In-situ detection method for wafer movement and micro-arc discharge around a wafer in plasma etching process using electrostatic chuck wafer stage with built-in acoustic emission sensor

We report an electrostatic chuck (ESC) wafer stage with a built-in acoustic emission (AE) sensor for detecting anomalies occurring around a wafer during plasma etching. The built-in AE sensor detects acoustic waves caused by wafer movement and micro-arc discharge with high sensitivity, and identifies these anomalies based on the frequency characteristics of the waves. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of using an ESC wafer stage with a built-in AE sensor for in-situ anomaly detection, which can improve the production yield and overall equipment efficiency in large scale integrated circuit (LSI) manufacturing.