Method of using plasma process chamber

Abstract

A chamber cleaning process includes flowing a gas mixture comprising a nitrogen tetrafluoride or another halogen-containing gas into a plasma process chamber, and exciting the halogen-containing gas to form a first plasma in the plasma process chamber by applying first radio frequency (RF) power to the halogen-containing gas using an RF generator operatively coupled with the plasma process chamber. Thereafter, oxygen gas is flowed into the plasma process chamber, and the oxygen gas is excited to form a second plasma in the plasma process chamber by applying second RF power to the oxygen gas using the RF generator. The chamber cleaning process does not include flowing silicon tetrachloride into the plasma process chamber. After completion of the chamber cleaning process, a semiconductor wafer may be loaded into the plasma process chamber, and a silicon etching process is performed on the semiconductor wafer.

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