Plasma reactor apparatus with multiple gas injection zones having time-changing separate configurable gas compositions for each zone
US8231799B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 28, 2006 |
| Grant date | Jul 31, 2012 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 28, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/31116
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A plasma reactor for processing a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer has a housing defining a process chamber, a workpiece support configured to support a workpiece within the chamber during processing and comprising a plasma bias power electrode. The reactor further includes plural gas sources containing different gas species, plural process gas inlets and an array of valves capable of coupling any of said plural gas sources to any of said plural process gas inlets. The reactor also includes a controller governing said array of valves and is programmed to change the flow rates of gases through said inlets over time. A ceiling plasma source power electrode of the reactor has plural gas injection zones coupled to the respective process gas inlets. In a preferred embodiment, the plural gas sources comprise supplies containing, respectively, fluorocarbon or fluorohydrocarbon species with respectively different ratios of carbon and fluorine chemistries. They further include an oxygen or nitrogen supply and a diluent gas supply. The controller is programmed to produce flow of different process gas species or mixtures thereof through different ones of said plural gas injection zones…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.