U.S. patent application number 11/508543 was filed with the patent office on 2006-12-14 for method of controlling chamber parameters of a plasma reactor in accordance with desired values of plural plasma parameters, by translating desired values for the plural plasma parameters to control values for each of the chamber parameters.
This patent application is currently assigned to APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.. Invention is credited to Daniel J. Hoffman.
Application Number | 20060278610 11/508543 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33417988 |
Filed Date | 2006-12-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060278610 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hoffman; Daniel J. |
December 14, 2006 |
Method of controlling chamber parameters of a plasma reactor in
accordance with desired values of plural plasma parameters, by
translating desired values for the plural plasma parameters to
control values for each of the chamber parameters
Abstract
Plural chamber parameters of a plasma reactor are controlled in
accordance with desired values of plural plasma parameters, by
concurrently translating desired values for the plural plasma
parameters to control values for each of plural chamber parameters,
and then setting each of the chamber parameters to corresponding
ones of the control values. The translating consists of the
following steps: (a) for each one of the chamber parameters,
ramping the level of the one chamber parameter while sampling RF
electrical parameters at an RF bias power input to the wafer
support pedestal and computing from each sample of the RF
electrical parameters the values of plural plasma parameters, and
storing the values with the corresponding levels of the one chamber
parameter as corresponding chamber parameter data; (b) for each one
of the chamber parameters, deducing, from the corresponding chamber
parameter data, a single variable function for each of the plural
plasma parameters having the one chamber parameter as an
independent variable; (c) from combinations of the functions,
constructing surfaces defining simultaneous values of all of the
chamber parameters, each respective surface corresponding to a
respective constant value of one of the plural plasma parameters,
and storing the surfaces.
Inventors: |
Hoffman; Daniel J.;
(Saratoga, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Robert M. Wallace;Law Office of Robert M. Wallace
Suite 102
2112 Eastman Avenue
Ventura
CA
93001
US
|
Assignee: |
APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
|
Family ID: |
33417988 |
Appl. No.: |
11/508543 |
Filed: |
August 23, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10440364 |
May 16, 2003 |
|
|
|
11508543 |
Aug 23, 2006 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
216/61 ;
216/67 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01J 37/32174 20130101;
H01J 37/32935 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
216/061 ;
216/067 |
International
Class: |
G01L 21/30 20060101
G01L021/30; C23F 1/00 20060101 C23F001/00 |
Claims
1. A method of controlling plural chamber parameters of a plasma
reactor in accordance with desired values of plural plasma
parameters, said chamber parameters comprising bias power and
source power, said plural plasma parameters being selected from a
group comprising etch rate, wafer voltage, ion energy, and wafer
current, said method comprising: concurrently translating desired
values for said plural plasma parameters to control values for each
of plural chamber parameters; and setting each of said chamber
parameters to corresponding ones of said control values.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of translating comprises:
a. for each one of said chamber parameters, ramping the level of
the one chamber parameter while sampling RF electrical parameters
at an RF bias power input to said wafer support pedestal and
computing from each sample of said RF electrical parameters the
values of plural plasma parameters, and storing said values with
the corresponding levels of said one chamber parameter as
corresponding chamber parameter data; b. for each one of said
chamber parameters, deducing, from the corresponding chamber
parameter data, a single variable function for each of said plural
plasma parameters having said one chamber parameter as an
independent variable; c. from combinations of said functions,
constructing surfaces defining simultaneous values of all of said
chamber parameters, each respective surface corresponding to a
respective constant value of one of said plural plasma parameters,
and storing said surfaces.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of translating further
comprises: a. for each one of said plural plasma parameters,
fetching a relevant surface of constant value corresponding to the
user-selected value of said one plasma parameter, and determining
an intersection of the relevant surfaces which defines a target
value for each of said chamber parameters.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of constructing surfaces
defining simultaneous values of all of said chamber parameters
comprises the following step carried out for each one of said
plural plasma parameters: combining the single variable functions
dependent upon respective chamber parameters into a single
composite function having plural variables of said chamber
parameters.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein the step of constructing surfaces
defining simultaneous values of all of said chamber parameters
further comprises the following step carried out for each one of
said plural plasma parameters: setting the composite function equal
to a succession of values of the respective plasma parameter.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of constructing surfaces
defining simultaneous values of all of said chamber parameters
further comprises the following step carried out for each one of
said plural plasma parameters: for each one of said succession of
values, solving for a surface defining a set of simultaneous values
of source power, bias power and chamber pressure for which the
respective plasma parameter has the one value.
7. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of sampling RF electrical
parameters at an RF bias power input to said wafer support pedestal
comprises: sensing an input impedance, an input current and an
input voltage to a transmission line coupled between a bias power
impedance match circuit and an electrode within the wafer
pedestal.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of computing from each
sample of said RF electrical parameters the values of plural plasma
parameters is carried out separately for plasma parameters of ion
density, wafer voltage and etch rate.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of computing from each
sample of said RF electrical parameters the values of plural plasma
parameters comprises: computing a junction admittance of a junction
between said transmission line and the electrode within the wafer
pedestal from said input impedance, input current and input voltage
and from parameters of the transmission line.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein the step of computing from each
sample of said RF electrical parameters the values of plural plasma
parameters further comprises: providing shunt electrical quantities
of a shunt capacitance between the electrode and a ground plane;
providing load electrical quantities of a load capacitance between
the electrode and a wafer on the pedestal.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of computing from each
sample of said RF electrical parameters the values of plural plasma
parameters further comprises: computing said etch rate, plasma ion
density and wafer voltage from said junction admittance, said shunt
electrical quantities, said load electrical quantities and a
frequency of RF bias power applied to said electrode.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein said parameters of said
transmission line comprise a length of said transmission line, a
characteristic impedance of said transmission line and a complex
loss factor of said transmission line.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein said shunt electrical quantities
are computed from the size of an electrode-to-ground gap length, an
area of said wafer, an electrode-to-ground dielectric constant and
an electrode-to-ground conductive loss component.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein said load electrical quantities
are computed from an electrode-to-wafer gap length, an area of the
wafer, an electrode-to-wafer dielectric constant and an
electrode-to-wafer conductive loss component.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of computing said etch
rate, plasma ion density and wafer voltage comprises: first
computing said wafer voltage and an imaginary part of a plasma
admittance comprising a plasma susceptance, and computing said ion
density and etch rate from said wafer voltage and said plasma
susceptance.
16. The method of claim 3 wherein the number of said plural plasma
parameters equals the number of said plural chamber parameters.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 10/440,364, filed May 16, 2003 by Daniel Hoffman, entitled
PLASMA DENSITY, ENERGY AND ETCH RATE MEASUREMENTS AT BIAS POWER
INPUT AND REAL TIME FEEDBACK CONTROL OF PLASMA SOURCE AND BIAS
POWER and assigned to the present assignee.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Plasma reactors employed in microelectronic circuit
fabrication can etch or deposit thin film layers on a semiconductor
substrate. In a plasma reactive ion etch process, the etch rate,
ion density, wafer voltage and wafer current are critical in
controlling etch selectivity, wafer heating, etch striations, ion
bombardment damage, etch stopping, feature size and other effects.
Such control becomes more critical as feature size decreases and
device density increases. The main problem is that present
techniques for measuring etch rate, ion density, wafer voltage and
wafer current tend to be highly inaccurate (in the case of the
wafer voltage) or must be performed by examining a test workpiece
or wafer at the conclusion of processing (in the case of etch
rate). There appears to be no accurate technique for measuring
these parameters in "real time" (i.e., during wafer processing). As
a result, the plasma reactor control parameters (source power, bias
power, chamber pressure, gas flow rate and the like) must be
selected before processing a current workpiece based upon prior
results obtained by processing other workpieces in the chamber.
Once target values for each of the reactor control parameters have
been chosen to achieve a desired etch rate or a desired wafer
voltage or a desired ion density, the target values must remain the
same throughout the process step, and all efforts are dedicated to
maintaining the chosen target values. If for example the chosen
target value of one of the control parameters unexpectedly leads to
a deviation from the desired processing parameter (e.g., etch
rate), this error will not be discovered until after the current
workpiece has been processed and then examined, and therefore the
current workpiece or wafer cannot be saved from this error. As a
result, the industry is typically plagued with significant losses
in materiel and time.
[0003] A related problem is that plasma process evolution and
design is slow and inefficient in that the discovery of optimal
target values for the reactor control parameters of source power,
bias power, chamber pressure and the like typically relies upon
protracted trial and error methods. The selection of target values
for the many reactor control parameters (e.g., source power, bias
power, chamber pressure and the like) to achieve a particular etch
rate at a particular wafer current (to control wafer heating) and
at a particular wafer voltage (to control ion bombardment damage)
and at a particular ion density (to control etch selectivity, for
example) is a multi-dimensional problem. The mutual dependence or
lack thereof among the various reactor control parameters (source
power, bias power, chamber pressure, etc.) in reaching the desired
target values of the process parameters (e.g., etch rate, wafer
voltage, wafer current, ion density) is generally unknown, and the
trial and error process to find the best target values for the
reactor control parameters (bias and source power levels and
chamber pressure) is necessarily complex and time consuming.
Therefore, it is not possible to optimize or alter target values
for the process parameters (e.g., etch rate, etc.) without a
time-consuming trial and error process. Thus, real-time plasma
process control or management has not seemed possible.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Plural chamber parameters of a plasma reactor are controlled
in accordance with desired values of plural plasma parameters, by
concurrently translating desired values for the plural plasma
parameters to control values for each of plural chamber parameters,
and then setting each of the chamber parameters to corresponding
ones of the control values.
[0005] The translating consists of the following steps: (a) for
each one of the chamber parameters, ramping the level of the one
chamber parameter while sampling RF electrical parameters at an RF
bias power input to the wafer support pedestal and computing from
each sample of the RF electrical parameters the values of plural
plasma parameters, and storing the values with the corresponding
levels of the one chamber parameter as corresponding chamber
parameter data; (b) for each one of the chamber parameters,
deducing, from the corresponding chamber parameter data, a single
variable function for each of the plural plasma parameters having
the one chamber parameter as an independent variable; (c) from
combinations of the functions, constructing surfaces defining
simultaneous values of all of the chamber parameters, each
respective surface corresponding to a respective constant value of
one of the plural plasma parameters, and storing the surfaces.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 illustrates a plasma reactor and a measurement
instrument therefor.
[0007] FIG. 2 illustrates an electrical model of the plasma reactor
employed by the measurement instrument.
[0008] FIG. 3 illustrates the structure of the measurement
instrument of FIG. 1.
[0009] FIG. 4 illustrates an input phase processor of the
measurement instrument of FIG. 3.
[0010] FIG. 5 illustrates a transmission line transformation
processor in the measurement instrument of FIG. 3.
[0011] FIG. 6 illustrates a grid-to-ground transformation processor
in the measurement instrument of FIG. 3.
[0012] FIG. 7 illustrates a grid-to-wafer transformation processor
in the measurement instrument of FIG. 3.
[0013] FIG. 8 illustrates a combined transformation processor in
the measurement instrument of FIG. 3.
[0014] FIG. 9 illustrates a process feedback control system for a
plasma reactor that includes the measurement instrument of FIG.
3.
[0015] FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative implementation of the
process feedback control system.
[0016] FIG. 11 illustrates the measurement instrument of FIG. 3, a
constant contour generator and a process set point controller
connected in a system with a plasma reactor.
[0017] FIGS. 12, 13 and 14 illustrate different contours of
constant performance parameter values produced by the system of
FIG. 11.
[0018] FIG. 15 illustrates a method of finding an optimal operating
point at the intersection of different contours of constant
parameter values.
[0019] FIG. 16 illustrates the process set point controller in the
system of FIG. 11.
[0020] FIGS. 17, 18 and 19 illustrate respective operations
performed by the process set point controller of the contour
generator in the system of FIG. 11.
[0021] FIG. 20 illustrates an overlay of contours of constant wafer
voltage, contours of constant etch rate and contours of constant
ion density at a chamber pressure of 100 mT.
[0022] FIG. 21 illustrates an overlay of contours of constant wafer
voltage, contours of constant etch rate and contours of constant
ion density at a chamber pressure of 30 mT.
[0023] FIG. 22 illustrates an overlay of contours of constant wafer
voltage, contours of constant etch rate and contours of constant
ion density at a chamber pressure of 70 mT.
[0024] FIG. 23 illustrates an overlay of contours of constant wafer
voltage, contours of constant etch rate and contours of constant
ion density at a chamber pressure of 150 mT.
[0025] FIG. 24 illustrates an overlay of contours of constant wafer
voltage, contours of constant etch rate and contours of constant
ion density at a chamber pressure of 200 mT.
[0026] FIG. 25 illustrates an overlay of contours of constant wafer
voltage, contours of constant etch rate and contours of constant
ion density at a chamber pressure of 250 mT.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Introduction:
[0027] The present description pertains to a plasma reactor having
a plasma source power applicator (such as an overhead electrode or
antenna) in which plasma bias power is applied to the wafer through
the wafer support pedestal. I have discovered a measurement
instrument (described below) that is the first one known to
instantaneously and accurately measure wafer voltage, wafer
current, ion density and etch rate. The measurement instrument uses
only conventional electrical sensors at the bias power input that
sense voltage, current and power at the output of an impedance
match device coupled to the wafer support pedestal. The measurement
instrument is therefore non-invasive of the plasma etch process
occurring within the reactor chamber in addition to being accurate.
The degree of accuracy is surprising, surpassing even the best
known instruments and measurement techniques currently in use.
[0028] I have invented a plasma reactor having a feedback
controller employing this same measurement instrument, in which
plasma source power and plasma bias power are controlled in
separate feedback control loops. In the bias power feedback control
loop, plasma bias power is servoed or controlled to minimize the
difference between a user-selected target value of the ion energy
(or, equivalently, wafer voltage) and the actual ion energy sensed
in real time by my measurement instrument. Simultaneously, in the
source power feedback control loop, plasma source power is servoed
or controlled to minimize the difference between a user-selected
target value of the plasma ion density and the actual plasma ion
density sensed in real time by my measurement instrument and a
user-selected target value for the ion density. One surprising
feature of my feedback controller is that a measurement at the bias
power input is used to control the source power.
[0029] In addition, I have solved the problem of how to select the
target values for ion density and ion energy. Because my
measurement instrument provides instantaneous, accurate and
simultaneous measurements of performance parameters such as wafer
voltage (or, equivalently, ion energy), wafer current, ion density
and etch rate, it has enabled me to observe accurately, for the
first time, the real-time behavior of all these performance
parameters simultaneously as a function of control parameters such
as plasma source power, plasma bias power and others (e.g., chamber
pressure, source power frequency, applied magnetic field, etc.).
These observations have led to my discovery herein that the control
parameters of plasma source power level and plasma bias power level
affect the set of performance parameters (e.g., etch rate, ion
energy, ion density) in the manner of a pair of independent
variables. This discovery greatly simplifies the task of
controlling plasma processing: by holding various other control
parameters constant during processing (i.e., constant chamber
pressure, constant gas flow rates, constant source power frequency
and bias power frequency, etc.), the process is controlled entirely
through the bias and source power levels. I have used this
technique to parameterize all of the performance parameters
(including etch rate, ion energy and others) as unique functions of
two independent variables, namely source power level and bias power
level. From this, I have generated curves in 2-dimensional source
power-bias power space of constant etch rate, constant ion energy
and constant ion density, for example. A process controller
responds to user-selected ranges for the various performance
parameters (etch rate, ion energy, ion density) using the curves of
constant etch rate, constant ion density and constant ion energy to
instantaneously find a target value for the source power level and
the bias power level. This process controller provides the target
values for the plasma source power level and plasma bias power
level to the feedback controller referred to above.
[0030] As a result, a user need not have any knowledge of the
control parameters (e.g., bias and source power levels) that may be
required to realize a desired set of performance parameter values
(e.g., etch rate) nor a corresponding understanding of the
reactor's behavior in this regard. Instead, the user merely inputs
to the control processor his set of desired performance parameter
values or ranges, and the control processor instantly specifies
target control parameter values (target source power and bias power
values) to the feedback controller referred to above. Thereafter,
control of the plasma process is entirely automatic, and can
instantly accommodate any changes the user may introduce. For
example, the user may specify different etch rates at different
times during the same etch step, so that one etch rate prevails
during the beginning of an etch process and another prevails toward
the end of the process, for example. The user need not specify any
control parameters, but only the results he desires (i.e., the
performance parameters such as etch rate, etc.).
Instrument for Instantaneously Measuring Performance Parameters
Including Etch Rate, Ion Density and Ion Energy:
[0031] Referring to FIG. 1, a plasma reactor 100 has a chamber
enclosure 105 enclosing a vacuum chamber 110 in which a wafer
support pedestal 115 supports a semiconductor wafer 120 being
processed. Plasma RF bias power from an RF bias power generator 125
is applied through an impedance match circuit 130 to the wafer
support pedestal 115. Conventional sensing circuits 132 within the
impedance match circuit 130 have three output terminals 132a, 132b,
132c providing respective signals indicating the power
(P.sub.bias), voltage (V) and current (I) furnished at the output
of the impedance match circuit 130 to the wafer support pedestal
115. A measurement instrument 140, which is the measurement
instrument referred to above in this specification, uses the
signals from the output terminals 132a, 132b, 132c to measure,
simultaneously, etch rate on the wafer 120, ion energy at the wafer
surface (or equivalently, wafer voltage), ion density in the
reactor chamber and electric current through the wafer 120. The
measurement instrument 140 employs processes based upon an
electrical model of the reactor 100. This model is illustrated in
FIG. 2.
[0032] FIG. 2 depicts the plasma reactor of FIG. 1 in greater
detail, so that the individual elements of the wafer support
pedestal 115 are visible, including an electrode 115-1, a thin
overlying dielectric (e.g., ceramic) layer 115-2, an underlying
dielectric (e.g., ceramic) layer 115-3, and a conductive (e.g.,
aluminum) planar ground plate 115-4 at the bottom of the pedestal
115. The electrode 115-1 takes the form of a conductive grid in the
illustrated embodiment, and may be implemented in various forms
such as a conductive solid plate or as a conductive mesh, for
example. While the electrode 115-1 will hereinafter be referred to
as a conductive grid, the term "grid" as employed in this
specification refers to all forms that the electrode 115-1 may
take, such as a conductive solid plate, or a conductive mesh, or a
conductive screen, or a form combining aspects of any or all of the
foregoing forms, for example. Also visible in FIG. 2 is a coaxial
cable 210 connecting the output of the impedance match circuit 130
to the grid 115-1. The coaxial cable 210 has an inner conductor 212
and an outer conductor 214. An electrical model with parameters
depicted in FIG. 2 characterizes the electrical properties of the
plasma reactor 100, which are readily determined using conventional
techniques. Specifically, the coaxial transmission line or cable
210 is characterized by three quantities: (1) its length, (2)
Z.sub.ch, its characteristic impedance, and (3) V.sub.ch, its
complex phase velocity in the transmission line equation. The wafer
support pedestal 115 is characterized by electrical properties of
the overlying and underlying dielectric layers 115-2 and 115-3.
Specifically, the underlying dielectric layer 115-3 has a
capacitance C.sub.D, which is a function of (1) the dielectric
constant, .epsilon..sub.D, of the dielectric layer 115-3, and (2)
the conductive loss component of the dielectric layer 115-3,
tan.sub.D, (3) the thickness, gap, of the dielectric layer 115-3
and (4) the radius of the wafer 120. The overlying dielectric layer
115-2 has a capacitance C.sub.p which is a function of (1) the
thickness, gap.sub.P, of the dielectric layer 115-2, (2) the
dielectric constant, .epsilon..sub.P, of the dielectric layer 115-2
and (3) the conductive loss component of the dielectric layer
115-2, tan.sub.P. The plasma 220 is characterized by an admittance
Y.sub.plasma (to RF ground such as the interior chamber walls or
ceiling) that consists of a real part (the conductance g) and an
imaginary part (the susceptance b). Each of these electrical
parameters has a role in the operation of the measurement
instrument 140.
[0033] FIG. 3 illustrates the structure of the measurement
instrument 140 of FIG. 1. An input phase processor 310 receives the
P.sub.bias, V and I signals from the impedance match sensing
circuit 132 of FIG. 1 and produces respective signals indicating a
complex impedance Z, a complex input current I.sub.in and a complex
input voltage V.sub.in at the near end of the coaxial cable 210
(i.e., the end nearest the impedance match circuit 130). A
transmission line transformation processor 320 uses the
characteristic impedance Z.sub.ch and the complex loss coefficient
V.sub.ch (in the transmission line equation) from an electrical
model 330 of the coaxial cable 210 to transform from Z, I.sub.in
and V.sub.in at the near cable end to an admittance Y.sub.junction
at the far cable end, i.e., at the junction between the coaxial
cable 210 and the grid 115-1. A grid-to-ground transformation
processor 340 takes radius, gap, .epsilon..sub.D and tan.sub.D from
a model 345 of the grid-to-ground capacitance and produces a
dielectric resistance R.sub.D and dielectric capacitance C.sub.D. A
grid-to-wafer transformation processor 350 takes radius, gap.sub.P,
.epsilon..sub.P and tan.sub.P from a model 355 of the grid-to-wafer
capacitance and produces a plasma resistance R.sub.P and a plasma
capacitance C.sub.P. A combined transformation processor 360
accepts the outputs of all the other processors 320, 340, 350 and
computes the admittance Y.sub.plasma through the plasma from the
wafer to RF ground and computes the wafer voltage V.sub.wafer (or
ion energy). From the plasma admittance and from the wafer voltage,
the following quantities are computed: wafer current I.sub.wafer,
the etch rate and the ion density.
[0034] In summary, electrical measurements are made at the output
of the impedance match circuit 130. The transmission line
transformation processor 320 transforms these measurements at the
near end of the cable 210 to an admittance at the far end. The grid
to ground transformation processor 340 provides the transformation
from the ground plane 115-4 near the far end of the cable to the
conductive grid 115-1. The grid-to-wafer transformation processor
350 provides the transformation from the conductive grid 115-2 to
the wafer 120. Using all of the foregoing transformations, the
combined transformation processor 360 provides the transformation
across the plasma in the form of the plasma admittance. From the
plasma admittance, various performance parameters such as etch rate
and plasma ion density are computed.
[0035] The transmission line model 330, the model of the
grid-to-ground capacitance 345 and the model 355 of the
grid-to-wafer capacitance are not necessarily a part of the
measurement instrument 140. Or, they may be memories within the
measurement instrument 140 that store, respectively, the coaxial
cable parameters (V.sub.ch and Z.sub.ch), the grid-to-ground
capacitance parameters (gap, .epsilon..sub.D, tan.sub.D and radius)
and the grid-to-wafer capacitance parameters (gap.sub.P,
.epsilon..sub.P, tan.sub.P and radius).
[0036] FIG. 4 illustrates the structure of the input phase
processor 310 of FIG. 3. A delivered power arithmetic logic
unit(ALU) 410 computes delivered power P from the outputs I and
P.sub.bias from the impedance match sensing circuit 132 as
P.sub.bias-(0.15)I.sup.2. A phase angle ALU 420 computes phase
angle .theta. from the delivered power P and from V and I as
cos.sup.-1 (P/VHI). An impedance ALU 430 computes the complex
impedance Z as (V/I)e.sup.i.theta., where i=(-1).sup.1/2. An input
current ALU 440 computes the input current I.sub.in to the coaxial
cable 210 as [P/Re(Z)].sup.1/2. An input voltage ALU 450 computes
the input voltage V.sub.in to the coaxial cable 210 as
ZHI.sub.in.
[0037] FIG. 5 illustrates the structure of the transmission line
transformation processor 320 of FIG. 3. The transmission line
processor receives I.sub.in and V.sub.in as inputs from the input
phase processor 310 of FIG. 4 and uses the transmission line model
parameters V.sub.ch and Z.sub.ch (from the transmission line model
or memory 330 of FIG. 3) to compute the admittance Y.sub.junction
as follows: A junction current ALU 510 computes the current
I.sub.junction at the junction of the coaxial cable 210 and the
grid 115-1 (FIG. 1) as:
(I.sub.in)cosh[(V.sub.ch)(-length)]+(V.sub.in/Z.sub.ch)sinh[(V.sub.ch)(-l-
ength)]. A junction voltage ALU 520 computes the voltage
V.sub.junction at the junction between the coaxial cable 210 and
the grid 115-1 as:
(V.sub.in)cosh[(V.sub.ch)(-length)]+(I.sub.inZ.sub.ch)sinh[(V.sub.ch)(-le-
ngth)].
[0038] A divider 530 receives I.sub.junction and V.sub.junction
computes Y.sub.junction as I.sub.junction/V.sub.junction. It should
be noted that each of the electrical quantities in the foregoing
computations (current, voltage, impedance, admittance, etc.) is a
complex number having both a real part and an imaginary part.
[0039] FIG. 6 illustrates the structure of the grid-to-ground
transformation processor 340 of FIG. 3. The grid-to-ground
transformation processor 340 receives the parameters gap,
.epsilon..sub.D, tan.sub.D and rad (the wafer radius) from the
grid-to-ground model or memory 345 of FIG. 3 computes the
dielectric resistance R.sub.D and the dielectric capacitance
C.sub.D. The dielectric capacitance C.sub.D is computed by a CD ALU
610 as follows:
(.epsilon..sub.0)(.epsilon..sub.D).pi.(rad).sup.2/gap where
.epsilon..sub.0 is the electrical permittivity of free space. An RD
ALU 620 uses the value of C.sub.D from the CD ALU 610 and computes
the dielectric resistance R.sub.D as follows:
(tan.sub.D)/(.omega.C.sub.Dgap.sup.2) where .omega. is the angular
frequency of the bias RF generator 125 of FIG. 2.
[0040] FIG. 7 illustrates the structure of the grid-to-wafer
transformation processor 350 of FIG. 3. The grid-to-wafer
transformation processor 350 receives the parameters gap.sub.P,
.epsilon..sub.P, tan.sub.P and rad from the grid-to-wafer model or
memory 355 of FIG. 3 and computes the plasma resistance R.sub.P and
the plasma capacitance C.sub.p. The plasma capacitance C.sub.P is
computed by a CP ALU 710 as follows:
(.epsilon..sub.0)(.epsilon..sub.P).pi.(rad).sup.2/gap.sub.P where
.epsilon..sub.0 is the electrical permittivity of free space. An RP
ALU 720 uses the value of C.sub.P from the CP ALU 710 and computes
the plasma resistance R.sub.P as follows:
(tan.sub.P)/(.omega.C.sub.Pgap.sub.D.sup.2) where .omega. is the
angular frequency of the bias RF generator 125 of FIG. 2.
[0041] FIG. 8 illustrates the structure of the combined
transformation processor 360 of FIG. 3. The combined transformation
processor 360 receives the parameters R.sub.D, C.sub.D from the
processor 340 of FIG. 3, receives the parameters R.sub.P, C.sub.P
from the processor 350 of FIG. 3 and receives the parameter
Y.sub.junction from the processor 320 of FIG. 3. A grid impedance
ALU 810 computes Z.sub.grid (the impedance at the grid 115-1 of
FIG. 2) as follows:
[Y.sub.junction-1/(R.sub.D+(1/(i.omega.C.sub.D)))].sup.-1
[0042] A wafer impedance ALU 820 uses the output of the grid
impedance ALU 810 to compute Z.sub.wafer (the impedance at the
wafer 120 of FIG. 2) as follows:
Z.sub.grid-1/(R.sub.p+(1/(i.omega.C.sub.P)))
[0043] A wafer voltage ALU 830 uses the outputs of both ALU=s 810
and 820 and V.sub.junction from the divider 530 of FIG. 5 to
compute the voltage on the wafer 120 of FIG. 2, V.sub.wafer, as
V.sub.junction Z.sub.wafer/Z.sub.grid. A wafer current ALU 840 uses
the outputs of the ALU=s 820 and 830 to compute the wafer current
I.sub.wafer as V.sub.wafer/Z.sub.wafer. An admittance ALU 850 uses
the output of the ALU 820 to compute the admittance of the plasma,
Y.sub.plasma, as 1/Z.sub.wafer. A susceptance ALU 860 uses the
output of the ALU 850 to compute the plasma susceptance, b, as
Im(Y.sub.plasma). An etch rate ALU 870 uses the wafer voltage from
the ALU 830 and the susceptance from the ALU 860 to compute the
etch rate as b.sup.2V.sub.wafer.sup.2. An ion density ALU 880 uses
the same outputs to compute the ion density as
kb.sup.2V.sub.wafer.sup.3/2 where k is a constant given by:
(2.sup.3/2/3.sup.2)(1/[q.epsilon..sub.0A.sup.2.pi..sup.2f.sup.2T.sub.e.su-
p.2]) where q is the electron charge, A is the area of the wafer
120 of FIG. 2, f is the frequency of the bias power generator 125
of FIG. 2 and T.sub.e is the electron temperature in volts. This
relationship between ion density and the measured quantities b and
V.sub.wafer follows from an approximate formula for the plasma
susceptance and a formula for the plasma sheath thickness. The
plasma susceptance may be approximated as
.epsilon.A.omega./.lamda., where .epsilon. is the electrical
permittivity within the plasma, A is the electrode area, .omega. is
the angular frequency of the bias power signal and .lamda. is the
plasma sheath thickness. The plasma sheath thickness may be
approximated as
[T.sub.e/(q.eta.)].sup.1/2[2V.sub.wafer/T.sub.e].sup.3/4, where
T.sub.e is electron temperature, q is the electron charge and .eta.
is ion density. Substituting the expression for sheath thickness
into the expression for the susceptance and solving for ion density
yields an expression for ion density as a function of susceptance
and wafer voltage. Process Feedback Control System:
[0044] FIG. 9 illustrates a process feedback control system that
uses the measurement instrument 140 of FIG. 3. A plasma reactor 900
includes all of the features of the plasma reactor 100 of FIG. 1,
and in addition includes an overhead RF source power applicator 910
connected through an impedance match circuit 915 to an RF source
power generator 920. The RF source power applicator 910 may be, for
example, a ceiling electrode that is insulated from the grounded
chamber enclosure 105. The power level of the RF plasma source
power generator 920 generally controls the plasma ion density while
the power level of the RF plasma bias power generator 125 generally
controls the ion energy at the wafer surface. The measurement
instrument 140 receives the power, voltage and current outputs from
the sensor circuit 132 of the impedance match circuit 130. From
these quantities, the measurement instrument 140 computes the
plasma susceptance b and computes the wafer voltage V.sub.wafer,
which is output as a measurement signal. These computations are
carried out in the manner described above with reference to FIG. 5.
The measurement instrument 140 can then compute the ion density
and/or the etch rate from b and V.sub.wafer, in the manner
described above with reference to FIG. 5. At least two of the three
measurement signals thus produced by the measurement instrument 140
can be used in a feedback control loop.
[0045] A feedback controller 950 uses the measurement signals from
the measurement instrument 140 to create feedback signals to
control the power level of the RF plasma bias power generator 125
and the power level of the RF plasma source power generator 920.
The ion energy at the wafer surface, which is equivalent to the
wafer voltage V.sub.wafer, is directly controlled by the power
level of the bias power generator 125. Therefore, the wafer voltage
measurement signal from the measurement instrument 140 (i.e.,
V.sub.wafer from the ALU 830 of FIG. 8) is used by the feedback
controller 950 to control the bias power generator 125 in a bias
power feedback control loop 957. The source power generator 920, on
the other hand, directly controls plasma ion density. Therefore,
plasma ion density measurement signal from the measurement
instrument 140 (i.e., kb.sup.2V.sub.wafer.sup.3/2 from the ALU 880
of FIG. 8) is used by the feedback controller 950 to control the
source power generator 920 in a source power feedback control loop
958.
[0046] The bias power feedback control loop 957 includes a memory
960 that stores a selected or desired target value of the wafer
voltage or ion energy, [V.sub.wafer].sub.TARGET. A subtractor 962
subtracts this target value from the sensed wafer voltage
V.sub.wafer to produce an error signal. The gain of the bias power
feedback loop 957 is determined by a bias power feedback gain
factor stored in a memory 964. A multiplier 966 multiplies the
error signal from the subtractor 962 by the gain factor in the
memory 964 to produce a correction signal used to control the power
level of the bias power generator 125. The path of the bias power
feedback control loop 957 is completed by the V, I and P.sub.bias
signals applied to the measurement instrument 140 to produce the
measurement signal V.sub.wafer representing the wafer voltage.
[0047] The source power feedback control loop receives from the
measurement instrument 140 the sensed ion density value
b.sup.2V.sub.wafer.sup.3/2. A memory 975 stores a selected or
desired target value of the ion density,
[b.sup.2V.sub.wafer.sup.3/2].sub.TARGET. A subtractor 980 computes
the difference between the measured ion density and the ion density
target value to produce an error signal. The gain of the source
power feedback control loop 958 is determined by a source power
feedback gain factor stored in a memory 985. A multiplier 990
multiplies the error signal from the subtractor 980 by the gain
factor from the memory 985 to produce a correction signal. This
correction signal is used to control the power level of the RF
source power generator 920. The path of the source power feedback
control loop 958 is completed by the V, I and P.sub.bias signals
applied to the measurement instrument 140 to produce the
measurement signal b.sup.2V.sub.wafer.sup.3/2 representing the ion
density.
[0048] At the start of a plasma process step such as an etch
process step, initial values for the power levels P.sub.S and
P.sub.B of the RF source power generator 920 and the RF bias power
generator 125, respectively, can be specified. If these initial
values are sufficiently close to the optimum values, this feature
can avoid unduly large initial corrections by the feedback
controller 950. For this purpose, the bias power feedback loop 957
includes a bias power command processor 992 coupled to receive the
feedback correction signal from the multiplier 957 and to receive a
target value for the bias power, [P.sub.bias].sub.TARGET. Before
plasma processing begins, there is no feedback signal, and the bias
power command processor 992 sets the power level of the bias power
generator 125 to the initial target value [P.sub.bias].sub.TARGET.
Once processing begins and a feedback signal is present, the bias
power command processor 992 controls the bias power in accordance
with the feedback correction signal from the multiplier 966 rather
than the bias power target value.
[0049] Similarly, the source power feedback loop 958 includes a
source power command processor 994 coupled to receive the feedback
correction signal from the multiplier 990 and to receive a target
value for the source power, [P.sub.source].sub.TARGET. Before
plasma processing begins, there is no feedback signal, and the
source power command processor 994 sets the power level of the
source power generator 920 to the initial target value
[P.sub.source].sub.TARGET. Once processing begins and a feedback
signal is present, the source power command processor 994 controls
the source power in accordance with the feedback correction signal
from the multiplier 990 rather than the source power target
value.
[0050] In accordance with another aspect, the source and bias power
command processors 992, 994 can be instructed by the user to ignore
their respective feedback control loops 957, 958 throughout much or
all of the process step and instead maintain the source and bias
power levels at the specified target values
[P.sub.source].sub.TARGET and [P.sub.bias].sub.TARGET. The user can
change these values from time to time during processing.
[0051] Referring to FIG. 10, the feedback control processor 950 may
employ the etch rate rather than the ion density as the measured
parameter in the source power feedback control loop 958. In the
measurement instrument 140, the etch rate measurement signal is
taken from the ALU 870 of FIG. 8 that computes
b.sup.2V.sub.wafer.sup.2. In FIG. 10, a memory 975' (in lieu of the
memory 975 of FIG. 9) stores a target value of the etch rate,
[b.sup.2V.sub.wafer.sup.2].sub.TARGET. The subtractor 980 operates
as described with reference to FIG. 9 to produce an error signal.
The remainder of the source power feedback control loop of FIG. 10
generally is the same as in FIG. 9.
Process Set Point Controller:
[0052] The feedback controller 950 requires a number of target
values for various process control parameters. Specifically the
feedback controller 950 of FIG. 9 has a memory 975 storing the
target value for the ion density,
[b.sup.2V.sub.wafer.sup.3/2].sub.TARGET, and a memory 960 storing
the target value for the ion energy (or, equivalently, wafer
voltage), [V.sub.wafer].sub.TARGET. In the feedback controller of
FIG. 10, the memory 975 is replaced by the memory 975' storing the
target value for the etch rate,
[b.sup.2V.sub.wafer.sup.2].sub.TARGET. In addition, the feedback
controller 950 can employ initial target values
[P.sub.source].sub.TARGET and [P.sub.bias].sub.TARGET for the
source and bias power levels respectively to initialize the
feedback controller 950, as discussed above. The selection or
optimization of these target values can be left to the user's
efforts, which may involve an undue amount of trial and error and
may be unreliable. Typically, a user who wishes to achieve certain
process results (e.g., a certain etch rate, a certain ion energy, a
reduction in etch processing artifacts such as striations, a
reduction in heating due to wafer current, etc.) must conduct a
time-consuming program of trial and error experiments to find the
optimum process control parameters values to achieve the desired
results. For this reason, the alteration of an existing process or
the design of a new process must be undertaken over a very long
development period.
[0053] In order to overcome this limitation, a process set point
controller 1110 employed in the reactor of FIG. 11 automatically
and quickly (or instantaneously) finds the optimum target values of
process control parameters based upon the user's selection of
values for various performance parameters. For example, the process
set point controller 1110 may determine the target values
[P.sub.source].sub.TARGET and [P.sub.bias].sub.TARGET based upon a
desired etch rate and/or a desired wafer voltage or other
performance parameter specified by the user. Thus, a new process
recipe can be designed nearly instantaneously. For present plasma
reactors, this can take place in milliseconds, but could be made to
be as fast as microseconds if needed.
[0054] There are many process control parameters (i.e.,
characteristics of the reactor under direct user control such as
chamber pressure, source and bias power levels, etc.) and many
process performance parameters (i.e., characteristics of the plasma
and process not susceptible of direct control such as etch rate,
ion density, ion energy, wafer current, etc.). A user can specify
any one or more of these performance parameters as an objective for
a given process. Any one or group of or all of the control
parameters can be used to achieve the desired levels of the
performance parameters chosen by the user. The question is whether
or not the effects of some of the control parameters might be
dependent upon others of the control parameters in controlling the
performance parameters chosen by the user. Thus, the problem of
selecting the right set of control parameters to achieve the
desired results in the chosen performance parameters is complex and
there appears to be no particularly optimum choice.
[0055] However, I have discovered that the source power and the
bias power control the performance parameters of interest and do so
in an independent manner. That is, source power P.sub.source and
bias power P.sub.bias are independent variables and may be thought
of as orthogonal entities forming a two-dimensional control space
in which control of the performance parameters may be exercised
with such versatility that no alteration of the other control
parameters is required. This discovery greatly reduces the problem
to only two variables.
[0056] Therefore, the following description will concern a control
system in which the control parameters, with the exception of
P.sub.source and P.sub.bias, are held constant during processing.
Thus, process control parameters including chamber pressure, gas
composition, gas flow rate, source power frequency, bias power
frequency, etc., are held constant. The source power and bias power
levels (P.sub.source and P.sub.bias) are varied to achieve desired
values in a specified set of performance parameters (e.g., etch
rate and ion density).
[0057] The problem of finding target values for the various
parameters given a set of user-defined values for a chosen set of
performance parameters is solved by the process set point
controller 1110 superimposing a set of constant parameter contours
in the two-dimensional P.sub.source-P.sub.bias space referred to
above. Such constant parameter contours are obtained from a
constant parameter contour generator 1120 in FIG. 11. For example,
contours of constant ion density (FIG. 12), contours of constant
ion energy or wafer voltage (FIG. 13), and contours of constant
etch rate (FIG. 14) are employed. How the constant parameter
contour generator 1120 produces these contours using the
measurement instrument 140 will be described later in this
specification. The present description concerns their use by the
process set point controller 1110.
[0058] Referring to FIG. 12, a set of contours of constant plasma
ion density in P.sub.source-P.sub.bias space for a chamber pressure
of 20 mT generally have a small negative slope and a small but
positive first derivative d(P.sub.source)/d(P.sub.bias). The
top-most contour corresponds to a constant plasma density of
5H10.sup.10 ions/cm.sup.3 while the bottom contour corresponds to
1.5H10.sup.10 ions/cm.sup.3. The vertical axis (P.sub.source)
ranges from 0 to 1500 Watts while the horizontal axis (P.sub.bias)
ranges from 2000 to 4500 Watts. Referring to FIG. 13, a set of
contours of constant wafer voltage for the same chamber pressure
(20 mT) have a positive slope and range from 600 volts (at the top)
to 1800 Volts (at the bottom). Referring to FIG. 14, a set of
contours of constant etch rate (in arbitrary units, e.g., where
k=1) have a large negative slope.
[0059] The process set point controller 1110 determines how to
simultaneously satisfy user-selected values of ion density, ion
energy and etch rate. It does this by finding the intersection in
P.sub.source-P.sub.bias space of the corresponding contours of
FIGS. 12-14. This intersection indicates the optimum target values
for source and bias power, namely [P.sub.source].sub.TARGET and
[P.sub.bias].sub.TARGET. The problem is somewhat simpler if the
user specifies values for only two performance parameters. For
example, if the user specifies a wafer voltage of 1100 Volts and an
ion density of 3.5H10.sup.10 ions/cm.sup.3, then the correct point
in P.sub.source-P.sub.bias space is found by superimposing the
constant wafer voltage contour for 1100 volts from FIG. 12 and the
constant density contour for 3.5H10.sup.10 ions/cm.sup.3 from FIG.
13 and finding their intersection in P.sub.source-P.sub.bias space.
This procedure is performed by the process set point controller
1110 and is illustrated in FIG. 15 in which the two curves
intersect in P.sub.source-P.sub.bias space at the point [850 W,
3750 W]. Therefore, in this example the user's requirements are met
by setting the source power level at 850 W and setting the bias
power level at 3750 W. Thus, in this case the target values
[P.sub.source].sub.TARGET and [P.sub.bias].sub.TARGET furnished to
the source power command processor 994 and bias power command
processor 992 of FIG. 9 are 850 Watts and 3750 Watts,
respectively.
[0060] It should be noted that this deduction of the target values
of source and bias power levels may also result in the deduction of
a target value for other parameters whose values have not been
specified or limited by the user. As an illustration, in the
foregoing example, the user has not specified a particular etch
rate. However, a target value for the etch rate satisfying the
user-selected values for ion density and energy can be found by
superimposing the contours of FIG. 14 onto FIG. 15 (or vice versa).
The point [850 W, 3750 W] lies on the contour of a constant etch
rate of 2.101 (in arbitrary units) of FIG. 14, as indicated by the
AX@ symbol in that drawing. Therefore, if the feedback controller
of FIG. 10 is employed, then the set point controller 1110 writes
an etch rate target value of 2.101 in arbitrary units to the memory
975 of FIG. 10.
[0061] An advantage of this feature is that the contours of
constant voltage, density, etch rate, etc., are characteristic of
the reactor and generally do not change for given process
conditions. They may therefore be determined by the constant
parameter contour generator 1120 prior to processing and made
available to the process set point controller 1110 constantly
during use of the reactor, as indicated in FIG. 11. In this way, a
target value for a particular parameter may be found instantly or
whenever required in the manner illustrated in FIG. 15.
[0062] In operation, the bias power command processor 992 and the
source power command processor 994 receive the target values
[P.sub.source].sub.TARGET and [P.sub.bias].sub.TARGET from the
process set point controller 1110 and receive feedback signals from
the multipliers 958 and 957 respectively. During system
initialization, the feedback signals are ignored, and the
processors 992, 994 put the power levels of the RF generators 125,
920 to the target values [P.sub.source].sub.TARGET and
[P.sub.bias].sub.TARGET, respectively. After processing begins, the
feedback signals are available and the processors 992, 994 can use
the feedback control loops 957, 958 instead of the target values to
control the source power and bias power levels. Alternatively, the
power command processors 992, 994 may be programmed so that the
target values [P.sub.source].sub.TARGET and [P.sub.bias].sub.TARGET
determine the source and bias power levels not only at
initialization but also during processing, while the feedback loops
957, 958 are ignored.
[0063] FIG. 11 shows that the user can apply to the process set
point controller 1110 any one or a combination of user selected
values for performance parameters, including etch rate, wafer
voltage, ion density and wafer current. In response, the process
set point controller 1110 uses the appropriate contours from the
contour generator 1120 to produce not only source and bias power
target values but, in some cases, target values for other
parameters not limited or specified by the user, which may be a
target value for the etch rate, the ion density, the ion energy or
the wafer current. These target values are furnished to the
feedback controller 950 for use in the manner described previously
in this specification with reference to FIG. 9.
[0064] FIG. 16 illustrates the structure and operation of the
process set point controller 1110 of FIG. 11. A first logic unit
1610 receives an etch rate command (if any) from the user and
fetches from a memory 1615 the corresponding contour of constant
etch rate in the set of contours of constant etch rates previously
generated by the contour generator 1120. A second logic unit 1620
receives an ion density command (if any) from the user and fetches
from a memory 1625 the corresponding contour of constant ion
density in the set of contours of constant ion density previously
generated by the contour generator 1120. A third logic unit 1630
receives a wafer voltage (ion energy) command (if any) from the
user and fetches from a memory 1635 the corresponding contour of
constant wafer voltage in the set of contours of constant wafer
voltage previously generated by the contour generator 1120. A
fourth logic unit 1640 finds the intersection point in
P.sub.source-P.sub.bias space between any of the contours selected
by the logic units 1610, 1620, 1630. This intersection point is
output to the feedback controller 950 of FIG. 11 as
[P.sub.source].sub.TARGET, [P.sub.bias].sub.TARGET.
Contour Generator 1120:
[0065] Operation of the contour generator 1120 of FIG. 11 is
illustrated in FIGS. 17, 18 and 19. FIG. 17 illustrates the
operation of the contour generator 1120 in finding functions
defining how certain performance parameters vary with bias power.
These include functions for the performance parameters of wafer
voltage, ion density and etch rate. As will be described below, the
observations of changes in wafer voltage, ion density and etch rate
with bias power are made for the contour generator 1120 by the
measurement instrument 140 using the configuration of FIG. 11. In
FIG. 11, the measurement instrument 140 transmits instantaneous
measurements of wafer voltage, ion density and etch rate to the
contour generator 1120. The contour generator 1120 also receives
the current source power and bias power commands, as indicated in
FIG. 11, allowing it to correlate behavior of the performance
parameters of wafer voltage, ion density and etch rate, with the
control parameters of source power and bias power.
[0066] FIG. 18 illustrates the operation of the contour generator
1120 in finding functions defining how certain performance
parameters vary with source power. As in FIG. 17, in FIG. 18 these
include functions for the performance parameters of wafer voltage,
ion density and etch rate. Also as in FIG. 17, in the operation of
FIG. 18 is carried out using the configuration of FIG. 11.
[0067] FIG. 19 illustrates the operation of the contour generator
1120 in parameterizing the separate functions of source power and
bias power discovered in the operations of FIGS. 17 and 18 into
combined functions of both source power and bias power. Such
combined functions represent the behavior of the performance
parameters (wafer voltage, ion density, etch rate) in 2-dimensional
P.sub.source-P.sub.bias space. The contour generator 1120 then
derives the contours of constant ion density, ion energy and etch
rate from the respective combined functions.
[0068] The operation depicted in FIG. 17 will now be described in
detail with reference to both FIGS. 11 and 17. In the step of block
1710 of FIG. 17, the frequencies of the bias and source power
generators 125, 920 of FIG. 11 are set to constant values, the
exhaust rate of a vacuum pump 1180 of the reactor of FIG. 11 is
controlled to achieve a constant chamber pressure, and mass flow
rates from gas supplies 1182, 1184 are set through a mass flow
controller 1186 of FIG. 11 to constant values. In the step of block
1720 of FIG. 17, the power level of the source power generator 920
of FIG. 11 is set to an initial set point, so that the entire
process is at a steady state with the exception of the bias power
level. In the step of block 1730 of FIG. 17, the power level of the
bias power generator 125 of FIG. 11 is set at the beginning of a
predetermined range. The measurement instrument 140 then senses the
voltage current and power at the impedance match 130 in order to
measure wafer voltage, ion density and etch rate in the manner
described previously with respect to FIGS. 1-8 (block 1740 of FIG.
17). These measurements are sent to the contour generator 1120 and
stored in a memory 1120a. In the next step (block 1750 of FIG. 17),
the power level of the bias power generator 125 of FIG. 11 is
incremented (by command of the controller 1110) to a slightly
higher value and held at that value. A determination is then made
in the step of block 1760 of FIG. 17 as to whether or not the
latest bias power level is at the end of the bias power range. If
not (ANO@ branch of block 1760), the operation returns in a loop
1765 to the step of block 1740. The steps within the loop 1765 are
repeated in this manner until the end of the bias power range is
reached (AYES@ branch of block 1760). The result is that three sets
of data corresponding to functions of bias power defining the
behaviors of wafer voltage, ion density and etch rate are stored in
the memory 1120a. Using conventional data fit algorithms, the
contour generator uses the three sets of data to produce algebraic
functions corresponding to the data, which are stored in the memory
1120a as follows: V wafer = .times. f a .function. ( P bias ) i =
.times. f b .function. ( P bias ) i ER = .times. f c .function. ( P
bias ) i ##EQU1## where .eta. is plasma ion density, ER is etch
rate and the index i refers to the current level of the source
power generator 915 (block 1770). In the next step of FIG. 17
(block 1780), the level of the source power generator 915 is
incremented to a new value so that i6i+1. If the new source power
level is not at the end of the source power range (ANO@ branch of
block 1790), then the operation returns in a loop 1795 to the step
of block 1730, and the steps within the loop 1795 (i.e., blocks
1730 through 1790) are repeated until the source power level
reaches the end of the source power range (AYES@ branch of block
1790). The result is that many sets of the functions V wafer =
.times. f a .function. ( P bias ) i = .times. f b .function. ( P
bias ) i ER = .times. f c .function. ( P bias ) i ##EQU2## for all
values of i within the source power range are stored in the memory
1120a. This permits an analytical determination of whether or not
the behavior of the three behavior parameters V.sub.wafer, .eta.,
ER with bias power changes with source power. I have discovered
that it does not change to a great extent, so that bias power and
source power are at least nearly independent variables. Thus, a
single function of bias power for each of the parameters
V.sub.wafer, .eta., ER generally suffices as a fairly accurate
prediction of behavior over the entire range of the source power
level, at least for the range chosen in the working examples given
later in this specification. Thus, the loop 1795 of FIG. 17 may not
be strictly necessary. Instead, it may be acceptable to choose a
single value for the source power level in the middle of the source
power level range in step 1720 and perform the loop of 1765 to
produce a single set of data for each of the three functions V
wafer = .times. f a .function. ( P bias ) = .times. f b .function.
( P bias ) ER = .times. f c .function. ( P bias ) ##EQU3## These
three functions of bias power are stored in the memory 1120a.
[0069] The operation depicted in FIG. 18 will now be described in
detail with reference to both FIGS. 11 and 18. In the step of block
1810 of FIG. 18, the frequencies of the bias and source power
generators 125, 920 of FIG. 11 are set to constant values, the
exhaust rate of a vacuum pump 1180 of the reactor of FIG. 11 is
controlled to achieve a constant chamber pressure, and mass flow
rates from gas supplies 1182, 1184 are set through a mass flow
controller 1186 of FIG. 11 to constant values. In the step of block
1820 of FIG. 18, the power level of the bias power generator 125 of
FIG. 11 is set to an initial set point, so that the entire process
is at a steady state with the exception of the source power level.
In the step of block 1830 of FIG. 18, the power level of the source
power generator 920 of FIG. 11 is set at the beginning of a
predetermined range. The measurement instrument 140 then senses the
voltage current and power at the impedance match 130 in order to
measure wafer voltage, ion density and etch rate in the manner
described previously with respect to FIGS. 1-8 (block 1840 of FIG.
18). These measurements are sent to the contour generator 1120 and
stored in the memory 1120a. In the next step (block 1850 of FIG.
18), the power level of the source power generator 920 of FIG. 11
is incremented (by command of the controller 1110) to a slightly
higher value and held at that value. A determination is then made
in the step of block 1860 of FIG. 18 as to whether or not the
latest source power level is at the end of the source power range.
If not (NO branch of block 1860), the operation returns in a loop
1865 to the step of block 1840. The steps within the loop 1865 are
repeated in this manner until the end of the source power range is
reached (YES branch of block 1860). The result is that three sets
of data corresponding to functions of source power defining the
behaviors of wafer voltage, ion density and etch rate are stored in
the memory 1120a. Using conventional data fit algorithms, the
contour generator 1120 uses the three sets of data to produce
algebraic functions corresponding to the data, which are stored in
the memory 1120a as follows: V wafer = .times. f a .function. ( P
source ) i = .times. f b .function. ( P source ) i ER = .times. f c
.function. ( P source ) i ##EQU4## where .eta. is plasma ion
density, ER is etch rate and the index i refers to the current
level of the bias power generator 125 (block 1870). In the next
step of FIG. 18 (block 1880), the level of the bias power generator
125 is incremented to a new value so that i6i+1. If the new bias
power level is not at the end of the bias power range (NO branch of
block 1890), then the operation returns in a loop 1895 to the step
of block 1830, and the steps within the loop 1895 (i.e., blocks
1830 through 1890) are repeated until the bias power level reaches
the end of the bias power range (YES branch of block 1890). The
result is that many sets of the functions V wafer = .times. f a
.function. ( P source ) i = .times. f b .function. ( P source ) i
ER = .times. f c .function. ( P source ) i ##EQU5## for all values
of i within the bias power range are stored in the memory 1120a.
This permits an analytical determination of whether or not the
behavior of the three behavior parameters V.sub.wafer, .eta., ER
with source changes with bias power. I have discovered (as in the
case of FIG. 17) that it does not change to a great extent, so that
bias power and source power are at least nearly independent
variables, as discussed above. Thus, a single function of source
power for each of the parameters V.sub.wafer, .eta., ER generally
suffices as a fairly accurate prediction of behavior over the
entire range of the bias power level, at least for the range chosen
in the working examples given later in this specification. Thus,
the loop 1895 of FIG. 18 may not be strictly necessary. Instead, it
may be acceptable to choose a single value for the bias power level
in the middle of the bias power level range in step 1820 and
perform the loop of 1865 to produce a single set of data for each
of the three functions V wafer = .times. f a .function. ( P source
) = .times. f b .function. ( P source ) ER = .times. f c .function.
( P source ) ##EQU6## These three functions of source power are
stored in the memory 1120a. Thus, upon completion of the operations
of FIGS. 17 and 18, the memory 1120a holds the following pair of
functions for the wafer voltage: V.sub.wafer=f.sub.a(P.sub.source)
V.sub.wafer=f.sub.a(P.sub.bias) and following pair of functions for
the ion density: =f.sub.b(P.sub.source) =f.sub.b(P.sub.bias) and
the following pair of functions for etch rate:
ER=f.sub.c(P.sub.source) ER=f.sub.c(P.sub.bias).
[0070] In the operation illustrated in FIG. 19, the contour
generator 1120 combines each pair of functions having a single
variable P.sub.source, or P.sub.bias, respectively, into a single
combined function of the variable pair P.sub.source and P.sub.bias.
This produces the following three functions:
V.sub.wafer(P.sub.source, P.sub.bias) .eta.(P.sub.source,
P.sub.bias). ER(P.sub.source, P.sub.bias)
[0071] Contours of constant parameter values (e.g., a contour of
constant wafer voltage, a contour of constant etch rate, a contour
of constant ion density) are found by setting the respective
function to a constant value and then solving for P.sub.source as a
function of P.sub.bias. For example, in order to generate a contour
of constant wafer voltage at 300 V, the function
V.sub.wafer(P.sub.source, P.sub.bias) is set equal to 300 V, and
then solved for P.sub.source.
[0072] Operation of the contour generator 1120 of FIG. 11 in
carrying out the foregoing steps of generating the combined
two-variable functions and then solving them for P.sub.source as a
function of P.sub.bias at various constant values is illustrated in
FIG. 19. Referring now to FIG. 19, the first step (block 1910) is
to take the single variable functions of wafer voltage, i.e.,
V.sub.wafer(P.sub.source) and V.sub.wafer(P.sub.bias) and find
their combined function. The next step (block 1920) is to take the
single variable functions of ion density, i.e., .eta.(P.sub.source)
and .eta.(P.sub.bias) and find their combined function
.eta.(P.sub.source, P.sub.bias). The third step (block 1930) is to
take the single variable functions of etch rate, i.e.,
ER(P.sub.source) and ER(P.sub.bias) and find their combined
function ER(P.sub.source, P.sub.bias).
[0073] Then, the contours of constant values are generated. To
generate a contour of constant wafer voltage (block 1940 of FIG.
19), the function V.sub.wafer(P.sub.source, P.sub.bias) is set
equal to a constant value of wafer voltage and the resulting
expression is then solved for P.sub.source as a function of
P.sub.bias. This step is repeated for a range of constant wafer
voltage values to generate a set of contours covering the range.
These contours are stored in the memory 1120a of FIG. 11 (block
1945 of FIG. 19).
[0074] To generate a contour of constant ion density (block 1950 of
FIG. 19), the function .eta.(P.sub.source, P.sub.bias) is set equal
to a constant value of ion density and the resulting expression is
solved for P.sub.source as a function of P.sub.bias. This step is
repeated for a range of constant ion density values to generate a
set of contours covering the range of ion density values. These
contours are stored in the memory 1120a of FIG. 11 (block 1955 of
FIG. 19).
[0075] To generate a contour of constant etch rate (block 1960 of
FIG. 19), the function ER(P.sub.source, P.sub.bias) is set equal to
a constant value of etch rate and the resulting expression solved
for P.sub.source as a function of P.sub.bias. This step is repeated
for a range of constant etch rate values to generate a set of
contours covering the range of etch rate values. These contours are
stored in the memory 1120a of FIG. 11 (block 1965 of FIG. 19).
[0076] Generally, each combined two-variable function, e.g.,
V.sub.wafer(P.sub.source, P.sub.bias)) can be approximated by the
product of the pair of individual functions, e.g.,
V.sub.wafer(P.sub.source) and V.sub.wafer(P.sub.bias). For example,
ignoring all control parameters except RF power level and ignoring
constants of proportionality:
V.sub.wafer=f.sub.a(P.sub.source)[P.sub.source].sup.1/2
V.sub.wafer=f.sub.a(P.sub.bias)[P.sub.bias].sup.1/2 so that the
combined two-variable function is approximately:
V.sub.wafer=F.sub.a(P.sub.source,
P.sub.bias)=f.sub.a(P.sub.source)f.sub.a(P.sub.bias)[P.sub.source].sup.1/-
2[P.sub.bias].sup.1/2 This expression, however is not exact. The
exact function is best found by curve-fitting techniques involving
all control parameters, namely P.sub.source and P.sub.bias, as
above, and in addition, source power frequency, bias power
frequency, chamber pressure, and magnetic field (if any). I have
found the following expression for V.sub.wafer as a function of
both P.sub.source and P.sub.bias: V.sub.wafer(P.sub.source,
P.sub.bias)=V.sub.0(P.sub.bias/P.sub.b0).sup.0.4[(P.sub.source/P.sub.s0)K-
.sub.1(p/p.sub.0).sup.-1+(p/p.sub.0).sup.0.5].sup.-0.5 where
P.sub.b0 is a maximum bias power value, P.sub.s0 is a maximum
source power value, p.sub.0 is a minimum chamber pressure, and p is
the actual chamber pressure. In the reactor chamber described
above, the maximum source power P.sub.s0 was 1500 Watts, the
maximum bias power P.sub.b0 was 4500 Watts and the minimum pressure
p.sub.0 was 30 mT. These values may differ from the foregoing
example depending upon chamber design and process design. V.sub.0
is determined in accordance with the following procedure: the
maximum bias power P.sub.b0 is applied to the wafer pedestal while
the source power is held to zero and the chamber is held to the
minimum pressure p.sub.0. The wafer voltage V.sub.wafer is then
measured and this measured value is stored as V.sub.0. K.sub.1 is
then determined by increasing the source power to its maximum value
P.sub.s0 and then measuring the wafer voltage V.sub.wafer again,
and K.sub.1 is adjusted until the foregoing equation yields the
correct value for V.sub.wafer.
[0077] The exponents in the foregoing equations were obtained by an
extensive trial and error parameterization process for the reactor
described in this specification. These exponents may be useful for
other reactor designs, or the user may wish to try other exponents,
depending upon the particular reactor design.
[0078] Ion density, .eta., and etch rate, ER, are both functions of
V.sub.wafer and b, the plasma susceptance or imaginary part of the
plasma admittance, as described previously herein with reference to
FIG. 8: =b.sup.2V.sub.wafer.sup.2 and
ER=kb.sup.2V.sub.wafer.sup.3/2 Therefore, only the plasma
susceptance b need be specified in addition to V.sub.wafer to
define ER and .eta., for the sake of brevity. I have found the
following expression for the plasma susceptance b as a function of
both P.sub.source and P.sub.bias: b(P.sub.source,
P.sub.bias)=b.sub.0(P.sub.bias/P.sub.b0).sup.-0.25[(P.sub.source/P.sub.s0-
)(p/p.sub.0).sup.-0.65][K.sub.2(P.sub.bias/P.sub.b0).sup.-0.62(p/p.sub.0).-
sup.3+(p/p.sub.0).sup.0.27] where the definitions above apply and
in addition b.sub.0 is a reference susceptance value. The reference
susceptance value b.sub.0 is determined in accordance with the
following procedure: the maximum bias power P.sub.b0 is applied to
the wafer pedestal while the source power is held to zero and the
chamber is held to the minimum pressure p.sub.0. The susceptance b
is then measured at the wafer support pedestal (using a V/I meter,
for example) and this measured value is stored as b.sub.0. K.sub.2
is then determined by increasing the source power to its maximum
value P.sub.s0 and then measuring the susceptance b again, and
K.sub.2 is adjusted until the foregoing equation yields the correct
value for b.
[0079] Ion density, .eta., and etch rate, ER, are then obtained by
substituting the expressions for V.sub.wafer and b into the
foregoing expressions for .eta. and ER.
[0080] The results of the contour generator operation of FIG. 19
are illustrated for various chamber pressures in FIGS. 20-26. FIG.
20 illustrates contours of constant wafer voltage, contours of
constant ion density and contours of constant etch rate
superimposed upon one another in P.sub.source-P.sub.bias space. The
chamber pressure for these contours was 100 mT. The contours of
constant wafer voltage are depicted in solid lines. The contours of
constant ion density are depicted in dashed lines. The contours of
constant etch rate are depicted in dotted lines. The source power
range (the vertical axis or ordinate) has a range from zero to 1200
Watts. The bias power range (the horizontal axis or abscissa) has a
range from 200 Watts to 1200 Watts. The stated values of constant
wafer voltage are RMS volts. The stated values of constant ion
density are 10.sup.10 ions/cm.sup.3.
[0081] FIGS. 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 correspond to FIG. 20 for
respective chamber pressures of 100 mT, 30 mT, 70 mT, 150 mT, 200
mT and 250 mT, respectively.
[0082] Once a complete set of contours of constant voltage,
constant etch rate and constant ion density have been generated and
permanently stored in the memory 120a, the contour generator and
even the measurement instrument may be discarded. In such an
implementation, the process set point controller 1110 would control
the entire process based upon the contours stored in the memory
120a in response to user inputs. In this case, the process set
point controller 1110 could apply the bias and source power level
commands directly to the bias and source power generators 125, 920,
respectively, so that the feedback controller 950 could also be
eliminated in such an embodiment.
[0083] While the measurement instrument 140 has been described with
reference to discrete processors 310, 320, 340, 350, 360 that carry
out individual computations, these processors comprising the
measurement instrument 140 can be implemented together in a
programmed computer, such as a workstation or a personal computer
rather than as separate hardware entities. The contour generator
1120 may also be implemented in a programmed computer or
workstation. In addition, the feedback controller 950 of FIG. 9 or
FIG. 10 may be implemented in a programmed computer. Moreover, the
process set point controller may be implemented in a programmed
computer.
[0084] The measurement instrument 140 has been described in certain
applications, such as in a process control system. It is also
useful as a tool for "fingerprinting" or characterizing a
particular plasma reactor by observing the etch rate, ion density
and wafer voltage measured by the instrument 140 at a selected
process setting of source power, bias power, pressure and other
parameters.
[0085] While the description of FIG. 8 concerned an implementation
in which etch rate is computed as ER=b.sup.2V.sub.wafer.sup.2 and
ion density as .eta.=kb.sup.2V.sub.wafer.sup.3/2, other functions
may be employed, such as, for example, [bV.sub.wafer].sup.1, or
[bV.sub.wafer].sup.2, or gV.sub.wafer.sup.3/2 (where g in this last
expression is the conductance defined previously in this
specification).
[0086] While the invention has been described in detail with
reference to preferred embodiments, it is understood that
variations and modifications thereof may be made without departing
from the true spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *