Plasma reaction chamber and captive silicon electrode plate for processing semiconductor wafers

Abstract

A plasma processing system for etching a semiconductor wafer comprises: 1) a plasma chamber in which the semiconductor wafer may be mounted; 2) an upper ring capable of being mounted on an upper opening of the plasma chamber, wherein a central portion of the upper ring forms a hole; and 3) an electrode plate having a plurality of vias therethrough. The electrode plate is disposed in the hole in the upper ring, wherein the central portion of the upper ring further forms a shelf for supporting the electrode plate in the hole.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention generally relates to plasma processing systems and, more specifically, to a plasma reaction chamber with a captive silicon electrode for dry plasma etching of semiconductor wafers. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Plasma processing techniques, such as dry plasma etching, reactive ion etching, and ion milling techniques, provide numerous advantages over traditional chemical etching of semiconductor wafers. For example, plasma etching has a vertical etch rate that is much greater than the horizontal etch rate. This provides good control over the resulting aspect ratio (i.e., the height to width ratio of the resulting notch) of the etched features. Thus, plasma etching forms very fine features with high aspect ratios in very thin films. [0003] During the plasma etching process, large amounts of energy are added to a gas at relatively low pressure, thereby ionizing the gas. This forms plasma above the masked surface of the ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

The effectiveness of the etching process is greatly affected by the components of the etching chamber.

However, the showerhead electrodes that are commonly used in the industry are prohibitively expensive.

This is a consumable item that greatly increases the cost of using a dry plasma etching system.

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