IP Library › Granted Patent US 10,892,143
Granted Patent B2
US 10,892,143 · App. 15/718,087 · Granted Jan 12, 2021

Technique to prevent aluminum fluoride build up on the heater

Inventors: Vivek Bharat Shah (Sunnyvale, CA); Bhaskar Kumar (Santa Clara, CA); Anup Kumar Singh (Santa Clara, CA); Ganesh Balasubramanian (Sunnyvale, CA)
Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
H01J37/32862B08B5/00B08B7/0035B08B9/00B08B9/08C23C16/24C23C16/4404C23C16/4405C23C16/4408C23C16/50H01J37/3288
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,892,143
App. No.
15/718,087
Granted
Jan 12, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

Implementations of the present disclosure provide methods for treating a processing chamber. In one implementation, the method includes purging a 300 mm substrate processing chamber, without the presence of a substrate, by flowing a purging gas into the substrate processing chamber at a flow rate of about 0.14 sccm/mm 2 to about 0.33 sccm/mm 2 and a chamber pressure of about 1 Torr to about 30 Torr, with a throttle valve of a vacuum pump system of the substrate processing chamber in a fully opened position, wherein the purging gas is chemically reactive with deposition residue on exposed surfaces of the substrate processing chamber.

Claims (31)

1. A method for treating a substrate processing chamber, comprising:

purging the substrate processing chamber, absent presence of a substrate, by introducing and flowing a purging gas comprising a silicon-containing gas into the substrate processing chamber at a substrate support temperature of about 500 degree Celsius or above and a chamber pressure of about 1 Torr to about 30 Torr, with a throttle valve of a vacuum pump system of the substrate processing chamber in a fully opened position, to deposit an amorphous silicon layer on at least a surface of a substrate support disposed within the substrate processing chamber, wherein the purging gas removes contaminants from the substrate processing chamber and is chemically reactive with deposition residue on exposed surfaces of the substrate processing chamber.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the chamber pressure is maintained at about 1.8 Torr to about 3 Torr.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the purging gas further comprises argon.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the deposition residue comprises aluminum fluoride.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the silicon-containing gas comprises silane (SiH 4 ), disilane (Si 2 H 6 ), trisilane (Si 3 H 8 ), tetrasilane (Si 4 H 10 ), or polychlorosilane.

6. A method for treating a processing chamber, comprising:

flowing a cleaning gas comprising fluorine radicals into the substrate processing chamber;

removing a deposition residue from interior surfaces of the substrate processing chamber by generating a plasma from the cleaning gas, the plasma is formed at a first RF power density, a first chamber pressure, and a first electrode spacing for a first period of time;

removing a cleaning residue from interior surfaces of the substrate processing chamber by maintaining the plasma at a second RF power density, a second chamber pressure, and a second electrode spacing that is different from the first electrode spacing for a second period of time, wherein the first chamber pressure and the second chamber pressure is below 1 Torr; and

purging the substrate processing chamber, without the presence of a substrate, by introducing and flowing a purging gas into the substrate processing chamber at a substrate support temperature of about 500 degree Celsius or above and a chamber pressure of about 1 Torr to about 30 Torr, with a throttle valve of a vacuum pump system of the substrate processing chamber being fully opened for a third period of time, wherein the purging gas removes contaminants from the substrate processing chamber and is chemically reactive with deposition residue on interior surfaces of the substrate processing chamber, and the purging gas deposits an amorphous silicon layer on a surface of a substrate support disposed within the substrate processing chamber.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

after purging the substrate processing chamber, performing a first chamber seasoning process by exposing interior surfaces of the substrate processing chamber to a silicon-containing gas.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first silicon-containing seasoning layer comprises silicon oxide.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first silicon-containing seasoning layer comprises amorphous silicon.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the purging gas comprises argon and the silicon-containing gas comprises silane (SiH 4 ).

11. The method of claim 6 , wherein the chamber pressure during purging is maintained at about 1.8 Torr to about 3 Torr.

12. The method of claim 6 , wherein the deposition residue comprises aluminum fluoride.

13. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first period of time is about 6 seconds to about 13 seconds, the second period of time is about 15 seconds to about 30 seconds, and the third period of time is about 15 seconds to about 45 seconds.

14. A method for processing a substrate in a processing chamber, comprising:

performing a pre-defined number of processes on a substrate disposed on a substrate support within the substrate processing chamber;

removing the substrate from the substrate processing chamber; and

purging the substrate processing chamber by introducing and flowing a purging gas into the substrate processing chamber at a substrate support temperature of about 500 degree Celsius or above and a chamber pressure of about 1 Torr to about 5 Torr, with a throttle valve of a vacuum pump system of the substrate processing chamber being fully opened for a third period of time, wherein the purging gas removes contaminants from the substrate processing chamber and is chemically reactive with a deposition residue comprising aluminum fluoride on interior surfaces of the substrate processing chamber, and the purging gas deposits an amorphous silicon layer on a surface of the substrate support.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

prior to purging the substrate processing chamber, performing the following:

flowing a cleaning gas comprising fluorine radicals into the substrate processing chamber;

removing a deposition residue from interior surfaces of the substrate processing chamber by generating a plasma from the cleaning gas, the plasma is formed at a first chamber pressure and a first electrode spacing; and

removing a cleaning residue from interior surfaces of the substrate processing chamber by maintaining the plasma at a second chamber pressure and a second electrode spacing that is different from the first electrode spacing.

16. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

after purging the substrate processing chamber, performing a first chamber seasoning process by exposing interior surfaces of the substrate processing chamber to a silicon-containing gas.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the purging gas comprises argon and the silicon-containing gas comprises silane (SiH 4 ).

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 15, 2017
From: SHAH, VIVEK BHARAT; KUMAR, BHASKAR; BALASUBRAMANIAN, GANESH
To: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
Reel/Frame 044129/0100 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62411316 · Oct 21, 2016
Related Publication 20180114679A1 · Apr 26, 2018