| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20080236491 | MULTIFLOW INTEGRATED ICP SOURCE - Different gases are separately exposed to RF energy in different zones in inlets to a processing chamber. Plasma is activated in the gases in each of the zones separately and the activated gases are then introduced into the plasma processing chamber where they may undergo mutual interaction within a processing zone. Control of the active species distribution within the processing chamber is provided by control of the energizing of the gases in the separate inlet zones before they are combined in the processing zone. An ICP source energizes gas in each zone through an antenna having one or more conductors, each of which is coupled to a plurality of the zones. This allows gases to be brought together in their active states, rather than being combined and then activated, and allows the same or different parameters to be applied in different inlet zones. | 10-02-2008 |
| 20080242065 | CONTROL OF ION ANGULAR DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION AT WAFER SURFACE - A manufacturing method and apparatus for IC fabrication controls the ion angular distribution at the surface of a wafer with electrodes in a wafer support that produce electric fields parallel to the wafer surface without disturbing plasma parameters beyond the wafer surface. The ion angular distribution function (IADF) at the wafer surface is controlled for better feature coverage or etching. Grid structure is built into the substrate holder within the coating at the top of the holder. The grid components are electrically biased to provide electric fields that combine with the sheath field to distribute the ion incidence angles from the plasma sheath onto the wafer. The grid can be dynamically biased or phased to control uniformity of the effects. | 10-02-2008 |
| 20080308409 | EMBEDDED MULTI-INDUCTIVE LARGE AREA PLASMA SOURCE - Plasma generating devices, systems and processes are provided in which hybrid capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) sources use a plurality of primary plasma generating cells embedded into large area electrode or elsewhere in communication with a plasma processing chamber. Plasma is generated and maintained by a shaped low-inductance element within each of a plurality of locally enhanced ICP micro-cells coupled to the chamber through a CCP electrode. The source is suitable for processing large diameter (300 mm and larger) semiconductor wafers and large area panels, including plasma screen displays. | 12-18-2008 |
| 20090241310 | RLSA CVD DEPOSITION CONTROL USING HALOGEN GAS FOR HYDROGEN SCAVENGING - Film thickness uniformity and stoichiometry are controlled and deposition rate is increased in the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of silicon nitride from complex gas mixtures in microwave plasmas. In Si | 10-01-2009 |
| 20090242396 | ADJUSTABLE MAGNET PACK FOR SEMICONDUCTOR WAFER PROCESSING - A magnetron system is provided for a PVD system in which a magnet pack is formed in two subassemblies, one relatively moveable with respect to the other and one or both moveable relative to a sputtering target. The magnet pack may include a plurality of magnet rings that are interconnected by an annular yoke behind the magnets to provide a magnetic circuit with a magnetic field over the surface of the target. The yoke may be split into plural annular parts. By moving one or more parts of the yoke, such as by changing alignment of the yoke parts, the magnetic circuit can be changed during operation of process or at least without breaking the chamber vacuum. This allows the field strength on the surface of the target to be changed to control the utilization of the target over the life of the target, or to switch between strong and weak fields to perform a sequential deposition-etch process on a substrate in the chamber. | 10-01-2009 |
| 20100063787 | PLASMA FLUID MODELING WITH TRANSIENT TO STOCHASTIC TRANSFORMATION - The invention relates to the simulation method and apparatus used in plasma modeling. It includes a method to transform transient formulations of the phenomenological plasma model into a quasi-stochastic spatial formulation. Specifically, the invention aids in decreasing computational time for the modeling of plasma in a plasma processing system, particularly those involving two different time-based parameters. The invention is particularly described in connection with plasma simulations used for the optimization dual-frequency capacitively-coupled plasma etching systems. | 03-11-2010 |
| 20110079355 | CONTROL OF ION ANGULAR DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION AT WAFER SURFACE - A manufacturing method and apparatus for IC fabrication controls the ion angular distribution at the surface of a wafer with electrodes in a wafer support that produce electric fields parallel to the wafer surface without disturbing plasma parameters beyond the wafer surface. The ion angular distribution function (IADF) at the wafer surface is controlled for better feature coverage or etching. Grid structure is built into the substrate holder within the coating at the top of the holder. The grid components are electrically biased to provide electric fields that combine with the sheath field to distribute the ion incidence angles from the plasma sheath onto the wafer. The grid can be dynamically biased or phased to control uniformity of the effects. | 04-07-2011 |
| 20110146911 | PLASMA PROCESSING SYSTEM WITH LOCALLY-EFFICIENT INDUCTIVE PLASMA COUPLING - An inductively coupled plasma source is provided with a peripheral ionization source for producing a high-density plasma in a vacuum chamber for semiconductor wafer coating or etching. The source includes a segmented configuration having high and low radiation segments and produces a generally ring-shaped array of alternating high and low energy concentrations in the plasma around the periphery of the chamber. Energy is coupled from a segmented low inductance antenna through a dielectric window or array of windows and through a segmented shield or baffle. The antenna has concentrated conductor segments through which current flows in lengths of closely-spaced windings of a single conductor to produce high magnetic fields that couple through the high-transparency shield segments into the chamber, and alternating distributed conductor segments through which current flows in lengths of more widely-spaced windings of the conductor to produce weaker magnetic fields aligned with more opaque shield sections that couple less energy to the plasma. | 06-23-2011 |
