current bias potential by applying a high frequency power to an upper electrode of a plasma processing apparatus, and an abnormal discharge determination means for determining the presence or absence of abnormal discharge based on the direct current bias potential generated in the upper power supply. And a plasma processing apparatus for detecting or predicting the occurrence of abnormal discharge by monitoring the bias potential applied to the upper electrode disposed opposite to the wafer and the bias potential applied to the lower electrode on which the wafer is mounted, and extracting the change. Is disclosed.

Moreover, patent document 2 is mentioned as a prior art document in which the technique for predicting the state of the to-be-processed object or apparatus in a plasma processing apparatus was described. In Patent Document 2, in the method of predicting the state of the plasma processing apparatus or the state of the object to be processed based on the operation data and the processing result data of the plasma processing apparatus, the data used for the prediction is selected based on multivariate analysis and selected. Disclosed is a method for predicting a plasma processing apparatus that generates a regression model using data and predicts a state of a target object or an apparatus based on the model.

Moreover, patent document 3 is mentioned as a prior art document in which the technique which prevents the wasteless process in a plasma processing apparatus and the damage to a to-be-processed object is described beforehand. Patent Document 3 by using the plasma generating step, the generated plasma to generate plasma by discharging the processing gas to the spectral light emission from the plasma in the step of plasma processing for performing plasma processing on a processing target of the CF ₂ and C ₂ A plasma processing method has been described that includes a step of detecting a spectral emission intensity ratio, a step of comparing the detected value with a previously obtained reference value to determine whether or not to stop the plasma processing. The damage to the workpiece can be prevented in advance.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-234332

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-335841

Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1998-335308

However, none of the above-described prior arts can accurately detect the life of components in the chamber in the plasma processing apparatus, and it is still possible to continue to use the waste and the parts that have passed the life by replacing the components in the chamber before their lifetime. It has not been reached until the problem of abnormal discharge or the like due to the above problem is solved.

An object of the present invention is to accurately detect the life of the components in the chamber, the plasma processing apparatus capable of preventing the occurrence of trouble by replacing the parts that do not reach the end of life and by using the parts that have passed the life, It is to provide a method for detecting the life of the components in the chamber and the components in the chamber.

In order to achieve the above object, the in-chamber component according to claim 1 is an in-chamber component to be applied to the plasma processing apparatus, and at least one layer of the life detection element layer made of an element different from the constituent material is embedded. do.

The in-chamber component according to claim 2 is the in-chamber component according to claim 1, wherein the element layer for life detection is buried in correspondence with the surface most likely to wear in the in-chamber component.

The in-chamber component according to claim 3, wherein the in-chamber component according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the element layer for life detection is embedded at a depth corresponding to the maximum value of the allowable wear thickness of the in-chamber component. It features.

The in-chamber component according to claim 4, wherein in the in-chamber component according to claim 3, a separate lifetime detection element layer is provided between the lifetime detection element layer and the surface, and the separate lifetime detection element is provided. The layer serves as an alerting layer, and the element layer for life detection having a depth corresponding to the maximum value of the allowable wear thickness provided at a position deeper than the alerting layer serves as a warning layer.

The in-chamber component according to claim 5 is the in-chamber component according to claim 4, wherein the alerting layer and the warning layer are each made of different elements.

The in-chamber component according to claim 6, wherein the in-chamber component according to claim 1, wherein an element different from the constituent material has a plasma emission spectrum having a peak in a specific wavelength region or a peculiar peak over a wide wavelength region. It is characterized by generating a plasma emission spectrum.

The in-chamber component according to claim 7 is the in-chamber component according to claim 6, wherein the element is a metal.

The in-chamber component according to claim 8 is the in-chamber component according to claim 7, wherein the metal is a transition metal.

The in-chamber component according to claim 9, wherein the in-chamber component according to claim 8, wherein the transition metal comprises scandium (Sc), dysprosium (Dy), neodium (Nd), thulium (Tm), holmium (Ho) and At least one of thorium (Th).

The in-chamber component according to claim 10, wherein the in-chamber component according to claim 1, wherein the in-chamber component is at least one of a focus ring, an electrode, an electrode protective member, an insulator, an insulating ring, a bellows cover and a baffle plate. It features.

In order to achieve the above object, the plasma processing apparatus according to claim 11 is a plasma processing apparatus including a plurality of in-chamber components, each of the plurality of in-chamber components having an element different from the constituent material of the in-chamber components. An element layer for life detection, which is formed, is embedded.

The plasma processing apparatus of claim 12 is the plasma processing apparatus of claim 11, wherein the element layer for life detection is made of a different element for each component in the chamber.

In order to achieve the above object, the life detection method of a component in a chamber according to claim 13 includes at least one in-chamber component in which an element layer for life detection made of an element different from the constituent material is embedded at a predetermined depth from the surface. Plasma processing is performed by using a plasma processing apparatus, and when the components in the chamber are worn out by plasma discharge, the plasma emission spectrum caused by the life detection element layer is detected to detect the lifetime of the components in the chamber. It is characterized by.

The life detection method of the in-chamber parts according to claim 14 is the life detection method of the in-chamber parts according to claim 13, wherein a plurality of the in-chamber parts are provided in the plasma processing apparatus, The element layer for life detection in the above-mentioned layer is composed of different elements, and it is characterized by detecting the plasma emission spectrum peculiar to each element to identify the components in the chamber that have reached their lifetime.

According to the in-chamber component according to claim 1, since at least one layer of the life detection element layer composed of an element different from the constituent material is embedded in the in-chamber component applied to the plasma processing apparatus, the embedding of the life detection element layer is performed. By selecting the position, when the component wears out and reaches a lifetime, for example, a plasma emission spectrum of an element different from the constituent material is generated, and by detecting this, the life of the component in the chamber can be accurately detected. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the waste caused by replacing the parts that have not reached the end of life and the occurrence of the trouble by continuing to use the parts that have passed the end of life.

According to the in-chamber parts according to claim 2, since the element layer for life detection is embedded corresponding to the surface which is most likely to be worn, it is possible to accurately detect that the in-chamber parts have reached the end of life.

According to the in-chamber part of Claim 3, since the element layer for a lifetime detection is provided in the depth corresponding to the maximum value of the allowable abrasion thickness of the in-chamber part, it can detect more accurately that the in-chamber part reached life.

According to the in-chamber part of Claim 4, the separate lifetime detection element layer is provided between the lifetime detection element layer, and the surface, and this separate lifetime detection element layer functions as an alerting layer, Since the element layer for life detection provided at a position deeper than the ventilation layer serves as a warning layer, it is possible to reliably prevent the failure due to reaching the life by predicting that the components in the chamber reach the life in advance.

According to the in-chamber part of Claim 5, since the alerting layer and the alerting layer were comprised from a different element, it can be discriminated correctly whether it has worn to the alerting layer, or worn to the alerting layer.

According to the in-room component of Claim 6, the plasma emission spectrum which has a peak in a specific wavelength range which has an element different from a constituent material which forms an element layer for lifetime detection, or a plasma which has a characteristic peak over a wide wavelength range Since the emission spectrum is generated, the life of the components in the chamber can be detected based on the change in the spectrum in a specific wavelength region where light emission is predicted or the pattern of the spectrum in a broad wavelength region.

According to the in-chamber component of Claim 7, since the element which forms an element layer for lifetime detection is made into metal, preparation of the in-chamber component which embed | buried the element layer for lifetime detection in predetermined depth becomes comparatively easy.

According to the in-chamber component according to claim 8, since the element forming the life detection element layer is a transition metal, the selection of metal species does not adversely affect the plasma treatment and ensures that the spectrum is reliably detected. The life of my parts can be detected accurately.

According to the in-chamber component according to claim 9, the transition metal is at least one of scandium (Sc), dysprosium (Dy), neodium (Nd), thulium (Tm), holmium (Ho), and thorium (Th). It is relatively easy to prepare the components in the chamber in which the element layer for detecting the lifetime is embedded in the depth, and it does not adversely affect the plasma treatment.

According to the in-chamber parts of Claim 10, since the in-chamber parts were made into at least one of a focus ring, an electrode, an electrode protection member, an insulator, an insulation ring, a bellows cover, and a baffle plate, the lifetime of the in-chamber parts handled as these consumables is described. Can be detected.

According to the plasma processing apparatus according to claim 11, since a plurality of components in the chamber are each embedded with an element layer for life detection, which is composed of elements different from the constituent materials of the components in the chamber, constituent materials generated when the components are worn out. By detecting the plasma emission spectrum of an element different from that, the life of the components in the chamber can be detected, and the occurrence of trouble caused by waste of the replacement of parts that do not reach the end of life and the continued use of the components that have passed their lifespan are caused. It can prevent.

According to the plasma processing apparatus according to claim 12, since the life detection element layer is composed of different elements for each part in the chamber, the plasma emission spectrum peculiar to each element can be detected to identify the parts in the chamber that have reached the end of life. have.

According to the method for detecting the life of components in a chamber according to claim 13, plasma processing is performed by using a plasma processing apparatus in which at least one component in a chamber in which an element layer for life detection made of an element different from the constituent material is embedded is provided. When the components in the chamber are worn out by the plasma discharge, the plasma emission spectrum resulting from the element layer for life detection is detected to detect the lifetime of the components in the chamber, so that the life of the components in the chamber can be accurately detected. It is possible to prevent the waste caused by replacing parts that have not reached the end of life and the occurrence of trouble by continuing to use the parts that have passed the end of life.

According to the life detection method of the in-chamber parts according to claim 14, the life detection element layers of the plurality of in-chamber parts are made of different elements, and the plasma emission spectrum peculiar to each element is detected to reach the life. Since the parts in the chamber are specially defined, only the parts that have reached the end of their life can be replaced to eliminate waste.

1 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus as a plasma processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing the vicinity of a focus ring as an in-chamber component in FIG. 1 and an insulator not shown in FIG. 1;

3 is an enlarged cross sectional view showing an inner electrode in FIG. 1;

4 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the method for detecting the life of the components in the chamber.

<Brief description of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

W: Wafer 10: Substrate Processing Equipment

11: processing chamber 12: susceptor

26: focus ring 31: upper electrode

34: inner electrode 35: outer electrode

36: gas hole 37: first DC power

38: second DC power supply 47: insulator

51 to 54: element layer for life detection

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described in detail, referring drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the substrate processing apparatus as a plasma processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. This substrate processing apparatus is comprised so that the plasma processing, such as a reactive ion etching (RIE) process and an ashing process, may be performed to the semiconductor wafer W as a board | substrate.

 1, the substrate processing apparatus 10 is arrange | positioned in the cylindrical processing chamber 11 and the said processing chamber 11, for example, the semiconductor wafer W of 300 mm in diameter (henceforth only a "wafer"). A cylindrical susceptor 12 is provided as a mounting table on which the mount is mounted.

In the substrate processing apparatus 10, an exhaust flow path that functions as a flow path for discharging the gas in the processing space S to be described later outside the processing chamber 11 by the inner wall of the processing chamber 11 and the side surface of the susceptor 12. 13) is formed. An exhaust plate 14 is disposed in the middle of the exhaust passage 13.

The exhaust plate 14 is a plate-like member having a plurality of through holes, and functions as a diaphragm that divides the processing chamber 11 into upper and lower portions. Plasma is generated in the upper part 15 (hereinafter, referred to as "reaction chamber") of the processing chamber 11 partitioned by the exhaust plate 14 as described later. In addition, exhaust pipes 17 and 18 for discharging gas in the processing chamber 11 are connected to the lower portion 16 (hereinafter referred to as an “exhaust chamber”) of the processing chamber 11. The exhaust plate 14 traps or reflects plasma generated in the reaction chamber 15 to prevent leakage to the exhaust chamber 16.

A TMP (Turbo Molecular Pump) (not shown) is connected to the exhaust pipe 17, and a DP (Dry Pump) (not shown) is connected to the exhaust pipe 18. The inside of the processing chamber 11 is sucked under vacuum to reduce the pressure. Specifically, DP depressurizes the inside of the process chamber 11 from atmospheric pressure to a medium vacuum state (for example, 1.3 x 10 Pa (0.1 Torr or less)), and TMP cooperates with DP to lower the pressure inside the process chamber 11 than the medium vacuum state. The pressure is reduced to a high vacuum state (for example, 1.3 × 10 ⁻³ Pa (1.0 × 10 ⁻⁵ Torr or less) or less). In addition, the pressure in the processing chamber 11 is controlled by an APC valve (not shown).

The first high frequency power source 19 and the second high frequency power source 20 are connected to the susceptor 12 in the processing chamber 11 via the first matcher 21 and the second matcher 22, respectively, and the first The high frequency power source 19 applies a high frequency power of a relatively high frequency, for example 60 MHz, to the susceptor 12, and the second high frequency power source 20 supplies a high frequency power of a relatively low frequency, for example 2 MHz, to the susceptor 12. To apply. Thereby, the susceptor 12 functions as a lower electrode which applies high frequency electric power to the processing space S between the susceptor 12 and the shower head 30 which will be described later.

Moreover, on the susceptor 12, the electrostatic chuck 24 which consists of a disk-shaped insulating member which has the electrostatic electrode plate 3 inside is arrange | positioned. When mounting the wafer W on the susceptor 12, the wafer W is disposed on the electrostatic chuck 24. In this electrostatic chuck 24, the DC power supply 25 is electrically connected to the electrostatic electrode plate 23. When a positive DC voltage is applied to the electrostatic electrode plate 23, a negative potential is generated on the surface (hereinafter referred to as the "back side") of the electrostatic chuck 24 side of the wafer W to generate the electrostatic electrode. A potential difference occurs between the plate 23 and the back surface of the wafer W, and the wafer W is attracted to the electrostatic chuck 24 by the Coulomb force or the Johnson-Rahbek force due to the potential difference. maintain.

In addition, an annular focus ring 26 is mounted on the susceptor 12 so as to surround the wafer W held by suction. The focus ring 26 is made of a conductive member such as silicon, and converges the plasma toward the surface of the wafer W, thereby improving the efficiency of the RIE process.

The susceptor 12 is provided with an annular refrigerant chamber 27 extending in the circumferential direction, for example. Low-temperature refrigerant, for example, cooling water or Galden (registered trademark) liquid, is circulated and supplied from the chiller unit (not shown) to the refrigerant chamber 27 through the refrigerant pipe 28. The susceptor 12 cooled by the low temperature coolant cools the wafer W and the focus ring 26 via the electrostatic chuck 24.

A plurality of heat conductive gas supply holes 29 are opened in a portion (hereinafter referred to as an "adsorption surface") in which the wafer W on the upper surface of the electrostatic chuck 24 is adsorbed and held. The plurality of heat conduction gas supply holes 29 supply helium (He) gas as a heat conduction gas to the gap between the adsorption surface and the back surface of the wafer (W). The helium gas supplied to the gap between the suction surface and the back surface of the wafer W efficiently transfers the heat of the wafer W to the electrostatic chuck 24.

The shower head 30 is disposed in the ceiling of the processing chamber 11. The shower head 30 is exposed to the processing space S and is opposed to the wafer W mounted on the susceptor 12 (hereinafter referred to as "mounting wafer W"); The insulating plate 32 which consists of an insulating member, and the electrode support body 33 which supports the upper electrode 31 via the said insulating plate 32, The upper electrode 31, the insulating plate 32, and the electrode support 33 are Nested in this order.

The upper electrode 31 has an inner electrode 34 facing the center of the mounting wafer W, and an outer electrode 35 surrounding the inner electrode 34 and facing the periphery of the mounting wafer W. . The inner electrode 34 and the outer electrode 35 are made of a conductive or semiconductive material such as single crystal silicon.

The inner electrode 34 is made of, for example, a disk-shaped member having a diameter of 300 mm, and has a plurality of gas holes 36 penetrating in the thickness direction. The outer electrode 35 is formed of, for example, an annular member having an outer diameter of 380 mm and an inner diameter of 30 mm.

In the upper electrode 31, the first DC power supply 37 is connected to the inner electrode 34, the second DC power supply 38 is connected to the outer electrode 35, and the inner electrode 34 and the outer electrode ( 35 is applied independently to each other.

The electrode support 33 has a buffer chamber 39 therein. The buffer chamber 39 is a cylindrical space whose central axis is coaxial with the central axis of the inner electrode 34, and the inner buffer chamber 39a and the outer side are formed by an annular sealant, for example, an O-ring 40. It is divided into the buffer chamber 39b.

The process gas introduction pipe 41 is connected to the inner buffer chamber 39a, and the process gas introduction pipe 42 is connected to the outer buffer chamber 39b, and the process gas introduction pipes 41 and 42 are respectively the internal buffers. Process gas is introduced into the chamber 39a and the outer buffer chamber 39b.

Since the process gas introduction pipes 41 and 42 each have a flow rate controller MFC (not shown), the flow rate of the process gas introduced into the inner buffer chamber 39a and the outer buffer chamber 39b is independently controlled. do. In addition, the buffer chamber 39 passes through the gas hole 43 of the electrode support 33, the gas hole 44 of the insulating plate 32, and the gas hole 36 of the inner electrode 34. In communication with each other, the processing gas introduced into the inner buffer chamber 39a or the outer buffer chamber 39b is supplied to the processing space S. FIG. At this time, the distribution of the processing gas in the processing space S is controlled by adjusting the flow rates of the processing gases introduced into the inner buffer chamber 39a and the outer buffer chamber 39b.

A window 45 in which quartz glass is embedded is provided on the sidewall of the processing chamber 11, for example, and a plasma emission spectrometer 46 is disposed on the window 45. The plasma emission spectrometer 46 spectroscopy plasma of a specific wavelength generated in the processing chamber 11, and the etching process based on the detection that the components in the chamber have reached the end of life, the change in the plasma state, and the change in the plasma intensity are finished. Detection of one or the like is performed.

The components in the chamber as the consumables described above in the substrate processing apparatus 10, for example, side surfaces of the focus ring 26, the inner electrode 34, the outer electrode 35, and the susceptor 12 are omitted. In the insulator, a life detection element layer made of an element different from its constituent material is embedded at a predetermined depth in correspondence with a surface susceptible to wear.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the focus ring 26 as an in-chamber component in FIG. 1 and the insulator 47 not shown in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 2, the trademark surface close to the end of the wafer W in the focus ring 26 and the trademark surface opposite to the upper electrode (not shown) are subject to wear. Accordingly, the element layers 51 and 52 for life detection are buried in correspondence with the wearable surface.

The element layers 51 and 52 for life detection correspond to 750 micrometers which is the maximum value of the allowable abrasion thickness of the focus ring 26, for example, and are provided in the depth of 750 micrometers from a surface, respectively. In addition, when it is good to detect that the focus ring 26 has reached the life, the life detection element layers 51 and 52 may be provided at a position deeper than 750 μm, for example, at a depth of 760 μm.

The focus ring 26 is made of silicon, for example, and the life detection element layers 51 and 52 are made of, for example, scandium (Sc), which is an element other than Si and O. Scandium Sc generates plasma emission spectra with distinctive peaks over a wide wavelength range. Therefore, when the focus ring 26 is worn to the maximum value of the allowable wear thickness, for example, and the life detection element layers 51 and 52 are exposed, scandium which is an element forming the life detection element layers 51 and 52 is exposed. The plasma emission spectrum peculiar to (Sc) is generated over a wide wavelength region, and a spectral pattern different from that before the life detection element layers 51 and 52 are exposed. Therefore, by monitoring the pattern change of the spectrum by the plasma emission spectrometer 46, the life detection element layers 51 and 52 are exposed, that is, the focus ring 26 is worn to the maximum of the allowable wear thickness. Can detect the end of life.

In FIG. 2, since the insulator 47 is most likely to be worn out on the surface of the trademark facing the focus ring 26, the element layer 53 for life detection is embedded in correspondence with this portion. The maximum value of the allowable wear thickness of the insulator 47 is, for example, 2.4 mm, and the element layer 53 for life detection is provided at a depth of, for example, 2.4 mm from the surface. In addition, when it is good to detect that the insulator 47 has reached the life, the life detection element layer 53 may be provided at a position deeper than 2.4 mm, for example, 2.5 mm deep.

The insulator 47 is made of, for example, quartz, and the element layer 53 for detecting the lifetime is made of, for example, thorium (Th), which is an element different from SiO ₂ . Thorium generates a plasma emission spectrum having unique peaks over a wide wavelength range. Therefore, when the insulator 47 is worn out and the element layer 53 for life detection is exposed, the unique plasma emission spectrum due to thorium (Th), which is an element forming the element for element life detection 53, has a broad wavelength. It is generated over a region, and a spectral pattern different from that before the life detection element layer 53 is exposed can be obtained. Therefore, the plasma emission spectrometer 46 monitors that the spectral pattern is changed, so that the element layer 53 for life detection is exposed, that is, the insulator 47 is worn to the maximum value of the allowable wear thickness and reaches the life. It can be detected.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating the inner electrode 34 in FIG. 1. In FIG. 3, the most susceptible portion of the inner electrode 34 is the gas outlet side opening portion (lower surface in FIG. 3) of the gas hole 36, and the element layer for life detection mainly corresponds to the lower surface. This is buried. The hole diameter of the gas hole 36 is 0.5 mm, for example, and when worn, the hole diameter becomes large, and the diameter part progresses toward the upper surface gradually.

The maximum allowable hole diameter on the gas outlet side in the gas hole 36 is 2.5 mm, for example. Therefore, in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, for example, a life detection element layer 54a is provided so as to face a position corresponding to a hole diameter of 2.5 mm, centering on a gas hole 36 of 0.5 mm. In addition, in the case where it is only necessary to detect that the inner electrode 34 has reached the end of its life, in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, for example, the gas hole 36 having a hole diameter of 0.5 mm is centered. The element layer 54a for life detection may be provided so as to face a position corresponding to 2.6 mm.

On the other hand, the maximum allowable moving width of the portion where the gas hole 36 is diameter-expanded is 9 mm from the lower surface, for example. Thus, for example, in the inner electrode 34 having a thickness of 10 mm, a plurality of life detection element layers 54 b are provided in the vicinity of the lower surface corresponding to the gas hole 36 at a position of 9 mm. In addition, when only the inner electrode 34 can detect that the life has been reached, the life detection element layer 54b is a position where wear progresses slightly from the maximum allowable moving width, for example, 9.1 mm from the lower surface. It may be provided at the position of. Since the inner electrode 34 is made of silicon, for example, the life detection element layer 54 is formed of a metal different from Si and O, such as neodium (Nd).

In addition, the element layers 51 to 54 for life detection can be provided correspondingly to the entire surface, in addition to providing the surface in which the components in the chamber are most susceptible to wear. Whether to be buried in a part corresponding to the surface most susceptible to wear or to be buried corresponding to the entire surface of the part may be determined according to, for example, a method of manufacturing a part in a chamber, a method of embedding an element layer for life detection, and the like.

The element layer for life detection in the components in the chamber is formed using, for example, an ion implantation method. Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the focus ring 26 provided with the element layers 51 and 52 for lifetime detection is demonstrated.

First, a focus ring 26 made of silicon is manufactured in accordance with a known method, and thereafter, embedding of an element layer for life detection made of, for example, scandium (Sc), which is a different element from silicon. The embedding of scandium Sc is performed using an ion implantation apparatus to which the ion implantation method is applied, for example.

The inside of the ion implantation apparatus is maintained in a vacuum of, for example, about 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa, scandium (Sc) ions are produced in the ion source, and the scandium (Sc) ions are accelerated by an electric field in an acceleration tube. Orient the accelerated scandium (Sc) ions through a device that controls the direction of the deflector, slit, etc., select the ions of the required mass by a mass spectrometer, and use a scanner, for example, as a focus ring as a target. Scandium (Sc) ions are implanted in a predetermined location of the focus ring 26 by irradiating and scanning at a predetermined location (26) to form the life detection element layers 51 and 52.

At this time, the depth of the scandium (Sc) ions, that is, the depth of embedding of the element layer for life detection is determined by the ion species to be applied, the composition of the focus ring, the acceleration voltage, and the like. Therefore, the embedding depth can be precisely controlled. In addition, since scandium (Sc) ions can be doped only to the irradiation part by the straightness of a beam, the shape change of the focus ring 26 which is a to-be-processed material does not arise. The ion implantation method can freely select a combination of the constituent material of the component to be treated and the ion species to be implanted, and similarly applies to the components in the chamber other than the focus ring 26, so as to detect the life at a depth corresponding to the maximum value of the allowable wear thickness. An element layer is embedded.

The embedding of the lifetime detection element layer is not limited to the ion implantation method. For example, it can be deposited by a dissimilar material or a method of embedding a dissimilar material film in the middle of the component creation process.

In the substrate processing apparatus 10 of FIG. 1 provided with such a chamber component in which the element layer for life detection is embedded, the RIE process is performed on the mounting wafer W. As shown in FIG.

When performing the RIE process on the mounting wafer W, the shower head 30 supplies the processing gas to the processing space S, and the first high frequency power supply 19 passes through the susceptor 12 to the processing space S. FIG. ) Is applied to the high frequency power of 60 MHz, and the second high frequency power supply 20 applies the high frequency power of 2 MHz to the susceptor 12. At this time, the processing gas is excited by a high frequency power of 60 MHz to become plasma. Moreover, in order to generate a bias voltage in the susceptor 12, 2MHz high frequency electric power introduce | transduces cation and electron in plasma on the surface of the mounting wafer W, and performs RIE process on the mounting wafer W. do.

In addition, the operation of each component of the substrate processing apparatus 10 described above is controlled by a CPU of a controller (not shown) included in the substrate processing apparatus 10.

At this time, in the substrate processing apparatus 10, detection of the life of the components in the chamber is performed as follows.

4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the method for detecting the life of the components in the chamber.

In Fig. 4, first, components in a chamber in which element layers for life detection are embedded are provided in the substrate processing apparatus 10 serving as the plasma processing apparatus (step S1). Next, the wafer W is started with a reactive ion etching (RIE) process using the substrate processing apparatus 10 provided with the components in the chamber (step S2). After starting the RIE process, the plasma emission spectrum in the processing gas in the processing space S is monitored at predetermined time intervals or by using the plasma emission spectrometer 46 at all times (step S3). The state in the process chamber 11 is detected by monitoring the plasma emission spectrum in the process gas.

Subsequently, it is determined whether the emission spectrum is due to the element layer for life detection embedded in the component in the chamber (step S4). As a result of the discrimination, when the emission spectrum is due to the element layer for detecting the lifetime of the components in the chamber, a warning is issued by detecting that the component in the chamber corresponding to the detected emission spectrum has reached the end of life (step S5), Thereafter, the RIE processing is stopped (step S6) to end the processing. On the other hand, as a result of the discrimination in step S4, when the emission spectrum is not attributable to the element layer for detecting the life of the components in the chamber, the process returns to step S3 and the operations of steps S3 to S4 are repeated. do.

According to the present embodiment, the components including the focus ring 26 in which the life detection element layers 51 to 54 made of elements different from those of the constituent material are embedded at a depth corresponding to the allowable wear maximum thickness. Since the light emission spectrum during the plasma treatment is monitored and the light emission spectrum due to the element layer for life detection is detected, it is possible to accurately detect that the component has reached the end of life, thereby not reaching the life. It is possible to prevent the waste caused by replacing parts not in use and the trouble caused by continuing to use the parts that have passed their life.

In the present embodiment, an additional life detection element layer made of a metal different from the life detection element layers 51 to 54 is provided between the life detection element layers 51 to 54 and the part surface. It can also function as an alert ventilation layer. As a result, it is possible to reliably avoid the failure due to reaching the life by predicting that the parts in the chamber reach the life in advance. Further, a plurality of separate life detection element layers made of different elements are provided between the life detection element layers 51 to 54 at the depths corresponding to the maximum allowable wear thickness and the surface of the parts, and the wear depth of the parts. Can be monitored at any time.

In this embodiment, it is preferable that it is an element which is not used in the chamber as a structural element of the element layer for lifetime detection, and although transition metals, such as scandium (Sc), thorium (Th), neodium (Nd), were used, Transition elements other than, for example, dysprosine (Dy), thorium (Tm), holmium (Ho) and the like may be used. Since these transition metals generate emission spectra in a wide wavelength region, it is possible to detect that the element layer for life detection is exposed by detecting that the pattern of the emission spectrum has changed compared with the previous one.

As an element which forms the element layer for lifetime detection, an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, etc. can be used other than a transition element, for example. For example, sodium (Na) is in the wavelength region 589 nm, potassium (K) is in the wavelength region 766,770 nm, lithium (Li) is in the wavelength region 670,61 inm, thallium (Tl) is in the wavelength region 535 nm, Indium (In) generates a strong emission spectrum in the wavelength region of 451 nm and gallium (Ga) in the wavelength region of 41 Onm, respectively. Therefore, in the specific wavelength region, the increase in the emission spectral intensity may be detected by, for example, a method of time differentiation, and based on this, it may be detected that the element layer for life detection has exposed and reached the life. .

In the present embodiment, the component in the chamber is at least one of a focus ring, an electrode, an electrode protective member, an insulator, an insulating ring, a bellows cover and a baffle plate. Since these parts are handled as so-called consumables, it is necessary to monitor their lifespan.

In this embodiment, it is preferable that the element which forms the lifetime detection element layer embedded in a focus ring, an insulator, an electrode, etc. differs for every component in a chamber. Thereby, the plasma emission spectrum peculiar to each element can be detected to accurately identify the components in the chamber that have reached their lifetime.

In this embodiment, the coating layer of the predetermined thickness which consists of an element different from the structural member of the said component is provided on the surface of the component in a chamber, and the plasma light emission resulting from the element of the inner structural member which arises when this coating layer is worn out By detecting the spectrum, it is possible to detect that the component in the chamber wears out and reaches the service life.

In addition, in this embodiment mentioned above, although the board | substrate to which an etching process is performed was a semiconductor wafer W, the board | substrate to which an etching process is performed is not limited to this, For example, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or FPD (Flat Panel Display) Glass substrates, such as these, may be sufficient. In addition, the present invention can be applied to any plasma apparatus, including substrate processing apparatus, semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, FPD manufacturing apparatus, and dry cleaning apparatus using plasma.

Claims (14)

In the chamber component applied to the plasma processing apparatus, At least one layer of the life detection element layer made of an element different from the constituent material is embedded Components in the chamber. The method of claim 1, The life detection element layer is embedded in correspondence with the surface most prone to wear in the components in the chamber. Components in the chamber. The method of claim 1, The element layer for life detection is embedded at a depth corresponding to the maximum value of the allowable wear thickness of the components in the chamber. Components in the chamber. The method of claim 3, wherein The allowable wear thickness provided at a position deeper than the alerting layer by providing another lifetime detecting element layer between the lifetime detecting element layer and the surface, so as to function as the alerting layer. Characterized in that the element layer for life detection of a depth corresponding to the maximum value of the function as a warning layer  Components in the chamber. The method of claim 4, wherein The alerting layer and the warning layer are each made of a different element Components in the chamber. The method of claim 1, Elements other than the constituent material generate a plasma emission spectrum having a peak in a specific wavelength region or a plasma emission spectrum having a specific peak over a wide wavelength region. Components in the chamber. The method of claim 6, The element is characterized in that the metal Components in the chamber. The method of claim 7, wherein The metal is characterized in that the transition metal Components in the chamber. The method of claim 8, The transition metal is at least one of scandium (Sc), dysprosium (Dy), neodium (Nd), thulium (Tm), holmium (Ho) and thorium (Th) Components in the chamber. The method of claim 1, The component in the chamber is at least one of a focus ring, an electrode, an electrode protection member, an insulator, an insulation ring, a bellows cover and a baffle plate. Components in the chamber. In the plasma processing apparatus having a plurality of chamber components, Each of the plurality of in-chamber parts is embedded with an element layer for life detection, which is made of an element different from the constituent material of the in-chamber parts. Plasma processing apparatus. The method of claim 11, The life detection element layer is made of a different element for each part in the chamber Plasma processing apparatus. At a predetermined depth from the surface, plasma processing is performed using a plasma processing apparatus in which at least one in-chamber component in which an element layer for life detection made of an element different from the constituent material is embedded is installed, and the in-chamber component is plasma discharged. When worn, the lifespan of the components in the chamber is detected by detecting the plasma emission spectrum resulting from the element layer for life detection.  Method for detecting life of components in chamber. The method of claim 13, The plasma processing apparatus is provided with a plurality of components in the chamber, and the lifespan detection element layers in the plurality of chamber components are each composed of different elements, and the plasma emission spectrum peculiar to each element is detected to improve the lifetime. Characterized by specifying the part in the chamber that has arrived. Method for detecting life of components in chamber.