Patent · US Expired

Apparatus and method for detecting end point of post treatment

US5830310A · kind A · utility

13Cited by
0References
9Claims
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Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateDec 27, 1995
Grant dateNov 3, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 27, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S438/905
  • WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

For use with CVD apparatus, an apparatus and method for detecting the end point of a post treatment after an in-situ cleaning operation is provided such that reactive chemical species which remain after an in-situ cleaning operation can be accurately removed so that they do not cause harm to a film formed after the cleaning operation. The end point detection apparatus includes a reactor, an RF electrode, an RF power supply, a gas supply pipe for forming a thin film, a gas supply pipe for in-situ cleaning, a detector for detecting discharge characteristic values (i.e. the self-bias voltage, the electrode voltage, and the discharge impedance) during the post treatment performed after the in-situ cleaning, and a monitor/determining circuit for monitoring an output from the detector. When a post treatment is performed in the reactor after in-situ cleaning, a gas for in-situ cleaning is introduced through the gas supply pipe, and the reactor is in-situ cleaned using reactive chemical species, after which the post treatment is performed in the reactor so that the remaining reactive chemical species are removed. During the post treatment, the discharge characteristic values are measured, …

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.