PLASMA ETCHING APPARATUS AND METHOD INCLUDING END POINT DETECTION

摘要

Apparatus and methods for end point detection during the plasma etching of integrated circuit wafers. Etching is conducted in a chamber subjected to the vacuum of a pump drawing at a constant volumetric gas flow rate. The etchant gases entering the chamber are regulated by a controller responsive to a feedback loop sensing pressures within the chamber. Changes in the chamber's chemical composition, which occur in time proximity to the end point of etching, affect the pressure and are detected as variations in the gas flow rates. Empirical results confirm the distinctiveness and repeatability which characterize the flow variations at the end point of etching.