A system for use in processing a substrate is provided. One system includes a chamber having an interior region that is exposed to plasma when processing a substrate. The internal region includes surfaces of parts of the chamber. A controller is interfaced with the chamber and includes a detector to enable control of a scope. The scope is configured for insertion into the chamber to inspect the interior region of the chamber without breaking a vacuum of the chamber. The detector includes an optical processor for identifying a characteristic of material present on a surface being inspected via the scope. A tool model processor is configured to receive information regarding the identified characteristic of the material present on the surface and interface with a tool model for the chamber to identify an adjustment to a parameter of a process to be performed using the chamber. The adjustment is configured to compensate for an anticipated drift in the process based on the identified characteristic of the material present on the surface and data from the tool model.

Described herein is a technique capable of uniformizing a quality of a film even when a processing environment changes. According to one aspect thereof, there is provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, including: (a) loading a substrate into a process chamber; (b) supplying a gas to the substrate in the process chamber through a dispersion plate of a shower head while heating the dispersion plate by a shower head heater and exhausting the gas; (c) unloading the substrate; (d) measuring a temperature of the shower head before loading a subsequent substrate; and (e) comparing the temperature of the shower head after (d) with a pre-set temperature, and operating the shower head heater to control the temperature of the shower head to become close to the pre-set temperature when a difference between the temperature of the shower head and the pre-set temperature is greater than a predetermined value.

Methods and apparatus for cleaning a showerhead are provided. For example, the methods includes moving a substrate support including a heater disposed therein from a substrate processing position a first distance away from the showerhead to a cleaning position a second distance away from the showerhead, wherein the second distance is less than the first distance; heating the showerhead using the heater disposed in the substrate support to a predetermined temperature; at least one of supplying at least one cleaning gas to the processing chamber to form a plasma or supplying the plasma from a remote plasma source; and providing a predetermined pressure within an inner volume of the processing chamber and maintaining the plasma within the inner volume of the processing chamber while heating the showerhead to the predetermined temperature.

In plasma processing, damage on a cover is prevented while thermal effect on an annular frame is suppressed. Plasma processing is applied to a substrate held by a carrier including an annular frame and a holding sheet. There are provided a chamber having a decompressible internal space, a plasma source for generating plasma in the chamber, a stage that is provided in the chamber and places the carrier thereon, and a cover that is placed above the stage to cover the holding sheet and the frame, and has a window penetrating through the thickness of the cover. The cover is made of a material having a high thermal conductivity, and a front face exposed to plasma, at least on the side of the window of the cover, is covered with a protect part made of a material having a low reactivity with plasma.

An apparatus for atomic scale processing is provided. The apparatus may include a reactor (100) and an inductively coupled plasma source (10). The reactor may have inner (154) and outer surfaces (152) such that a portion of the inner surfaces define an internal volume (156) of the reactor. The internal volume of the reactor may contain a fixture assembly (158) to support a substrate (118) wherein the partial pressure of each background impurity within the internal volume may be below 10.sup.−6 Torr to reduce the role of said impurities in surface reactions during atomic scale processing.

A method is disclosed, which comprises estimating a first value of a parameter of a component, prior to a use of the component in a reactor. In an example, the parameter of the component is to change during the use of the component in the reactor. The component may be treated, subsequent to the use of the component in the reactor. A second value of the parameter of the component may be estimated, subsequent to treating the component. The second value may be compared with the first value, where a reuse of the component in the reactor is to occur in response to the second value being within a threshold range of the first value.

The present disclosure provides a magnetron sputtering equipment, including: a mesh shielding plate disposed in a vacuum chamber of the magnetron sputtering equipment; the vacuum chamber includes one or more coating chambers, and the mesh shielding plate is disposed on a sidewall within the coating chamber, which facilitates the smooth operation of the magnetron sputtering target, and avoids the gas pollution of the vacuum chamber, and the installation and disassembly are simple and fast. The present disclosure provides an important solution and approach for a production line of the magnetic sputtering equipment.

There is provided a technique that includes: a substrate support configured to support at least one substrate; a reaction tube configured to accommodate the at least one substrate support and process the at least one substrate; and an inert gas supply system configured to supply an inert gas into the reaction tube, wherein the inert gas supply system includes a nozzle including at least one first ejection hole configured to eject the inert gas toward a center of the at least one substrate and at least one second ejection hole configured to eject the inert gas toward an inner wall of the reaction tube.

An apparatus for processing substrates that includes a process chamber with a process volume and a conductance liner surrounding the process volume wherein the conductance liner has at least one fixed portion and a movable portion. The movable portion is configured to expose a substrate transfer slot in a wall of the process chamber. The apparatus also includes a lifting assembly with an actuator attached to the movable portion of the conductance liner. The lifting assembly is configured to move the movable portion of the conductance liner in a vertical direction to expose the substrate transfer slot.

Deposition methods and apparatus for conditioning a process kit to increase process kit lifetime are described. A nitride film formed on a process kit is exposed to conditioning process comprising nitrogen and hydrogen radicals to condition the nitride film to decrease particulate contamination from the process kit.