End point determination of process residues in wafer-less auto clean process using optical emission spectroscopy
US6815362B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 3, 2002 |
| Grant date | Nov 9, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 3, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J37/32935
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method for determining an endpoint of an in-situ cleaning process of a semiconductor processing chamber is provided. The method initiates with providing an optical emission spectrometer (OES) configured to monitor selected wavelength signals. Then, baseline OES threshold signal intensities are determined for each of the selected wavelength signals. Next, an endpoint time of each step of the in-situ cleaning process is determined. Determining an endpoint time includes executing a process recipe to process a semiconductor substrate within the processing chamber. Executing the in-situ cleaning process and recording the endpoint time for each step of the in-situ cleaning process are also included in determining the endpoint time. Then, nominal operating times are established for each step of the in-situ cleaning process. A plasma processing system for executing a two step in-situ cleaning process is also provided.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.