In-situ etch material selectivity detection system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11830779-B2
Application number	US-202117398822-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 10, 2021
Priority date	Aug 12, 2020
Publication date	Nov 28, 2023
Grant date	Nov 28, 2023

Abstract

An article, apparatus, and method for detecting an etch material selectivity is provided. A device including a first layer and a second layer is placed in a processing chamber. The first layer includes a first sense material deposited on a first portion of the device and a second sense material deposited on a second portion of the device. The second layer deposited on the first layer includes an etch material. During an etch process based on an initial set of etch parameter settings, a first amount of time to etch the second layer at the first portion of the device and a second amount of time to etch the second layer at the second portion of the device are measured. A first etch rate and a second etch rate of the processing chamber is determined based on the measured first amount of time, the measured second amount of time, and a thickness of the second layer. A first selectivity of the first etch material and a second selectivity of the second etch material is determined based on the first etch rate and the second etch rate. An optimized set of etch parameter settings for subsequent etch processes is determined based on the determined selectivities.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
causing a device to be placed in a processing chamber of an electronics processing system, wherein the device comprises a first layer deposited on a surface of the device and a second layer deposited on the first layer, wherein the first layer comprises a first sense material deposited on a first portion of the surface and a second sense material deposited on a second portion of the surface, and wherein the second layer comprises a first etch material deposited on the first sense material and a second etch material deposited on the second sense material;
measuring, during an etch process performed for the device at the processing chamber, a first completion time for etching the first etch material based on a first optical signature of the first sense material during the etch process, and a second completion time for etching the second etch material based on a second optical signature of the second sense material during the etch process, wherein the etch process etches the second layer of the device based on an initial set of etch parameter settings;
determining a first etch rate of the processing chamber, based on the first completion time and a thickness of the second layer of the etched device, and a second etch rate of the processing chamber, based on the second completion time and the thickness of the second layer of the etched device;
determining, based on the first etch rate and the second etch rate, a selectivity of the etch process performed at the processing chamber; and
determining, based on the selectivity of the etch process, an optimized set of etch parameter settings to be applied at the processing chamber during subsequent etch processes.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first optical signature and the second optical signature can be detected by an optical detection component of the processing chamber.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first layer further comprises a third sense material deposited at a third portion of the surface, wherein the third sense material is associated with a third optical signature that is detected by the optical detection component during the etch process.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
measuring, during the etch process, a third completion time for etching of the first etch material at the third portion of the surface of the device;
determining, based on the measured third completion time and the thickness of the second layer, a third etch rate of the processing chamber; and
determining, based on a difference between the first etch rate and the third etch rate, that an overall etch rate associated with the first etch material is not uniform across the surface of the device, wherein the optimized set of etch parameter settings is determined to cause the overall etch rate of the processing chamber to be uniform across the surface of the device.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first optical signature corresponds to a wavelength of a first plurality of photons emitted by a first plasma of the first sense material and the second optical signature corresponds to a wavelength of a second plurality of photons emitted by a second plasma of the second sense material.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first sense material and the second sense material comprise at least one of a silicon-based material, a copper-based material, or a tungsten-based material, and wherein the first sense material is comprised of a distinct material from the second sense material.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the device further comprises a mask positioned on the second layer, wherein the mask defines one or more features to be etched onto the surface of the device.

8. A method comprising:
causing a device to be placed in a processing chamber of an electronics processing system, wherein the device comprises a first layer deposited on a surface of the device and a second layer deposited on the first layer, wherein the first layer comprises a first sense material deposited on a first portion of the surface and a second sense material deposited on a second portion of the surface, and wherein the second layer comprises a first etch material deposited on the first sense material and a second etch material deposited on the second sense material, and wherein the first sense material and the second sense material comprise at least one of a silicon-based material, a copper-based material, or a tungsten-based material, and wherein the first sense material is comprised of a distinct material from the second sense material;
measuring, during an etch process performed for the device at the processing chamber, a first amount of time from an initiation of the etch process to a detection of a first indication of completion of etching of the first etch material, and a second amount of time from the initiation of the etch process to a detection of a second indication of completion of etching of the second etch material, wherein the etch process etches the second layer of the device based on an initial set of etch parameter settings;
determining a first etch rate of the processing chamber, based on the first amount of time and a thickness of the second layer of the etched device, and a second etch rate of the processing chamber, based on the second amount of time and the thickness of the second layer of the etched device;
determining, based on the first etch rate and the second etch rate, a selectivity of the etch process performed at the processing chamber; and
determining, based on the selectivity of the etch process, an optimized set of etch parameter settings to be applied at the processing chamber during subsequent etch processes.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first indication of completion of etching the first etch material comprises a first optical signature associated with the first sense material and the second indication of completion of etching the second etch material comprises a second optical signature associated with the second sense material, and wherein the first optical signature and the second optical signature can be detected by an optical detection component of the processing chamber.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first layer further comprises a third sense material deposited at a third portion of the surface, wherein the third sense material is associated with a third optical signature that is detected by the optical detection component during the etch process.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
measuring, during the etch process, a third amount of time from the initiation of the etch process to a detection of a third indication of completion of etching of the first etch material at the third portion of the surface of the device;
determining, based on the measured third completion time and the thickness of the second layer, a third etch rate of the processing chamber; and
determining, based on a difference between the first etch rate and the third etch rate, that an overall etch rate associated with the first etch material is not uniform across the surface of the device, wherein the optimized set of etch parameter settings is determined to cause the overall etch rate of the processing chamber to be uniform across the surface of the device.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first optical signature corresponds to a wavelength of a first plurality of photons emitted by a first plasma of the first sense material and the second optical signature corresponds to a wavelength of a second plurality of photons emitted by a second plasma of the second sense material.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the device further compr

Assignees

• Applied Materials Inc

Inventors

• Berding Keith
• Erickson Blake
• Barman Soumendra
• Zhu Zhaozhao

Classifications

• H10P50/267

  using plasmas · CPC title

• H10P50/71

  using masks for conductive or resistive materials · CPC title

• H10P74/238 Primary

  comprising acting in response to an ongoing measurement without interruption of processing, e.g. endpoint detection or in-situ thickness measurement · CPC title

• H01L22/26 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01J37/32963 Primary

  End-point detection · CPC title