| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20080245767 | Pre-cleaning of substrates in epitaxy chambers - A method for processing a substrate including a pre-cleaning etch and reduced pressure process is disclosed. The pre-cleaning process involves introducing a substrate into a processing chamber; flowing an etching gas into the processing chamber; processing at least a portion of the substrate with the etching gas to remove a contaminated or damaged layer from a substrate surface; stopping flow of the etching gas; evacuating the processing chamber to achieve a reduced pressure in the chamber; and processing the substrate surface at the reduced pressure. Epitaxial deposition is then used to form an epitaxial layer on the substrate surface. | 10-09-2008 |
| 20080276860 | CROSS FLOW APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR HYDRIDE VAPOR PHASE DEPOSITION - A method and apparatus for hydride vapor phase epitaxial (HVPE) deposition is disclosed. In the HVPE process, a hydride gas flows over a metal source to react with the metal source, which then reacts at the surface of a substrate to deposit a metal nitride layer. The metal source comprises gallium, aluminum, and/or indium. The hydride gas is evenly provided over the metal source to increase efficiency of hydride-metal source reaction. An exhaust positioned diametrically across the chamber from the metal source creates a cross flow of the hydride-metal source product and nitrogen precursor across the chamber tangential to the substrate. A purge gas flowing perpendicular to the cross flow directs the hydride-metal source product and nitrogen precursor to remain as close to the substrate as possible. | 11-13-2008 |
| 20080280413 | METHODS FOR FORMING A TRANSISTOR - Methods are provided for depositing materials in forming semiconductor devices on a substrate, such as metal oxide transistors. In one embodiment, the invention generally provides a method of processing a substrate including forming a gate dielectric on a substrate having a first conductivity, forming a gate electrode on the gate dielectric, forming a first pair of sidewall spacers along laterally opposite sidewalls of the gate electrode, etching a pair of source/drain region definitions on opposite sides of the electrode, depositing a silicon carbide material selectively in the source/drain region definitions, and implanting a dopant in the deposited silicon carbide material to form a source/drain region having a second conductivity. | 11-13-2008 |
| 20080289575 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DEPOSITING A GROUP III-V FILM USING A HYDRIDE VAPOR PHASE EPITAXY PROCESS - An improved method and apparatus for depositing a Group III-V for a hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) process are provided. In one embodiment, an apparatus for a hydride vapor phase epitaxy process may include an elongated body having a trough defined between a first and a second wall, a channel formed in the first wall configured to provide a gas to the trough, and an inlet port formed in the body coupled to the channel. In another embodiment, a method for a hydride vapor phase epitaxy process may include providing Group III metal liquid precursor in a container disposed in a chamber, flowing a halogen containing gas across the container to form a Group III metal halide vapor to a reacting zone in the chamber, and mixing the Group III metal halide vapor with a Group V gas supplied in the chamber in the reacting zone. | 11-27-2008 |
| 20080299735 | METHODS FOR FORMING A TRANSISTOR - Methods are provided for depositing materials in forming semiconductor devices on a substrate, such as metal oxide transistors. In one embodiment, the invention generally provides a method of processing a substrate including forming a gate dielectric on a substrate having a first conductivity, forming a gate electrode on the gate dielectric, forming a first pair of sidewall spacers along laterally opposite sidewalls of the gate electrode, etching a pair of source/drain region definitions on opposite sides of the electrode, depositing a silicon-germanium material selectively in the source/drain region definitions, and implanting a dopant in the deposited silicon-germanium material to form a source/drain region having a second conductivity. | 12-04-2008 |
| 20090098276 | MULTI-GAS STRAIGHT CHANNEL SHOWERHEAD - A method and apparatus that may be utilized for chemical vapor deposition and/or hydride vapor phase epitaxial (HVPE) deposition are provided. In one embodiment, a metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process is used to deposit a Group III-nitride film on a plurality of substrates. A Group III precursor, such as trimethyl gallium, trimethyl aluminum or trimethyl indium and a nitrogen-containing precursor, such as ammonia, are delivered to a plurality of straight channels which isolate the precursor gases. The precursor gases are injected into mixing channels where the gases are mixed before entering a processing volume containing the substrates. Heat exchanging channels are provided for temperature control of the mixing channels to prevent undesirable condensation and reaction of the precursors. | 04-16-2009 |
| 20090136652 | SHOWERHEAD DESIGN WITH PRECURSOR SOURCE - A method and apparatus that may be utilized in deposition processes, such as hydride vapor phase epitaxial (HVPE) deposition of metal nitride films, are provided. A first set of passages may introduce a metal containing precursor gas. A second set of passages may provide a nitrogen-containing precursor gas. The first and second sets of passages may be interspersed in an effort to separate the metal containing precursor gas and nitrogen-containing precursor gas until they reach a substrate. An inert gas may also be flowed down through the passages to help keep separation and limit reaction at or near the passages, thereby preventing unwanted deposition on the passages. | 05-28-2009 |
| 20090149008 | METHOD FOR DEPOSITING GROUP III/V COMPOUNDS - Embodiments of the invention generally relate to methods for forming Group III-V materials by a hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) process. In one embodiment, a method for forming a gallium nitride material on a substrate within a processing chamber is provided which includes heating a metallic source to form a heated metallic source, wherein the heated metallic source contains gallium, aluminum, indium, alloys thereof, or combinations thereof, exposing the heated metallic source to chlorine gas while forming a metallic chloride gas, exposing the substrate to the metallic chloride gas and a nitrogen precursor gas while forming a metal nitride layer on the substrate during the HVPE process. The method further provides exposing the substrate to chlorine gas during a pretreatment process prior to forming the metal nitride layer. In one example, the exhaust conduit of the processing chamber is heated to about 200° C. or less during the pretreatment process. | 06-11-2009 |
| 20090194024 | CVD APPARATUS - Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods and apparatus for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on a substrate, and, in particular, to a process chamber and components for use in metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The apparatus comprises a chamber body defining a process volume. A showerhead in a first plane defines a top portion of the process volume. A carrier plate extends across the process volume in a second plane forming an upper process volume between the showerhead and the susceptor plate. A transparent material in a third plane defines a bottom portion of the process volume forming a lower process volume between the carrier plate and the transparent material. A plurality of lamps forms one or more zones located below the transparent material. The apparatus provides uniform precursor flow and mixing while maintaining a uniform temperature over larger substrates thus yielding a corresponding increase in throughput. | 08-06-2009 |
| 20090194026 | PROCESSING SYSTEM FOR FABRICATING COMPOUND NITRIDE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES - One embodiment of a processing system for fabricating compound nitride semiconductor devices comprises one or more processing chamber operable with form a compound nitride semiconductor layer on a substrate, a transfer chamber coupled with the processing chamber, a loadlock chamber coupled with the transfer chamber, and a load station coupled with the loadlock chamber, wherein the load station comprises a conveyor tray movable to convey a carrier plate loaded with one or more substrates into the loadlock chamber. Compared to a single chamber reactor, the multi-chamber processing system expands the potential complexity and variety of compound structures. Additionally, the system can achieve higher quality and yield by specialization of individual chambers for specific epitaxial growth processes. Throughput is increased by simultaneous processing in multiple chambers. | 08-06-2009 |
| 20100273291 | DECONTAMINATION OF MOCVD CHAMBER USING NH3 PURGE AFTER IN-SITU CLEANING - Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods and apparatus for removing unwanted deposition build-up from one more interior surfaces of a substrate processing chamber after a substrate is processed in a chamber to form, for example, Group III-V materials by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) deposition processes and/or hydride vapor phase epitaxial (HVPE) deposition processes. In one embodiment, a method for removing unwanted deposition build-up from one or more interior surfaces of a substrate processing chamber is provided. The method comprises depositing one or more Group III containing layers over a substrate disposed in the substrate processing chamber, transferring the substrate out of the substrate processing chamber, and pulsing a halogen containing gas into the substrate processing chamber to remove at least a portion of the unwanted deposition build-up from one or more interior surfaces of the substrate processing chamber. | 10-28-2010 |
| 20110117728 | METHOD OF DECONTAMINATION OF PROCESS CHAMBER AFTER IN-SITU CHAMBER CLEAN - A method and apparatus for removing deposition products from internal surfaces of a processing chamber, and for preventing or slowing growth of such deposition products. A halogen containing gas is provided to the chamber to etch away deposition products. A halogen scavenging gas is provided to the chamber to remove any residual halogen. The halogen scavenging gas is generally activated by exposure to electromagnetic energy, either inside the processing chamber by thermal energy, or in a remote chamber by electric field, UV, or microwave. A deposition precursor may be added to the halogen scavenging gas to form a deposition resistant film on the internal surfaces of the chamber. Additionally, or alternately, a deposition resistant film may be formed by sputtering a deposition resistant metal onto internal components of the processing chamber in a PVD process. | 05-19-2011 |
| 20110121503 | CVD APPARATUS - Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods and apparatus for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on a substrate, and, in particular, to a process chamber and components for use in metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The apparatus comprises a chamber body defining a process volume. A showerhead in a first plane defines a top portion of the process volume. A carrier plate extends across the process volume in a second plane forming an upper process volume between the showerhead and the susceptor plate. A transparent material in a third plane defines a bottom portion of the process volume forming a lower process volume between the carrier plate and the transparent material. A plurality of lamps forms one or more zones located below the transparent material. The apparatus provides uniform precursor flow and mixing while maintaining a uniform temperature over larger substrates thus yielding a corresponding increase in throughput. | 05-26-2011 |
