As geometries shrink, semiconductor process films require very precise stoichiometry in order to maintain the desired electrical properties that are mandatory for proper transistor functionality. Some of these film layers are on the atomic level scale and require stringent composition and thickness control. Any leaks in the process chamber can lead to device failures that are only detected weeks later at backend testing. Every scheduled or unscheduled chamber maintenance event introduces the potential of deleterious leaks. O-rings and other chamber parts subjected to the plasma will also degrade over time and may unknowingly fail before their periodic maintenance. With weeks or months in between cleans, any leaks could harm a substantial amount of production material.

The traditional method of using an RGA (Residual Gas Analyzer) is extremely time consuming and is not conducive to standard manufacturing due to its vacuum requirements and complexity. It is therefore paramount to catch leaks during real-time processing. Pivotal's LeakDetect system can monitor the chamber in situ and non-intrusively provide fault detection monitoring that identifies trace leaks when they happen.

Pivotal's LeakDetect application uses a Plasma composition sensor to monitor the chamber's leak rate as baselined to the customer's unique process. This detection approach can reliably detect atmospheric leaks as low ~2mT per minute rate of rise.

Leak Detect™ Benefits

• Advance warning for atmospheric leak susceptibility
• LeakDetect detects very low level (down to ~0.02%) atmospheric leaks in plasma CVD and etch chambers
• Prevents charge induced damage and particulate defects which have been attributed to low level atmospheric leaks
• Real time fault detection system always monitors chamber and alerts tool owner when contamination has occurred