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Hitachi High Technologies America, Inc.

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Microwave ECR Plasma Etch Chamber

Microwave ECR Plasma Etch Chamber

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Microwave ECR Plasma Etch

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Hitachi’s Microwave ECR Plasma Etch Chamber

  • Shower Plate Gas Delivery
  • Three Independent Magnetic Coils
  • Resonance Cavity Design
  • High Conductance/High Speed Pumping
  • Variable ECR Height Positioning
  • 2.45GHz Microwave Plasma Source
  • High Density Plasma at Ultra-Low Pressure
  • Dual Zone Electrode Head
  • EPD/OES

Hitachi’s Microwave ECR etch chamber delivers the highest density plasma source for production processing on the market today, operating at ultra-low pressures. The Hitachi M-Chamber is a production-proven design offering superior plasma uniformity and very low defect density with high numbers of wafers between wet cleans due to Hitachi’s unique chamber plasma sweeping.

In the Hitachi Microwave ECR Chamber, a DC current flows through electromagnetic solenoid coils generating a strong static magnetic field in the etch chamber. Microwaves at 2.45GHz are introduced into the chamber resonance cavity through a wave guide producing a dynamic electric field that is perpendicular to the magnetic field.

Process gases are introduced at low pressure through a shower plate just below the resonance cavity. These gases generate the electrons and ions of the plasma that diffuses from the high magnetic field intensity of the ECR zone to the low magnetic field intensity at the wafer surface. A separate RF bias applied to the wafer electrode independently controls ion energy at the wafer surface.

By changing the coil power ratios the ECR plasma can be varied in the chamber, something that other plasma sources cannot do. This leads to additional process capabilities and the ability to dry clean the chamber by sweeping the plasma region up and down the chamber. The dry cleaning step allows the Hitachi Microwave ECR chamber to have greater repeatability, higher up-time, and lower particles than other plasma sources.

The Hitachi Microwave ECR etch chamber has a wide range of etch process capabilities including Advanced Gate Etch (Metal/High-k Gate), Silicon Etch (Poly Gate/STI), Low-K Etch, and Mask Etch (SiN, Amorphous Carbon, TiN, etc.).