Intermittent stagnant flow

Abstract

A method for removing residue deposits from a reaction chamber includes the step of supplying a cleaning gas into the reaction chamber via direct delivery from a remote plasma source (RPS). The cleaning gas forms a plurality of gas flow streamlines within the reaction chamber. Each streamline starts at an injection point for receiving the cleaning gas and ends at a chamber pump port coupled to a fore line for exhausting the cleaning gas. The flow characteristics of the cleaning gas are modified to redirect at least some of the gas flow streamlines to circulate near the inner perimeter of the reaction chamber to remove residue deposits or to enhance the diffusion of cleaning species to surfaces to be cleaned. The inner perimeter is positioned along one or more vertical surfaces of the reaction chamber orthogonal to a horizontal surface containing the injection point.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to systems, methods, apparatuses, and machine-readable media associated with cleaning the internal surfaces of reaction chambers from residue deposits using an intermittent stagnant flow of cleaning gases. Background Technology

[0002] Claim of priority

[0003] This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 705,519 filed on July 1, 2020, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0004] Semiconductor substrate processing devices are used to process semiconductor substrates by techniques including etching, physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD), pulsed deposition layer (PDL), plasma-enhanced pulsed deposition layer (PEPDL) processing, and resist removal.

[0005] During semiconductor substrate processing, the presence of precursor gases within the reaction chamber causes residue deposits to form on the inner surfaces of the chamber. For example, the reaction chamber may be covered with carbon residue deposits after processing an amorphous hard mask (AHM) applied to the substrate. Using conventional chamber cleaning techniques, a significant portion of the cleaning gases introduced into the reaction chamber—such as remote plasma source (RPS)-activated cleaning gas radical species (e.g., atomic oxygen or fluoride)—diffuses onto the chamber surfaces and exits the chamber before reacting with the residue deposits on the chamber walls that need to be removed.

[0006] The description of the background art provided in this specification generally presents the context of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the information described in this section is presented to provide some context to a person skilled in the art regarding the subject matter disclosed below and should not be construed as recognized prior art. More specifically, the work of the inventors named in this specification to the extent described in this background art section, as well as aspects of the present art that may not otherwise be recognized as prior art at the time of filing, are not explicitly or implicitly recognized as prior art for the present disclosure.

[0007] Methods, systems, and computer programs for semiconductor substrate processing are presented, including techniques for heater design solutions for chemical transfer systems for chemical isolation chambers used to process semiconductor substrates.

[0008] In an exemplary embodiment, a method for removing residue deposits from a reaction chamber comprises the step of supplying a cleaning gas into the reaction chamber via direct delivery from a remote plasma source (RPS). The cleaning gas forms a plurality of gas flow streamlines within the reaction chamber. Each of the plurality of gas flow streamlines originates at an injection point fluidly coupled to the RPS to receive the cleaning gas and terminates at a chamber pump port coupled to a fore line to exhaust the cleaning gas from the reaction chamber. At least one flow characteristic of the cleaning gas (e.g., the effective pumping rate or pressure of the reaction chamber) is modified to redirect at least a portion of the plurality of gas flow streamlines to circulate near the inner periphery of the reaction chamber to remove residue deposits. The inner periphery may be positioned along one or more vertical surfaces of the reaction chamber, and one or more vertical surfaces are orthogonal to the horizontal surface of the reaction chamber containing the injection point.

[0009] In another exemplary embodiment, the semiconductor substrate processing device includes a remote plasma source (RPS) configured to generate a cleaning gas. The semiconductor substrate processing device further includes a reaction chamber where the semiconductor substrate is processed and residue deposits are formed. The reaction chamber is fluidly coupled to the remote plasma source via a downtube for direct delivery of the cleaning gas into the reaction chamber. The semiconductor substrate processing device further includes a pump fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber via a pore line. The pump is configured to control the exhaust of the cleaning gas from the reaction chamber. The pore line may terminate at the chamber pump port of the reaction chamber. The semiconductor substrate processing device further includes a gate valve fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber and the pump via a pore line. The semiconductor substrate processing device further includes a controller module coupled to the remote plasma source, the reaction chamber, the gate valve, and the pump. The controller module is configured to cause the remote plasma source to supply the cleaning gas into the reaction chamber via the downtube. The cleaning gas forms a plurality of gas flow streams within the reaction chamber. Each of the plurality of gas flow streams originates at the injection point of the downtube and terminates at the chamber pump port. The controller module is configured to modify the flow characteristics of at least one of the cleaning gas streams to redirect at least some of the plurality of gas flow streams to circulate near the inner periphery of the reaction chamber to remove residue deposits. The inner periphery may be positioned on or near (or therefore along) one or more vertical surfaces of the reaction chamber. The one or more vertical surfaces are surfaces orthogonal to the horizontal surface of the reaction chamber containing the injection point.

[0010] In another exemplary embodiment, a method for removing residue deposits from a reaction chamber includes the step of supplying a cleaning gas into the reaction chamber via direct delivery from a remote plasma source (RPS). The cleaning gas forms a plurality of gas flow streamlines within the reaction chamber. Cleaning uniformity associated with removing residue deposits from the reaction chamber by the cleaning gas is detected. Based on the cleaning uniformity, the time duration of the opening period and the time duration of the closing period of the gate valve of the reaction chamber are controlled to control the movement or position of the gas flow streamlines within the reaction chamber as well as to control the effective pumping rate of the cleaning gas. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0011] Various drawings among the attached drawings merely illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be construed as limiting the scope thereof. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an example of a substrate processing system in which examples of the present disclosure may be used. FIGS. 2a, 2b, and 2c are functional block diagrams of a reaction chamber of a substrate processing system in which gas flow streamlines may be manipulated during a cleaning cycle to remove residue deposits according to exemplary embodiments. FIG. 3 is a diagram of a plan view of a reaction chamber having a plurality of pedestals as well as slit valve ports and filler plates that can be cleaned from residue deposits using the disclosed techniques according to exemplary embodiments. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a slit valve port and an inner periphery along the vertical surface of a reaction chamber that can be cleaned from residue deposits using the disclosed techniques according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 5 is a graph showing changes in substrate average etching rate versus chamber pressure (as an indicator of the residue deposition removal rate) according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 6 is a pressure-time history graph associated with variable chamber pressure resulting from intermittent stagnant gas flow inside the chamber according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating different etching rates as an indicator of the residue deposition cleaning rate at the periphery of a test wafer for an intermittent stagnant flow of cleaning gases inside a reaction chamber according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method for removing residue deposits according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of another method for removing residue deposits according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a machine in which one or more exemplary method embodiments may be implemented or one or more exemplary embodiments may be controlled. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0012] The following description includes systems, methods, techniques, instruction sequences, and computing machine program products (e.g., stored on a machine-readable medium) that implement exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, a number of specific details are outlined to provide a complete understanding of exemplary embodiments regarding an intermittent stagnant flow of cleaning gases within a reaction chamber for the purpose of removing residue deposits from the surfaces of the reaction chamber. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details.

[0013] In this application, the terms "semiconductor wafer," "wafer," "substrate," "semiconductor substrate," and "wafer substrate" are used interchangeably. The terms "chamber," "reaction chamber," "deposition chamber," "reactor," "chemical isolation chamber," "processing chamber," and "substrate processing chamber" are also used interchangeably.

[0014] One type of substrate processing device includes a reaction chamber comprising an upper electrode and a lower electrode, and radio frequency (RF) power is applied between the electrodes to excite a process gas into a plasma to process semiconductor substrates within the reaction chamber. Another type of substrate processing device includes an ALD tool, which is a special type of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processing system in which ALD reactions occur between two or more chemical species introduced as process gases within a reaction chamber (e.g., an atomic layer deposition (ALD) reaction chamber). While a CVD processing system can be configured to operate without plasma, a plasma-enhanced CVD (or PE-CVD) processing system is configured to operate using plasma. Similarly, an ALD processing system can be configured to operate with or without plasma. Process gases (e.g., precursor gases) are used to form a thin film deposition of a material on a substrate, such as a silicon wafer, as is used in the semiconductor industry (e.g., during multiple ALD cycles). Precursor gases are sequentially introduced from a gas source into the ALD processing chamber so that the gases react with the surface of the substrate to form a deposited layer upon combination. For example, the substrate is typically exposed to a first chemical (or a combination of chemicals) to form an absorbed layer. Excess of the first chemical or chemicals is removed by pumping or purging. A second chemical or a combination of chemicals is introduced to react with the absorbed layer to form a deposited material layer. To form the deposited material layer, the two chemicals or combinations of chemicals are specifically selected to react with each other.A more detailed description of a substrate processing device having a reaction chamber is provided in relation to FIG. 1.

[0015] During the processing of a substrate (e.g., when processed within the reaction chambers illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b, or FIG. 2c), residue deposits are formed on the surfaces of the reaction chamber. Fluid simulations suggest that atomic oxygen (as well as other activated radical species used as residue deposit cleaning agents) is more likely to be drawn into the chamber pump ports than to diffuse into the outer regions of the chamber (e.g., slit valve ports, filler plates, or other structures positioned along the inner periphery of the chamber). Techniques disclosed herein, including periodically closing the chamber pump ports, cause the cleaning gas flow streamlines within the chamber to be redirected, allowing the cleaning gases to diffuse into the outer regions of the chamber and providing an intermittent stagnant flow of cleaning gases that facilitates more uniform removal of residue deposits.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an example of a substrate processing system (100) in which examples of the present disclosure may be used. Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary substrate processing system (100) is configured to perform deposition as illustrated. Although a PECVD substrate processing system is illustrated as the system (100), a PEALD substrate processing system or other substrate processing systems (e.g., processing systems that do not use plasma for deposition or etching) may be used in connection with the cleaning techniques discussed herein. The substrate processing system (100) includes a reaction chamber (102) that contains plasma and encloses other components of the substrate processing system (100). The reaction chamber (102) includes a gas distribution device (104) and a substrate support (106), such as an electrostatic chuck (ESC). During operation, a substrate (108) is placed on the substrate support (106). In some embodiments, the substrate support may include one or more pedestals (e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 2a to 2c).

[0017] In some examples, the gas distribution device (104) may include a powered showerhead (109) that serves as an electrode to distribute process gases over a substrate (108) and apply an RF field to induce ion bombardment. The showerhead (109) may include a stem portion having one end connected to the top surface of the reaction chamber (102). The base portion is generally cylindrical and extends radially outward from the opposite end of the stem portion at a position spaced apart from the top surface of the reaction chamber (102). The substrate-facing surface or faceplate of the base portion of the showerhead (109) includes a plurality of distributed holes through which the process gas (or gases) flow. The gas distribution device (104) may be made of a metal material and may serve as an upper electrode. Alternatively, the gas distribution device (104) may be made of a non-metallic material and may include an embedded electrode. In other examples, the top electrode may include a conductive plate and process gases may be introduced in another way.

[0018] The substrate support (106) includes a conductive base plate (110) acting as a lower electrode. The base plate (110) supports a heating plate (112), which may correspond to a ceramic multi-zone heating plate. A heat-resistant layer (114) may be disposed between the heating plate (112) and the base plate (110). The base plate (110) may include one or more coolant channels (116) for flowing a coolant through the base plate (110).

[0019] A radio frequency (RF) generating system (120) generates and outputs an RF voltage to one of the upper electrodes (e.g., gas distribution device (104)) and one of the lower electrodes (e.g., baseplate (110) of the substrate support (106). The other of the upper electrode and the lower electrode may be DC (direct current) grounded, AC (alternating current) grounded, or floated at (143). In some examples, the RF generating system (120) may supply dual-frequency power, including an HF generator (121) and an LF generator (122) that generate high frequency (HF) and low frequency (LF) power (of each predetermined frequency and power level) which is fed to the upper electrode or the lower electrode (or showerhead) by a matching and distribution network (124).

[0020] A chemical transfer system (130) (also referred to as a chemical transfer module) comprises process gas sources (e.g., one or more precursor canisters) (132-1, 132-2, … and 132-N) (collectively, process gas sources (132)), where N is an integer greater than 0. The process gas sources are fluidly coupled to corresponding valves (134-1, 134-2, … and 134-N) (e.g., through multiple gas lines).

[0021] Process gas sources (132) supply one or more process gas mixtures, dopants, carrier gases, liquid precursors, precursor gases, cleaning gases and / or purge gases. In some examples, a chemical delivery system (130) delivers a mixture of precursor gases, such as tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) gas, gases including oxygen species and argon (Ar) gas, and dopants including triethylphosphate (TEPO) and / or triethylborate (TEB) during deposition. In some examples, the diffusion of dopants occurs from the gas phase. For example, a carrier gas (e.g., nitrogen, argon, or other gas) is supplied to a silicon wafer where concentration equilibrium can occur and which is concentrated with the target dopant (also in gaseous form, e.g., TEPO and / or TEB). In subsequent processes, the wafer may be placed inside a quartz tube heated to a specific temperature.

[0022] Referring again to FIG. 1, process gas sources (132) are connected to a mixing manifold (140) in fluid communication with a reaction chamber (102) by valves (134-1, 134-2, … and 134-N) (collectively, valves (134)) and mass flow controllers (MFCs) (136-1, 136-2, … and 136) (collectively, MFCs (136)). The gases are supplied to the mixing manifold (140) and mixed within the mixing manifold (140). The output of the mixing manifold (140) is fed to the reaction chamber (102) (e.g., through a downtube). In some embodiments, the mixing manifold is heated to a predetermined temperature to supply precursor gases to the reaction chamber at a specific temperature (or temperature range). In some examples, the output of the mixing manifold (140) is fed to the showerhead (109). The secondary purge gas (170) may be supplied to the processing chamber (102), for example, behind the showerhead (109), through the valve (172) and the MFC (174). As illustrated separately, the mixing manifold (140) may be part of the chemical transfer system (130).

[0023] A temperature controller (142) may be connected to a plurality of thermal control elements (TCEs) (144) disposed on a heating plate (112). For example, the TCEs (144) may include, but are not limited to, individual macro TCEs corresponding to each zone of a multi-zone heating plate and / or an array of micro TCEs disposed across multiple zones of a multi-zone heating plate. The temperature controller (142) may be used to control the plurality of TCEs (144) to control the temperature of the substrate support (106) and the substrate (108). FIG. 1 illustrates TCEs within a substrate support structure, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto and TCEs may be configured in other areas of the chamber (e.g., chamber walls). These TCEs configured on the chamber walls can control the chamber wall temperature, which can suppress deposition (e.g., by increasing the reactivity of cleaning gases reaching the wall surfaces) and assist the chamber cleaning techniques discussed herein.

[0024] The temperature controller (142) may communicate with the coolant assembly (146) to control the flow of coolant through the channels (116). For example, the coolant assembly (146) may include a coolant pump and a reservoir. The temperature controller (142) operates the coolant assembly (146) to selectively flow coolant through the channels (116) to cool the substrate support (106). A valve (150) (e.g., a gate valve) and a pump (152) (e.g., an exhaust pump) may be used to control pressure and exhaust reaction materials from the processing chamber (102). In an exemplary embodiment (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 2c), the reaction chamber may include two or more gate valves (or valves of other types) for exhausting reaction materials from the chamber.

[0025] As discussed in this specification, the system controller (160) may be used to control components of the substrate processing system (100), including dynamically monitoring and adjusting the surface temperatures of heating elements of gas lines within the chemical transfer system (130), as well as performing control functions associated with the removal of residue deposits within the reaction chamber (e.g., controlling the duration of the opening and closing periods of one or more gate valves of the chamber, the pressure within the chamber, etc.). The system controller (160) may also perform pressure control functions, such as monitoring and adjusting the pressure within the reaction chamber (102). Although illustrated as separate controllers, the temperature controller (142) may be implemented within the system controller (160).

[0026] In an exemplary embodiment, the reaction chamber (102) may include residue sensors (176 and 178) that may be mounted on one or more surfaces of the chamber. In an exemplary embodiment, the residue sensors may be configured to change the surface color when residue is deposited on the sensors. Alternatively, these sensors may be designed to measure the thickness of the residue deposited on the sensors. In this regard, the residue sensors (176 and 178) may include optical sensors and may provide information about the sensed surface color or some other physical property indicating the amount of residue present in the chamber. In some embodiments, the residue sensors (176 and 178) may include substrate tags (e.g., parts of the substrate) having optical sensors, and the optical sensors may detect residue deposits on the tags and report the detected residue deposits (e.g., thickness of residue deposits on the substrate tags) to a controller module (e.g., system controller (160)) configured to control cleaning uniformity within the reaction chamber. For example, the system controller (160) may detect cleaning uniformity within the reaction chamber (102) based on information regarding residue deposits received from the residue sensors (176 and 178). The system controller (160) may control at least one flow characteristic of the cleaning gases introduced into the reaction chamber and may redirect gas flow streamlines along the surfaces of the reaction chamber to achieve cleaning uniformity associated with removing residue deposits.In some embodiments, the system controller (160) may control the duration of the opening period and the duration of the closing period of the valve (150) (and / or one or more additional gate valves) of the reaction chamber (102) to control the movement or position of gas flow streamlines within the reaction chamber, control the effective pumping rate of the chamber, and increase the cleaning uniformity associated with removing residue deposits on the chamber surfaces. In another exemplary embodiment, the system controller (160) may dynamically adjust the duration of the opening period and the duration of the closing period of the valve (150) based on cleaning uniformity within the chamber (e.g., based on information regarding residue deposits from residue sensors (176 and 178)) or based on maintaining the pressure within the chamber within a specific range (e.g., opening the valve (150) when the pressure reaches an upper threshold value and closing the valve (150) when the pressure reaches a lower threshold value). Exemplary embodiments of reaction chambers related to removing residue deposits are illustrated in connection with FIGS. 2a, 2b, and 2c.

[0027] FIGS. 2a, 2b, and 2c are functional block diagrams of a reaction chamber of a substrate processing system in which gas flow streamlines may be manipulated during a cleaning cycle to remove residue deposits according to exemplary embodiments. Referring to FIG. 2a, diagram (200a) illustrates a reaction chamber (206) that may be part of a substrate processing system similar to the substrate processing system (100) of FIG. 1. In an exemplary embodiment, the reaction chamber (206) may include a plurality of pedestals (e.g., pedestals (212 and 214)) arranged around a spindle hub (216), and each pedestal may be used to support a substrate within the reaction chamber (206). FIG. 2a illustrates two pedestals, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto and the reaction chamber (206) may include a different number of pedestals (e.g., four pedestals as illustrated in FIG. 3). The reaction chamber (206) further includes showerheads (218 and 220) arranged along the horizontal surface (234) of the chamber.

[0028] The reaction chamber (206) further includes filler plates (222 and 224), as well as residue sensors (236 and 238), which are positioned along the vertical surfaces (230 and 232) of the reaction chamber (206). As illustrated in FIG. 2a, the vertical surfaces (230 and 232) are approximately orthogonal to the horizontal surface (234). The residue sensors (236 and 238) are functionally similar to the residue sensors (176 and 178) discussed in relation to FIG. 1. The filler plates (222 and 224) may be positioned in close proximity to the pedestals (212 and 214) and are used to improve gas flow uniformity within the reaction chamber (206).

[0029] The reaction chamber (206) further includes a chamber pump port (228) coupled to a gate valve (208) and a pump (210) via a fore line (229). The gate valve (208) and the pump (210) are functionally similar to the valve (150) and pump (152) of FIG. 1.

[0030] The reaction chamber (206) is configured to receive a cleaning gas generated by a remote plasma source (RPS) (204) using a process gas (202). For example, the RPS (204) may use the process gas (202) to generate a cleaning gas containing activated radical species (e.g., atomic oxygen or fluorine). The cleaning gas is delivered into the reaction chamber (206) through a downtube (205) which terminates at an injection point (226) located on the horizontal surface (234) of the reaction chamber (206). In another embodiment, the cleaning gas is delivered into the reaction chamber (206) through showerheads (218 and 220).

[0031] When operating, and as exemplified in FIG. 2a, the gate valve (208) is opened and the pump (210) continuously pumps the chamber (206). Cleaning gas is delivered from the RPS (204) into the chamber (206) through the downtube (205). In this regard, a plurality of gas flow streams (232) of cleaning gas are created, each of which starts at the injection point (226) and ends at the chamber pump port (228), which is fluidly coupled to the pump (210) and the gate valve (208) through the foreline (229). Because the gate valve (208) is continuously opened, the plurality of gas flow streams (232) tend to form along paths with the least obstacle between the injection point (226) and the chamber pump port (228). For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2a, most of the multiple gas flow streamlines (232) pass between the spindle hub (216) and the pedestals (212 and 214), as well as between the gaps placed between the pedestal (212) and the filler plate (222). Consequently, the residue deposits in the reaction chamber (206) are not uniformly cleaned, particularly in areas where the gas flow streamlines (232) do not pass and where the cleaning gas does not diffuse near these areas (e.g., areas along the vertical surfaces (230 and 232)).

[0032] FIG. 2b illustrates a diagram (200B) of the reaction chamber (206) during an intermittent stagnant flow of cleaning gas when the gate valve (208) is temporarily closed but the cleaning gas is still introduced into the chamber (206) through the injection point (226). In an exemplary embodiment and as illustrated in FIG. 2b, at least one flow characteristic of the cleaning gas introduced into the reaction chamber (206) can be modified to redirect at least a portion of a plurality of gas flow streamlines (240) toward a plurality of surfaces of the reaction chamber to achieve cleaning uniformity associated with removing residue deposits (e.g., redirecting at least a portion of a plurality of gas flow streamlines (240) toward the inner periphery of the reaction chamber (206), which encompasses the circumference around the vertical walls (230 and 232) of the reaction chamber (206). The inner periphery is illustrated in more detail in relation to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.

[0033] In an exemplary embodiment, at least one flow characteristic is the effective pumping rate of the reaction chamber (206). More specifically, the system controller (160) may be configured to control the duration of the opening period and the duration of the closing period of the gate valve (208), the gate valve (208) is opened during the opening period to allow the pump (210) to exhaust cleaning gas from the reaction chamber, and the gate valve (208) is closed during the closing period. In another aspect, the control parameters may be considered, in this case, as the frequency of off-on cycles as well as the ratio of the off-time to the on-time. In an exemplary embodiment, the duration of the opening period and the duration of the closing period of the gate valve are each about 1 second to about 2 seconds.

[0034] As illustrated in FIG. 2b, when the gate valve (208) is opened, the plurality of gas flow streamlines (232) of FIG. 2a are directed more than when the gate valve (208) is closed, the plurality of gas flow streamlines (240) are directed toward the inner surfaces of the reaction chamber, including the vertical surfaces (230 and 232). Additionally, as the cleaning gas (242) continues to enter the reaction chamber and the pressure inside the chamber rises, it diffuses to most of the structures and surfaces within the reaction chamber (206), resulting in better cleaning uniformity and a higher degree of residue deposition removal.

[0035] In an exemplary embodiment, the system controller (160) may receive sensor information from residue sensors (236 and 238) to detect cleaning uniformity within the reaction chamber (206). In an exemplary embodiment, the residue sensors (236 and 238) may be mounted on vertical surfaces (230 and 232) in proximity to one or more filler plates (e.g., filler plates (222 and 224)) of the reaction chamber or one or more slit valve ports (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 3 and 4). The residue sensors (236 and 238) may monitor residue deposits (e.g., thickness or presence of residue deposits) near the area where they are mounted and may provide sensor information to the system controller (160). The system controller (160) controls the duration of the opening period and the duration of the closing period of the pump (210) based on sensor information indicating cleaning uniformity and remaining residue deposits. In an exemplary embodiment, the duration of the opening period and the duration of the closing period may be dynamically configured (e.g., based on sensor information from residue sensors (236 and 238)).

[0036] In an exemplary embodiment, at least one flow characteristic is the pressure within the reaction chamber (206) during the supply of the cleaning gas (242). More specifically, the system controller (160) may configure and control the duration of the opening period and the duration of the closing period of the gate valve of the reaction chamber (e.g., based on sensor information from the residue sensors (236 and 238)) to regulate the pressure within the reaction chamber (206) so as to be maintained within the lower threshold value and the upper threshold value. For example, the system controller (160) may initiate the closing period of the gate valve (208) when the pressure within the reaction chamber reaches the lower threshold value (e.g., close the gate valve (208)). Similarly, the system controller (160) may initiate the opening period of the gate valve (208) when the pressure within the reaction chamber reaches the upper threshold value (e.g., open the gate valve (208)). In an exemplary embodiment, the lower threshold value and the upper threshold value may be dynamically configured (e.g., based on sensor information from residue sensors (236 and 238)). In an exemplary embodiment, the lower threshold value is about 1.2 Torr and the upper threshold value is about 6 Torr.

[0037] In an exemplary embodiment, when the gate valves are closed, the cleaning gas diffuses into the chamber walls, whereas when the gate valve is opened, the cleaning gas is pumped out before it has a chance to diffuse into the sides of the chamber. In this regard, the oscillation between the opening and closing of the gate valve (or valves), as well as the duration of each of the opening and closing periods, may be based on the degree of cleaning gas diffusion near the chamber wall surfaces (which can be monitored or detected via sensors).

[0038] FIG. 2c illustrates a diagram (200C) of a reaction chamber (206) comprising a plurality of gate valves. For example, FIG. 2c illustrates a reaction chamber (206) having gate valves (208, 244, 246, and 248). Gate valve (244) may be positioned at the opposite end of gate valve (208) on the same horizontal surface of the reaction chamber (206). Gate valve (246) may be positioned along a vertical surface (230), and gate valve (248) may be positioned along a vertical surface (232). FIG. 2c illustrates a reaction chamber (206) having four distinct gate valves, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the reaction chamber (206) may include a different number (e.g., one or more) of gate valves. In an exemplary embodiment, all gate valves (208, 244, 246 and 248) may be fluidly coupled to a pump (210), or each gate valve may be fluidly coupled to a respective pump, wherein all pumps are managed by a system controller (160). These valves may be opened and closed simultaneously or in a continuous sequence to enable redistribution of flow lines that may be necessary to improve chamber cleaning.

[0039] In an exemplary embodiment, the system controller (160) may independently configure the durations of the opening periods and the durations of the closing periods for each of the gate valves based on the presence of residue deposits and cleaning uniformity within the reaction chamber (206). For example, one or more residue sensors may be placed on surfaces adjacent to each of the gate valves, and the system controller (160) may independently configure the durations of each gate valve based on sensing information from the residue sensors. Alternatively, the durations may be pre-configured (for example, based on substrate etching rates as an indicator of cleaning uniformity within the reaction chamber (206), as discussed in connection with FIGS. 5, 6 and 7). In an exemplary embodiment, the system controller (160) can oscillate between opening at least two gate valves illustrated in FIG. 2c to enable control of the wire pattern, because pumping the chamber from the side will have a different wire pattern than pumping from the bottom.

[0040] FIG. 3 is a diagram of a plan view of a reaction chamber (300) having a plurality of pedestals as well as slit valve ports and filler plates that can be cleaned from residue deposits using the disclosed techniques according to exemplary embodiments. Referring to FIG. 3, the reaction chamber includes pedestals (302, 304, 306, and 308) configured to support a substrate during processing within the chamber. FIG. 3 further illustrates filler plates (312, 314, 316, and 318) arranged along the vertical surfaces of the reaction chamber (300). Additionally, FIG. 3 also illustrates slit valve ports (320 and 322) arranged along the vertical surfaces of the reaction chamber (300) and used to allow the movement of substrates into and out of the reaction chamber (300).

[0041] In an exemplary embodiment, residue sensors may be positioned on the vertical surfaces of the reaction chamber (300) in proximity to the filler plates (312 to 318) and the slit valve ports (320 and 322). For example, residue sensors (e.g., residue sensors (236 and 238)) may be positioned along the inner periphery (324) of the reaction chamber (300). A perspective view of the inner periphery (324) is illustrated in FIG. 4.

[0042] FIG. 4 is a perspective view (400) illustrating a slit valve port and an inner periphery along a vertical surface of a reaction chamber (300) that can be cleaned from residue deposits using the disclosed techniques according to an exemplary embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 4, a slit valve port (320) (as well as a slit valve port (322) not visible in FIG. 4) is positioned on a vertical surface (402) of the reaction chamber (300). The vertical surface (402) (which may be one of the vertical surfaces (230 or 232) of FIG. 2) is orthogonal to a horizontal surface (404) of the reaction chamber comprising a spindle hub (310) and pedestals (306 and 308). In an exemplary embodiment, the techniques disclosed herein may be used to modify at least one flow characteristic of a cleaning gas so as to redirect at least some of a plurality of gas flow streamlines within the reaction chamber to circulate in close proximity to an inner periphery (324) positioned along the vertical surfaces (e.g., vertical surface (402)) of the reaction chamber.

[0043] FIG. 5 is a graph (500) illustrating changes in substrate average etching rate versus chamber pressure (as an indicator of residue deposition removal rate) according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 5, the graph (500) illustrates that as the chamber pressure increases, the average etching rate of the substrate in the reaction chamber decreases. Since the substrate average etching rate can be used as an indicator of residue deposition removal rate in the reaction chamber, the reverse dependency of the substrate average etching rate and chamber pressure can be used to determine the lower and upper threshold values ​​of the reaction chamber pressure, as well as the time durations for the opening and closing periods of the gate valve.

[0044] FIG. 6 is a pressure-time history graph (600) associated with variable chamber pressure resulting from intermittent stagnant gas flow inside the chamber according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 6, the pressure-time history graph (600) is associated with an exemplary operation of the gate valve duty cycle, causing the intermittent stagnant flow of cleaning gases inside the reaction chamber to trigger uniform cleaning of residue deposits. In an exemplary embodiment, more specifically, the idle time of the gate valve (e.g., the time between opening and closing the valve) can be maintained constant at about 2 seconds, and the initial reaction chamber pressure can be set to about 1.2 Torr (e.g., a lower threshold value). In an exemplary embodiment, the upper threshold value can be set to about 5.5 or 6 Torr, but other values ​​for the lower threshold value and the upper threshold value may also be used. In another exemplary embodiment, the system controller (160) may configure only the duration of the opening and closing periods of the gate valve (without setting specific values ​​for the lower threshold value and the upper threshold value).

[0045] FIG. 7 is a graph (700) illustrating different etching rates as an indicator of the residue deposition cleaning rate using different configurations for the intermittent stagnant flow of cleaning gases inside the reaction chamber according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 7, sub-graph (702) is a reference graph showing the dependence of the substrate etching rate along the diameter of the substrate when the gate valve is continuously open and there is no operation on the duty cycle of the gate valve (e.g., cycling the gate valve between the open and closed states). Sub-graph (704) is a graph showing the dependence of the substrate etching rate along the diameter of the substrate during the cleaning cycle based on nine pulses (or operations of the duty cycle) of the gate valve (i.e., the gate valve is opened and closed nine times), having a closed state duration of about 1 second and an upper threshold value of the reaction chamber pressure of about 6 Torr. A sub-graph (706) is a graph showing the dependence of the substrate etching rate on the diameter of the substrate during a cleaning cycle based on six pulses (or operations of the duty cycle) of the gate valve (i.e., the gate valve is opened and closed six times), having a closed state duration of about 3 seconds and an upper threshold value of the reaction chamber pressure of about 7 Torr. In an exemplary embodiment, the system controller (160) may set the time duration of the opening and closing periods of the gate valve or the upper threshold value of the chamber pressure based on the processing parameters used to obtain the sub-graphs (704 or 706).

[0046] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method (800) for removing residue deposits according to an exemplary embodiment. The method (800) includes operations (802, 804, and 806) that may be performed by (or configured by or caused by other modules to be performed by) control logic, such as the system controller (160) of FIG. 1, which manages the operation of a substrate processing device (100), including performing operations associated with removing residue deposits from a reaction chamber of the device (e.g., reaction chamber (102) or any reaction chambers illustrated in FIG. 2a through 2c).

[0047] In operation (802), the cleaning gas is supplied into the reaction chamber via direct delivery from the remote plasma source (RPS). For example, the cleaning gas (242) is supplied into the reaction chamber (206) through the downtube (205) along with the injection point (226). The cleaning gas forms a plurality of gas flow streams (e.g., gas flow streams (232)) within the reaction chamber. Each of the gas flow streams of the plurality of gas flow streams starts at the injection point (e.g., injection point (226)) which is fluidly coupled to the RPS to receive the cleaning gas, and ends at the chamber pump port (e.g., chamber pump port (228)) which is coupled to the pore line (e.g., pore line (229)) for exhausting the cleaning gas from the reaction chamber.

[0048] In operation (804), at least one flow characteristic of the cleaning gas is modified to redirect at least a portion of a plurality of gas flow streams to circulate near the inner periphery of the reaction chamber to remove residue deposits. For example, at least one flow characteristic (e.g., the effective pumping rate of the reaction chamber) is modified to redirect at least a portion of a plurality of gas streams (240) to the inner periphery (e.g., the inner periphery (324)). The inner periphery may be positioned along one or more vertical surfaces of the reaction chamber (e.g., surfaces (230 and 232)), and one or more vertical surfaces are orthogonal to a horizontal surface of the reaction chamber (e.g., surface (234)) containing an injection point.

[0049] In an exemplary embodiment, at least one flow characteristic is the effective pumping rate of the reaction chamber. In operation (806), the duration of the opening period and the duration of the closing period of the gate valve of the reaction chamber are controlled (e.g., by the system controller (160)) to control the movement or position of the gas flow streamlines within the reaction chamber and to control the effective pumping rate, and the gate valve is opened during the opening period and the gate valve is closed during the closing period. For example, the system controller (160) may configure the durations of the opening period and the closing period of the gate valve (208) based on sensor information from, for example, residue sensors (236 and 238).

[0050] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of another method (900) for removing residue deposits according to an exemplary embodiment. The method (900) includes operations (902, 904, and 906) that may be performed by (or configured by or caused by other modules to be performed by) control logic, such as the system controller (160) of FIG. 1, which manages the operation of a substrate processing device (100), including performing operations associated with removing residue deposits from a reaction chamber of the device (e.g., reaction chamber (102) or any reaction chambers illustrated in FIG. 2a through 2c).

[0051] In operation (902), the cleaning gas is supplied into the reaction chamber via direct delivery from the remote plasma source (RPS), and the cleaning gas forms multiple gas flow streams within the reaction chamber. For example, the cleaning gas (242) is supplied into the reaction chamber (206) through the downtube (205) along with the injection point (226). The cleaning gas forms multiple gas flow streams (e.g., gas flow streams (232)) within the reaction chamber. Each of the multiple gas flow streams starts at an injection point (e.g., injection point (226)) which is fluidly coupled to the RPS to receive the cleaning gas, and ends at a chamber pump port (e.g., chamber pump port (228)) which is coupled to a pore line (e.g., pore line (229)) to exhaust the cleaning gas from the reaction chamber.

[0052] In operation (904), cleaning uniformity associated with removing residue deposits from the reaction chamber by a cleaning gas is detected. For example, the system controller (160) may use sensor information from residue sensors (236 and 238) to determine the amount of residue deposits in the reaction chamber and cleaning uniformity.

[0053] In operation (906), based on cleaning uniformity, the duration of the opening period and the duration of the closing period of the gate valve of the reaction chamber are controlled to control the movement or position of the gas flow streamlines within the reaction chamber as well as to control the effective pumping rate of the cleaning gas. For example, the system controller (160) controls the duration of the opening period and the duration of the closing period of the gate valve (208) based on cleaning uniformity determined using sensor information.

[0054] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a machine (1000) in which one or more exemplary method embodiments may be implemented or one or more exemplary embodiments may be controlled. In alternative embodiments, the machine (1000) may operate as a standalone device or may be connected to other machines (e.g., networked). In a networked deployment, the machine (1000) may operate as a server machine, a client machine, or both machines in server-client network environments. In one example, the machine (1000) may act as a peer machine in a P2P (peer-to-peer) (or other distributed) network environment. Additionally, although only a single machine (1000) is exemplified, the term “machine” should be understood to include any set of machines that execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions individually or jointly to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), or other computer cluster configurations.

[0055] The examples described herein may include or operate by logic, a number of components, or mechanisms. A circuitry is a set of circuits implemented by tangible entities that include hardware (e.g., simple circuits, gates, logic). Circuitry membership may be flexible with respect to time and underlying hardware variability. Circuitries include members that may perform specified operations, either alone or in combination, when operating. In one example, the hardware of the circuitry may be designed to be immutable (e.g., hardwired) to perform a specific operation. In one example, the hardware of the circuitry may include variably connected physical components (e.g., execution units, transistors, simple circuits), including a computer-readable medium that is physically modified (e.g., magnetically, electrically, by a movable arrangement of invariant mass particles) to encode instructions for a specific operation. When physical components are connected, the basic electrical characteristics of the hardware components change (e.g., from insulator to conductor or vice versa). Instructions cause the embedded hardware (e.g., execution units or loading mechanisms) to create members of the network within the hardware via variable connections to perform parts of specific operations during operation. Thus, a computer-readable medium is communicatively coupled to other components of the network when the device is in operation. In some embodiments, any physical components may be used in two or more members of two or more networks.For example, under operation, the execution units may be used in the first circuit of the first network at one point in time, and may be reused by the second circuit of the first network or the third circuit of the second network at different points in time.

[0056] A machine (e.g., a computer system) (1000) may include a hardware processor (1002) (e.g., a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a hardware processor core, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or any combination thereof), main memory (1004), and static memory (1006), some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., a bus) (1008). The machine (1000) may further include a display device (1010), an alphanumeric input device (1012) (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device (1014) (e.g., a mouse). In one example, the display device (1010), the alphanumeric input device (1012), and the UI navigation device (1014) may be touchscreen displays. The machine (1000) may additionally include a mass storage device (e.g., a drive unit) (1016), a signal generating device (1018) (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device (1020), and one or more sensors (1021). The machine (1000) may also include an output controller (1028), such as a serial (e.g., USB (Universal Serial Bus)), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), NFC (Near Field Communication)) connection, to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader).

[0057] In an exemplary embodiment, the hardware processor (1002) may perform any control logic or functions of the system controller (160) discussed above to configure and control the functions described herein, such as configuring an intermittent stagnant flow of cleaning gases in relation to removing residue deposits from a reaction chamber (e.g., as discussed in relation to at least FIGS. 1 to 9).

[0058] A mass storage device (1016) may include a machine-readable medium (1022) in which one or more sets of data structures or instructions (1024) (e.g., software) are stored, which are implemented or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions (1024) may also exist wholly or at least partially in main memory (1004), in static memory (1006), or in a hardware processor (1002) during the execution of instructions by the machine (1000). In one example, one or any combination of the hardware processor (1002), main memory (1004), static memory (1006), or mass storage device (1016) may constitute a machine-readable medium.

[0059] Although the machine-readable medium (1022) has been exemplified as a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions (1024).

[0060] The term “machine-readable medium” may include any medium capable of storing, encoding, or transmitting instructions (1024) for execution by a machine (1000), enabling the machine (1000) to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or storing, encoding, or transmitting data structures used by or associated with the instructions (1024). Non-limiting examples of machine-readable media may include solid-state memories, optical media, and magnetic media. In one example, a large-capacity machine-readable medium comprises a machine-readable medium (1022) having a plurality of particles having an invariant (e.g., rest) mass. Thus, the large-capacity machine-readable medium is not a transient propagation signal. Specific examples of mass machine-readable media may include semiconductor memory devices (e.g., EPROM (Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and non-volatile memory such as CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

[0061] Instructions (1024) may also be transmitted or received via a communication network (1026) using a transmission medium through a network interface device (1020).

[0062] The implementation of the prior art techniques may be achieved through any number of hardware and software specifications, configurations, or exemplary arrangements. It should be understood that the functional units or performances described herein may be referred to or labeled as components or modules to more specifically emphasize their implementation independence. These components may be implemented in any number of software or hardware forms. For example, a component or module may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI (very-large-scale integration) circuits or off-the-shelf semiconductors such as gate arrays, logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A component or module may also be implemented as a programmable hardware device such as field-programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices, etc. Components or modules may also be implemented as software for execution by various types of processors. An identified component or module of executable code may, for example, include one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions, and may be organized, for example, as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of the identified component or module do not need to be physically located together, but may include disparate instructions stored in different locations that contain the component or module and achieve the purpose specified for the component or module when logically combined.

[0063] In practice, a component or module of executable code may be a single instruction or many instructions, and may even be distributed across several different code segments, between different programs, and across several memory devices or processing systems. In particular, some aspects of the described process (e.g., code rewriting and code analysis) may occur on different processing systems where the code is deployed (e.g., on a computer in a data center) or where the code is deployed (e.g., on a computer embedded in a sensor or robot). Similarly, operation data may be identified or illustrated in this specification within the components or modules, and may be implemented in any suitable form or organized within any suitable type of data structure. Operation data may be collected as a single data set or distributed across different locations, including different storage devices, or may exist at least partially as merely electronic signals on a system or network. The components or modules may be passive or active, including agents capable of performing targeted functions.

[0064] Additional notes and examples

[0065] Example 1 is a method for removing residue deposits from a reaction chamber, the method comprising the step of supplying a cleaning gas into the reaction chamber by direct delivery from a remote plasma source (RPS), wherein the cleaning gas forms a plurality of gas flow streams within the reaction chamber, and each of the gas flow streams of the plurality of gas flow streams starts at an injection point fluidly coupled to the RPS to receive the cleaning gas and ends at a chamber pump port coupled to a pore line to exhaust the cleaning gas from the reaction chamber; and the method comprises the step of modifying at least one flow characteristic of the cleaning gas to redirect at least a portion of the plurality of gas flow streams to circulate near the inner periphery of the reaction chamber to remove residue deposits, wherein the inner periphery is positioned along one or more vertical surfaces of the reaction chamber, and the one or more vertical surfaces are orthogonal to the horizontal surface of the reaction chamber including the injection point.

[0066] In Example 2, the subject of Example 1 is at least one flow characteristic is the effective pumping rate of the reaction chamber, and the method further includes the step of controlling the time duration of the opening period and the time duration of the closing period of the gate valve of the reaction chamber to control the effective pumping rate, wherein the gate valve is coupled to a fluid in a pump and foreline configured to perform exhaust of the cleaning gas, and the gate valve is opened during the opening period and the gate valve is closed during the closing period.

[0067] In Example 3, the subject of Example 2 includes a subject in which the time duration of the opening period of the gate valve is about 1 second to about 2 seconds.

[0068] In Example 4, the subject of Examples 2 and 3 includes the step of detecting cleaning uniformity associated with removing residue deposits from a reaction chamber; and the step of controlling the duration of the opening period and the duration of the closing period based on the detected cleaning uniformity.

[0069] In Example 5, the subject of Example 4 includes the step of detecting cleaning uniformity, which involves monitoring residue deposits in close proximity to one or more filler plates of a reaction chamber, and the one or more filler plates are at least partially disposed on one or more vertical surfaces.

[0070] In Example 6, the subject of Examples 4 and 5 includes the step of detecting cleaning uniformity, which involves monitoring residue deposits in proximity to one or more slit valve ports of a reaction chamber, and the slit valve ports are positioned at least partially on one or more vertical surfaces.

[0071] In Example 7, the subject of Examples 4 to 6 includes the step of detecting cleaning uniformity, which includes detecting the thickness of residue deposits using at least one residue sensor, wherein at least one residue sensor is mounted on one or more vertical surfaces of a reaction chamber; and the step of controlling the duration of the opening period and the duration of the closing period based on the detected thickness of the residue deposits.

[0072] In Example 8, the subject of Examples 1 to 7 is that at least one flow characteristic is the pressure inside the reaction chamber during the supply phase of the cleaning gas, and the method further comprises the step of controlling the time duration of the opening period and the time duration of the closing period of the gate valve of the reaction chamber to control the pressure inside the reaction chamber, wherein the gate valve is fluidly coupled to a pump and a foreline configured to perform exhaust of the cleaning gas, the gate valve is opened during the opening period, and the gate valve is closed during the closing period.

[0073] In Example 9, the subject of Example 8 includes the step of initiating a closing period of the gate valve when the pressure in the reaction chamber reaches a lower threshold value; and the step of initiating an opening period of the gate valve when the pressure in the reaction chamber reaches an upper threshold value.

[0074] In Example 10, the subject of Example 9 has a lower threshold value of about 1.2 Torr and an upper threshold value of about 6 Torr.

[0075] Example 11 is a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, the apparatus comprising: a remote plasma source (RPS) configured to generate a cleaning gas; a reaction chamber in which a semiconductor substrate is processed and residue deposits are formed—the reaction chamber is fluidly coupled to the remote plasma source for direct delivery of the cleaning gas into the reaction chamber through a downtube—; a pump fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber through a foreline and configured to control the exhaust of the cleaning gas from the reaction chamber, the foreline terminating at the chamber pump port of the reaction chamber; a gate valve fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber and the pump through the foreline; and a controller module coupled to the RPS, the reaction chamber, the gate valve, and the pump, wherein the controller module causes the RPS to supply the cleaning gas into the reaction chamber through the downtube—the cleaning gas forms a plurality of gas flow streams within the reaction chamber, each of the gas flow streams of the plurality of gas flow streams starts at the injection point of the downtube and terminates at the chamber pump port—; And is configured to modify at least one flow characteristic of a cleaning gas so as to redirect at least a portion of a plurality of gas flow streamlines to circulate near the inner periphery of the reaction chamber to remove residue deposits, the inner periphery is positioned along one or more vertical surfaces of the reaction chamber, and one or more vertical surfaces are orthogonal to the horizontal surface of the reaction chamber including an injection point.

[0076] In Example 12, the subject of Example 11 includes a subject in which at least one flow characteristic is the effective pumping rate of the reaction chamber, and the controller module is further configured to control the time duration of the opening period and the time duration of the closing period of the gate valve of the reaction chamber to control the effective pumping rate of the reaction chamber; and the gate valve is opened during the opening period and the gate valve is closed during the closing period.

[0077] In Example 13, the subject of Example 12 includes a subject in which the time duration of the opening period of the gate valve is about 1 second to about 2 seconds.

[0078] In Example 14, the subject of Examples 12 and 13 is further configured such that the controller module detects cleaning uniformity associated with removing residue deposits from the reaction chamber; and controls the duration of the opening period and the duration of the closing period based on the detected cleaning uniformity.

[0079] In Example 15, the subject of Example 14 for detecting cleaning uniformity is further configured so that a controller module monitors residue deposits in close proximity to one or more filler plates of the reaction chamber, and one or more filler plates are at least partially placed on one or more vertical surfaces.

[0080] In Example 16, in the subject of Examples 14 and 15 for detecting cleaning uniformity, the controller module is configured to monitor residue deposits in proximity to one or more slit valve ports of the reaction chamber, and the slit valve ports are positioned at least partially on one or more vertical surfaces.

[0081] In Example 17, the subject of Examples 11 to 16 is that at least one flow characteristic is the pressure inside the reaction chamber during the cleaning gas supply stage, and the controller module is further configured to control the time duration of the opening period and the time duration of the closing period of the gate valve of the reaction chamber to regulate the pressure inside the reaction chamber; and the gate valve is opened during the opening period and the gate valve is closed during the closing period.

[0082] In Example 18, the subject of Example 17 is further configured such that the controller module initiates the closing period of the gate valve when the pressure in the reaction chamber reaches a lower threshold value; and initiates the opening period of the gate valve when the pressure in the reaction chamber reaches an upper threshold value; and the lower threshold value is about 1.2 Torr and the upper threshold value is about 6 Torr.

[0083] In Example 19, the subject of Examples 11 to 18 comprises a reaction chamber and at least a second gate valve coupled to a pump with fluid, at least one flow characteristic is the effective pumping rate of the reaction chamber, and a controller module is further configured to control the time duration of the opening period and the time duration of the closing period of at least the second gate valve of the reaction chamber and the time duration of the opening period and the time duration of the closing period of the gate valve to control the movement or position of gas flow streamlines within the reaction chamber; and the gate valve and at least the second gate valve are opened during the opening period and closed during the closing period.

[0084] Example 20 is a method for removing residue deposits from a reaction chamber, and the method comprises: a cleaning gas supply step of supplying a cleaning gas into a reaction chamber through direct delivery from a remote plasma source (RPS), wherein the cleaning gas forms a plurality of gas flow streamlines within the reaction chamber; a step of detecting cleaning uniformity associated with removing residue deposits from the reaction chamber by the cleaning gas; and a step of controlling the duration of the opening period and the duration of the closing period of a gate valve of the reaction chamber to control the effective pumping rate of the cleaning gas based on the cleaning uniformity.

[0085] In Example 21, the subject of Example 20 includes the step of detecting cleaning uniformity, which involves monitoring residue deposits in close proximity to one or more sensors mounted on at least one surface of the reaction chamber.

[0086] In Example 22, the subject of Examples 20 and 21 includes the step of detecting cleaning uniformity, which involves monitoring residue deposits in proximity to one or more slit valve ports or one or more filler plates of a reaction chamber, and the slit valve ports and one or more filler plates are at least partially positioned on one or more vertical surfaces of the reaction chamber.

[0087] Example 23 is at least one machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing network, cause the processing network to perform operations to implement any of Examples 1 through 22.

[0088] Example 24 is a device comprising means for implementing any of Examples 1 to 22.

[0089] Example 25 is a system for implementing any of Examples 1 through 22.

[0090] Example 26 is a method for implementing any of Examples 1 through 22.

[0091] Throughout this specification, a plurality of examples may implement the components, operations, or structures described as a single example. Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustrated and described as distinct operations, one or more of the individual operations may be performed simultaneously and are not required to be performed in the order illustrated. Structures and functionalities presented as distinct components for exemplary configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly, structures and functionalities presented as a single component may be implemented as distinct components. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements are within the scope of the subject matter of this specification.

[0092] The embodiments illustrated in this specification are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed in this specification. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom so that structural and logical substitutes and variations may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This detailed description is therefore not to be conceived as limiting, and the scope of the various embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, together with the full scope of equivalents recognized by the appended claims.

[0093] Because embodiments may feature a subset of the above features, the claims may not present all features disclosed herein. Additionally, embodiments may include fewer features than disclosed in a particular example. Accordingly, the following claims are incorporated into the specific details for practicing the invention in this specification, together with claims that are independent as separate embodiments.

[0094] As used herein, the term “or” may be interpreted in an inclusive or exclusive sense. Furthermore, multiple examples may be provided for the resources, operations, or structures described herein as a single example. Additionally, the boundaries between the various resources, operations, modules, engines, and data storage units are somewhat arbitrary, and specific operations are exemplified in the context of specific exemplary configurations. Other assignments of functionality may be conceived and may fall within the scope of the various embodiments of this disclosure. Generally, structures and functions presented as separate resources in exemplary configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or resource. Similarly, structures and functions presented as a single resource may be implemented as separate resources. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of the embodiments of this disclosure as indicated by the appended claims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

Claims

Claim 1 A remote plasma source configured to supply a cleaning gas to a reaction chamber to perform a cleaning operation, wherein the cleaning gas forms a plurality of gas flow streamlines within the reaction chamber to remove residue deposits from the reaction chamber during the cleaning operation; a pump configured to fluidly couple to the reaction chamber through a fore line and to control the exhaust of the cleaning gas from the reaction chamber; and a first gate valve fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber and the pump through the fore line. A substrate processing system comprising a controller, wherein the controller is configured to control the duration of the opening periods and the duration of the closing periods of the first gate valve to control the movement or position of the plurality of gas flow streams within the reaction chamber to modify the flow characteristics of at least one of the plurality of gas flow streams to redirect at least a portion of the plurality of gas flow streams to circulate near the inner periphery of the reaction chamber to remove the residue deposits during the cleaning operation. Claim 2 A substrate processing system according to claim 1, further comprising a second gate valve fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber and the pump, wherein the controller is configured to control the duration of the opening periods and the duration of the closing periods of at least one of the first gate valve and the second gate valve to control the pressure within the reaction chamber. Claim 3 A substrate processing system according to claim 1, further comprising a second gate valve fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber and the pump, wherein the controller is configured to initiate closing periods of at least one of the first gate valve and the second gate valve when the pressure in the reaction chamber reaches a first threshold value; and to initiate opening periods of at least one of the first gate valve and the second gate valve when the pressure in the reaction chamber reaches a second threshold value, wherein the first threshold value is smaller than the first threshold value. Claim 4 A substrate processing system according to claim 1, further comprising a second gate valve fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber and the pump, wherein the controller is configured to sequentially open and close the first gate valve and the second gate valve. Claim 5 A substrate processing system according to claim 1, further comprising a second gate valve fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber and the pump, wherein the controller is configured to simultaneously open and close the first gate valve and the second gate valve. Claim 6 A substrate processing system according to claim 1, further comprising a second gate valve fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber and the pump, wherein the controller is configured to independently control the durations of the opening periods of the first gate valve and the second gate valve and the durations of the closing periods. Claim 7 A substrate processing system according to claim 1, further comprising a second gate valve fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber and the pump, wherein the controller detects uniformity for removing residue deposits from the reaction chamber formed after processing a substrate within the reaction chamber; and is configured to control the durations of the opening periods and the durations of the closing periods of at least one of the first gate valve and the second gate valve based on the detected uniformity. Claim 8 A substrate processing system according to claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to detect the uniformity by monitoring the residue deposits adjacent to one or more components of the reaction chamber. Claim 9 A substrate processing system according to claim 8, wherein the one or more components comprise sensors mounted on at least one surface of the reaction chamber, one or more filler plates disposed at least partially on one or more vertical surfaces of the reaction chamber, and one or more slit valve ports disposed at least partially on one or more vertical surfaces. Claim 10 A substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the remote plasma source is fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber to directly supply the cleaning gas to the reaction chamber through a tube. Claim 11 A substrate processing system according to claim 10, wherein the plurality of gas flow streamlines start at the injection point of the tube and terminate at the port of the reaction chamber connected to the pump. Claim 12 A substrate processing system according to claim 11, wherein the at least one flow characteristic comprises the circulation of at least a portion of the plurality of gas flow streamlines adjacent to the pressure within the reaction chamber and the inner periphery, the inner periphery comprises one or more vertical surfaces of the reaction chamber, and the one or more vertical surfaces are orthogonal to the horizontal surface of the reaction chamber comprising the injection point. Claim 13 delete

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