Plasma applicators

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a plasma applicator (10) including a cylindrically-shaped outer tube (14), a cylindrically-shaped plasma tube (12) located within and concentric with the outer tube and having a first end and a second end. A first support (24,30) located at the first end of the plasma tube, a seal (42,44) surrounding the plasma tube at its first end compressed between the plasma tube and the first support and located at a first distance from the first end of the plasma tube, and a shield (32) extending a second distance into the plasma tube to protect the seal from being directly eradicated by the hostile radiation that is generated by the plasma.

Description: The invention relates generally to plasma applicators. Plasma-based, excitation sources or plasma applicators must often be able to handle high input powers and withstand high temperatures combined with a highly reactive chemical environment. For example, in a common application of a plasma applicator, NF 3 gas flows into the applicator and is broken down by the plasma. The resulting activated species flows out of the applicator and into the semiconductor processing equipment where it is used for in-situ chamber cleaning, etching, photo resist stripping, or any of a number of other tasks. As an example of using the reactive species for in-situ chamber cleaning refer to EP-A-0697467. The extremely hostile environment to which such equipment is exposed can disable the plasma applicator very quickly. For example, some applicators that are commercially available use quartz tubes to contain the activated species. In those systems, the fluorine that is produced etches the tube quite quickly. Moreover, at high power levels (e.g. above 1 kW) the quartz will tend to break down. Thus, after using the applicator only a few times or for a sustained period of operation, the wall of the tube will become so thin that it will collapse under continued exposure to the high temperatures and the vacuums that are used in such systems. Thus, very early in the life of the tube, it must be discarded and replaced with a new tube. Both the inconvenience and cost of having to repeatedly replace the quartz tube can be quite high. Some existing plasma applicators use ceramic tubes in place of the quartz tubes. Ceramic tubes are capable of holding up better than the quartz tubes in the chemically corrosive environments often encountered. But ceramic tubes are not a panacea. They typically have a relatively high thermal expansion coefficient as compared to quartz and other materials. Thus, repeated cycling between room temperature and the high processing temperatures that commonly occur in these systems produces large stresses within the ceramic tubes. These stresses eventually result in the tubes cracking and failing. Some microwave plasma applicators have been developed which use two concentric tubes, namely, an outer tube and an inner tube both of which are made of materials that are transparent to the microwave radiation, e.g. quartz and sapphire. The inner tube contains the plasma and thus is the tube that is exposed to the high temperature and corrosive conditions. To cool the inner tube, water is flowed through the annular region between the two tubes. Such a system is described in EP-A-0726593 which is prior art under Article 54(3) EPC. Since water absorbs microwaves, there is a severe restriction on how thick the annular region can be made. If it is too thick, the microwaves will be seriously attenuated and it will be difficult or even impossible to initiate and sustain a plasma within the inner tube. On the other hand, if this region is too thin, cooling efficiency will be seriously compromised. In spite of these advances in plasma applicator design, the high thermal stresses produced by thermal expansion of the plasma tube still results in cracked tubes. In addition, the plasma tubes are not the only components that fail. Seals and O-rings which aid in maintaining a vacuum within the plasma tube and which aid in sealing the cooling system also rapidly deteriorate and eventually fail when exposed to the high temperatures and other hostile conditions produced in such systems. Moreover, as the power levels are increased beyond the 1kw levels, the failure problems in currently available plasma applicators become even more severe and the frequency of failure rises. EP-A-0680071 discloses a vacuum seal in a plasma-etch reactor which that seals the chamber interior from the outside environment. The seal consists of a protective collar that is injection moulded or machined of a high strength, high temperature and corrosion resistant thermoplastic material. The collar has an elastomeric gasket installed therein and is used in combination with a second elastomeric gasket to achieve a fluid-tight seal between two rigid surfaces made of silicon and quartz, respectively. US-A-5235251 discloses a coolant system for a high power microwave excited plasma tube which comprises hydraulic fluid in a coolant system structure for flowing the fluid into heat exchange relationship with the plasma tube. EP-A-0726593 (Citable under Article 54(3) EPC, see above) discloses a plasma-based generator for use with a power source including a plasma tube having a hollow tube body in which a plasma is generated by the power source. A first support structure supports a downstream end of the plasma tube and a second support structure an upstream end of the plasma tube. The second support structure connects to the first support structure, and the second support structure includes an expansion joint which changes its length to accommodate a lengthening and a shortening of the plasma tube due to its thermal expansion and contraction when plasma processing is performed within the plasma tube. This invention provides a plasma applicator comprising a cylindrically-shaped outer tube, a cylindrically-shaped plasma tube located within and concentric with the outer tube, said plasma tube having a first end and a second end, a first support located at the first end of the plasma tube, and a seal surrounding the plasma tube at its first end and compressed between the plasma tube and the first support, said seal being located at a first distance from the first end of the plasma tube, wherein a shield extends into said first end of the plasma tube by a second distance to provide protection for the seal surrounding the tube. In a preferred embodiment said second distance is greater than the first distance. According to a further feature of the invention said plasma tube has a first length and said outer tube has a second length, and said first length may be greater than said second length. More specifically said plasma tube may extend beyond both ends of said outer tube. According to a further feature of the invention said first support may have a first hole formed therein and receives both the plasma tube and the outer tube, and said hole has an inside wall. In the latter arrangement said first support may include a plurality of coolant inlet ports passing therethrough and extending into the hole formed therein, said plurality of coolant inlet ports being positioned around the axis of the plasma tube so as to produce a net force on the plasma tube in the radial direction of substantially zero when coolant is injected through said plurality of coolant inlet ports into the annular gap region. In a further feature of the invention a second seal may surround the outer tube and extend between the outer tube and the inside wall of the first hole. The arrangement may also include a second support located at the second end of the plasma tube, said second support having a second hole formed therein and receiving both the plasma tube and the outer tube, said second hole having an inside wall, a third seal surrounding the plasma tube at its second end and extending between the plasma tube and the inside wall of the second hole, and a fourth seal surrounding the outer tube and extending between the outer tube and the inside wall of the second hole. The plasma tube may have an inside wall, an input end for receiving a process gas and an opposing output end through which a plasma exits from the plasma tube. In the latter case, the arrangement may also include a cap plate having a plug extending part way into the plasma tube at the input end and defining an annular gap region between the portion of the plug extending into the plasma tube and the inside wall of the plasma tube, wherein said cap plate includes a passage formed therein and in communication with the annular gap region, said gap and said annular region forming a route through which the process gas during operation is flowed into an inner region of the plasma tube. A plasma applicator which embodies the invention can easily handle 6 kW and it is believed that it can even handle significantly higher power levels without problems. The unique configuration of the O-rings provides concentricity of the sapphire and quartz tube, allows for differential thermal expansion of applicator components thus reducing stress on critical components like the sapphire tube, and seals the gas/plasma and water systems. Also, since it uses separate O-rings to seal water and the gas/plasma systems, the seals can be optimised for each purpose. In addition, the unique shield design (i.e. the extensions which extend into the plasma tube at either end) provides protection for the sapphire tube O-rings in several ways. It protects them from direct exposure to the broadband plasma emissions which pass through the transparent, sapphire plasma tube. It also provides a long path (i.e., a labyrinth seal) through which the plasma must travel before it gets to the plasma O-ring. This path discourages the plasma from reaching the O-rings and causes the plasma to cool and perhaps become less active by the time it reaches the seals. In addition, the shields also reduce the heat input to the ends of the sapphire tube from the plasma, keeping the temperature of the ends of the sapphire tube lower. This extends the life of the O-rings as they are in direct contact with the sapphire tube and are degraded by high temperatures. Shielding the plasma O-ring is vital as this does not receive the benefit of direct water cooling as do the other O-rings in contact with the tubes. Also, the hard coat anodization of the shields (e.g. the extension at the end of the plasma tube) which come into direct contact with the plasma greatly reduces the risk of arcing which can cause particles that contaminate the system and the process chamber. Other advantages and features will become apparent from the following description of some preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a cross-section of a microwave plasma applicator in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 shows a cross-section of the upper collar from Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows the input end of the plasma applicator of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a plasma processing system that uses the plasma applicator shown in Fig. 1. Referring to Figs. 1-3, a liquid-cooled, high powered remote plasma applicator 10 which embodies the invention includes a sapphire plasma tube 12 that is aligned within and is concentric with an outer quartz tube 14. Plasma tube 12, 'which is longer than quartz tube 14, is positioned within quartz tube 14 so that it extends out of either end of quartz tube 14. The inner wall of quartz tube 14 and the outer wall of plasma tube 12 define a thin annular region 16 (more clearly in Fig. 3) through which coolant is flowed to cool plasma tube 12. If water or some other microwave absorbing liquid is used as the coolant, the radial dimension of the gap is made sufficiently small so that the coolant will not absorb too much of the microwave energy. Tubes 12 and 14 are supported within a metal (e.g. aluminum) housing which is made up of several. components including a central body 20. Central body 20 contains a rectangular waveguide section 22 with a cylindrically-shaped resonant cavity 23 formed around the tubes 12 and 14 and extending both above and below the rectangular waveguide section. Rectangular waveguide section 22 receives microwave energy from a source 208 (see Fig. 4) and couples it into plasma tube 12 where during operation it generates and maintains a plasma. The housing also includes an upper support collar 24 and a lower support collar 46, both of which are screwed onto corresponding opposite ends of central body 20. Upper and lower support collars 24 and 46 fit over and physically support the ends of tubes 12 and 14. At the gas inlet end of the applicator, a cap plate 30 with a plug extension 32 bolts into upper support collar 24 so that plug extension 32 extends down into plasma tube 12. At the outlet end of applicator 10, an adapter plate 50 which has a hollow cylindrical extension 52 bolts onto lower support collar 46 so that its cylindrical extension extends up into plasma tube 12. Upper support collar 24 (shown in greater detail in Fig. 2) includes two coolant inlet ports 26a and 26b which are located symmetrically opposite each other and which communicate with a cylindrical hole 28 passing through the center. of collar 24. Hole 28 has a stepped inner wall 37 defining a lower cylindrical region 34a naving a diameter D 1 and an upper cylindrical region 34b having a different, smaller diameter D 2 . D 1 is slightly larger than the outside diameter of quartz tube 14 so that it accommodates the quartz tube. In addition, an inner wall 36 of the lower cylindrical region 34a has a single groove 38 which holds an O-ring 40. The diameter of the upper cylindrical region 34, D 2 is slightly larger than the outside diameter of plasma tube 12 but smaller than the outside diameter of quartz tube 14. Thus, upper cylindrical region 34b accommodates plasma tube 12. In addition, an inner wall 37 of the upper cylindrical region 34b has two grooves 42 and 44 formed therein, each of which holds a corresponding one of two O-rings 70 and 72. Grooves 42 and 44 are located adjacent to and above the location at which the inlet ports 26a and 26b which pass through the collar and groove 38 is located adjacent to and below inlet ports 26a and 26b. When upper collar 24 is assembled onto the main body with both tubes 12 and 14 in place, the lower O-ring 40 compresses around and securely holds quartz tube 14 while the two upper O-rings 42 and 44 compress around and securely hold plasma tube 12. Lower support collar 46 is designed very similarly to upper collar 24. It includes two coolant outlet ports 48a and 48b which are also located symmetrically opposite each other and which communicate with a cylindrical hole passing through the center of lower support collar 46. The hole in lower support collar 46 has a stepped inner wall defining an upper cylindrical region having diameter D 1 and a lower cylindrical region having a diameter D 2 . The inner wall of the upper cylindrical region includes two grooves, namely, a lower groove 62 and an upper groove 64, each of which holds a corresponding one of two O-rings 80 and 82. And the inner wall of the upper cylindrical region includes a single groove 58 which holds an O-ring 60. Grooves 62 and 64 are located adjacent to and below the location at which the outlet ports 48a and 48b pass through support collar 46; whereas groove 58 is located adjacent to and above outlet ports 48a and 48b. In upper support collar 24, O-rings 40 and 72 and in lower support collar 46, O-rings 60 and 82 function as seals which prevent the coolant from leaking out of the coolant jacket that is formed around plasma tube 12. O-rings 70 and 80 function as seals which prevent the plasma and the activated gases within the plasma tube from leaking out. In the event that water and/or gases do happen to leak past the seals, there is a bleed hole 75 which allows the leakage to escape without risk of breaching the second seal. Bleed hole 75 is drilled through the upper and lower support collars 24 and 46 between the two grooves that hold the water and plasma O-rings (see Fig. 2). A similarly situated bleed hold is also present in lower support collar 46 to handle possible leakage passed the two O-rings at the other end of the applicator. Two types of O-rings are used. The O-rings which come into contact with the coolant (i.e., O-rings 40, 60, 72 and 82) are commercially available ethylene propylene O-rings. Whereas the O-rings that could potentially come into contact with the plasma (i.e., O-rings 70 and 80) are made of a microwave non-absorbing and chemically resistant material. The described embodiment uses white Kalrez™ O-rings that are commercially available from Dupont Corp. The configuration of O-rings 40, 60, 70, 72, 80 and 82 offers at least two additional important advantages beyond providing seals against leakage. First, they help maintain the concentricity of the two tubes. Second, they permit the differential axial thermal expansion of the two tubes without creating any excessive stresses that might crack or damage the tubes. When cap plate 30 is assembled onto upper support collar 24, the cylindrically-shaped plug extension 32 extends sufficiently far into plasma tube 12 so that its lower end is at least below the level of the coolant O-ring 72. Cap plate 30 includes a circular O-ring groove 31 formed in the portion of its surface which mates against the upper support collar. Groove 31 holds a Viton™ O-ring 33 which helps maintain a vacuum within plasma tube 12 and which also prevents reactive gases from leaking out. Plug extension 32 of cap plate 30 functions as a shield for the two O-rings which come into contact with the plasma tube (i.e. O-rings 70 and 72), protecting the O-rings from being directly irradiated by the hostile radiation that is generated by the plasma. In the described embodiment, cap plate 30 is made entirely of aluminum which is, of course, a very good thermal conductor. Plug extension 32 also serves to protect the O-rings from the high temperatures that are produced in the plasma by reducing heat input into the nearby portions of the plasma tube. Cap plate 30 also provides passages through which process gas is introduced into plasma tube 12. The cylindrically-shaped plug extension 32 has a diameter which is less than the inside diameter of plasma tube 12 so that when cap 30 is assembled on to applicator 10, a thin annular gap region 90 exists between plug portion 32 and the inside wall of plasma tube 12. Near its upper end, plug extension 32 has a shoulder 92 that is formed by a step increase in the diameter of a plug. Shoulder 92 acts as a stop that prevents the plasma tube from sliding in an axial direction on plug 32 once the apparatus is assembled. When the applicator is assembled shoulder 92 and a corresponding shoulder at the other end are spaced apart a distance that is sufficiently greater than the length of the plasma tube so as to allow the plasma tube to be able to freely expand in an axial direction when heated. A bore hole 110 extends horizontally in a radial direction into cap plate 30 and passes beyond the center of the cap plate. This bore hole 110 forms an inlet port through which the precursor gas is fed into the applicator 10. Around the circumference of plug 32 near shoulder 92 (i.e. just before the point at which the diameter of plug 32 increases), there is a V-shaped groove 112 which forms an annular cavity around the plug extension. Groove 112 is in communication with bore hole 110 through two or more passages 114 that are drilled into the cap plate at an angle of approximately 45° relative to the axis of the cap plate. These passages 114, which are located at 180° from each other relative to the axis of the cap plate, extend from one wall of groove 112 to bore hole 110 near the center of the cap plate. During operation, precursor gas that is introduced into bore hole 110 flows through these connecting passages 114 an into V-shaped groove 112 which circumvents the plug and acts like a plenum chamber. Gas from the V-shaped groove 112 then flows through the thin annular gap region 90 and into the interior of plasma tube 12 where it is excited by the microwave energy to produce a plasma. By flowing the gas into an annular cavity that surrounds the cap plug, the gas is evenly distributed around the inside surface of the plasma tube. In addition, since the gas is injected along the wall of the plasma tube in the thin annular gap region, this protects the O-ring from plasma. It does this in two ways. First, since annular gap region 90 is thin, it discourages the plasma from penetrating along the plasma tube wall within the gap region. Also, the outward flow of gas creates a buffer from the plasma which tends to further discourage the plasma from penetrating into the gap. Cylindrical extension 52 of adapter plate 50 serves a similar function to that served by plug extension 32 on cap plate 30. That is, when adapter plate 50 is assembled onto applicator 10, cylindrical extension 52 extends up into plasma tube 12 beyond the level of O-ring 82, i.e., the coolant seal. Thus, the metal extension acts as a shield protecting the two O-rings 80 and 82 from exposure to the heat and radiation produced by the plasma. Cylindrical extension 52 includes a bore 55 through which activated species passes out of the applicator for transfer to the main processing chamber. It has been found that making the bore smaller has two advantages. First, a smaller diameter bore tends to prevent arcing caused by the plasma and to discourage the microwaves from penetrating out through the bore. In addition, a smaller bore relative to the outside diameter of the cylindrical extension enables one to use a larger radius curve at the end of the extension, where the inside wall of the extension meets the outside wall of the extension. This has advantages which are associated with the protective layer that is formed in the extensions and which is described next. In the described embodiment, plug extension 32 at the inlet end of the applicator has a hard coat anodization layer formed on it to protect it from the highly corrosive atmosphere that is produced within the plasma tube. The hard coat anodization layer, which is about 0.001 inch thick, prevents the pitting of the exposed metal surfaces. Without this protective layer, noticeable damage to the metal occurs and this produces particles which contaminate the chamber and ruin product. The hard coat anodization process is performed in accordance with well known military spec identified as MIL A 8525, TYPE III, CLASS 1, NON DYED. To produce an effective hard coat anodization layer, it is desirable that extension 32 has only smooth, gently rounded corners. If there are any sharp edges or small radius corners, the hard coat anodization will not adhere to those regions and the protection will not be adequate. It is optional to apply a hard coat anodization to the extension 52 at the downstream end of the applicator. In that case, it is desirable to have a relatively thick wall on cylindrical extension 52 or shield. This implies a smaller bore relative to the outside diameter of the extension. A thicker wall also has better heat transfer and thus smaller thermal gradients, as compared to a thinner wall. The outside diameter of the cylindrical extension is sufficiently smaller than the inside diameter of the plasma tube for easy assembly. This, of course, produces a thin annular gap region between the outer wall of the cylindrical extension and the inner wall of the plasma tube, similar to the annular gap region 90 formed around the plug extension at the other end of the applicator. In the described embodiment, no gas is flowed through this gap. However, it should be noted that the same gas injection method as was described for the inlet side of the applicator can also be used at the outlet side of the applicator. In other words, a gas can be flowed into the lower end of the plasma tube through the annular gap region that is formed by the lower shield extension. The injected gas will tend to discourage the plasma from penetrating the gap. In this case, however, the gas that is flowed through the gap need not be the same as the cleaning gas that is being injected into the other end of the plasma tube. It could be, for example, an inert gas or a typical carrier gas, such as nitrogen, helium, or argon, just to name three examples. The configuration of the water ports is another important feature of the described embodiment. The water feed at the top is balanced so that it produces no net pressure on the tube in a radial direction. The flow of coolant into the system through each of inlet ports 26a and 26b tends to produce a radial force on the plasma tube. By using two inlet ports and positioning them opposite each other in upper support collar 24, the side force produced by one of the coolant flowing through one of the inlets will be balanced by the equal and oppositely directed side force generated by the other inlet. Thus, the net radial force that is generated on the plasma tube as a result of pumping coolant through the system will be zero. This means that there will be no net radially directed force that tends to cause the plasma tube to drift to one side over time. If the force is not balanced, the O-rings, which are made of a resilient material, would tend to deform, thereby allowing the plasma tube to drift sideways so that it is no longer concentric with the quartz outer tube. The result would be that the annular gap would no longer have a uniform thickness around the plasma tube, and the cooling would become nonuniform around the tube and thus less effective. Though the described embodiment shows only two inlet ports which are located opposite each other, any other configuration of inlet ports can be used so long as the net radially directed force on the plasma tube is substantially zero. Thus, for example one could use n inlet ports, evenly spaced around the support collar and separated from each other by 360°/n. Notice, that the number of inlet ports need not be even but there does need to be more than one. If water is used as the coolant, the narrow radial gap between the sapphire tube and the quartz tube typically can be in range of between 0.0127 cm and 0.0508 cm (0.005 to 0.020 inches). The gap needs to be sufficiently large to provide for effective cooling of the sapphire tube, while also minimising the mass of water that absorbs the microwave energy. If the gap is made too narrow, the pressure drop created by the cooling jacket will be too great and assembly will be more difficult. On the other hand if the gap is too large, the attenuation of the microwave energy will be too great and that will detrimentally affect the performance and efficiency of the plasma applicator. In the described embodiment, sapphire tube 12 has an O.D. of 2.966 cm (1.168 inch) and an I.D. of about 2.64 cm (1.040 inch). Quartz tube 14 has an O.D. of about 3.373 cm (1.328 inch) and an I.D. of 3.007 cm (1.184 inch), which thus defines a radial gap of about 0.020 cm (0.008 inch) for coolant flow. In addition, sapphire tube 12 is about 27.94 cm (11 inch) long and quartz tube 14 is about 24.13 cm (9.5 inch) long, so that sapphire tube 12 extends out of each end of quartz tube 14 by about 1.905 cm (0.75 inch). Both plug extension 32 and cylindrically-shaped extension 52 have an outside diameter of about 2.54 cm (1.000 inch). Thus, the annular gap regions at both ends of the applicator have a radial dimension of about 0.0508 cm (0.020 inches). Furthermore, in the described embodiment, bore 55 through cylindrical extension 52 has a diameter of about 1.905 cm (0.75 inches). The holes through the upper and lower support collars at locations identified by 115 and 117 are nominally about 0.010 cm to 0.0127 cm (0.004 to 0.005 inches) larger in the radial dimension than are the tubes which are supported within the holes at those points. Thus, the tubes do not normally contact the support collars when held in place by the O-rings. However, if for any reason either of the tubes should drift sideways in a radial direction, their drift will be limited by this dimension so that the tubes cannot touch each other. The extensions or shields at either end of the applicator can penetrate deeper into the plasma tube than described above. This would, of course, provide even greater protection of the O-rings. They could also be shorter than shown if less protection of the o-rings is acceptable. In addition, note that the plasma that is generated within the plasma tube tends to fill the entire tube. Thus, in the described embodiment, the applicator is made slightly asymmetrical, with a larger portion of the plasma tube being above the microwave cavity than below it. That is, the distance from the input end of the tube to the centre of the microwave cavity is less than the distance from the centre of the microwave cavity to the output end of the applicator. That is not to suggest, however, that there might not be other profiles that are also desirable. In addition, though the plasma tube, the outer tube, the O-rings, and the applicator housing and components thereof have been described, it should be understood that other materials could also be used. For example, the outer tube need not be of quartz so long as the material selected is transparent to the microwave energy and it can withstand the temperatures that it will be exposed to. In addition, other materials can be used for the plasma tube besides sapphire, e.g. quartz, or other ceramics. An Exemplary Processing System The plasma applicator described above may be used in a wide variety of applications. For example, it can be used as a remote source of activated gas species in a plasma processing system, such as is illustrated in Fig. 4. In that application, an external gas source 200 supplies a gas (e.g. NF 3 , C 2 F 6 , CF 4 , just to name a few.) to the gas inlet port of plasma applicator 10 through a conduit 202. Microwave energy from a microwave source 208 enters the applicator through waveguide 22 and activates the gas that is flowing through the sapphire plasma tube within the applicator. Activated gas species that is produced in plasma applicator 10 is, in turn, supplied to a plasma chamber 204 through another line 240 connected to the gas outlet port of plasma applicator 10. A pump/chiller unit 206 is connected between the coolant inlet and outlet ports of the applicator's cooling system and circulates a coolant through applicator 10 when it is being operated. A filter 207 in the coolant circuit filters debris out of he coolant stream. In the described embodiment, the filter is a 0.2 micron filter. Other components are typically present in such a system including, for example, a vacuum pump for evacuating the plasma chamber, a power source (e.g. an RF supply or a DC supply) for generating a second plasma in the plasma chamber. These components are not shown because persons skilled in the art would be familiar with the components that are used in a working plasma system. Note that the excited species can be transported to the processing chamber in any appropriate way. In addition, the applicator can be mounted directly to the substrate processing chamber or be located remote from it, in which case an activated gas supply line made of an appropriate material will be required. If the activated species is highly reactive, as would be the case for activated fluorine, line 240 must be made of a material that does not interact with the activated species that is being produced, e.g. sapphire. Other appropriate materials include stainless steel, aluminium, ceramic, or some fluorine based material. In addition, if a metal line is used, it may be necessary to include a section of it that is made of a nonconductive or dielectric material, such as sapphire, to provide electrical isolation of the applicator from the plasma process chamber. As another embodiment we could use a single O-ring where we have shown two O-rings see O-rings 70 and 72 and O-rings 80 and 82 in Fig. 1). The gas distribution manifold and the labyrinth seal (i.e. the long pathway through the annular gap region and around the end of the plasma tube) acts to keep the plasma and activated gases away from the O-rings.

Claims: A plasma applicator comprising: a cylindrically-shaped outer tube (14); a cylindrically-shaped plasma tube (12) located within and concentric with the outer tube, said plasma tube having a first end and a second end; a first support (24) located at the first end of the plasma tube; and a seal (70,72) surrounding the plasma tube at its first end and compressed between the plasma tube and the first support, said seal being located at a first distance from the first end of the plasma tube; characterised in that a shield (30) extends into said first end of the plasma tube by a second distance to provide protection for the seal surrounding the tube. A plasma applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second distance is greater than the first distance. A plasma applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plasma tube (12) has a first length and said outer tube (14) has a second length and wherein said first length is greater than said second length. A plasma applicator as claimed in claim 3, wherein said plasma tube (12) extends beyond both ends of said outer tube (14). A plasma applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first support (24) has a first hole (28) formed therein and receives both the plasma tube and the outer tube, and said hole has an inside wall. A plasma applicator as claimed in claim 5, wherein said first support (24) includes a plurality of coolant inlet ports (26a,26b) passing therethrough and extending into the hole (28) formed therein, said plurality of coolant inlet ports being positioned around the axis of the plasma tube so as to produce a net force on the plasma tube in the radial direction of substantially zero when coolant is injected through said plurality of coolant inlet ports into the annular gap region. A plasma applicator as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a second seal (40) surrounding the outer tube (14) and extending between the outer tube and the inside wall of the first hole. A plasma applicator as claimed in claim 1, still further comprising a second support (46) located at the second end of the plasma tube (12), said second support having a second hole formed therein and receiving both the plasma tube and the outer tube, said second hole having an inside wall, a third seal (80,82) surrounding the plasma tube (12) at its second end and extending between the plasma tube and the inside wall of the second hole; and a fourth seal (60) surrounding the outer tube (14) and extending between the outer tube and the inside wall of the second hole. A plasma applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plasma tube has an inside wall, an input end for receiving a process gas and an opposing output end through which a plasma exits from the plasma tube. A plasma applicator as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a cap plate (30) having a plug (32) extending part way into the plasma tube at the input end and defining an annular gap region (90) between the portion of the plug extending into the plasma tube and the inside wall of the plasma tube, wherein said cap plate includes a passage (110) formed therein and in communication with the annular gap region (112), said gap and said annular region forming a route through which the process gas during operation is flowed into the interior of the plasma tube.

Inventors: ETTINGER GARY C, LAW KAM S, SHANG QUANYUAN, ETTINGER, GARY C., LAW,KAM S., SHANG,QUANYUAN
Applicants: AKT INC, AKT, INC.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: H01J37
IPC codes: C23F4, H05H1, H01J37, H01L21