US 11,776,789 B2
Plasma processing assembly using pulsed-voltage and radio-frequency power
Leonid Dorf, San Jose, CA (US); Rajinder Dhindsa, Pleasanton, CA (US); James Rogers, Los Gatos, CA (US); Daniel Sang Byun, Campbell, CA (US); Evgeny Kamenetskiy, Santa Clara, CA (US); Yue Guo, Redwood City, CA (US); Kartik Ramaswamy, San Jose, CA (US); Valentin N. Todorow, Palo Alto, CA (US); Olivier Luere, Sunnyvale, CA (US); and Linying Cui, Cupertino, CA (US)
Assigned to Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US)
Filed by Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US)
Filed on Oct. 3, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/959,074.
Application 17/959,074 is a continuation of application No. 17/315,256, filed on May 7, 2021, granted, now 11,462,388.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/059,533, filed on Jul. 31, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/150,529, filed on Feb. 17, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0030927 A1, Feb. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. H01J 37/32 (2006.01); H01L 21/311 (2006.01); H01L 21/3065 (2006.01); H01L 21/683 (2006.01)
CPC H01J 37/32128 (2013.01) [H01J 37/32146 (2013.01); H01J 37/32174 (2013.01); H01J 37/32183 (2013.01); H01J 37/32568 (2013.01); H01J 37/32577 (2013.01); H01J 37/32715 (2013.01); H01L 21/3065 (2013.01); H01L 21/31116 (2013.01); H01L 21/6831 (2013.01); H01J 2237/2007 (2013.01); H01J 2237/3321 (2013.01); H01J 2237/3341 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A plasma processing chamber, comprising:
a substrate support assembly comprising a first electrode that is disposed a first distance from a substrate supporting surface of the substrate support assembly;
a first pulsed-voltage waveform generator electrically coupled to the first electrode;
a radio frequency generator electrically coupled to a second electrode of the plasma processing chamber; and
a controller comprising a memory that includes computer program instructions stored therein, and the computer program instructions when executed by a processor of the controller cause:
a delivery, by use of the radio frequency generator, of a series of radio frequency pulses to the second electrode, wherein
the series of radio frequency pulses comprise a first radio frequency pulse and a second radio frequency pulse,
the first radio frequency pulse comprises a first radio frequency power level and a first radio frequency pulse duration, and
the second radio frequency pulse comprises a second radio frequency power level and a second radio frequency pulse duration, and
a delivery, by use of the first pulsed-voltage waveform generator, of a series of pulsed voltage waveform bursts that comprise a first voltage waveform that is established at the first electrode, wherein
the series of pulsed voltage waveform bursts comprise a first pulsed voltage waveform burst and a second pulsed voltage waveform burst that comprise a first burst duration and a second burst duration, respectively,
the first pulsed voltage waveform burst comprises a first portion of the first voltage waveform that comprises a series of voltage pulses that comprise a first voltage pulse phase and a second voltage pulse phase, and
the second pulsed voltage waveform burst comprises a second portion of the first voltage waveform that comprises a series of voltage pulses that comprise a first voltage pulse phase and a second voltage pulse phase, and
during the second voltage pulse phase of the series of voltage pulses of the first and the second portion of the first voltage waveforms the first pulsed-voltage waveform generator establishes a negative voltage at the first electrode.