The development of RF generator for remote plasma cleaning source

Summary form only given, as follows. One of the major emissions of PFCs in semiconductor manufacturing is the in situ plasma cleaning procedure performed after the chemical vapor deposition of dielectric thin films. We have developed a new plasma cleaning technology that uses a remote plasma source to completely break down NF/sub 3/ gas into an effective cleaning chemical. A fluorine containing gas (NF/sub 3/, C/sub 2/F/sub 6/) is introduced in a remote chamber, where the plasma is sustained by application of RF energy. In the plasma, the clean gas is dissociated into changed and neutral species. The method has clear benefits Due to the high efficiency of the RF excitation, the NF/sub 3/ gas utilization removal efficiency can be as high as 90% in standard operating conditions. This ensures an extremely efficient source of fluorine, while virtually eliminating global warming emissions. With this remote technique, no plasma is sustained in the main deposition-chamber and the cleaning is much softer on the chamber components, compared to an in situ plasma cleaning technology.