Uniformity control with phase-locked RF source on a high density plasma system

Summary form only given. Semiconductor device manufacturing continues to achieve decreased feature sizes with a corresponding density increase along device area and volume. The consequence of manufacturing semiconductor devices with a higher level of integration remains a vexing challenge to achieving repeatable target yields, minimizing plasma induced damage, and optimizing process throughput all while gaining the technological advantage to reach the next high-performance node. We present control mechanisms to improve the fidelity of plasma density and the control of ion energies for a high-density plasma source. For a high-density plasma source, plasma generation is associated with the coupling of RF power to the plasma discharge through a coil antenna arrangement. The RF bias, coupled to a substrate, creates the ion energies utilized for material-etch processing associated with high-volume semiconductor manufacturing. Our fundamental technique is based on a frequency-and-phase locking controller. For the RF source, this frequency-and phase locking enables precise control of the electromagnetic field emissions from the antenna coil. By amplitude and relative phase manipulation of a dual-RF power supply scheme providing the excitation for the source coil arrangement, the constructive-deconstructive interaction of the coil fields enables the finest control of plasma density and uniformity along the wafer area. We further exploit the frequency-and-phase locking capability with the bias RF power delivery system to control the width and skew of the ion energy distribution function (IEDF). The coupling of these RF power delivery systems to a high-density plasma source formulates a systematic control of plasma parameters, ameliorating the state of thin-film manufacturing capability closer to the elusive atomic layer etch facility necessary to achieve future semiconductor nodes.