公开(公告)号：US20240035154A1

公开(公告)日：2024-02-01

申请号：US17874951

申请日：2022-07-27

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Vikram M. Bhosle ,  Meng Cai ,  Deven Matthew Raj Mittal ,  Vincent Deno

IPC: C23C16/44 ,  H01J37/32

CPC classification number: C23C16/4405 ,  H01J37/32862

Abstract: A method of cleaning a plasma chamber is disclosed. Periodically, a cleaning process is performed. The cleaning process comprises introducing a mixture of fluoride molecules and argon into the plasma chamber and creating a plasma. The fluoride molecules are ionized and interact with the deposited material on the chamber walls. This causes the fluorine ions to bond to the deposited material, which typically results in a gas that can be exhausted from the plasma chamber. When the deposited material has been removed, the amount of free fluorine within the plasma chamber increases. This increase in fluorine may be used to determine when the plasma chamber is cleaned.