title: Feasibility study of monitoring of plasma etching chamber conditions using superimposed high-frequency signals on rf power transmission line.
abstract: An in situ monitoring system that can detect changes in the conditions of a plasma etching chamber has been developed. In the system, low-intensity high-frequency signals are superimposed on the rf power transmission line used for generating plasma. The system measures reflected high-frequency signals and detects the change in their frequency characteristics. The results indicate that the system detects the changes in the conditions in etching chambers caused by the changes in the electrode gap and the inner wall condition and demonstrate the effectiveness of the system. The system can easily be retrofitted to mass-production equipment and it can be used with or without plasma discharge. Therefore, our system is suitable for in situ monitoring of mass-production plasma etching chambers. The system is expected to contribute to development of predictive maintenance, which monitors films deposited on the inner wall of the chamber and prevents equipment faults caused by misalignment of chamber parts in mass-production equipment.
authors.affiliation: Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 807-1 Tosu, Saga 841-0052, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kasashima
authors.affiliation: Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 807-1 Tosu, Saga 841-0052, Japan.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Uesugi