Lam Research Corporation

Other

Andrew Duvall

Chloe Baldasseroni

Karl Frederick Leeser

Shankar Swaminathan

Frank Loren Pasquale

Adrien Lavoie

Ramesh Chandrasekharan

Hu Kang

Jun Qian

David Charles Smith

Douglas L Keil

Edward J Augustyniak

Patrick G Breiling

Jennifer Leigh Petraglia

Edmund Minshall

Sesha Varadarajan

Ted Minshall

Ishtak Karim

Paul Konkola

Yukinori Sakiyama

Sung Je Kim

Purushottam Kumar

Mohamed Sabri

Adrien LaVoie

Colin F Smith

Ryan Blaquiere

Jeongseok Ha

Jeremiah Baldwin

Eashwar Ranganathan

Heather Landis

Ingi Bae

A pedestal for a substrate processing system includes a pedestal body including a substrate-facing surface. An annular band is arranged on the substrate-facing surface that is configured to support a radially outer edge of the substrate. A cavity is defined in the substrate-facing surface of the pedestal body and is located radially inside of the annular band. The cavity creates a volume between a bottom surface of the substrate and the substrate-facing surface of the pedestal body. A plurality of vents pass though the pedestal body and are in fluid communication with the cavity to equalize pressure on opposing faces of the substrate during processing.

Planar substrate edge contact with open volume equalization pathways and side containment

A substrate processing system includes: a processing chamber defining a reaction volume; a showerhead including: a stem portion having one end connected adjacent to an upper surface of the processing chamber; and a base portion connected to an opposite end of the stem portion and extending radially outwardly from the stem portion, where the showerhead is configured to introduce gas into the reaction volume; a plasma generator configured to selectively generate RF plasma in the reaction volume; and a collar arranged around the stem portion of the showerhead between the base portion of the showerhead and the upper surface of the processing chamber. The collar includes one or more holes to supply purge gas from an inner cavity of the collar to between the base portion of the showerhead and the upper surface of the processing chamber.

Systems and methods for suppressing parasitic plasma and reducing within-wafer non-uniformity

A substrate processing system for depositing film on a substrate includes a processing chamber defining a reaction volume. A showerhead includes a stem portion having one end connected adjacent to an upper surface of the processing chamber. A base portion is connected to an opposite end of the stem portion and extends radially outwardly from the stem portion. The showerhead is configured to introduce at least one of process gas and purge gas into the reaction volume. A plasma generator is configured to selectively generate RF plasma in the reaction volume. An edge tuning system includes a collar and a parasitic plasma reducing element that is located around the stem portion between the collar and an upper surface of the showerhead. The parasitic plasma reducing element is configured to reduce parasitic plasma between the showerhead and the upper surface of the processing chamber.

A process chamber for depositing a film on a wafer is provided, including: a pedestal having, a central top surface having a plurality of wafer supports configured to support the wafer at a support level above the central top surface, an annular surface at a step down from the central top surface; a carrier ring configured to be supported by carrier ring supports such that a bottom surface of the carrier ring is at a first vertical separation above the annular surface, the carrier ring having a step down surface defined relative to a top surface; wherein when the carrier ring is seated on the carrier ring supports, then the step down surface of the carrier ring is positioned at a process level that is at a second vertical separation from the support level over the top surface of the pedestal.

Reducing backside deposition at wafer edge

A pedestal for a substrate processing system includes a pedestal body including a substrate-facing surface. An annular band is arranged on the substrate-facing surface that is configured to support a radially outer edge of the substrate. A cavity is defined in the substrate-facing surface of the pedestal body and is located radially inside of the annular band. The cavity creates a volume between a bottom surface of the substrate and the substrate-facing surface of the pedestal body. A plurality of vents pass through the pedestal body and are in fluid communication with the cavity to equalize pressure on opposing faces of the substrate during processing.

A vapor delivery system includes an ampoule to store liquid precursor and a heater to partially vaporize the liquid precursor. A first valve communicates with a push gas source and the ampoule. A second valve supplies vaporized precursor to a heated injection manifold. A valve manifold includes a first node in fluid communication with an outlet of the heated injection manifold, a third valve having an inlet in fluid communication with the first node and an outlet in fluid communication with vacuum, a fourth valve having an inlet in fluid communication with the first node and an outlet in fluid communication with a second node, a fifth valve having an outlet in fluid communication with the second node, and a sixth valve having an outlet in fluid communication with the second node. A gas distribution device is in fluid communication with the second node.

Systems and methods for vapor delivery in a substrate processing system

A substrate processing system includes a showerhead including a stem portion and a head portion. The stem portion is in fluid communication with a process gas source, and the head portion is arranged to provide process gases from the process gas source to a reaction volume of a processing chamber below the showerhead to generate plasma in the reaction volume. A suppressor is arranged above the head portion of the showerhead, extends from the stem portion toward sidewalls of the processing chamber, and is sealed against the sidewalls of the processing chamber or sealed against an enclosure surrounding the suppressor. The suppressor, the sidewalls, and a top surface of the processing chamber, the suppressor and the enclosure, or the suppressor, the enclosure, and the top surface define a partitioned volume of the processing chamber above the showerhead. The partitioned volume is in fluid communication with a purge gas source.

Plasma suppression behind a showerhead through the use of increased pressure

Method and apparatus for reducing backside deposition by controlling one or more wafer supports are disclosed. A processing chamber, such as a processing chamber for atomic layer deposition, can include a pedestal and one or more wafer supports configured to extend from the pedestal. A wafer can be provided over the pedestal, the one or more wafer supports can contact the backside of the wafer to support the wafer, and the one or more wafer supports can be positioned to a height to cause an outer edge of the wafer to sag. The outer edge of the wafer can sag to substantially contact the pedestal or a carrier ring surrounding the pedestal. This can create an edge seal to limit access by process gases to the backside of the wafer during a deposition process.

Method and apparatus for backside deposition reduction by control of wafer support to achieve edge seal

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Portland, OR, United States of America

Andrew Duvall