AVS 47th International Symposium
    Plasma Science and Technology Monday Sessions
       Session PS2-MoA

Paper PS2-MoA6
Experimental and Modeling Results for Process Scaling from 200 mm to 300 mm Wafers

Monday, October 2, 2000, 3:40 pm, Room 311

Session: Plasma Etching of Conductors
Presenter: S.C. Siu, Lam Research Corporation
Authors: S.C. Siu, Lam Research Corporation
D. Cooperberg, Lam Research Corporation
V. Vahedi, Lam Research Corporation
R. Patrick, Lam Research Corporation
Correspondent: Click to Email
As the wafer fabrication industry begins to move from 200 mm to 300 mm wafers, the need arises to transfer existing processes both to larger wafers and to larger process chambers. Transferring a 200 mm baseline process to a 300 mm chamber is not trivial, but it is critical for quick ramp up from development to production. For next generation process chambers that can handle both 200 mm and 300 mm wafers, such as those from Lam Research Corporation, process scaling to larger wafers is less complicated because the chamber is fixed, but there are still issues which need to be understood. A successful process transfer will result in enormous savings in time and resources that can be better used to fine tune processes for 300 mm wafers, instead of re-establishing a 300 mm baseline process. Zeroeth order scaling principles previously derived and published by Lieberman and Lichtenberg@footnote 1@ are examined in this paper, and their applicability to practical process scale up are determined. Plasma parameters important in conductor etching, such as ion density, radical concentration, and sheath potential, were measured in a Lam Research 200 mm etch chambers and compared with measurements made in the next generation 300 mm etch chambers. Preliminary results show good agreement between the scaling predictions and plasma measurements. Modeling results show that reactor scaling parameters are application dependent. Scaling parameters for ion dominated etching may differ from those in which etch rate and profile evolution are more dependent on radical concentrations (e.g. resist trim, aluminum etch in chlorine). Additionally, predictions for process scaling may be dependent on the relative importance of radical depletion mechanisms (e.g. wall recombination, reaction, volume loss, pumping effects). @FootnoteText@@footnote 1@M. A. Lieberman and A. J. Lichtenberg, Principles of Plasma Discharges and Materials Processing, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (New York, 1994), chapter 10.