Generation of a deposit can be suppressed and high selectivity can be acquired when etching a first region made of silicon nitride selectively against a second region made of silicon oxide. A method includes preparing a processing target object having the first region and the second region within a chamber provided in a chamber main body of a plasma processing apparatus; generating plasma of a first gas including a gas containing hydrogen within the chamber to form a modified region by modifying a part of the first region with active species of the hydrogen; and generating plasma of a second gas including a gas containing fluorine within the chamber to remove the modified region with active species of the fluorine.

Power supply devices for generating at least one electric high-frequency power signal for a plasma having at least a first plasma state and a second plasma state are provided. The power supply devices are configured to determine a first variable that characterizes a power reflected by the plasma in the first plasma state, determine a second variable that characterizes a power reflected by the plasma in the second plasma state, generate a third variable based on the first variable and the second variable, and control at least one of a frequency or a power of the high-frequency power signal based on the third variable.

A method for plasma processing includes: sustaining a plasma in a plasma processing chamber, the plasma processing chamber including a first radio frequency (RF) electrode and a second RF electrode, where sustaining the plasma includes: coupling an RF source signal to the first RF electrode; and coupling a bias signal between the first RF electrode and the second RF electrode, the bias signal having a bipolar DC (B-DC) waveform including a plurality of B-DC pulses, each of the B-DC pulses including: a negative bias duration during which the pulse has negative polarity relative to a reference potential, a positive bias duration during which the pulse has positive polarity relative to the reference potential, and a neutral bias duration during which the pulse has neutral polarity relative to the reference potential.

Systems and methods for plasma processing are disclosed. An exemplary system may include a plasma processing chamber comprising a source to produce a plasma in the processing chamber and at least two bias electrodes arranged within the plasma processing chamber to control plasma sheaths proximate to the bias electrodes. A chuck is disposed to support a substrate, and a source generator is coupled to the plasma electrode. At least one bias supply is coupled to the at least two bias electrodes, and a controller is included to control the at least one bias supply to control the plasma sheaths proximate to the bias electrodes.

Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate are provided herein. For example, a method for processing a substrate includes applying at least one of low frequency RF power or DC power to an upper electrode formed from a high secondary electron emission coefficient material disposed adjacent to a process volume; generating a plasma comprising ions in the process volume; bombarding the upper electrode with the ions to cause the upper electrode to emit electrons and form an electron beam; and applying a bias power comprising at least one of low frequency RF power or high frequency RF power to a lower electrode disposed in the process volume to accelerate electrons of the electron beam toward the lower electrode.

Differences in ion mass of lighter ions (having a higher mobility) and heavier ions are utilized in conjunction with bias voltage modulation of an atomic layer etch (ALE) to provide a fast ALE process. The difference in ion mobility achieves surface modification with reactive neutral species in the absence of a bias voltage, and ion bombardment with lighter ions (e.g., inert or less reactive ions) in the presence of a bias voltage. By modulating the bias voltage, preferential ion bombardment is achieved with lighter ions without the need to physically separate or purge the reactive precursors and inert gases supplied to the process chamber for a given ALE cycle. A “fast” plasma ALE process is provided which improves etch rate, throughput and cost-efficiency by enabling the same gas chemistry composition (e.g., reactive precursor and inert gas combination) to be kept in the process chamber during a given ALE cycle.

Methods and apparatus to provide efficient and scalable RF inductive plasma processing are disclosed. In some aspects, the coupling between an inductive RF energy applicator and plasma and/or the spatial definition of power transfer from the applicator are greatly enhanced. The disclosed methods and apparatus thereby achieve high electrical efficiency, reduce parasitic capacitive coupling, and/or enhance processing uniformity. Various embodiments comprise a plasma processing apparatus having a processing chamber bounded by walls, a substrate holder disposed in the processing chamber, and an inductive RF energy applicator external to a wall of the chamber. The inductive RF energy applicator comprises one or more radiofrequency inductive coupling elements (ICEs). Each inductive coupling element has a magnetic concentrator in close proximity to a thin dielectric window on the applicator wall.

Provided is a substrate processing apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus may include a chamber having an inner space, an electrode configured to generate plasma in the inner space, and a power supply unit configured to apply an RF voltage to the electrode, in which the power supply unit may include a first power supply configured to apply a first pulse voltage having a first frequency to the electrode, a second power supply configured to apply a second pulse voltage having a second frequency different from the first frequency to the electrode, a third power supply configured to apply an RF voltage having a third frequency different from the first frequency and the second frequency, and a phase control member for controlling at least one of the phases of the first pulse voltage and the second pulse voltage.

A substrate processing apparatus capable of suppressing the effects of plasma on a structure formed on a substrate includes: a process chamber where a substrate is processed; a substrate support unit; a gas supply unit to supply a gas to the substrate via a buffer chamber; an electrode including a gas flow channel in communication with the buffer chamber; an insulating plate including a first hole adjacent to the gas flow channel; a dispersion unit including a second hole adjacent to the first hole and in communication with the gas flow channel; a power supply unit; and a control unit to: control the gas supply unit to supply the gas into a plasma generation region in the second hole downstream of the insulating plate; and control the power supply unit to supply electrical power to the electrode to generate a plasma of the gas in the plasma generation region.

Plasma processing systems and methods are disclosed. The system may include at least one modulating supply that modulates plasma properties where the modulation of the plasma properties has a repetition period, T. A synchronization module configured to send a synchronization signal with a synchronization-signal-repetition-period that is an integer multiple of T to at least one piece of equipment connected to the plasma processing system. A waveform-communication module communicates characteristics of a characterized waveform to at least one piece of equipment connected to the plasma system to enable synchronization of pieces of equipment connected to the plasma processing system. The characterized waveform may contain information about the modulation of the plasma or information about a desired waveform of a piece of equipment connected to the plasma processing system.