AVS 52nd International Symposium
    Plasma Science and Technology Thursday Sessions
       Session PS+MS-ThM

Paper PS+MS-ThM5
Simulation in Advanced Dielectric Etch Equipment Design and Process Tuning

Thursday, November 3, 2005, 9:40 am, Room 302

Session: Process Equipment Modeling
Presenter: K. Bera, Applied Materials, Inc.
Authors: K. Bera, Applied Materials, Inc.
D. Hoffman, Applied Materials, Inc.
G.A. Delgadino, Applied Materials, Inc.
J. Carducci, Applied Materials, Inc.
Y. Ye, Applied Materials, Inc.
S. Ma, Applied Materials, Inc.
Correspondent: Click to Email
Plasma and flow simulations have played vital roles to guide an advanced dielectric etch equipment design and process tuning to achieve desired process performance. Plasma simulation has been performed to study frequency effect on electron density, power deposition and dissociation fraction for a capacitively coupled discharge. Simulation results demonstrated that plasma generation efficiency enhances with increase in frequency while energy of the bombarding ions diminishes. A very high frequency source has been developed to generate high density plasma while RF bias has been used to control ion energy. Charge Species Tuning Unit (CSTU) tunes plasma density and ion flux distributions, and consequently the etch rate uniformity. Using flow simulation we evaluated species residence time that decides the extent of species dissociation in the process chamber. The gap between the showerhead and the wafer was optimized to achieve sufficient dissociation while minimizing the impact of flow convection on the wafer. Flow simulation also guided equipment design for high conductance over a large process window, and for azimuthal flow uniformity using a side pump. Using flow simulation we guided Neutral Species Tuning Unit (NSTU) design that can tune pressure and neutral flow distributions to the wafer, hence, CD bias and profile uniformities. The independent controls of plasma density and ion energy, and distributions of neutrals and ions played crucial roles in process development and tuning that are important for a production-worthy advanced dielectric etch equipment design and process tuning.