Rapid Thermal Chamber Plasma Cleaning Without Disassembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing process chamber cleaning methods, such as those for rapid thermal processing chambers, require disassembly, leading to significant downtime and increased production costs due to outgassing and deposits on interior surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of a remote plasma source to supply plasma and heating lamps to clean the interior of the process chamber, generating radicals at high temperatures to remove deposits without disassembly, combined with purge gases to maintain cleanliness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If process chamber is disassembled for cleaning, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but downtime increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The process chamber performs self-cleaning through automated plasma generation and heating cycles that remove deposits without human intervention or disassembly, eliminating downtime while maintaining cleaning effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
Mechanical disassembly is replaced with plasma-based chemical cleaning and thermal processes that remove deposits in-situ, allowing cleaning to occur while the chamber remains assembled and operational
2Productivity
If plasma is supplied from remote source with heating lamps, then cleaning speed is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The plasma source and heating lamps are combined in a coordinated cleaning cycle where plasma generates initial radicals and the lamps provide thermal energy to sustain the cleaning reaction, achieving faster cleaning than either method alone while optimizing overall energy utilization
3Productivity
If quartz shields are omitted to increase throughput, then productivity is improved, but chamber wall protection is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Physical quartz shields are replaced with plasma-based protective coatings or in-situ cleaning cycles that prevent or remove deposits on chamber walls, allowing operation without shields while maintaining wall cleanliness
Solution Approach 2:
The chamber wall surface properties are modified through plasma treatment to become less prone to deposit accumulation, or cleaning parameters are adjusted to actively remove deposits, enabling shield-less operation
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient, rapid cleaning of process chambers, reducing downtime and allowing faster temperature ramping and additional processing, while potentially omitting quartz shields, thus enhancing throughput and process flexibility.
Implementation Method 1
supplying a plasma from a remote plasma source to an interior volume of a rapid thermal processing chamber
Implementation Method 2
providing heat from the plurality of lamps to heat the interior volume of the rapid thermal processing chamber
Implementation Method 3
providing heat from the plurality of lamps to heat a component in the interior volume to a first temperature to generate radicals of the one or more cleaning gases in the interior volume
Data Source
AI summary
A method of cleaning a process chamber is provided including supplying a plasma from a remote plasma source to an interior volume of a rapid thermal processing chamber during a first time period, the rapid thermal processing chamber including a plurality of lamps configured to heat an interior volume of the rapid thermal processing chamber; and providing heat from the plurality of lamps to heat the interior volume of the rapid thermal processing chamber during the first time period when the plasma from the remote plasma source is provided to the interior volume of the rapid thermal processing chamber.