Patent · US Expired

Method of manufacturing semiconductor devices comprising a deposition tool cleaning process having a moving plasma zone

US7112546B2 · kind B2 · utility

1Cited by
1References
4Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 2, 2003
Grant dateSep 26, 2006
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 5, 2024

Classification

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

Abstract

The present invention provides, in one embodiment, a method of manufacturing semiconductor devices. The method comprises transferring one or more substrate into a deposition chamber and depositing material layers on the substrate. The chamber has an interior surface. The method further includes, between the transfers, cleaning the deposition chamber using an in situ ramped cleaning process when material layer deposits in the deposition chamber reaches a predefined thickness. The in situ ramped cleaning process comprises forming a reactive plasma cleaning zone by dissociating a gaseous fluorocompound introduced into a deposition chamber in a presence of a plasma. The cleaning process further includes ramping a flow rate of the gaseous fluorocompound in a presence of the plasma to move the reactive plasma cleaning zone throughout the deposition chamber, thereby preventing a build-up of localized metal compound deposits on the interior surface.

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