Split-phase driver for plasma etch system

Abstract: A plasma etching system includes a radio frequency generator (12) and a parallel plate plasma reactor vessel (14). A phase inverter circuit is used to couple the RF generator to the electrodes (19, 21) in the plasma reactor (14) so that the electrodes (19, 21) are driven with voltages of substantially equal magnitude but which are 180° out-of-phase. In this way, a maximum potential difference between the electrodes can be achieved while minimizing the potential difference between the individual electrodes (19, 21) and the reactor vessel (14). Such operation allows higher power levels with reduced occurrence of arcing and stray discharge, and provides a stable, uniform plasma discharge.

Description: 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to the construction of plasma etching systems. Single wafer, parallel plate plasma etching systems comprise a lower electrode, generally referred to as a chuck electrode, and an opposed upper electrode, generally referred to as a counter electrode. Either electrode may be powered by a radio frequency signal while the other electrode is grounded to induce the plasma necessary to accomplish the etching. In order to enhance the etch rate afforded by a plasma etching system, it is desirable to induce a high voltage across the electrodes, imparting very high energy levels to the system. The voltage which can be applied, however, is limited by the occurrence of stray discharges and arcing between the driven electrode and the grounded reactor housing. Such discharges dissipate RF power, can damage the equipment, and most importantly cause discontinuities and instabilities in the plasma which can cause non-uniformity in the etch rate across the wafer. It would therefore be desirable to provide a system for performing plasma etching at relatively high voltage and power levels without the occurrence of arcing and stray discharges as have just been described. 2. Description of the Background Art U.S. Patent No. 4,626,312 discloses a plasma etching system comprising a plasma reactor including an electrically isolated upper electrode and an electrically isolated lower electrode in a grounded chamber, a grounded generator producing a radio frequency input voltage, means for dividing the input voltage into a first output voltage and a second output voltage, said first and second output voltages having substantially equal magnitudes relative to ground but being approximately 180° out of phase, and means for coupling the first output voltage to the upper electrode and the second output voltage to the lower electrode. This document proposes that the stray electrical discharges in parallel plate plasma reactors can be reduced by dividing the applied voltage between the upper and lower electrodes. Two specific systems for achieving such voltage division are described. The first system is utilized in low frequency reactors (400 kHz) and employs an ungrounded RF generator to feed the electrodes in a grounded reactor chamber. It is apparently assumed that the voltage applied across the electrodes will float approximately equally about the ground potential of the reactor vessel, thus minimizing the potential difference between either electrode and ground. While generally achievable, the desired equal division of the voltage between the electrodes cannot be fully realized because of asymmetries in the construction of the reactor vessel, electrodes, and electrical feed lines, as well as the unbalanced impedance load placed on the counter electrode by the wafer. Thus, a precise division of the applied voltage cannot be effected and the theoretical maximum voltage cannot be utilized. The second system is intended primarily for high frequency (13 MHz) plasma etch reactors, and includes a grounded RF generator connected across the opposed electrodes with a variable inductor between the chuck electrode and ground. The inductor causes a phase shift in the voltage on the chuck electrode which, together with the phase shift resulting from the capacitive nature of the electrodes themselves, results in a phase shift between the voltages on the two electrodes which approaches 180°. As can be seen in Fig. 3 of the patent, however, the phase shift will not reach 180° so that the maximum potential difference across the plasma without arcing cannot be achieved. See also, U.S. Patent Nos. 4,399,016; 4,253,907; and 4,134,817, which disclose alternate systems for powering parallel plate plasma reactors. Prior Art Acknowledgement US-4724296 describes plasma processing apparatus including a DC or AC supply provided to the primary winding of a transformer which can have a center tapped secondary winding, each end of which is connected to respective electrod es housed in a vacuum plasma vessel which may be grounded. For these reasons, it would be desirable to provide a system for dividing voltage between the upper and lower electrodes in a plasma etch system in a highly controlled manner to maximize the potential difference between the electrodes which can be employed to induce a plasma without causing stray discharges between either of the electrodes and the reactor chamber, and to maximize power transfer between the RF-generator and the reactor vessel. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a system there for according to claim 1 viz. 7. In the preferred embodiment, a plasma etching system employs a conventional radio frequency (RF) generator and a plasma reactor chamber having parallel upper and lower electrodes. Output of the RF generator is transformed by a phase inverter circuit employing a transformer with a center-tapped secondary. The primary winding of the transformer is coupled to the RF generator and first and second terminals of the secondary winding are connected to the upper and lower electrodes, respectively. Such circuitry assures that the wave forms applied to the electrode will be substantially equal, but 180° out-of-phase. Impedance matching elements will be provided in the circuitry to maximize power transfer, and a variable inductor will be provided to allow phase tuning. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating preferred circuitry of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a graph illustrating the potential on the upper electrode (V u ), the potential on the lower electrode (V l ), as well as the net potential difference between the two electrodes (V Δ ). DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS Referring to Fig. 1, a plasma etching system 10 constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention includes a radio frequency (RF) generator 12 whose output is coupled to a single wafer, parallel plate plasma reactor 14 by intermediate phase inversion circuitry 16, as described in more detail hereinbelow. The RF generator 12 may be of a type which is generally recognized by those skilled in the art as being suitable for driving conventional plasma etching reactors. The RF generator will usually operate at low RF frequencies (about 400 kHz) with a low impedance output (usually about 50 ohms). The generator 12 will be capable of producing from about 1 to 10 amps, usually from about 1 to 5 amps, at an RMS voltage of at least about 100 volts, usually being at least about 200 volts, or more. Conveniently, output lines 18 will be in the form of a coaxial cable, with 18b being the grounded shield portion of the cable. Plasma reactor 14 is also of conventional construction and includes an upper or counter electrode 19 and a lower or chuck electrode 21. A semiconductor wafer W is generally placed on the lower electrode 21, a suitable etchant gas introduced at very low pressures, and radio frequency power applied to the electrodes 19 and 21 to induce the desired plasma for etching. The construction and operation of plasma etching reactors suitable for use in the present invention are described in U.S. Patent No. 4,433,951, the diclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The construction of plasma etch reactor 14 will be non-conventional in one respect. Both the electrodes 19 and 21 are electrically isolated from the remaining portions of the reactor vessel, while the walls of the reactor vessel will be grounded or maintained at a fixed reference voltage. Heretofore, most plasma reactors have employed one grounded electrode with voltage applied to the opposite electrode. The phase inversion circuitry 16 of the present invention generally comprises a transformer 20 having a primary coil 22, a secondary coil 24, and a ferrite core 26. While not so illustrated in Fig. 1 for sake of simplicity, primary coil 22 and secondary coil 24 are electromagnetically coupled via core 26. The secondary coil 24 will have a grounded center tap 28, with a first terminal 30 connected to the upper electrode 19 and a second terminal 32 connected to the lower electrode 21. The output of the RF generator 12 will be coupled to the primary coil 22 (as described in more detail hereinbelow), resulting in voltage signals having substantially equal magnitude, but which are 180° out-of-phase, being applied to the upper and lower electrodes 19 and 20. The frequency applied to each of the electrodes will, of course, be the same as that supplied by the RF generator 12, typically 400 kHz, and the magnitude will depend on both the output voltage of the RF generator and the ratio of primary to secondary windings in the transformer. Usually, the transformer 20 will have a step-up ratio in the range from 2 to 8, usually being about 4. Thus, the maximum voltage applied to each electrode will generally be in the range from about 50 to 400 V (RMS), usually being in the range from about 75 to 300 V (RMS). Referring now to Fig. 2, it can be seen that the voltage on the upper electrode 19 (V u ) and the voltage on the lower electrode 21 (V l ) have identical magnitudes, but are 180° out-of-phase. The maximum voltage on each of the electrodes 19 and 21 will have an absolute value of V max , so that the potential difference between the electrodes will have an absolute value of 2V max (V Δ = V u - V l ). In this way, the potential difference between the electrodes can be maximized, with the maximum potential difference between either electrode and the reactor vessel being only one-half the potential difference between the electrodes, as the vessel is grounded. In order to tune the phase component of the RF signal fed to the plasma reactor 14, an inductor 40 is connected in series with the output 18a of the RF generator 12. The inductor 40 will typically have an inductance in the range from about 10 µH to about 100 µH, with the inductance being selectable on the basis of multiple taps 42. Tuning can be accomplished with either a manually-actuated switch or an automated closed loop control system. The primary coil 22 of the transformer 20 will also include multiple taps 44. The selection of the tap 44 allows impedance adjustment in the range from about 100 to 300 ohms in order to allow proper impedance matching, to maximize power transfer between the RF generator 12 and the reactor vessel 14. Changing the tap 44 will, of course, also affect the step-up ratio of the transformer 20. The inclusion of both phase adjustment and impedance matching are both well known in the art and need not be described further. Both adjustments may be either manual or employ an automated closed loop control system. Optionally, a DC bias may be introduced onto the electrodes 19 and 21 by including capacitors 50 and 52 in the output lines of the transformer 20. Again, the inclusion of such DC biasing means is well known in the art and need not be described further.

Claims: A plasma etching system comprising: a plasma reactor (14) including an electrically isolated upper electrode (19) and an electrically isolated lower electrode (21) in a grounded chamber; a grounded generator (12) producing a radio frequency input voltage; means (22,24,26,28) for dividing the input voltage into a first output voltage and a second output voltage, said first and second output voltages having substantially equal magnitudes relative to ground but being 180° out of phase; and means (30,32) coupling the first output voltage to the upper electrode and the second output voltage to the lower electrode, characterised in that the means for dividing the input voltage is a transformer (22,24,26) having a variable primary winding (22) directly connected to a center tapped secondary winding (24), wherein the variable primary winding (22) is coupled to the radio frequency generator (12), respective end terminals of the secondary winding are coupled to the upper and lower electrodes, with the center tap (28) connected to ground, a middle TAP of the variable primary winding (22) is directly connected to a top one of the end terminals of the secondary winding (24), and the impedance of the plasma reactor is matched to the radio frequency generator by means of the variable primary winding. A plasma etching system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the primary winding is connected in series with the output of the radio frequency generator. A plasma etching system, as claimed in claim 1 or 2, and including a variable inductor (40) connected in series between the grounded generator (12) and the dividing means (22,24,26,28) to tune the phase component of the RF signal fed to the plasma reactor (14). A plasma etching system as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the generator produces a radio frequency input voltage at a frequency of 400kHz. A plasma etching system as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, and including a variable inductor (40) connected in series between the grounded generator (12) and the dividing means (22,24,26,28) to tune the phase component of the RF signal fed to the plasma reactor (14). A plasma etching system as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the generator produces a radio frequency input voltage at a frequency of 400KHz. A plasma etching system comprising: a plasma reactor (14) including an electrically isolated upper electrode (19) and an electrically isolated lower electrode (21) in a grounded chamber; a grounded generator (12) producing a radio frequency input voltage; means (22-28) for dividing the input voltage into a first output voltage and a second output voltage, said first and second output voltages having substantially equal magnitudes relative to ground but being 180° out of phase; and means (30,32) for coupling the first output voltage to the upper electrode and the second output voltage to the lower electrode, wherein the means for dividing the input voltage is a transformer (22,24,26) having a primary winding (22) and a centre-tapped secondary winding (24) with primary winding and secondary winding directly connected, wherein the primary winding (22) is coupled to the radio frequency generator (12) and the terminals of the secondary winding are coupled to the electrodes with the centre tap connected to ground (28).

Inventors: OGLE JOHN, YIN GERALD, OGLE, JOHN, YIN, GERALD
Applicants: LAM RES CORP, LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION
Application year: 1989
Main classification: H01J37
IPC codes: H01J37, C23F4, H01L21, H05H1