Apparatus and method for detecting an end point of chamber cleaning in semiconductor equipment

• Main Authors: KRISHNARAJ PADMANABHAN, CUI ZHENJIANG, SHAMOUILIAN SHAMOUIL
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 17.10.2002
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; CHEMISTRY; CLEANING; CLEANING IN GENERAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATIONOR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY IONIMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION INGENERAL; METALLURGY; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THESURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; TRANSPORTING

Apparatus for processing semiconductor wafers includes a processing chamber, a chuck within the chamber for supporting a wafer during processing, a fiberoptic cable having a first end positioned at the surface of the chuck, and an optical pyrometer connected to a second end of the cable. The optical pyrometer measures the temperature of a wafer during processing and measures in situ temperature of plasma-excited cleaning gas introduced into the chamber during subsequent cleaning from walls thereof of unwanted solid deposits within the chamber. The pyrometer is connected to a computer which controls the flow of cleaning gases. When the temperature of the plasma-excited gas reaches a steady-state value the computer stops the flow of cleaning gases into the chamber and thereby stops the cleaning operation.