| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20080242085 | Showerhead electrodes and showerhead electrode assemblies having low-particle performance for semiconductor material processing apparatuses - Showerhead electrodes for a semiconductor material processing apparatus are disclosed. An embodiment of the showerhead electrodes includes top and bottom electrodes bonded to each other. The top electrode includes one or more plenums. The bottom electrode includes a plasma-exposed bottom surface and a plurality of gas holes in fluid communication with the plenum. Showerhead electrode assemblies including a showerhead electrode flexibly suspended from a top plate are also disclosed. The showerhead electrode assemblies can be in fluid communication with temperature-control elements spatially separated from the showerhead electrode to control the showerhead electrode temperature. Methods of processing substrates in plasma processing chambers including the showerhead electrode assemblies are also disclosed. | 10-02-2008 |
| 20090173389 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR A WIDE CONDUCTANCE KIT - An apparatus for controlling gas flow conductance in a plasma processing chamber being configured with an upper electrode disposed opposite a lower electrode adapted to support a substrate is provided. The apparatus includes a ground ring configured to include a first set of radial slots formed therein. The apparatus also includes a confinement ring arrangement which includes at least a first set of collapsible confinement rings and a second set of collapsible confinement rings which is configured to movably couple to the first set of collapsible confinement rings. The apparatus further includes a mechanism configured at least to collapse and to expand the first set of collapsible confinement rings and the second set of collapsible confinement rings to control gas flow conductance through the first set of radial slots between (a) an unobstructed gas flow, ON state, and (b) an obstructed gas flow, OFF state. | 07-09-2009 |
| 20090186487 | EDGE RING ASSEMBLY WITH DIELECTRIC SPACER RING - An edge ring assembly surrounds a substrate support surface in a plasma etching chamber. The edge ring assembly comprises an edge ring and a dielectric spacer ring. The dielectric spacer ring, which surrounds the substrate support surface and which is surrounded by the edge ring in the radial direction, is configured to insulate the edge ring from the baseplate. Incorporation of the edge ring assembly around the substrate support surface can decrease the buildup of polymer at the underside and along the edge of a substrate and increase plasma etching uniformity of the substrate. | 07-23-2009 |
| 20090272718 | METHODS FOR SELECTIVE PRE-COATING OF A PLASMA PROCESSING CHAMBER - A method for processing a substrate in a plasma processing system is provided. The method includes disposing a first confinement ring set in a first position. The method also includes depositing a first coating on a first portion of the plasma processing system using a first plasma in a first area defined by the first confinement ring set in the first position. The method further includes depositing a second coating on a second portion of the plasma processing system using a second plasma in a second area between the first confinement ring set in the first position and a second confinement ring set. The method yet also includes processing the substrate using a third plasma with the first confinement ring set disposed in a second position. | 11-05-2009 |
| 20100078899 | ADJUSTABLE THERMAL CONTACT BETWEEN AN ELECTROSTATIC CHUCK AND A HOT EDGE RING BY CLOCKING A COUPLING RING - A clockable device for use with an electrostatic chuck configured to hold a substrate in a plasma environment is disclosed. The clockable device comprises a first portion of the electrostatic chuck having at least one face with variable thermal contact areas located thereon. A second portion of the electrostatic chuck has at least one face with variable thermal contact areas located thereon. The at least one face of the second portion is configured to be placed in thermal contact with the at least one face of the first portion to control a thermal gradient across a face of the substrate. | 04-01-2010 |
| 20100096361 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SENSING UNCONFINEMENT IN A PLASMA PROCESSING CHAMBER - Universal plasma unconfinement detection systems configured to detect the plasma unconfinement condition in the plasma processing chamber and methods therefor. The detection systems and methods are designed to reliably and accurately detect the existence of the plasma unconfinement condition in a process-independent and recipe-independent manner. | 04-22-2010 |
| 20100098875 | PRE-COATING AND WAFER-LESS AUTO-CLEANING SYSTEM AND METHOD - In a wafer processing system having an electrode, an electrostatic chuck (ESC) and a confinement chamber portion, the ESC is established to be RF-floating, whereas a confinement chamber portion is grounded during a pre-coating process. Accordingly, the confinement chamber portion and the upper electrode are selectively targeted for pre-coating material deposition. As such, the amount of pre-coating material that is deposited onto the ESC is greatly reduced over that of conventional systems. Therefore, less time, energy and material are needed to remove pre-coating material from the ESC during a wafer auto clean (WAC) process. Further, the upper electrode is established to be RF-floating, whereas the confinement chamber portion is grounded during a WAC process. As such, the cleaning material is selectively targeted toward the confinement hardware portion of the chamber. Therefore, the upper electrode is subjected to less wear during a WAC process. | 04-22-2010 |
| 20100151686 | HIGH PRESSURE BEVEL ETCH PROCESS - A method of preventing arcing during bevel edge etching a semiconductor substrate with a plasma in a bevel etcher in which the semiconductor substrate is supported on a semiconductor substrate support comprises bevel edge etching the semiconductor substrate with the plasma in the bevel etcher while evacuating the bevel etcher to a pressure of 3 to 100 Torr while maintaining RF voltage seen at the wafer at a low enough value to avoid arcing. | 06-17-2010 |
| 20100154709 | COMBINED WAFER AREA PRESSURE CONTROL AND PLASMA CONFINEMENT ASSEMBLY - A combined pressure control/plasma confinement assembly configured for confining a plasma and for at least partially regulating pressure in a plasma processing chamber during plasma processing of a substrate is provided. The assembly includes a movable plasma confinement structure having therein a plurality of perforations and configured to surround the plasma when deployed. The assembly also includes a movable pressure control structure disposed outside of the movable plasma confinement structure such that the movable plasma confinement structure is disposed between the plasma and the movable pressure control structure during the plasma processing, the movable pressure control structure being deployable and retractable along with the movable plasma confinement structure to facilitate handling of the substrate, the movable pressure control structure being independently movable relative to the movable plasma confinement structure to regulate the pressure by blocking at least a portion of the plurality of perforations. | 06-24-2010 |
| 20100154994 | CONTROLLING ION ENERGY DISTRIBUTION IN PLASMA PROCESSING SYSTEMS - A plasma processing system for processing at least a substrate with plasma. The plasma processing chamber is capable of controlling ion energy distribution. The plasma processing system may include a first electrode. The plasma processing system also includes a second electrode that is different from the first electrode and is configured for bearing the substrate. The plasma processing system may also include a signal source coupled with the first electrode. The signal source may provide a non-sinusoidal signal through the first electrode to control ion energy distribution at the substrate when the substrate is processed in the plasma processing system, wherein the non-sinusoidal signal is periodic. | 06-24-2010 |
| 20100154996 | PLASMA CONFINEMENT STRUCTURES IN PLASMA PROCESSING SYSTEMS - A movable plasma confinement structure configured for confining plasma in a plasma processing chamber during plasma processing of a substrate is provided. The movable plasma confinement structure includes a movable plasma-facing structure configured to surround the plasma. The movable plasma confinement structure also includes a movable electrically conductive structure disposed outside of the movable plasma-facing structure and configured to be deployed and retracted with the movable plasma-facing structure as a single unit to facilitate handling of the substrate. The movable electrically conductive structure is radio frequency (RF) grounded during the plasma processing. The movable plasma-facing structure is disposed between the plasma and the movable electrically conductive structure during the plasma processing such that RF current from the plasma flows to the movable electrically conductive structure through the movable plasma-facing structure during the plasma processing. | 06-24-2010 |
| 20100159703 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DUAL CONFINEMENT AND ULTRA-HIGH PRESSURE IN AN ADJUSTABLE GAP PLASMA CHAMBER - A plasma processing system having a plasma processing chamber configured for processing a substrate is provided. The plasma processing system includes at least an upper electrode and a lower electrode for processing the substrate. The substrate is disposed on the lower electrode during plasma processing, where the upper electrode and the substrate forms a first gap. The plasma processing system also includes an upper electrode peripheral extension (UE-PE). The UE-PE is mechanically coupled to a periphery of the upper electrode, where the UE-PE is configured to be non-coplanar with the upper electrode. The plasma processing system further includes a cover ring. The cover ring is configured to concentrically surround the lower electrode, where the UE-PE and the cover ring forms a second gap. | 06-24-2010 |
| 20100251529 | METHODS FOR PREVENTING PLASMA UN-CONFINEMENT EVENTS IN A PLASMA PROCESSING CHAMBER - A method for configuring a plasma processing chamber for preventing a plasma un-confinement event during processing of a substrate from occurring outside of a confined plasma sustaining region is provided. The confined plasma sustaining region is defined by a set of confinement rings surrounding a bottom portion of an electrode is provided. The method includes determining a worst-case Debye length for a plasma generated in the plasma processing chamber during the processing. The method also includes performing at least one of adjusting gaps between any pair of adjacent confinement rings and adding at least one additional confinement ring to ensure that a gap between the any pair of adjacent confinement rings is less than the worst-case Debye length. | 10-07-2010 |
| 20100252199 | MULTIFREQUENCY CAPACITIVELY COUPLED PLASMA ETCH CHAMBER - A plasma processing system for use with a gas. The plasma processing system comprises a first electrode, a second electrode, a gas input port, a power source and a passive circuit. The gas input port is operable to provide the gas between the first electrode and the second electrode. The power source is operable to ignite plasma from the gas between the first electrode and the second electrode. The passive circuit is coupled to the second electrode and is configured to adjust one or more of an impedance, a voltage potential, and a DC bias potential of the second electrode. The passive radio frequency circuit comprises a capacitor arranged in parallel with an inductor. | 10-07-2010 |
| 20100297788 | ARRANGEMENTS AND METHODS FOR IMPROVING BEVEL ETCH REPEATABILITY AMONG SUBSTRATES - A method, performed in connection with bevel etching of a substrate, for improving bevel-etch repeatability among substrates, is disclosed. The method includes providing an optical arrangement and ascertaining at least one bevel edge characteristic of a bevel edge of said substrate. The method also includes deriving at least one compensation factor from said at least one bevel edge characteristic, said at least one compensation factor pertaining to an adjustment in a bevel etch process parameter. The method further includes performing said bevel etching utilizing said at least one compensation factor. | 11-25-2010 |
| 20110022215 | APPARATUS TO DETECT FAULT CONDITIONS OF A PLASMA PROCESSING REACTOR - A method of fault detection for use in a plasma processing chamber is provided. The method comprises monitoring plasma parameters within a plasma chamber and analyzing the resulting information. Such analysis enables detection of failures and the diagnosis of failure modes in a plasma processing reactor during the course of wafer processing. The method comprises measuring the plasma parameters as a function of time and analyzing the resulting data. The data can be observed, characterized, compared with reference data, digitized, processed, or analyzed in any way to reveal a specific fault. Monitoring can be done with a detector such as a probe, which is preferably maintained within the plasma chamber substantively coplanar with a surface within the chamber, and directly measures net ion flux and other plasma parameters. The detector is preferably positioned at a grounded surface within the reactor such as a grounded showerhead electrode, and can be of a planar ion flux probe (PIF) type or a non-capacitive type. Chamber faults that can be detected include a build-up of process by-products in the process chamber, a helium leak, a match re-tuning event, a poor stabilization rate, and a loss of plasma confinement. If the detector is a probe, the probe can be embedded in a part of a plasma processing chamber and can comprises one or more gas feed-through holes. | 01-27-2011 |
| 20110059615 | HYBRID RF CAPACITIVELY AND INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA SOURCE USING MULTIFREQUENCY RF POWERS AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF - A device for inductively confining capacitively coupled RF plasma formed in a plasma processing apparatus. The apparatus includes an upper electrode and a lower electrode that is adapted to support a substrate and to generate the plasma between the substrate and the upper electrode. The device includes a dielectric support ring that concentrically surrounds the upper electrode and a plurality of coil units mounted on the dielectric support ring. Each coil unit includes a ferromagnetic core positioned along a radial direction of the dielectric support ring and at least one coil wound around each ferromagnetic core. The coil units generate, upon receiving RF power from an RF power source, electric and magnetic fields that reduce the number of charged particles of the plasma diffusing away from the plasma. | 03-10-2011 |
| 20110067814 | MULTI-PART ELECTRODE FOR A SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESSING PLASMA REACTOR AND METHOD OF REPLACING A PORTION OF A MULTI-PART ELECTRODE - An improved upper electrode system has a multi-part electrode in which a central portion of the electrode having high wear is replaceable independent of an outer peripheral portion of the electrode. The upper electrode can be used in plasma processing systems for processing semiconductor substrates, such as by etching or CVD. The multi-part upper electrode system is particularly useful for large size wafer processing chambers, such as 300 mm wafer processing chambers for which monolithic electrodes are unavailable or costly. | 03-24-2011 |
| 20110083697 | Apparatuses, Systems and Methods for Rapid Cleaning of Plasma Confinement Rings with Minimal Erosion of Other Chamber Parts - An apparatus used for rapid removal of polymer films from plasma confinement rings while minimizing erosion of other plasma etch chamber components is disclosed. The apparatus includes a center assembly, an electrode plate, a confinement ring stack, a first plasma source, and a second plasma source. The electrode plate is affixed to a surface of the center assembly with a channel defined along the external circumference therein. A first plasma source is disposed within the channel and along the external circumference of the center assembly, wherein the first plasma source is configured to direct a plasma to the inner circumferential surface of the confinement ring stack. A second plasma source located away from the first plasma source is configured to perform processing operations on a substrate within the etch chamber. | 04-14-2011 |
