Patent ID: 11915923
Assignee: LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC C  H | IPC H

Claim 0:
1. A plasma processing system, comprising: a hydrogen gas supply and a hydrocarbon gas supply; a processing chamber having a wafer support and inner surfaces that surround the wafer support; a first mass flow controller (MFC) for controlling hydrogen gas flow into the processing chamber and a second MFC for controlling hydrocarbon gas flow into the processing chamber; a plasma source for generating plasma at the processing chamber, the plasma is for etching a film of tin oxide (SnO2) formed on the inner surfaces of the processing chamber during prior substrate etching; and a controller for regulating the first MFC and the second MFC such that hydrocarbon gas flow to the hydrogen gas flow into the processing chamber is between 1% and 8% when tin hydride (SnH4) is produced during said etching of the SnO2 to clean and remove the SnO2 from the inner surfaces of the processing chamber, the SnH4 reacts with hydrocarbon gas to produce an organotin compound that is volatilizable in a reaction that is more kinetically favorable than SnH4 decomposition into Sn powder, wherein producing the organotin compound enables suction of tin (Sn) out of the processing chamber to prevent Sn powder from being deposited on the inner surfaces of the processing chamber during said etching SnO2; wherein the plasma source is set by the controller to operate at power levels between 500 watts and 5000 watts; wherein between 1% and 8% hydrocarbon gas flow to the hydrogen gas flow reduces formation of carbonaceous polymers instead of said organotin compound that is volatilizable.