Patent ID: 6626187
Filing Date: 2003-09-30
Classification: C23C,H01L

Abstract:
A method of reconditioning a reaction chamber comprising:introducing a first gaseous mixture into the reaction chamber; turning on a radio frequency power source to initiate a dry cleaning operation that removes high molecular weight micro-particles inside the reaction chamber; placing a production wafer having an etch-pending layer inside the reaction chamber; introducing a second gaseous mixture containing nitrogen and hydrogen into the reaction chamber; and performing an etching operation to the etch-pending layer of the production wafer and simultaneously reconditioning the reaction chamber in-situ, without using a dummy wafer, wherein the etch-pending layer that is etched by the second gaseous mixture has an accurately controlled critical dimension, and wherein the etch-pending layer is etched by the second gaseous mixture and, at the same time, the second gaseous mixture reacts with the etch-pending layer to form high molecular weight micro-particles for reconditioning the chamber.