KR100802667B1 - Upper electrode, plasma processing apparatus and method, and recording medium having a control program recorded therein - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an upper electrode having a cooling structure excellent in temperature controllability.

The upper electrode 11 is a temperature in which the electrode plate 13 arranged in parallel with the susceptor 4 and the electrode plate 13 is disposed in contact with the center upper portion of the electrode plate 13 so that the heat transfer medium flow path 15 is formed therein. The control plate 14 and the peripheral part of the electrode plate 13 are disposed in contact with each other, and have a temperature control block 17 having a heat transfer medium flow path 16 therein. The temperature control plate 14 is disposed in contact with the center upper portion of the electrode plate 13, thereby performing heat exchange with the electrode plate 13, thereby cooling the heat of the refrigerant flowing through the heat transfer medium flow path 15 to the electrode plate 13. ) To cool.

Description

Recording medium recording upper electrode, plasma processing apparatus and processing method, and control program {UPPER ELECTRODE, PLASMA PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD, AND RECORDING MEDIUM HAVING A CONTROL PROGRAM RECORDED THEREIN}

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a plasma etching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a plan view of the temperature control plate,

3 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a plasma etching apparatus according to another embodiment;

4 is a graph showing the transition of the temperature change of the first embodiment;

5 is a graph showing the change in temperature change of the first comparative example;

6 is a graph showing the change in temperature change of the second embodiment;

7 is a graph showing a transition of a temperature change of a second comparative example;

8 is a graph showing the transition of the temperature change of the third embodiment;

9 is a graph showing a change in temperature change of a third comparative example;

10 is a view for explaining an arrangement example of a temperature control plate;

11 is a view for explaining another arrangement example of the temperature control plate;

12 is a view for explaining another arrangement example of the temperature control plate.

Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

1: plasma etching apparatus 2: chamber

3: insulation plate 4: susceptor

5: electrostatic chuck 6: electrode

8 dielectric film 11 upper electrode

12: insulating member 13: electrode plate

13a: gas discharge hole 14: temperature control plate

15, 16: heat transfer medium flow path 17: temperature control block

18: gas diffusion gap 20: connection portion

45 exhaust device 50 process controller

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an upper electrode, a plasma processing apparatus, and a plasma processing method. Specifically, in the manufacturing process of a flat panel display (FPD), an upper electrode used when plasma processing a substrate such as an organic substrate, A plasma processing apparatus provided with this upper electrode, and a plasma processing method.

In the manufacturing process of FPD, plasma processing, such as dry etching, is performed with respect to the large glass substrate which is a to-be-processed substrate. For example, after placing a pair of parallel plate electrodes (upper electrode and lower electrode) in a chamber of a plasma processing apparatus, and mounting a glass substrate to a susceptor (substrate mount) which functions as a lower electrode, a process gas is supplied to the chamber. At the same time, high frequency electric power is applied to at least one of the electrodes to form a high frequency electric field between the electrodes, and a plasma, which is a processing gas, is formed by the high frequency electric field to perform plasma processing on the glass substrate.

In the plasma processing apparatus, since the upper electrode is directly exposed to the plasma, the temperature of the upper electrode is increased during the plasma processing. For this reason, the plasma processing apparatus which forms the heat-transfer medium flow path in an upper electrode, makes a coolant flow in this heat-transfer medium flow path, and cools an upper electrode is proposed (for example, patent document 1).

In addition, although the apparatus is mainly for processing semiconductor wafers, the heat transfer medium flow path in the upper electrode has a curved structure, and the flow direction of the refrigerant is taken into consideration, thereby increasing the accuracy of temperature control and increasing the temperature uniformity of the entire upper electrode. The improved plasma processing apparatus is also proposed (for example, patent document 2).

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1998-284820 (Fig. 1, etc.)

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-342704 (Fig. 2, etc.)

As described above, in the conventional plasma processing apparatus, the design has been made to improve the processing accuracy by uniformizing the temperature by cooling the upper electrode. However, in the case of the organic substrate for FPD, compared with a semiconductor wafer, the magnitude | size is remarkably large, especially the glass substrate tends to enlarge in recent years, and it is necessary to process the glass substrate more than 2 m in length, for example. For this reason, according to a glass substrate, an upper electrode also enlarges and it becomes difficult to make the temperature uniform. For example, the temperature of the center portion of the upper electrode tends to be higher than that of the peripheral portion, and this temperature difference becomes a difference in radiant heat, affecting the etching accuracy on the glass substrate, causing etching irregularities and the like.

In addition, in the case of performing an etching process normally, several gas discharge holes are provided in the surface of the electrostatic chuck formed in the upper part of the susceptor, and a thermal medium gas is introduced into the rear surface side of a to-be-processed substrate by predetermined pressure, and a to-be-processed substrate The temperature is to be uniform. However, unlike the case of a semiconductor wafer, since it is not easy to control the whole large glass substrate for FPD to uniform temperature, temperature nonuniformity may arise in the surface of a glass substrate, and the uniformity of a process may be impaired. . In such a case, contrary to the above, by providing a partial difference in the temperature of the upper electrode, there is a possibility that the in-plane temperature of the glass substrate can be made uniform using the radiant heat.

Thus, in the plasma processing apparatus which processes the glass substrate for FPD which tends to enlarge, it is calculated | required to control the temperature of an upper electrode more accurately than before, in order to ensure the precision of a plasma processing. Therefore, the subject of this invention is providing the upper electrode which has a temperature control structure excellent in temperature controllability.

MEANS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM In order to solve the said subject, the 1st viewpoint of this invention is arrange | positioned facing the mounting table in which the to-be-processed board | substrate is mounted in the processing chamber of a plasma processing apparatus, and generating the plasma which is a processing gas between the said mounting tables. And an upper electrode having an electrode plate having a plurality of discharge ports for discharging the processing gas toward the substrate to be processed on the mounting table, and a heat transfer medium flow path for distributing the heat transfer medium therein. The upper electrode is disposed on the upper side and provided with a plurality of temperature controllers for temperature control of the electrode plate.

In the said 1st viewpoint, it is preferable to provide the 1st temperature control body for temperature-controlling a part or all of the area | regions other than the periphery of the said electrode plate, and the 2nd temperature control body for temperature-controlling the peripheral area of the said electrode plate. Do.

In this case, it is preferable to independently control the temperature of the heat transfer medium circulating inside the first temperature regulator and the temperature of the heat transfer medium circulating inside the second temperature regulator.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a processing chamber of a plasma processing apparatus, an upper electrode for generating a plasma, which is a processing gas, is disposed opposite a mounting table on which a substrate to be processed is mounted, and the processing is performed. An electrode plate having a plurality of discharge ports formed therein for discharging gas toward the substrate to be processed on the mounting table; and a heat transfer medium flow path for distributing a heat transfer medium therein, the electrode plate being disposed on an upper portion of the electrode plate; An upper electrode is provided with a temperature control plate for temperature control of the plate.

In the second aspect, it is preferable that a plurality of openings for passing the processing gas are formed in the temperature regulating plate. Moreover, it is preferable that the process gas diffusion gap for diffusing the said process gas is formed in the upper part of the said temperature control plate. In this case, it is preferable to provide a gas diffusion plate in the gap for processing gas diffusion having a plurality of gas flow holes arranged in a position shifted from the opening of the temperature regulating plate and promoting diffusion of the processing gas.

Moreover, in 2nd viewpoint, it is preferable to provide a some said temperature control plate, and to independently control the temperature of the heat transfer medium which distribute | circulates inside each temperature control plate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a processing chamber of a plasma processing apparatus, an upper electrode is disposed to face a mounting table on which a substrate to be processed is mounted, and generates a plasma, which is a processing gas, between the mounting table. An electrode plate having a plurality of discharge holes formed therein for discharging gas toward the substrate to be processed on the mounting table; and a heat transfer medium flow path for distributing the heat transfer medium therein; An upper electrode is provided which has a plate and a heat-transfer medium flow path for allowing a heat-transfer medium to flow inside, and the temperature control block which temperature-controls the peripheral part of the said electrode plate.

In a third aspect, it is preferable that a plurality of openings for passing the processing gas are formed in the plurality of temperature regulating plates. In addition, the temperature control block is formed so as to cover the temperature control plate, it is preferable to have a recess forming a gap for processing gas diffusion for diffusing the processing gas between the temperature control plate. In this case, it is preferable to provide a gas diffusion plate having a plurality of gas distribution holes in the processing gas diffusion gap and promoting diffusion of the processing gas. Moreover, it is preferable that the gas distribution hole of the said gas diffusion plate and the opening of the said temperature control plate are arrange | positioned by shift | deviating.

Further, in a third aspect, it is preferable to independently control the temperature of the heat transfer medium flowing in the temperature control plate and the temperature of the heat transfer medium flowing in the temperature control block.

Moreover, in a 3rd viewpoint, you may be provided with the said some temperature control plate. In this case, it is preferable to comprise so that the temperature of the heat transfer medium which flows inside the some temperature control plate can be controlled independently.

A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a plasma processing apparatus having the upper electrode of any one of the first aspect to the third aspect.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is to independently control the temperature of the heat transfer medium circulating inside the first temperature regulator and the temperature of the heat transfer medium circulating inside the second temperature regulator. Using a plasma processing apparatus provided with one upper electrode, independently controlling the temperature of the heat transfer medium flowing in the first temperature regulator and the temperature of the heat transfer medium flowing in the second temperature regulator A plasma processing method is provided by performing a plasma processing on a substrate to be processed.

A sixth aspect of the present invention provides a plurality of the temperatures using a plasma processing apparatus having an upper electrode configured to independently control the temperatures of a heat transfer medium circulating into the plurality of temperature control plates in the second aspect. A plasma processing method is provided wherein a plasma processing is performed on a substrate to be processed while independently controlling the temperature of the heat transfer medium flowing in the control plate.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an upper electrode configured to independently control the temperature of the heat transfer medium flowing into the temperature control plate and the temperature of the heat transfer medium flowing into the temperature control block. A plasma treatment is performed on a substrate to be processed by independently controlling the temperature of the heat transfer medium flowing in the temperature control plate and the temperature of the heat transfer medium flowing in the temperature control block by using a plasma processing apparatus. A plasma treatment method is provided.

In the plasma processing method of any one of the fifth to seventh aspects, it is preferable to perform an etching treatment on the object to be processed.

An eighth aspect of the present invention provides a control program which operates on a computer and controls the plasma processing apparatus so that, when executed, the plasma processing method of any one of the fifth to seventh aspects is performed. .

A ninth aspect of the present invention is a computer storage medium having a control program stored on a computer stored therein, wherein the control program is executed such that the plasma processing method of any of the fifth to seventh aspects is performed when executed. A computer storage medium is provided which controls a processing device.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the preferred form of this invention is described, referring drawings.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a plasma etching apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the plasma etching apparatus 1 is comprised as a capacitively coupled parallel plate plasma etching apparatus which etches the board | substrate G, such as a glass substrate for FPD which is a to-be-processed object. Here, examples of the FPD include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an electro luminescence (EL) display, a fluorescent fluorescence display (VFD), a plasma display panel (PDP), and the like. do. In addition, the processing apparatus of this invention is not limited only to a plasma etching apparatus.

This plasma etching apparatus 1 has the chamber 2 shape | molded in the shape of the angled cylinder which consists of aluminum whose surface was anodized (anodic oxidation treatment), for example. An angled columnar insulating plate 3 made of an insulating material is provided at the bottom of the chamber 2, and a susceptor 4 for mounting the substrate G is provided on the insulating plate 3. The susceptor 4 which is a board | substrate mounting table has the susceptor base material 4a and the electrostatic chuck 5 provided on the susceptor base material 4a. In addition, the chamber 2 and the susceptor base material 4a are grounded.

The insulating plate 7 is formed in the outer periphery of the susceptor base material 4a, and the dielectric material film | membrane 8, such as a ceramic thermal sprayed coating, is provided in the upper surface of the electrostatic chuck 5, for example. The electrostatic chuck 5 applies the direct current voltage from the direct current power source 26 to the electrode 6 embedded in the dielectric material film 8 via the feed line 27, thereby electrostatically removing the substrate G by, for example, a coulomb force. Adsorb.

The gas passage 9 penetrating these is formed in the said insulating plate 3, the susceptor base material 4a, and the said electrostatic chuck 5, respectively. The heat transfer gas, for example, He gas or the like, is supplied to the rear surface of the substrate G as the object to be processed through the gas passage 9.

That is, the heat transfer gas supplied to the gas passage 9 diffuses in the horizontal direction once through the gas reservoir 9a formed at the boundary between the susceptor base 4a and the electrostatic chuck 5, and then the electrostatic chuck 5 It is exposed to the back surface of the substrate G from the surface of the electrostatic chuck 5 past the gas supply hole 9b formed therein. In this manner, cooling heat of the susceptor 4 is transferred to the substrate G, so that the substrate G is maintained at a predetermined temperature.

The coolant chamber 10 is provided inside the susceptor base material 4a. In this refrigerant chamber 10, for example, a refrigerant such as a fluorine-based liquid is introduced through the heat transfer medium introduction pipe 10a, and is discharged and circulated through the heat transfer medium discharge pipe 10b, whereby the cold heat passes through the heat transfer gas. Heat is transferred to the substrate G.

The upper electrode 11 is provided above the susceptor 4 so as to face the susceptor 4. The upper electrode 11 together with the susceptor 4 constitutes a pair of parallel plate electrodes.

The upper electrode 11 is supported on the upper part of the chamber 2 via the insulating member 12. The upper electrode 11 is a temperature at which the electrode plate 13 disposed in parallel to the susceptor 4 and the electrode plate 13 is disposed directly above the center of the electrode plate 13 to form a heat transfer medium flow path 15 therein. A temperature regulating plate 14 as a regulator and a recess formed to cover the temperature regulating plate 14, which are in contact with only the periphery of the electrode plate 13 and have a heat transfer medium flow path 16 therein. It is set as the structure which has the temperature control block 17 as it. An upper portion of the electrode plate 13 is provided with a gas diffusion gap 18 between the temperature control block 17.

 The electrode plate 13 has a plate shape which is rectangular in plan view (see FIGS. 10 to 12) and is made of a conductive metal material. The electrode plate 13 is electrically connected to a feed line 23 for supplying high frequency power through a temperature control block 17, which is also an electrode base material, and the feed line 23 has a matching unit 24 and a high frequency power source ( 25) is connected. The high frequency power of 13.56 MHz, for example, is supplied from the high frequency power supply 25 to the electrode plate 13 via the matching unit 24.

A plurality of gas discharge holes 13a are formed in the electrode plate 13, and are configured to eject the processing gas toward the plasma formation space between the susceptor 4.

The temperature regulating plate 14 functioning as the temperature regulating means is arranged in contact with the upper portion of the center of the electrode plate 13, thereby performing heat exchange with the electrode plate 13, thereby allowing the refrigerant to flow through the heat transfer medium flow path 15. Cooling heat is supplied to the electrode plate 13 and cooled. The refrigerant is introduced into the heat transfer medium flow path 15 in the temperature control plate 14 from the heat transfer medium supply source 30 via the valve 29 and the heat transfer medium introduction pipe 28, and flows through the heat transfer medium flow path 15. Then, it discharges through the heat transfer medium discharge pipe 35 and the valve 36, and is used for circulation. The heat transfer medium supply source 30 is configured to divide a heat transfer medium such as a refrigerant into a plurality of systems (for example, two systems) and to individually supply and control temperature for each system.

The temperature control plate 14 is connected to and fixed to the temperature control block 17 by a fixing means such as, for example, a screw in the connecting portion 20. In addition, the heat transfer medium introduction pipe 28 for introducing the coolant to the temperature control plate 14 and the heat transfer medium discharge pipe 35 for discharging the coolant are connected via the connecting portion 20. In addition, the temperature control plate 14 may be fixed to the electrode plate 13 with fixing means such as a screw, or sandwiched between the electrode plate 13 and the temperature control block 17.

The schematic structure of this temperature control plate 14 is shown in FIG. The heat transfer medium flow path 15 is formed to meander the inside of the temperature control plate 14, and has a curved flow path structure. By such a flow path structure, the whole temperature control plate 14 can be cooled efficiently by the refrigerant | coolant which flows through the heat transfer medium flow path 15. As shown in FIG. The flow direction of the refrigerant flowing in the heat transfer medium flow path 15 of the temperature control plate 14 is indicated by an arrow in FIG. In the temperature control plate 14 of the present embodiment, the refrigerant is introduced into the heat transfer medium flow path 15 from the introduction portion 15a connected to the heat transfer medium introduction pipe 28, and once near the center of the temperature control plate 14. It winds up and winds toward the center, and flows around the center, and then flows around the periphery of the temperature control plate 14 and is discharged from the discharge portion 15b to the heat transfer medium discharge pipe 35. By the flow of such a coolant, it is possible to intensively cool the vicinity of the central portion of the electrode plate 11 which is most likely to rise in temperature. In addition, the heat transfer medium flow path 15 in the temperature control plate 14 may provide a plurality of independent heat transfer medium flow paths, not limited to one system.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of through holes 14a are formed in the temperature control plate 14, and these through holes 14a correspond to the gas discharge holes 13a of the electrode plate 13. It is arrange | positioned in the position to communicate. As a result, the gas diffusion space 18 is in communication with the plasma forming space via the through hole 14a of the temperature control plate 14 and the gas discharge hole 13a of the electrode plate 13.

Such a temperature control plate 14 is made of, for example, a metal material having excellent thermal conductivity such as SUS and aluminum, and has a heat transfer medium flow path 15 that is bent therein, but is formed by, for example, a diffusion bonding method. It can be made thinner, and it can also use combining a different kind of metal as a raw material.

The temperature control block 17 which functions as another temperature control means is comprised by metal materials, such as SUS and aluminum, similarly to the temperature control plate 14, and also functions as an electrode material. A recess is formed in the lower surface of the temperature control block 17, and the recess surrounds the gas diffusion gap 18. In addition, a heat-transfer medium flow path 16 is provided inside the wall 17a of the recess. Since the heat transfer medium flow path 16 is connected to the heat transfer medium introduction pipe 32 and the heat transfer medium discharge pipe 37, the refrigerant is supplied from the temperature controlled heat transfer medium supply source 30 to the valve 33 and the heat transfer medium introduction pipe 32. The heat transfer medium flow path 16 is introduced into the heat transfer medium flow path 16 through the heat transfer medium flow path 16, and then discharged through the heat transfer medium discharge pipe 37 and the valve 38 for circulation. Cooling of this refrigerant is transmitted to the periphery of the electrode plate 13 when the temperature control block 17 is in contact with the periphery of the electrode plate 13, thereby mainly cooling the periphery of the electrode plate 13.

The gas introduction opening 39 is formed in the temperature control block 17 of the upper electrode 11, and the gas introduction opening 39 is connected to the gas introduction passage 40, and the valve 41 and the mass are provided. The process gas supply source 43 is connected via the flow controller 42. The processing gas for etching is supplied from the processing gas supply source 43. As the processing gas, for example, a halogen-based gas such as SH ₆ or a noble gas such as an O ₂ gas, an Ar gas or a He gas, and the like can be used.

Two exhaust pipes 44 are connected to the bottom of the chamber 2, and an exhaust device 45 is connected to the exhaust pipe 44. The exhaust device 45 is provided with a vacuum pump such as a turbo molecular pump, and is thus configured to be able to vacuum the inside of the chamber 2 to a predetermined pressure-reduced atmosphere. Moreover, the board | substrate carrying in / out 46 and the gate valve 47 which open and close this board | substrate carrying in / out 46 are provided in the side wall of the chamber 2, and the board | substrate is opened with this gate valve 47 open. (G) is to be conveyed between adjacent load lock chambers (not shown).

Each component of the plasma etching apparatus 1 is connected to the process controller 50 provided with CPU, and is controlled. The process controller 50 includes a user interface including a keyboard for performing a command input operation or the like for the process manager to manage the plasma etching apparatus 1, or a display for visualizing and displaying the operation status of the plasma etching apparatus 1 ( 51) is connected.

The process controller 50 also includes a recipe in which a control program (software), processing condition data, and the like, for realizing various processes executed in the plasma etching apparatus 1 are controlled by the process controller 50. The stored storage unit 52 is connected.

Then, if necessary, an arbitrary recipe is called from the storage unit 52 by an instruction from the user interface 51 and executed in the process controller 50, thereby controlling the plasma etching apparatus 1 under the control of the process controller 50. Desired processing is carried out. The recipes such as the control program and the processing condition data may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a hard disk, a flexible disk, a flash memory, or the like, or may be transmitted from another device via a dedicated line, for example. It can also be sent online from time to time.

Next, the processing operation in the plasma etching apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described.

First, after the gate valve 47 is opened, the substrate G to be processed is loaded into the chamber 2 from the load lock chamber (not shown) through the substrate inlet / outlet 46 and formed on the susceptor 4. It is mounted on the electrostatic chuck 5. In this case, the transfer of the substrate G is carried out via a lifter pin (not shown) which is inserted into the susceptor 4 and protrudes from the susceptor 4. Thereafter, the gate valve 47 is closed, and the inside of the chamber 2 is evacuated to a predetermined vacuum degree by the exhaust device 45.

Thereafter, the valve 41 is opened, and the flow rate of the processing gas is adjusted by the massflow controller 42 from the processing gas supply source 43, thereby opening the processing gas supply source 40 and the gas introduction opening 39. The gas is introduced into the gas diffusion gap 18 of the upper electrode 11. The processing gas is uniformly applied to the substrate G from the gas diffusion gap 18 through the through hole 14a of the temperature control plate 14 and the gas discharge hole 13a of the electrode plate 13. It discharges, and the pressure in the chamber 2 is maintained at a predetermined value.

In this state, a high frequency pressure is applied from the high frequency power supply 25 to the upper electrode 11 via the matching unit 24, thereby generating a high frequency electric field between the susceptor 4 and the upper electrode 11 as the lower electrode. The process gas dissociates and becomes plasma, and the etching process is performed to the board | substrate G by this. At this time, the heat regulation of the board | substrate G is performed by supplying heat-transfer gas, such as He, to the back surface side of the board | substrate G through the gas supply hole 9b. In addition, the valves 29 and 33 are opened to transfer the heat transfer medium flow path 15 and the temperature control block in the temperature control plate 14 from the heat-controlled heat transfer medium source 30 via the heat transfer medium introduction pipes 28 and 32. The coolant is introduced into the heat transfer medium flow path 16 in the 17, thereby cooling the electrode plate 13 of the upper electrode 11. In this embodiment, the temperature control plate 14 is disposed corresponding to the center portion of the electrode plate 13, and the temperature control block 17 corresponds to the periphery of the electrode plate 13 so as to surround the temperature control plate 14. ), The large electrode plate 13 can be cooled uniformly without non-uniformity.

In addition, in the temperature control plate 14 and the temperature control block 17, since the internal refrigerant temperature can be set independently, the temperature control according to the temperature distribution in the electrode plate 13 generated at the time of plasma etching is performed. It also becomes possible. That is, the refrigerant to be supplied to the temperature control plate 14 and the temperature control block 17 by using the heat transfer medium supply source 30 which can supply a plurality of systems of heat transfer media and which can be temperature-controlled for each system. By setting the temperature independently, it is possible to individually adjust the degree of cooling by the temperature control plate 14 and the temperature control block 17. For example, in the case of plasma etching, when the vicinity of the center of the electrode plate 13 tends to be higher in temperature than the peripheral portion, the electrode plate is set by lowering the temperature of the refrigerant in the heat transfer medium flow path 15 in the temperature control plate 14. Cooling of the center part of (13) is made strong, and temperature uniformity of the whole electrode plate 13 can be attained.

The same object can also be achieved by changing the flow rate of the refrigerant introduced into the temperature regulating plate 14 and the temperature regulating block 17. The electrode plate 13 in which the length of the flow path of the heat transfer medium flow path 15 in the temperature control plate 14 and the heat transfer medium flow path 16 in the temperature control block 17, the cross-sectional area of the flow path, the flow path structure (the degree of bending), and the like are predicted in advance. You may set according to the temperature distribution of ().

After the etching process is performed in this manner, the application of the high frequency power from the high frequency power supply 25 is stopped, and gas introduction is stopped, and then the pressure in the chamber 2 is reduced to a predetermined pressure. The gate valve 47 is opened, and the substrate G is carried out from the inside of the chamber 2 to the load lock chamber (not shown) via the substrate loading / unloading opening 46, thereby completing the etching process of the substrate G. Thus, by performing the etching process of the substrate G while adjusting the temperature of the upper electrode 11, the etching nonuniformity resulting from the nonuniformity of the radiant heat from the electrode plate 13, etc. is suppressed and the plasma etching process of high precision is performed. Becomes possible.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a plasma etching apparatus 100 according to a second embodiment. In the plasma etching apparatus 100, a diffusion plate 60 for diffusing gas is disposed in the gas diffusion gap 18 of the upper electrode 11. The gas diffusion plate 60 is disposed on the temperature control plate 14 and the electrode plate 13 substantially parallel to them. A plurality of gas passage holes 60a are formed in the gas diffusion plate 60, and the gas passage holes 60a are gasses of the through holes 14a of the temperature control plate 14 and the electrode plate 13. It is arrange | positioned so that a position may shift | deviate with the discharge hole 13a. That is, the gas passage hole 60a, the through hole 14a and the gas discharge hole 13a are not arranged linearly in a vertical direction.

By distributing the diffusion plate 60 in this manner, the diffusion of the gas in the gas diffusion gap 18 is further promoted, so that the gas discharges through the through holes 14a and the electrode plate 13 of the temperature control plate 14. The gas distribution to the holes 13a is made even, so that a uniform plasma can be generated. Since the other structure in the plasma etching apparatus 100 of FIG. 3 is the same as that of the plasma etching apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, the same structure is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

Next, the test result which confirmed the effect of this invention is demonstrated.

Using a plasma etching apparatus having the same configuration as that of the plasma etching apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, the plasma etching treatment is performed under the following conditions, and the temperature of the glass substrate G as the object to be processed and the upper electrode 11 are adjusted. The temperature change was investigated. The size of the used temperature control plate 14 was 540 mm x 630 mm, and the size of the electrode plate 13 was 1654 mm x 2014 mm. In addition, 50 degreeC galdene was used as a refrigerant | coolant introduce | transduced into the temperature control plate 14.

In addition, the temperature change was similarly investigated using the plasma etching apparatus of the same structure as the plasma etching apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 except the temperature control plate 14 not having been arrange | positioned.

<Processing condition>

Upper and Lower Electrode Gap: 90mm

Pressure in chamber: 46.7 Pa (350 mTorr)

High Frequency Output: 15kW

Process gas (SF ₆ / O ₂ / He ratio) = 1000/3600/1500 mL / min (sccm),

Temperature (upper electrode / susceptor / chamber wall) = 50 ° C./40° C./50° C.,

High Frequency Output Time = 130 seconds

Experimental Method

After the gas introduction step (for 30 seconds), a high frequency output step (for 130 seconds) is performed under the above processing conditions, an interval (for 60 seconds) is provided, and this cycle is repeated for 30 cycles, thereby changing the temperature change therebetween. Measured with a temperature probe. The measurement point was made into four points of the center part and the corner part (site about 25 mm from the board | substrate end) of a glass substrate, and the center part and corner part (the part directly above the measurement point of the said organic substrate corner part) of an upper electrode.

The result of the case where the temperature control plate 14 is disposed (first to third embodiments) is shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 8 and when the temperature control plate 14 is not disposed (first The results of Comparative Examples to Comparative Example 3) are shown in Figs. 5, 7 and 9, respectively. In addition, the initial temperature and the maximum temperature of the glass substrate and the electrode plate 13 in each Example and the comparative example are shown in Table 1.

Initial temperature (℃) Temperature (℃) Glass substrate center Glass substrate corner Center of electrode plate Electrode plate corner Glass substrate center Glass substrate corner Electrode Plate Corner First Embodiment (Figure 4) 50.2 50.3 53.1 53.7 89.5 79.0 70.2 73.7 First Comparative Example (Fig. 5) 50.5 50.6 49.8 53.2 103.8 88.2 99.2 78.4 Second Embodiment (Figure 6) 47.5 46.9 52.7 53.8 83.8 81.2 68.4 71.6 Second Comparative Example (Fig. 7) 47.1 47.4 51.7 52.7 95.2 75.7 97.3 72.7 Third Embodiment (Figure 8) 47.3 46.2 53.1 53.9 75.1 73.2 69.3 73.4 Third Comparative Example (Fig. 9) 47.0 46.7 51.3 54.4 79.2 74.4 96.0 76.0

In the first embodiment (FIG. 4) and the first comparative example (FIG. 5), the application voltage to the electrostatic chuck is 3 kV and cooling by supply of the heat transfer gas is not performed.

In the second embodiment (FIG. 6) and the second comparative example (FIG. 7), the voltage applied to the electrostatic chuck was 3 kV and the back pressure of the heat transfer gas was 160 Pa (1.2 Torr).

In the third embodiment (Fig. 8) and the third comparative example (Fig. 9), the applied voltage to the electrostatic chuck was 3.5 kV and the back pressure of the heat transfer gas (He gas) was 333.3 Pa (2.5 Torr).

In the comparison between the first comparative example (FIG. 5) and the first example (FIG. 4), the temperature difference in the substrate surface was 10.5 ° C. in the first example, while the first comparative example was 15.6 ° C., and the electrostatic chuck side was only absorbed. Even when the cooling by the heat transfer gas is not performed, by cooling the upper electrode 11 by the temperature control plate 14, the maximum temperature of the cooling center portion can be suppressed low and the temperature difference in the substrate surface can be reduced. It can be seen.

In the comparison between the second comparative example (FIG. 7) and the second example (FIG. 6), the temperature difference in the substrate surface is 2.6 DEG C in the second embodiment, while the second comparative example was 19.5 DEG C, and the upper electrode 11 By arrange | positioning the temperature control plate 14 in the cooling, and using cooling by the heat transfer gas of the electrostatic chuck side together, the maximum temperature of a board | substrate center part can be suppressed low and the temperature difference in a glass substrate surface is reliably suppressed. It is shown.

In the comparison between the third comparative example (FIG. 9) and the third example (FIG. 8), the temperature difference in the substrate surface is 1.9 DEG C in the third example, while the third comparative example was 4.8 DEG C, and is applied to the electrostatic chuck. Even when the voltage is 3.5 kV and the back pressure of the heat transfer gas (He gas) is 333.3 Pa (2.5 Torr), and the cooling by the heat transfer gas on the electrostatic chuck side is strengthened, the upper electrode ( It is shown that the cooling of 11) can suppress the maximum temperature of the board | substrate center part low, and can make the temperature in a board | substrate surface more uniform.

Further, from the comparison of the first to third embodiments (FIGS. 4, 6 and 8), cooling of the upper electrode 11 by the temperature control plate 14 and by electrothermal gas on the electrostatic chuck side By using cooling together, it turns out that the temperature in the inside of a board | substrate can be eliminated to the level which does not produce a problem, such as an etching nonuniformity in practical use.

In the upper electrode 11, the temperature control plate is not limited to the orientation shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and various modifications can be arranged on the electrode plate 13. Thus, the layout of the temperature control plate will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12. 10-12 is the top view which looked at the electrode plate 13 which has arrange | positioned the temperature control plate, and the gas discharge hole 13a is abbreviate | omitted illustration. In addition, since the structure and function of the temperature control plate shown in FIGS. 10-12 are the same as that of the temperature control plate 14 demonstrated in FIG. 2, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted here.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the temperature control plate 70 may be disposed only in an area corresponding to the central portion of the electrode plate 13. In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, two temperature control plates 71a and 71b can also be arrange | positioned in parallel. In this case, the heat transfer medium flow paths 72a and 72b in the temperature regulating plates 71a and 71b can be independently flowed through different flow rates, different temperatures, or different types of refrigerants, or the same refrigerants can be flowed through at the same flow rates. have. Moreover, it is not limited to two sheets, You may arrange | position three or more temperature regulating plates.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, it is also possible to arrange | position the temperature control plate 73 unevenly in a part of electrode plate 13. According to the present embodiment, when a part of the electrode plate 13 is locally hot for some reason, or according to the temperature variation (in-plane temperature distribution of the substrate G) on the susceptor 4 side, the upper electrode 11 This is effective for performing temperature control of the same.

In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment described above. For example, the processing apparatus of the present invention has been described with reference to a PE (Plasma Ethching) type capacitively coupled parallel plate plasma etching apparatus that applies high frequency power to the upper electrode, but is not limited to the etching apparatus, and other plasma such as ashing. It is applicable to a processing apparatus, and may be a type of supplying high frequency power to the lower electrode, or a device of inductive coupling as well as capacitive coupling.

In addition, although the said embodiment demonstrated the aspect which cools the electrode plate 13 of the upper electrode 11 of the plasma etching apparatus 1 using the temperature control plate 14 and the temperature control block 17, temperature The adjustment plate 14 and the temperature control block 17 can be applied also when heating the electrode plate 13 using a heat transfer medium. And even when heating the electrode plate 13, high-precision temperature control is possible similarly to the case of cooling.

According to the present invention, since the heat transfer medium flow path for distributing the heat transfer medium therein is provided and is provided with a plurality of temperature regulators arranged on the electrode plate to control the temperature of the electrode plate, the in-plane temperature of the electrode plate is increased. It is possible to control with high precision, and the degree of freedom of temperature control is also expanded. Thereby, as shown in the said Example, the controllability of the in-plane temperature of a to-be-processed board | substrate becomes high, and the countermeasure to the processing nonuniformity (process nonuniformity) in an etching process etc. can be easily taken.

Claims (24)

In the processing chamber of a plasma processing apparatus, the upper electrode which is arrange | positioned facing the mounting table to which a to-be-processed substrate is mounted, and generate | occur | produces the plasma of a processing gas between the said mounting tables, An electrode plate having a plurality of discharge ports for discharging the processing gas toward the substrate to be processed on the mounting table; It has a heat-transfer medium flow path for circulating a heat-transfer medium inside, Comprising: It is provided in the upper part of the said electrode plate, Comprising: It is provided with the temperature control body which temperature-controls the said electrode plate, The plurality of temperature regulators include a first temperature regulator for temperature control of a part or all of regions other than the periphery of the electrode plate, and a second temperature regulator for temperature control of the periphery region of the electrode plate. Characterized by Upper electrode. delete The method of claim 1, Characterized in that the temperature of the heat transfer medium flowing in the first temperature control body and the temperature of the heat transfer medium flowing in the second temperature control body are independently controlled. Upper electrode. delete The method of claim 1, The first temperature adjusting member is formed with a plurality of openings for passing the processing gas, characterized in that Upper electrode. The method of claim 5, wherein A processing gas diffusion gap for diffusing the processing gas is formed in an upper portion of the first temperature regulator. Upper electrode. The method of claim 6, In the processing gas diffusion gap, a gas diffusion plate having a plurality of gas distribution holes arranged in a position shifted from an opening of the first temperature regulator, and provided with a gas diffusion plate for promoting diffusion of the processing gas. Upper electrode. The method of claim 1, A plurality of first temperature regulators are provided. Upper electrode.  In the processing chamber of a plasma processing apparatus, the upper electrode which is arrange | positioned facing the mounting table to which a to-be-processed substrate is mounted, and generate | occur | produces the plasma of a processing gas between the said mounting tables, An electrode plate having a plurality of discharge ports for discharging the processing gas toward the substrate to be processed on the mounting table; A temperature control plate having a heat transfer medium flow path for circulating the heat transfer medium therein, and for controlling the temperature of the central portion of the electrode plate; It has a heat-transfer medium flow path for circulating a heat-transfer medium inside, and it is provided with the temperature control block which temperature-controls the peripheral part of the said electrode plate, Upper electrode. The method of claim 9, The temperature control plate is formed with a plurality of openings for passing the process gas, characterized in that Upper electrode. The method according to claim 9 or 10, The temperature control block is formed to cover the temperature control plate, characterized in that it has a recess forming a gap for processing gas diffusion for diffusing the processing gas between the temperature control plate. Upper electrode. The method of claim 11, In the processing gas diffusion gap, a gas diffusion plate having a plurality of gas distribution holes and promoting diffusion of the processing gas is provided. Upper electrode. The method of claim 12, The gas distribution hole of the said gas diffusion plate and the opening of the said temperature control plate are arrange | positioned shifted, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. Upper electrode. The method of claim 9, Characterized in that to independently control the temperature of the heat transfer medium flowing into the temperature control plate and the temperature of the heat transfer medium flowing into the temperature control block. Upper electrode. The method of claim 9, A plurality of said temperature control plates is provided, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. Upper electrode. The method of claim 15, Characterized in that it is configured to independently control the temperature of the heat transfer medium flowing into the plurality of the temperature control plate Upper electrode. The upper electrode as described in any one of Claims 1-9 is characterized by the above-mentioned. Plasma processing apparatus. In the plasma processing method, Using the plasma processing apparatus provided with the upper electrode of Claim 3, the temperature of the heat transfer medium which distribute | circulates inside the said 1st temperature control body, and the temperature of the heat transfer medium which distribute | circulate inside the said 2nd temperature regulator are measured. Plasma treatment is performed on the substrate to be processed while controlling independently. Plasma treatment method. In the plasma processing method, Using the plasma processing apparatus provided with the upper electrode of Claim 8, plasma processing is performed to a to-be-processed board | substrate, independently controlling the temperature of the heat-transfer medium which distribute | circulates inside of the said some temperature regulator. Plasma treatment method. In the plasma processing method, Using the plasma processing apparatus provided with the upper electrode of Claim 14, it is possible to independently control the temperature of the heat transfer medium which flows into the inside of the said temperature control plate, and the temperature of the heat transfer medium which flows into the inside of the said temperature control block independently. Plasma treatment is performed on a processing substrate, Plasma treatment method. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 20, Etching is performed on the workpiece Plasma treatment method. The plasma processing apparatus is operated so as to operate on a computer and, when executed, to control the plasma processing method according to any one of claims 18 to 20. Recording medium recording control program. The method of claim 8, Characterized in that the temperature of the heat transfer medium is independently controlled inside the plurality of first temperature regulators. Upper electrode. The method of claim 1, A plurality of second temperature regulators are provided. Upper electrode.

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