초록

A method and apparatus for operating a matching network within a plasma enhanced semiconductor wafer processing system that uses pulsed power to facilitate plasma processing.

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1. A method of operating a matching network comprising:applying continuous wave RF power to an antenna assembly to ignite a plasma;applying continuous wave RF power to a substrate support member;tuning a matching network in electrical communication with the substrate support member to achieve an imp

1. A method of operating a matching network comprising:applying continuous wave RF power to an antenna assembly to ignite a plasma;applying continuous wave RF power to a substrate support member;tuning a matching network in electrical communication with the substrate support member to achieve an impedance match between the continuous wave RF power applied to the substrate support member and a load;holding the impedance match constant while applying pulsed RF power to at least one of the antenna assembly and the substrate support member. 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the impedance match is tuned by applying a control signal to adjust at least one impedance value of the matching network. 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the at least one impedance value is a capacitance. 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the applying continuous 13 wave RF power to a substrate support member has a duration of about 5 seconds. 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:measuring a match effectiveness indicator to identify when a substantial impedance match is achieved. 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the match effectiveness indicator is a signal representing reflected power from the matching network. 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the load is a plasma in a plasma reactor. 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the load further comprises the antenna assembly. 9. The method of claim 7 wherein the load further comprises the cathode pedestal. 10. A method of operating a matching network comprising:applying a first RF power to an antenna assembly to ignite a plasma;applying a second RF power to a matching network, where the matching network is coupled to a cathode pedestal within a plasma enhanced plasma reactor, the second RF power is applied in a CW mode;tuning matching parameters of the matching network during the CW mode;upon achieving a desired impedance match using the matching network, holding the matching parameters constant; andapplying the second RF power in a pulsed mode. 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the plasma enhanced reactor is an etch reactor. 12. The method of claim 10 wherein the CW mode lasts for 5 seconds.