Method for reducing particulate contamination during plasma processing of semiconductor devices
US5423918A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 21, 1993 |
| Grant date | Jun 13, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 21, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J2237/022
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A technique for removing particles from above a semiconductor wafer, particularly particles that are trapped in a plasma chamber during processing of the wafer. Trapped particles are usually not all drawn out with gases exhausted from the chamber, in part because a peripheral focus ring and clamping mechanism impede their flow. In the method of the invention, the focus ring and clamping mechanism are raised on completion of processing, but before radio-frequency (rf) power is disconnected from the process chamber. Trapped particles are then easily flowed from the chamber with an introduced inert gas, and the level of particulate contamination of the wafer is significantly reduced.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.