Patent · US Expired

Method for multi-zone high-density inductively-coupled plasma generation

US5846883A · kind A · utility

94Cited by
6References
27Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateJul 10, 1996
Grant dateDec 8, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 10, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01J37/321
  • WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A multi-zone high-density inductively-coupled plasma source includes a first individually controlled RF antenna segment for producing a plasma from a process gas. A second individually controlled coil segment is included in the ICP source for producing a plasma from a process gas. In various embodiments, more than two sets of individually controlled coil segments may be used. In one embodiment, a separate power supply may be used for each coil segment individually. Another aspect of this invention is a hermetically-sealed inductively-coupled plasma source structure and method of fabrication which eliminates the possibility of process contamination, improves the source hardware reliability and functionality, and improves the vacuum integrity and ultimate base pressure of the plasma system.

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