Method for organic effluent abatement

Abstract

This document discloses a method and system for treating effluent from a processing chamber. In one embodiment, the effluent is treated by flowing a hydrocarbon processing gas into a processing chamber in which a substrate is disposed, performing a process on the substrate using the hydrocarbon processing gas that produces organic byproducts, discharging the organic byproducts from the processing chamber to a pre-stage having a reduction reaction zone, and treating the organic byproducts in the reduction reaction zone. The treatment of the organic byproducts includes mixing dissociated oxygen-containing gas and organic byproducts in the reduction reaction zone, and forming at least carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the mixture of self-dissociated oxygen-containing gas and organic byproducts.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 495,450, filed on April 11, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0002] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to abatement of semiconductor processing equipment. More particularly, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to techniques for abatement of organic compounds present in effluent from semiconductor processing equipment. Prior Art

[0003] Effluents generated during semiconductor manufacturing processes include numerous compounds that must be abated or treated before disposal for equipment lifespan and safety reasons. Among these compounds are organics, such as residues from carbon deposition processes. Inline plasma sources (IPS) or remote plasma sources (RPS) have been used to abate effluent gases. However, abatement of organic gases used in semiconductor processing remains a challenge, as technological advancements in carbon deposition processes add increasing amounts of organics to effluent discharge lines, significantly shortening the lifespan of downstream equipment. These gases and the particulate matter generated by their deposition in effluent discharge lines are harmful to equipment, and equipment failure can pose safety risks. Therefore, there is a need in the art for improved abatement techniques for organic gases. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Disclosed herein are methods and systems for treating effluent from a processing chamber. In one embodiment, the effluent is treated by flowing a hydrocarbon process gas into a processing chamber containing a substrate, performing a process on the substrate using the hydrocarbon process gas that generates organic byproducts, exhausting the organic byproducts from the processing chamber into a front stage having an abatement reaction region, and treating the organic byproducts in the abatement reaction region. Treating the organic byproducts includes mixing a dissociated oxygen-containing gas with the organic byproducts in the abatement reaction region and forming at least carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide from the mixture of the dissociated oxygen-containing gas and the organic byproducts.

[0005] In another example, a vacuum chamber abatement system includes a vacuum chamber having an interior space, an exhaust port coupled to the interior space, a front stage connecting the exhaust port to a remote plasma source, a valve positioned between the remote plasma source and the front stage, a vacuum pump coupled to the front stage, the remote plasma source positioned upstream of the vacuum pump, an RF power supply coupled to the remote plasma source, an inert gas source coupled to the remote plasma source, an oxygen source coupled to the remote plasma source, a front stage pressure gas source coupled to the front stage positioned between the remote plasma source and the vacuum pump, and a controller coupled to the chamber. The remote plasma source is positioned approximately 20 cm to approximately 40 cm from the front stage. The controller is configured to flow a hydrocarbon precursor gas into the interior of the vacuum chamber for carbon deposition on a substrate therein, perform a carbon deposition process on the substrate to generate organic byproducts, exhaust the organic byproducts from the interior of the vacuum chamber and into the front stage via the exhaust port, and treat the organic byproducts. The organic byproducts are silicon-free and include propylene. Treating the organic byproducts includes flowing oxygen gas at a molar ratio of 2:9 (oxygen gas:organic byproducts) into a remote plasma source, mixing argon gas and oxygen gas at a ratio of 0.5% inert to 250%, forming a plasma to generate oxygen and argon radicals, mixing the oxygen and argon radicals with the organic byproducts in the preceding stage, and dissociating the organic byproducts into a fluid including carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

[0006] In another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium has instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause a process to perform the operations of the apparatus and / or method described above. Simple diagram description

[0007] To further understand the manner in which the aforementioned features of the present disclosure are achieved, a more detailed description of the present disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be obtained by reference to the embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that the accompanying drawings depict only typical embodiments of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, as the present disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

[0008] FIG. 1A is a schematic side view of a plasma abatement processing system with an inline plasma reactor.

[0009] FIG. 1B is a schematic side view of a plasma abatement processing system with a remote plasma reactor.

[0010] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for treating effluent from a process chamber.

[0011] FIG. 3 is a diagram of a vacuum processing chamber according to one embodiment.

[0012] To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements and features of one embodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments without further recitation.

[0013] Many of the details, dimensions, angles, and other features shown in the figures are illustrative of specific implementations. Therefore, other implementations may have other details, components, dimensions, angles, and features without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, other implementations of this disclosure may be practiced without some of the details described below. Implementation Method

[0014] Embodiments disclosed herein include abatement methods for treating organic materials present in effluent exiting a processing chamber, such as a deposition chamber, an etch chamber, or other vacuum processing chamber. Generally, the abatement methods employ a plasma abatement system to react effluent exiting the processing chamber into a more benign form of the exhaust. The abatement process includes receiving effluent from the processing chamber in an abatement reaction region of a preceding stage, mixing the effluent received in the abatement reaction region with a dissociated reactive gas, and reacting the reactive gas and effluent within the abatement reaction region. In some examples, the plasma chamber may be positioned inline with the preceding stage to define the abatement reaction region. In another example, the reactive gas is dissociated within a remote plasma source (RPS) and then flowed into the abatement reaction region of the preceding stage for mixing and reaction with the effluent. The dissociated reactive gas readily reacts with organic materials in the effluent, substantially reducing the deposition of untreated organic effluent, including amorphous organic matter, in preceding stage or downstream equipment. Amorphous organic material deposition often leads to premature failure of downstream equipment (such as pumps, valves, and the like) and can also pose safety concerns for personnel. Therefore, the organic abatement process disclosed herein beneficially increases the efficiency of converting organic material within the effluent to a more benign form, resulting in extended equipment life, longer maintenance intervals, and safer operating conditions.

[0015] FIG1A is a schematic side view of a plasma processing system 100 having a processing chamber 110 interfaced with an abatement system 146. The abatement system 146 is integrated with front-end stages 170 and 172 connected to a chamber exhaust port 112 of the processing chamber 110. The abatement system 146 includes an inline plasma source (IPS) 120 connected inline between the front-end stages 170 and 172. FIG1B is a schematic side view of a plasma processing system 101 having a processing chamber 111 interfaced with an abatement system 147. The abatement system 147 is integrated with front-end stages 171 and 173 connected to a chamber exhaust port 113 of the processing chamber 111. The abatement system 147 includes a remote plasma source (RPS) 121 that provides dissociated reactive gas to an abatement reaction region 181 disposed inline between the front-end stages 171 and 173. Throughout the following description of FIG1A and FIG1B , even-numbered elements are shown in FIG1A , while odd-numbered elements are shown in FIG1B . Furthermore, FIG2 depicts an effluent treatment method 200 that includes a plurality of operations for treating effluent gas exiting the processing chambers 110 , 111 .

[0016] Generally, plasma processing system 100 includes a vacuum processing chamber 110 having a chamber exhaust port 112 connected to forestages 170 and 172. Forestages 170 and 172 include an abatement reaction region 180. In the example depicted in FIG. 1A , abatement reaction region 180 is defined within a forestage plasma source 120. The inlet of forestage plasma source 120 is coupled to forestage 170, while the outlet of forestage plasma source 120 is coupled to forestage 172. Forestage 172 is coupled to a vacuum pump 150 and, optionally, to a pressure regulation module 160. Vacuum pump 150 may be coupled to a downstream exhaust (not shown). Vacuum pump 150 is typically used to evacuate processing chamber 110, and the downstream exhaust typically includes a scrubber or other exhaust cleaning device to prepare the effluent from processing chamber 110 for atmospheric release. Although only one vacuum pump 150 is shown in FIG. 1A , multiple pumps may be coupled to the foreline 172 to draw effluent toward exhaust. In some embodiments, an optional pressure regulating module 160 injects a pressure regulating gas, such as a second inert gas, or other suitable gas, because the foreline pressure can vary with the pressure at which the vacuum pump 150 may be able to perform. The pressure regulating module 160 allows for better control of the plasma within the plasma source 120 and, thereby, provides more efficient abatement performance.

[0017] The front plasma source 120 receives a reactive gas from an abatement reagent gas source 134, which is coupled to the front stage 170 or to the front plasma source 120 itself. The front plasma source 120 also receives an inert gas from an inert gas source 130, which is coupled to the front stage 170 or to the front plasma source 120 itself. The abatement reagent gas source 134 may be a mixing chamber that provides a reagent gas mixture of two or more reagent gases. In some embodiments, the reagent gas source 134 may be a single reagent gas that can be excited to react with the material exiting the processing chamber 110 or otherwise assist in converting it into a more environmentally friendly and process equipment-friendly composition. In other embodiments, the two or more reagent gases are mixed before entering their respective destinations. Furthermore, the front plasma source 120 is coupled to an RF power source 140, which provides energy for dissociating the reactive gas within the front plasma source 120.

[0018] Vacuum processing chamber 110 is configured to perform at least one integrated circuit manufacturing process, such as a deposition process, an etching process, a plasma treatment process, a pre-cleaning process, an ion implantation process, or other integrated circuit manufacturing processes. Vacuum processing chamber 110 is connected to a gas distribution plate 190, which provides process gases (such as deposition precursors, etchants, or other process gases) to a processing region within processing chamber 110 for processing substrates. Processes performed within vacuum processing chamber 110 may be plasma-assisted, which dissociates the process gases. For example, processes performed within vacuum processing chamber 110 may be thermal and / or plasma deposition processes that utilize carbon-based process gases to deposit carbon-based film materials. The processing region within processing chamber 110 is evacuated via exhaust port 112, through which process gases and process byproducts are removed from processing chamber 110 to front-end stage 170.

[0019] Similarly, the plasma processing system 101 shown in FIG. 1B includes a vacuum processing chamber 111 having a chamber exhaust port 113 connected to front ends 171 and 173. Front ends 171 and 173 include an ablation reaction region 181. In the example depicted in FIG. 1B , the ablation reaction region 181 is connected to the RPS 121.

[0020] RPS 121 is located near ablation reaction region 181 to reduce the distance unstable radicals must travel to mix and react with the effluent. RPS 121 can be controlled or isolated using valve 103 located between RPS 121 and ablation reaction region 181 on forestage 171. The distance between RPS 121 and ablation reaction region 181 can be from about 20 centimeters (cm) to 40 cm, such as from about 25 cm to about 35 cm, such as about 30 cm. Typical valves include, but are not limited to, butterfly valves, ball valves, V-shaped ball valves, gate valves, globe valves, or angle valves suitable for isolating gas flows into and out of forestage 171. Valve 103 can be used for maintenance of RPS 121, emergency shutdown of plasma abatement system 101, flow rate control, or other process operation needs.

[0021] The outlet of RPS 121 provides a conduit for injecting dissociated reactive gas into abatement reaction region 181. The outlet of abatement reaction region 181 is coupled to forestage 173. Forestage 173 is coupled to vacuum pump 151 and, optionally, pressure regulation module 161. Vacuum pump 151 may be coupled to a downstream exhaust (not shown). Vacuum pump 151 is typically used to evacuate process chamber 111, while downstream exhaust typically includes a scrubber or other exhaust cleaning device to prepare the effluent from process chamber 111 for atmospheric release. Although only one vacuum pump 151 is shown in FIG. 1B , multiple pumps may be coupled to forestage 173 to pump the effluent toward the exhaust. In some embodiments, optional pressure regulation module 161 injects a pressure-regulating gas, such as a second inert gas or other suitable gas, because the forestage pressure can vary with the pressure variations that the vacuum pump 151 may exhibit. The pressure regulating module 161 allows for better control of the plasma within the plasma source 121 and thereby provides more efficient abatement performance.

[0022] An abatement reagent gas source 135 is coupled to the inlet of the RPS 121. The abatement reagent gas source 135 can be a mixing chamber that provides a reagent gas mixture of two or more reagent gases. In some embodiments, the reagent gas source 135 can be a single reagent gas that can be excited to react with the material exiting the processing chamber 111 or otherwise assist in converting it into a more environmentally friendly and process equipment-friendly composition. In other embodiments, the two or more reagent gases are mixed before entering their respective destinations. Furthermore, inert gas from the inert gas source 131 is also coupled to the inlet of the RPS 121. The RPS 121 is coupled to an RF power source 141, which provides energy for dissociating the reactive gas within the RPS 121. The dissociated reactive gas exits the outlet of the RPS 121 via valve 103 and enters the abatement reaction region 181. Valve 103 can be closed to allow maintenance of the RPS 121 without taking the system 101 offline, or to control the flow rate of the dissociated reactive gas.

[0023] Processing chamber 111 is configured to perform at least one integrated circuit manufacturing process, similar to the processes described with reference to vacuum processing chamber 110. Vacuum processing chamber 111 is connected to a gas distribution tray 191, which provides process gases (such as deposition precursors, etchants, or other process gases) to a processing region within processing chamber 111 for processing substrates. For example, the process performed within vacuum processing chamber 111 may be a thermal and / or plasma deposition process utilizing carbon-based process gases to deposit carbon-based film materials. The processing region within processing chamber 111 is evacuated via exhaust port 113, through which process gases and process byproducts are removed from processing chamber 111 to front stage 171.

[0024] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method 200 for treating effluent from a processing chamber (such as, but not limited to, the processing chambers 110, 111 described above) using an organic compound abatement system (such as, but not limited to, the abatement systems 146, 147 described above).

[0025] Method 200 begins at operation 210 by flowing a hydrocarbon process gas into a processing chamber in which a substrate is positioned. The hydrocarbon process gas may include, but is not limited to, small saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons including methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), ethylene (C2H4), acetylene (C2H2), propane (C3H8), propylene (C3H6), propyne (C3H4), butane (C4H10), butene (C4H8), butadiene (C4H6), butyne (C4H6), or other small hydrocarbons containing from one to six carbon atoms with varying degrees of unsaturation. In some embodiments, the hydrocarbon gas flows at a rate of about 50 sccm to about 2000 sccm while the substrate is maintained at a temperature of about -200 degrees Celsius to about 600 degrees Celsius and a chamber pressure of about 100 mTorr to about 10,000 mTorr.

[0026] At operation 220, a process is performed on a substrate using a hydrocarbon process gas that produces organic byproducts. In one example, the hydrocarbon process gas provided to the processing chamber from a gas distribution plate is used to deposit a carbon-containing film on the substrate. However, method 200 may also be useful for processing organic-containing effluents generated by other types of processes performed in a substrate processing chamber, such as etching, annealing, and plasma processing, among others. In some examples, the hydrocarbon process gas is excited by a plasma to deposit a carbon-containing film on a substrate supported by a substrate support within the processing chamber.

[0027] The use of a hydrocarbon process gas in operation 220 generates organic byproducts, which are pumped from the process chamber into the forestage as an organic effluent. In processes where the process gas is a silicon-free hydrocarbon process gas, a silicon-free organic effluent is generated. In some examples, residual compounds comprising the organic effluent include organic gases such as, for example, propylene (C3H6), acetylene (C2H2), or ethylene (C2H4), which are byproducts of a carbon deposition process using a hydrocarbon process gas provided by a gas distribution plate. In one example, the hydrocarbon process gas is a silicon-free organic process gas, thereby generating silicon-free organic byproducts in the organic effluent. In other examples, the organic effluent may include one or more organic byproducts, including, but not limited to, residual deposition gas and suitable plasma or thermal decomposition products, which may include atoms of oxygen, nitrogen, halogens, or other elements as required based on the process requirements of operation 220.

[0028] At operation 230, organic byproducts from the processing chamber are discharged into a front stage having an abatement reaction region. The organic byproducts (or organic gases) discharged from the processing chamber into the front stage are also referred to herein as organic effluent. In some embodiments, the organic effluent entering the abatement reaction region may have a flow rate of approximately 50 standard cubic centimeters per minute (sccm) to approximately 3,000 sccm and be at a pressure in a range of approximately 50 mTorr to approximately 10,000 mTorr.

[0029] As described above, the ablation reaction region is within (or inline with) the front stage. In one example, the ablation reaction region is within the plasma source. For example, as shown in FIG. 1A , ablation reaction region 180 is positioned within IPS 120, downstream of a port in the front stage that supplies reactive gas to ablation reaction region 180. In another example, as shown in FIG. 1B , ablation reaction region 181 is positioned within the front stage downstream of a port coupled to RPS 121, which supplies dissociated reactive gas to ablation reaction region 181.

[0030] At operation 240, the organic byproducts in the organic effluent are treated in the abatement reaction zone. A reactive gas is injected into the front stage and used to treat the organic byproducts in the organic effluent.

[0031] In one example, the organic effluent is treated by dissociating organic byproducts and reactive gases in IPS 120, which react to produce new, more benign molecules from the organic effluent. For example, an oxygen-containing reactive gas mixed with the organic effluent dissociates in IPS 120. Optionally, an inert gas may also be mixed with the reactive gas and organic effluent in IPS 120. For some embodiments, the reactive gas and optional inert gas flow mixture may range from about 2 standard liters per minute (slm) to about 40 slm, such as about 10 slm to about 40 slm, such as about 25 slm, for embodiments utilizing IPS 120. It is contemplated that lower or higher flow rates may be used, depending on the process gases used in operation 220. Oxygen radicals (e.g., neutral and charged oxygen atoms) dissociated from the reactive gas break bonds between organic byproducts in the effluent, producing more environmentally and equipment-friendly, more benign molecules such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water vapor, and the like. In some instances, the treated effluent may also contain trace amounts of oxygen-containing byproducts such as formaldehyde and formic acid.

[0032] The reactive gas is an oxygen-containing gas such as air, oxygen (O 2 ), ozone (O 3 ), water (H 2 O), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), or the like. In one embodiment, the oxygen is used to treat the effluent by generating oxygen radicals by exciting the oxygen with a plasma source.

[0033] When used, the inert gas provided by the inert gas source is also excited by the reactive gas. Suitable inert gases include, but are not limited to, argon, nitrogen, neon, helium, and krypton. Without being bound by theory, the excited inert gas prolongs the time that the reactive gas remains dissociated, such as the aforementioned oxygen radicals, thereby enhancing the rate at which effluent compounds are converted to more benign forms. For example, the use of argon simultaneously allows for a more efficient conversion process and also allows unstable oxygen radicals to expand the size of the reduced reaction zone without oxygen recombination to form oxygen. The percentage of inert gas to oxygen-containing gas may range from about 0.5% to 1,000%, such as from about 0.5% to about 500%, such as from about 0.5% to about 250%, or from about 100% to about 500%.

[0034] In the above example, a power of about 1.5 kilowatts (kW) to about 6 kW is used to dissociate the reactive gas within IPS 120. In one example, 2 kW to about 6 kW (e.g., about 3 kW to about 4.5 kW) is provided to IPS 120 to dissociate the reactive gas within IPS 120.

[0035] In another example, the reactive gas and, optionally, the inert gas, may be provided to the abatement reaction region 181 from an RPS 121 coupled to the preceding stage. The RPS 121 dissociates the reactive gas before entering the abatement reaction region 181. For embodiments utilizing the RPS 121, the reactive gas and, optionally, the inert gas flow mixture may be approximately 2 slm to approximately 10 slm. It is contemplated that lower or higher flow rates may be employed depending on the process gas used in operation 220.

[0036] In the above example, a power of about 2 kW to 10 kW is used to dissociate the reactive gas within the RPS 121. In one example, 2 kW to about 8.5 kW (e.g., about 6.9 kW to about 8.5 kW) is provided to the RPS 121 to dissociate the reactive gas within the RPS 121 before introduction into the abatement reaction region.

[0037] During processing at operation 240, the dissociated reactive gas is mixed with the organic effluent from the processing chamber in the abatement reaction zone. Oxygen, previously dissociated by bombardment with high-energy electrons driven by the RF field, is now available to react with carbon atoms. Without being bound by theory, oxygen radicals may be used to treat, for example, propylene (C3H6) effluent, thereby forming carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide due to the dissociation of the propylene effluent. For example, Equation (1) depicts the balanced stoichiometric formula for the conversion of propylene effluent, which requires a molecular ratio of 9 moles of oxygen for every 2 moles of propylene.

[0038] Equation (1)

[0039] Alternatively, equation (2) can provide the molecular ratio required to completely dissociate the propylene effluent via the use of oxygen radicals (O*), whereby a molecular ratio of 13 moles of oxygen radicals (or 7 moles of oxygen) to every 2 moles of propylene is required. Equation (2)

[0040] In yet another example, Equation (3) provides an ideal 1:1 molecular ratio (CO:CO2) that allows for complete dissociation of the propylene effluent via the use of oxygen radicals (O*), thereby requiring a molecular ratio of 30 moles of oxygen radicals (or 15 moles of oxygen) to every 4 moles of propylene.

[0041] Equation (3)

[0042] Therefore, it is contemplated that complete dissociation of the propylene effluent can be programmed into the chamber controller to deliver more or less oxygen or oxygen radicals by monitoring the effluent composition accordingly and adjusting the molecular ratio via gas flow rates and the like.

[0043] The above example illustrates oxygen radicals and pure propylene effluent. Similarly, a stoichiometric balance can be used for the molecular composition of the effluent, such as acetylene (C₂H₂) or ethylene (C₂H₄), to configure the desired molar ratios for different effluent components. Furthermore, molar ratios can be used for effluents containing various compounds to determine or adjust the amount of oxygen required for complete effluent dissociation. As described above, the amount of oxygen required for complete dissociation of mixed-compound organic effluents can be programmed into the chamber controller. The dissociation of organic effluents is an exothermic reaction that may require personnel protection in the form of external thermal shielding placed along the abatement zone or in the plasma sections upstream and downstream of the abatement zone in the forestage.

[0044] By reducing carbon byproduct deposition on downstream equipment, treating organic effluents has been shown to significantly extend the life of equipment. For example, in processes with high levels of organic byproducts, the life of vacuum equipment, such as vacuum pumps, has been significantly extended.

[0045] The effluent treatment method 200 of FIG. 2 can be executed during the start-up sequence of a deposition process in a chamber. Thus, the IPS 120 or RPS 121 of FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B initiates the generation of oxygen radicals and introduces them into the front stage before the deposition process begins. This ensures the conversion of the initial effluent drawn from the process chamber. The effluent treatment method 200 can be programmed into a controller to simultaneously introduce an organic process gas into the process chamber and activate the IPS or RPS. Alternatively, the effluent treatment method 200 of FIG. 2 can be run for a period of time, such as from about 1 second to about 15 seconds, after the process chamber is shut down to ensure that any and all effluent or precursor gases are converted to a more benign form.

[0046] The effluent treatment method 200 can be performed to treat organic effluent exiting a variety of process chambers, including plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) chambers, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chambers, physical vapor deposition (PVD) chambers, and other chambers. FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary PECVD chamber 300 suitable for depositing carbon-containing films on substrates using a hydrocarbon process gas. The hydrocarbon process gas generates organic effluent that can be treated within a front stage using the method described above. The PECVD chamber 300 includes a chamber body 302, a substrate support 304 having an electrode 328 disposed therein, the substrate support 304 disposed within the chamber body 302, and a lid assembly 306 coupled to the chamber body 302 and enclosing the substrate support 304 within a processing region 320. The lid assembly 306 includes a gas distributor 312. A substrate 354 is transferred to the processing region 320 via an opening 326 formed in the chamber body 302. The gas distributor 312 features an opening 318 for admitting process gas into the processing region 320. Process gas may be supplied to the PECVD chamber 300 via a conduit 314 and may enter a gas mixing region 316 before flowing through the opening 318. An exhaust port 352 is formed in the chamber body 302 below the substrate support 304. The exhaust port 352 may be connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) to remove unreacted materials and byproducts from the PECVD chamber 300. The gas distributor 312 may be coupled to a power source 341, such as an RF generator. Similarly, the substrate support 304 may be coupled to a power source 332, such as an RF generator or a DC power supply.

[0047] All numerical values ​​are "about" or "approximately" the indicated values, and take into account experimental errors and variations that would be expected by one of ordinary skill in the art.

[0048] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the present disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the following claims.

[0049] Certain embodiments and features have been described using a set of numerical minimums and a set of numerical maximums. It should be understood that, unless otherwise indicated, ranges are contemplated that include combinations of any two values, for example, any minimum value combined with any maximum value, any two minimum values ​​combined, and / or any two maximum values ​​combined. Certain minimum values, maximum values, and ranges appear in one or more of the following claims.

[0050] 100:Plasma processing system 101: Plasma processing system 103: Valve 110: Processing chamber 111: Processing chamber 112: discharge port 113: Discharge Port 120:Pre-stage plasma source 121: Remote Plasma Source RPS 130: Inert gas source 131: Inert gas source 134: Reagent gas source 135: Reagent gas source 140:RF power supply 141:RF Power Supply 146: Reduction system 147: Reduction system 150: Vacuum pump 151: Vacuum pump 160: Pressure regulation module 161: Optional pressure regulating module 170:Pre-stage 180: Reduction reaction area 181: Reduction reaction area 190:Gas distribution plate 191:Gas distribution plate 300:PECVD chamber 300: Exemplary PECVD chamber 302: Chamber body 304: substrate support 306: Cover assembly 312: Gas distributor 314: Catheter 316: Gas mixing area 318: Opening 320: Processing area 326: Opening 328: Electrode 332: Power Supply 341: Power Supply 352: Discharge Port 354:Substrate

[0051] Domestic storage information (please note the order of storage institution, date, and number) none Overseas deposit information (please note the order of deposit country, institution, date, and number) none

Claims

1. A method for treating an effluent from a processing chamber, the method comprising the steps of: introducing a hydrocarbon processing gas into a processing chamber for treating a substrate; A process is performed on the substrate using the hydrocarbon processing gas that generates organic byproducts; the organic byproducts are then discharged from the processing chamber into a pre-stage having a reduction reaction zone. And the organic byproducts are treated in the reduction reaction zone powered by a plasma source, wherein the step of treating the organic byproducts includes the following steps: mixing a dissociated oxygen-containing gas and the organic byproducts in the reduction reaction zone; And a mixture of the dissociated oxygen-containing gas and the organic byproducts forms at least carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

2. The method as described in claim 1, wherein the hydrocarbon treatment gas comprises methane, ethane, ethylene, acetylene, propane, propylene, propyne, butane, butene, butadiene, butyne, or a combination thereof.

3. The method as described in claim 1, wherein the organic byproducts are discharged from the processing chamber by a vacuum pump.

4. The method as described in claim 1, wherein processing the organic byproducts further comprises powering the plasma source with an RF power of about 2 kW to about 10 kW.

5. The method as described in claim 4, wherein the plasma source includes an inline plasma source.

6. The method as described in claim 4, wherein the RF power supplying the plasma source is about 2 kW to about 6 kW.

7. The method as described in claim 6, wherein the RF power supplying the plasma source is about 3 kW to about 4.5 kW.

8. The method as described in claim 4, wherein the plasma source includes a remote plasma source.

9. The method as described in claim 8, wherein the RF power supplying the plasma source is about 2 kW to about 8.5 kW.

10. The method as described in claim 9, wherein the RF power supplying the plasma source is from about 6.9 kW to about 8.5 kW.

11. The method as described in claim 1, wherein the dissociated oxygen-containing gas includes oxygen gas selected from the group consisting of air, ozone, oxygen gas, nitric oxide gas and nitrogen dioxide.

12. The method as described in claim 1, wherein the dissociated oxygen-containing gas includes oxygen.

13. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of treating the organic byproducts in the reduction reaction zone further comprises the step of mixing the dissociated oxygen-containing gas and the organic byproducts with an inert gas selected from the group consisting of argon, neon, nitrogen, helium and krypton.

14. The method as described in claim 13, wherein the ratio of the inert gas to the dissociated oxygen-containing gas is from about 0.5% to about 1000%.

15. The method as described in claim 12, wherein the organic byproducts include propylene, ethylene, or decomposition products of small hydrocarbons with different degrees of unsaturation caused by plasma or thermal energy.

16. The method as described in claim 15, wherein the organic byproducts include propylene.

17. The method as described in claim 16 further includes the step of: allowing the dissociated oxygen-containing gas to flow into the reduction reaction zone, wherein the dissociated oxygen-containing gas has a molar ratio of about 2:9 to the organic byproducts.

18. The method as described in claim 1, further comprising the step of converting the organic byproducts into a fluid comprising carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.

19. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of discharging an effluent containing the organic byproducts into the reduction reaction zone at a flow rate of about 50 sccm to about 3000 sccm and a pressure of about 50 mTorr to about 10,000 mTorr.

20. A vacuum chamber volume reduction system, comprising: A vacuum chamber having an internal space; A discharge port coupled to the internal space; a preamplifier connecting the discharge port to a remote plasma source located at a distance of approximately 20 cm to approximately 40 cm from the preamplifier; a valve located between the remote plasma source and the preamplifier; and a vacuum pump coupled to the preamplifier, with the remote plasma source located upstream of the vacuum pump. An RF power supply coupled to the remote plasma source; an inert gas source coupled to the remote plasma source; an oxygen source coupled to the remote plasma source; and a pre-stage pressurized gas source coupled to the pre-stage located between the remote plasma source and the vacuum pump. and a controller coupled to the vacuum chamber and configured to: allow a hydrocarbon precursor gas to flow into the vacuum chamber for carbon deposition on a substrate therein; perform a carbon deposition process on the substrate that produces organic byproducts, the organic byproducts being silicon-free and including propylene; and discharge the organic byproducts from the vacuum chamber and via the discharge port to the pre-stage; And the treatment of the organic byproducts in the pre-stage, wherein the treatment of the organic byproducts includes: allowing oxygen to flow into the distal plasma source at a molar ratio of 2:9 (oxygen: organic byproducts); An argon gas is mixed with an oxygen gas at a ratio of 0.5% to 250% (inert gas: oxygen); a plasma is formed to generate oxygen radicals and argon radicals; the oxygen radicals and argon radicals are mixed with the organic by-products in the preceding stage; and the organic by-products are dissociated into a fluid comprising carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

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