Capacitive sensors and capacitive sensing locations for plasma chamber condition monitoring

Inventors

Pan, Yaoling • TAE, Patrick John • TEDESCHI, Leonard • Kraus, Philip Allan • Willwerth, Michael D.

Assignees

Applied Materials Inc

Abstract

Capacitive sensors and capacitive sensing locations for plasma chamber condition monitoring are described. In an example, a plasma processing chamber includes a chamber wall surrounding a processing region. A chamber lid is over the chamber wall and above the processing region. A chamber floor is beneath the chamber wall and below the processing region. A support pedestal is in the processing region and below the chamber lid and above the chamber floor, and the support pedestal surrounded by the chamber wall. A capacitive sensor module can be in an opening of the chamber wall. The chamber lid can include a capacitive sensor module. The chamber floor can include an evacuation port and a capacitive sensor module within or adjacent to the evacuation port. The support pedestal can include a ring structure surrounding a substrate support region, and a capacitive sensor module in an opening of the ring structure.

Core Innovation

The invention provides a plasma processing chamber having a chamber wall surrounding a processing region, where the chamber wall comprises an opening therethrough. A capacitive sensor module is located in the opening of the chamber wall, and the capacitive sensor module extends continuous from a location within the opening of the chamber wall to a location outside of the opening of the chamber wall and within the processing region. The capacitive sensor module is a single sensor module integrating a capacitive sensor with a thermal sensor, with the capacitive sensor intervening between the thermal sensor and the processing region such that the capacitive sensor is proximate to the processing region and the thermal sensor is distal from the processing region.

The chamber further includes a chamber lid over the chamber wall and a chamber floor beneath the chamber wall, with a support pedestal positioned in the processing region below the chamber lid and above the chamber floor. The support pedestal is surrounded by the chamber wall and includes an electrode, and the capacitive sensor module is positioned vertically between the electrode of the support pedestal and the chamber floor. This arrangement is directed to condition monitoring of deposition and erosion by measuring capacitance changes associated with deposited/etched materials and coordinating sensor output with a control system.

In another disclosed configuration, the plasma processing chamber includes a chamber lid over the chamber wall, where the chamber lid has an opening therethrough with a capacitive sensor module located in the opening. The capacitive sensor module extends continuous from a location within the opening of the lid to a location outside of the opening of the lid and within the processing region, and the capacitive sensor module is a single sensor module integrating a capacitive sensor with a thermal sensor, with the capacitive sensor intervening such that the capacitive sensor is proximate to the processing region and the thermal sensor is distal. In this configuration, the capacitive sensor module is located vertically over a plasma screen of the support pedestal.

Claims Coverage

The partial content provides two independent claims with core inventive features centered on placing a single capacitive sensor module integrated with a thermal sensor at specific chamber locations, including vertical placement relative to a support pedestal electrode or a plasma screen, and extending the sensor module through openings while maintaining sensor proximity to the processing region.

Both independent claims define a plasma processing chamber in which a single capacitive sensor module integrated with a thermal sensor extends through a chamber opening and maintains capacitive proximity to the processing region while placing the thermal sensor distal. Claim 1 positions the module vertically between a support pedestal electrode and the chamber floor, while claim 9 positions the module vertically over a plasma screen surrounding the support region.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications