44 results about "Plasma impedance" patented technology

An approach for stabilizing the interactions between a plasma and the generator powering the plasma is provided. Reactive elements disposed between the power generator and plasma operate to modify the apparent impedance characteristics of the plasma such that the trajectory of the plasma load impedance as a function of power is substantially aligned locally with the contours of constant power output in impedance space. In this way, instabilities in the generator and plasma system are avoided because reinforcement or amplification of fluctuations in plasma impedance due to interactions between the generator and the plasma are reduced or eliminated. The reactive elements may be variable in order to align plasma trajectories and generator power contours under a range of process conditions.

A reduced impedance chamber for plasma processing leads to operational advantages including a plasma sheath voltage that is substantially independent of plasma impedance over a range of plasma impedances. The design of such a reduced impedance chamber includes a chuck assembly, a counter electrode, and a plasma source. The chuck assembly allows mounting of a workpiece for processing and includes a driven electrode and a ground portion. The plasma source operates to generate a plasma in the chamber from process gas. A wall portion of the plasma source is directly electrically connected to the counter electrode and to the ground portion of the chuck assembly. The counter electrode may include an inject-exhaust plate that is mounted in a position opposed to the chuck assembly and that operates to inject process gas into the chamber and to exhaust effluent.

A plasma processing system, method, and computer readable medium for measuring plasma impedance. The system includes a chamber configured to contain a plasma and including a chuck within an interior area of the chamber, the chuck including a support surface and a bottom surface, and a first voltage-current probe positioned at a first position located exterior to the chamber and on a radio-frequency transmission line between the chamber and a power source. The system also includes a simulation module connected to the first voltage-current probe and arranged to solve, based on measurements transmitted from the first voltage-current probe, a radio-frequency model of the radio-frequency transmission line between the first position and a second position located within the chamber.

A method and apparatus for detecting the endpoint in a dry plasma etching system comprising a first electrode (e.g., upper electrode) and a second electrode (e.g., lower electrode) upon which a substrate rests is described. A direct current (DC) voltage is applied between the first electrode and a ring electrode surrounding the second electrode, and the DC current is monitored to determine the endpoint of the etching process. The DC current is affected by the impedance of the plasma, and therefore responds to many variations including, for example, the plasma density, electron/ion flux to exposed surfaces, the electron temperature, etc.

A plasma processing apparatus including a chamber having an inner wall with a protective film thereon and a sample stage disposed in the chamber in which plasma is generated by supplying high-frequency wave energy to processing gas to conduct plasma processing for a sample on the sample stage using the plasma. The apparatus includes a control device which determines, based on monitor values of a wafer attracting current monitor (Ip) to monitor a current supplied from a wafer attracting power source, an impedance monitor (Zp) to monitor plasma impedance viewed from a plasma generating power source, and an impedance monitor (Zb) to monitor a plasma impedance viewed from a bias power supply, presence or absence of occurrence of an associated one of abnormal discharge in inner parts, deterioration in insulation of an insulating film of a wafer attracting electrode, and abnormal injection in a gas injection plate.

An RF impedance matching network includes an RF input; an RF output configured to operably couple to a plasma chamber; a series electronically variable capacitor (“series EVC”), the series EVC electrically coupled in series between the RF input and the RF output; and a shunt electronically variable capacitor (“shunt EVC”), the shunt EVC electrically coupled in parallel between a ground and one of the RF input and the RF output; a control circuit to control the series variable capacitance and the shunt variable capacitance, wherein the control circuit is configured to determine the variable plasma impedance of the plasma chamber, determine a series capacitance value and a shunt capacitance value, and generate a control signal to alter at least one of the series variable capacitance and the shunt variable capacitance; wherein the alteration is caused by at least one of a plurality of switching circuits.

Disclosed is a substrate treating apparatus which comprises a process chamber; an electrode configured to generate plasma from a gas supplied into the process chamber; an RF power supply configured to output an RF power; a transmission line configured to transmit the RF power to the electrode from the RF power supply; an impedance matching unit connected to the transmission line and configured to match plasma impedance; and a controller configured to output a control signal to the impedance matching unit, wherein the impedance matching unit comprises an adjustable capacitor having a plurality of capacitors and a plurality of switches corresponding to the plurality of capacitors, the plurality of switches being switched on/off according to the control signal so that capacitance of the adjustable capacitor is adjusted.

A plasma processing apparatus includes a processing chamber configured to perform a plasma processing on a sample, a first radio frequency power supply configured to generate a plasma, a sample stage configured to place the sample thereon, a second radio frequency power supply configured to supply a radio frequency power to the sample stage, a mass flow controller configured to supply a gas into the processing chamber, and a control device configured to change the radio frequency power supplied from the first radio frequency power supply or the second radio frequency power supply based on a change of plasma impedance after a first gas is switched to a second gas.

A signal processing portion obtains the reciprocal of a composite impedance of gap static capacitance and a plasma impedance, obtains composite static capacitance which is the sum of the gap static capacitance and a static capacitance component included in the plasma impedance from an imaginary part of the reciprocal, and obtains a resistance component included in the plasma impedance from a real part of the reciprocal. A gap detection device obtains the static capacitance component by using a model representing the characteristics of the reciprocal of the plasma impedance and the resistance component and obtains the gap static capacitance by subtracting the static capacitance component from the composite static capacitance. The gap detection device obtains a gap from the obtained gap static capacitance. Thus provided is a technique to detect a gap between a nozzle of a laser beam machine for outputting a laser beam and an object to be machined with high accuracy.

The invention provides a plasma etching method, a plasma etching device and an RF source system thereof, wherein the method, the device and the system are used for improving RF power outputting stability. The plasma etching method comprises a plurality of working periods, wherein each period comprises two steps: a first step, applying and keeping a bias power (P) and an RF power (P1); and a secondstep, setting the bias power to zero and simultaneously increasing the RF power (P2). In the period, the frequency of the RF power is unchanged. In a more preferably embodiment, plasma impedance in the period is kept stable.

A plasma generation device provided by the present invention comprises a dielectric window, an induction coil surrounding the dielectric window and an impedance matching device, and also comprises a Faraday shielding member arranged between the dielectric window and the induction coil. The present invention also provides a semiconductor processing device. According to the plasma generation device provided by the present invention, the current transmission on the surface of the induction coil is not influenced by the plasma state perturbation any more, so that at work, the plasma generation device provided by the present invention does not generate the phenomena that the plasma quenches, the impedance matching device is matched again, etc., and accordingly, the plasma impedance matching can be realized rapidly, and further the etching morphology of a semiconductor substrate during a Bosch etching technical process is controlled more easily, and the repeatability of the Bosch process is improved.

The invention relates to a method and a device for measuring impedance and power of plasma. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring a voltage waveform and a current waveform; acquiring a voltage amplitude and a voltage phase according to the voltage waveform; acquiring a current amplitude and a current phase according to the current waveform; performing phase difference calibration according to the voltage phase and the current phase to obtain a V-I phase difference; and calculating the impedance and power of the plasma according to the voltage waveform, the current waveform, the voltage amplitude, the current amplitude and the V-I phase difference. Aiming at the problems in the prior art, pulse modulation is carried out on a pulse radio frequency power supply, and the evolution process of radio frequency power and plasma impedance along with time is further obtained by prolonging the pulse turn-off time and calibrating the V-I phase difference; when the plasma is stable, stable-state (continuous wave-driven) plasma can absorb power.

The present invention provides an impedance matching network for a plasma reactor, which comprises at least one inductor and at least one variable capacitor unit, wherein the variable capacitor unit comprises at least one variable vacuum capacitor; the variable vacuum capacitor comprises two parallel electrode plates; an annular piezoelectric ceramic plate is arranged between the two electrode plates; the annular piezoelectric ceramic plate is connected with a driving power supply; and an arc-shaped electrode plate is arranged in the hollow region of the annular piezoelectric ceramic plate. The variable vacuum capacitor in the impedance matching network described in the present invention uses the inverse piezoelectric effect of piezoelectric ceramic material; when alternating driving voltage is applied to piezoelectric ceramics, the piezoelectric ceramics can rapidly generate telescopic motion along a voltage loading direction, so that the distance of the arc-shaped electrode plate relative to the other electrode plate is changed; accordingly, the capacitance value of the variable vacuum capacitor is rapidly changed to realize that the size of the variable vacuum capacitor can be regulated within microsecond magnitude; and the need that plasma impedance is rapidly changed with the output of a radio frequency power source is satisfied.