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US-20260128260-A1 - PLASMA PROCESSING APPARATUS

US20260128260A1US 20260128260 A1US20260128260 A1US 20260128260A1US-20260128260-A1

Abstract

A plasma processing apparatus includes a plasma processing chamber; a substrate support; a lower electrode; an RF power supply; and an upper electrode assembly. The upper electrode assembly includes a gas diffusion plate; an insulating plate; and an upper electrode plate arranged between the gas diffusion plate and the insulating plate, and having a plurality of first through holes and a plurality of second through holes. The insulating plate includes an inner annular protrusion and an outer annular protrusion protruding downward from a lower surface of the insulating plate, and the insulating plate has a plurality of first gas introduction holes, a plurality of second gas introduction holes, and a plurality of third gas introduction holes.

Inventors

  • Koki HIDAKA
  • Koichi Kazama
  • Takanori Sato
  • Miyu SHIHOMMATSU
  • Takehiro Kato

Assignees

  • TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20260107
Priority Date
20210804

Claims (18)

  1. 1 . A plasma processing apparatus, comprising: a chamber; a substrate support disposed in the chamber; an upper electrode assembly disposed above the substrate support; and a plasma generator configured to generate a plasma in a space between the substrate support and the upper electrode assembly, wherein the upper electrode assembly includes an exposed surface exposed to the plasma, and wherein the exposed surface includes: an inner annular protrusion and an outer annular protrusion protruding downward; a plurality of first gas introduction holes formed in the inner annular protrusion; a plurality of second gas introduction holes formed in the outer annular protrusion; and a plurality of third gas introduction holes formed outside the second gas introduction holes.
  2. 2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a part or an entirety of the outer annular protrusion overlaps with a substrate support surface of the substrate support in a plan view.
  3. 3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of first gas introduction holes are formed near an inner wall of the inner annular protrusion.
  4. 4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein a width of the outer annular protrusion is greater than a width of the inner annular protrusion.
  5. 5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein a protrusion dimension of the outer annular protrusion is greater than a protrusion dimension of the inner annular protrusion.
  6. 6 . The apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising: an electromagnet unit disposed on or above the chamber.
  7. 7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein one or both of the inner annular protrusion and the outer annular protrusion have a substantially rectangular shape in a cross-sectional view.
  8. 8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein one or both of the inner annular protrusion and the outer annular protrusion have a round shape with chamfered rectangular corners in a cross-sectional view.
  9. 9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein one or both of the inner annular protrusion and the outer annular protrusion have a substantially semicircular shape.
  10. 10 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of third gas introduction holes are formed at an outer proximal end portion of the outer annular protrusion, and wherein the exposed surface further has a plurality of fourth gas introduction holes formed at an inner proximal end portion of the outer annular protrusion.
  11. 11 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of third gas introduction holes are formed in the outer annular protrusion.
  12. 12 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the exposed surface further has an additional outer annular protrusion protruding downward and surrounding the outer annular protrusion, and wherein the plurality of third gas introduction holes are formed at an outer proximal end portion of the additional outer annular protrusion.
  13. 13 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the exposed surface further has an additional outer annular protrusion protruding downward and surrounding the outer annular protrusion, and wherein the plurality of third gas introduction holes are formed in the additional outer annular protrusion.
  14. 14 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein a width of the additional outer annular protrusion is greater than a width of the outer annular protrusion.
  15. 15 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein a protrusion dimension of the additional outer annular protrusion is greater than a protrusion dimension of the outer annular protrusion.
  16. 16 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of first gas introduction holes are formed near an inner wall of the inner annular protrusion.
  17. 17 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a width of the outer annular protrusion is greater than a width of the inner annular protrusion.
  18. 18 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a protrusion dimension of the outer annular protrusion is greater than a protrusion dimension of the inner annular protrusion.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/429,515, filed on Feb. 1, 2024, which is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2022/026802 having an international filing date of Jul. 6, 2022 and designating the United States, the International Patent Application being based upon and claiming the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-128076, filed on Aug. 4, 2021, the entire contents of each are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a plasma processing apparatus. BACKGROUND In Patent Document 1, there known a configuration of a capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus including an electromagnet assembly disposed in the upper portion or on the upper side of a chamber. The capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus of Patent Document 1 includes an upper electrode that also functions as a shower head. The configuration of the apparatus of Patent Document 1 prevents the processing speed of plasma processing performed in the plasma processing apparatus from increasing locally in a central portion of a substrate. PRIOR ART DOCUMENT Patent Document Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2021-044535 SUMMARY According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a plasma processing apparatus including: a plasma processing chamber; a substrate support disposed inside the plasma processing chamber; a lower electrode disposed within the substrate support; at least one RF power supply coupled to the lower electrode; and an upper electrode assembly disposed above the substrate support, wherein the upper electrode assembly includes a gas diffusion plate having at least one first gas supply port for a first gas and at least one second gas supply port for a second gas; an insulating plate; and an upper electrode plate arranged between the gas diffusion plate and the insulating plate, and having a plurality of first through holes in communication with the at least one first gas supply port and a plurality of second through holes in communication with the at least one second gas supply port, wherein the insulating plate includes an inner annular protrusion and an outer annular protrusion protruding downward from a lower surface of the insulating plate, and wherein the insulating plate has a plurality of first gas introduction holes formed in the inner annular protrusion, each of the first gas introduction holes being in communication with the at least one first gas supply port through any of the plurality of first through holes, a plurality of second gas introduction holes formed in the outer annular protrusion, each of the second gas introduction holes being in communication with the at least one first gas supply port though any of the plurality of first through holes, and a plurality of third gas introduction holes formed outside the second gas introduction holes, each of the third gas introduction holes being in communication with the at least one second gas supply port through any of the plurality of second through holes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a configuration of a plasma processing system. FIG. 2 is an enlarged explanatory diagram showing a portion of an upper electrode assembly. FIG. 3A is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an insulating plate according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3B is a schematic plan view of the insulating plate according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an insulating plate according to a second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an insulating plate according to a third embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an insulating plate according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an insulating plate according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 8 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an insulating plate according to a sixth embodiment. FIG. 9 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an insulating plate according to a seventh embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a gas flow in one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a gas flow in one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a gas flow in one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 13 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a ga